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Look up SAT, Sat, Sats, sat, or sats in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
The SAT, or the Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test) is a college admissions test in the United States.
Sat, SAT, etc., may also refer to:
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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. |
Felicia Day | |
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Born | Kathryn Felicia Day June 28, 1979 [1] Huntsville, Alabama, United States |
Residence | Los Angeles, California |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actress/Writer/Singer |
Years active | 2001-present |
Website | |
http://www.feliciaday.com/ |
Kathryn Felicia Day[2] (born on June 28, 1979[1]) is an American actress and singer, known for her work as "Vi" on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for parts in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Day is also the star, script writer and producer of the original web series The Guild, a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also starred in the Dragon Age web series Dragon Age: Redemption, which she wrote. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Web Television.[3]
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Day began her acting career at the age of 7 when she starred as Scout in a local production of To Kill a Mockingbird. She studied operatic singing and ballet professionally, performing at concerts and competitions nationwide. Home-schooled throughout much of her childhood, she began college at the age of 16.[4]
She was a National Merit Scholar (1995)[5] and graduated as valedictorian of her class. [4][6] An accomplished violinist,[4] Day was accepted to the Juilliard School of Music but chose to attend the University of Texas at Austin on a full scholarship in violin performance. She double majored in mathematics and music performance.[7][6]
Day is an avid player of a wide variety of video game genres. Much of her work on The Guild web series was based on her personal experience with video games.[8]
After graduation, Day moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. She landed several roles in various short and independent films, as well as commercials and guest spots on television shows, including Undeclared and Maybe It's Me. These parts propelled her to larger roles: a part in the film Bring It On Again, the starring role in June, and a recurring guest spot as potential Slayer Vi on television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a recurring role that is still occasionally utilized in that show's eighth season comic book series.
Day is the creator, writer, and star of The Guild, a web series which started airing its fifth season in July 2011. The first season was primarily hosted on YouTube where it garnered millions of views.[9] Its second season premiered on Microsoft's three major video channels Xbox Live, MSN Video and The Zune Marketplace after Microsoft made a deal with The Guild, allowing Day, her cast, and her crew to be paid for their work. Day also created a song and music video called "(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar", featuring the cast dressed up as their in-game personae. The final moments of the music video itself also detailed that the release date for the 3rd season of Day's The Guild would be August 25, 2009. A second song and video "Game On" was released prior to the premiere of the 4th season of The Guild.
The Guild has won multiple awards, including the Greenlight Award for Best Original Digital Series Production at the South by Southwest festivals,[10] the YouTube Video Award for Best Series,[11] the Yahoo! Video Award for Best Series,[12] and 2009 Streamy Awards for Best Comedy Web Series, Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series, and Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series.[13]
In July 2008, Day starred as Penny in the three-part web-based musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (created by Joss Whedon, who also created Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which Day has a minor role as the potential slayer Vi during the seventh season).[14] Day was featured as a patient in the episode "Not Cancer" of the medical drama House,[15] and had a guest starring role in the sci-fi drama Dollhouse's unaired episode "Epitaph One",[16] as well as its series finale "Epitaph Two."[17] In 2008, Day was featured in a series of commercials for Sears.[18][19] She also appeared in the first of the revitalized Cheetos commercials.[20] In the series Lie to Me, on the episode called "Tractor Man", airing December 14, 2009, Day sang a song called "White Lie" alongside Brendan Hines.[citation needed] Day starred in the Syfy film adaption of the saga Little Red Riding Hood, called Red;[21] it was produced by Angela Mancuso.[22] Day also played the continuing role of Dr. Holly Marten in the Syfy channel's original series, Eureka, appearing for 10 episodes until episode 2 of series 5.
Day also starred in Guild co-star Sandeep Parikh's web-series The Legend of Neil, in which she portrayed a Fairy. She sings in the second season musical episode, in which she obliquely references her history of internet musicals.
Day lent her voice to the character Veronica Santangelo in the video game Fallout: New Vegas.
In February 2011, Day announced that she would be starring in a new web miniseries. Called Dragon Age: Redemption, it is based on the Dragon Age video games made by BioWare[23] and aired on October 10, 2011.[24] She also voices the elf Tallis, the protagonist of the Dragon Age downloadable content "Mark of the Assassin".
In March 2012, Day announced that she would be launching a premium YouTube channel, "Geek & Sundry," on April 2. [25]
In April 2012 it was announced that Day will host the 2012 IndieCade Awards Ceremony on October 4th, 2012. [26]
On April 29, 2012 she also appeared on the YouTube show MyMusic as a Norwegian Black Metal singer named Gorgol[27].
In September 2008, TV Week included her in their list of Top 10 Web Video Creators.[28]
During the inaugural Streamy Awards held in Los Angeles on March 28, 2009, Day received the award for the "Best Female Actor in a Comedy" for her work as protagonist Cyd Sherman in The Guild, and won the same award again in 2010.[29] She was also recognized for her work on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in 2009.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2001 | Strings | ??? | unknown part |
2002 | They Shoot Divas, Don't They? | Call Girl | TV movie/Supporting Lead |
House Blend | Pam | TV movie | |
2003 | Delusional | ??? | unknown part |
2003 | Backslide | Maddie | |
2004 | The Mortician's Hobby | Tiffany | |
Bring It On Again | Penelope | ||
June | June Marie Jacobs | TV movie/Lead | |
Final Sale | Felicia | Lead | |
2005 | Mystery Woman: Vision of a Murder | Emily | TV movie/Lead |
Warm Springs | Eloise Hutchinson | TV movie/Supporting Lead | |
Short Story Time | Felicia | ||
2006 | God's Waiting List | Trixie | |
2007 | Splitting Hairs | Sugar Girl | |
2008 | Prairie Fever | Blue | |
Dear Me | Pipsy | Lead | |
2010 | Red: Werewolf Hunter | Virginia Sullivan | Lead |
2011 | Rock Jocks | Alison | Lead |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Emeril | Cherie | |
2002 | Maybe It's Me | Cookie | |
2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Vi | 8 episodes |
For the People | Nicole | ||
Century City | Sheryl | 1 episode | |
2004 | One on One | Sarah | |
Strong Medicine | Jesse's Friend | ||
2005 | Monk | Heidi Gefsky | "Mr. Monk Gets Drunk" / 1 episode |
2006 | Windfall | Danielle | 2 episodes |
Love, Inc. | Natalie | ||
2007-present | The Guild | Cyd Sherman/Codex | Web series / All episodes |
2008-2010 | The Legend of Neil | Fairy | Web series / 5 episodes |
2008 | House | Apple | "Not Cancer" / 1 episode |
Retarded Policeman #7.5: Fish[30] | Herself | ||
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog | Penny | Joss Whedon web series / All episodes | |
2009 | Roommates | Alyssa | 3 episodes |
My Boys | Heather | 1 episode | |
Dollhouse | Mag | 2 episodes: "Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two: Return" | |
IRrelevant Astronomy | Felicia Day | 1 episode: "Behind the Scenes: When Galaxies Collide" | |
Lie To Me | Ms. Angela | 1 episode: "Tractor Man" | |
Three Rivers | Jeni | 1 episode: "A Roll of the Dice" | |
2010 | The Webventures of Justin & Alden | Herself | |
Generator Rex | Annie | 1 episode: "Operation: Wingman" | |
2011 | Dragon Age: Redemption | Tallis | Writer & Co-producer |
Generator Rex | Annie | 1 episode: "Haunted" | |
The Big Chew | Marjorie | YouTube production | |
Eureka | Dr. Holly Marten | 11 episodes | |
2012 | Fish Hooks | Angela | 4 episodes: "Send Me an Angel Fish", "Guys' Night Out" and Unnamed two episodes |
Supernatural | Charlie | 1 episode: "The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo" | |
The Flog | Herself | Weekly vlog on Geek & Sundry | |
MyMusic | Gorgol | 1 episode: "INVISIBLE!" YouTube internet series. |
Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
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2010 | Rock of the Dead | Mary Beth | game character voice over |
Fallout: New Vegas | Veronica Santangelo | game character voice over | |
2011 | Dragon Age II: Mark of the Assassin | Tallis | game character voice over |
2012 | Guild Wars 2 | Zojja | game character voice over (Still in development as of May 2012) |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Felicia Day |
Nick Cave | |
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Nick Cave at an event in New York City, 2009 |
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Background information | |
Born | Warracknabeal, Victoria, Australia |
22 September 1957
Genres | Post-punk, gothic rock,[1][2] alternative rock, garage rock |
Occupations | Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer, actor, composer |
Instruments | Guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals |
Years active | 1973–present |
Labels | Mute |
Associated acts | Boys Next Door, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Grinderman, The Birthday Party |
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional film actor.
He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1983, a group known for its eclectic influences and musical styles. Before that, he had fronted the group The Birthday Party in the early 1980s, a band renowned for its highly gothic,[1][2] challenging lyrics and violent sound influenced by free jazz, blues, and post-punk. In 2006, he formed the garage rock band Grinderman that released its debut the following year. Cave's music is generally characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences and lyrical obsessions with religion, death, love and violence.[3]
Upon Cave's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, ARIA Awards committee chairman Ed St John said, “Nick Cave has enjoyed—and continues to enjoy—one of the most extraordinary careers in the annals of popular music. He is an Australian artist like Sidney Nolan is an Australian artist—beyond comparison, beyond genre, beyond dispute."[4]
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Cave was born in the small town of Warracknabeal in the state of Victoria, Australia, to Dawn Cave (née Treadwell) and Colin Frank Cave. He has two brothers: Tim (b. 1952) and Peter (b. 1954), and a sister, Julie (b. 1959). As a child, he lived in Warracknabeal and then Wangaratta in rural Victoria. His father was an English teacher and administrator, with a love of literature, and his mother was a librarian. Cave's paternal grandfather's surname was originally Landvoigt, he later in his life became known as Frank Jason Cave.[5][6][7][8]
Raised as an Anglican, Cave sang in the boys choir at Wangaratta Cathedral. He grew to detest the attitudes of small-town Australia, and he was often in trouble with the local school authorities,[9] so his parents sent him to boarding school at Melbourne's Caulfield Grammar School in 1970. Cave joined the school choir under choirmaster Norman Kaye, and also benefited from having a piano in his home. The following year he became a "day boy" when his family moved to Murrumbeena, a suburb of Melbourne. Cave was 19 when his father was killed in a car accident; at the moment he was informed of this, his mother Dawn Cave was bailing him out of a St Kilda police station for a charge of burglary. Cave would later recall that his father "died at a point in my life when I was most confused", and "the loss of my father created in my life a vacuum, a space in which my words began to float and collect and find their purpose".[10]
After his secondary schooling, Cave studied painting (Fine Art) at the Caulfield Institute of Technology (now Monash University, Caulfield campus) in 1976, but dropped out in 1977 to pursue music. He also began using heroin around this time.[citation needed] On 28 March 2008, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from this university.
In 1973, Cave met Mick Harvey (guitar), Phill Calvert (drums), John Cochivera (guitar), Brett Purcell (bass), and Chris Coyne (saxophone); fellow students at Caulfield Grammar. They founded a band with Cave as singer. Their repertoire consisted of proto-punk cover versions of songs by Lou Reed, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Roxy Music and Alex Harvey, among others. Later, the line-up slimmed down to four members including Cave's friend Tracy Pew on bass. In 1977, after leaving school, they adopted the name The Boys Next Door and began playing predominantly original material. Guitarist and songwriter Rowland S. Howard joined the band in 1978, expanding to five members.
From 1977 until their dissolution in 1983 (by which time they were known as The Birthday Party) the band explored various styles. They were a part of Melbourne's post-punk music scene in the late 1970s, playing hundreds of live shows in Australia before changing their name to the Birthday Party in 1980 and moving to London, then West Berlin. Cave's Australian girlfriend and muse Anita Lane accompanied them to London. The band were notorious for their provocative live performances which featured Cave shrieking, bellowing and throwing himself about the stage, backed up by harsh pounding rock music laced with guitar feedback. Cave utilised old testament imagery with lyrics about sin, curses and damnation.[1] The lyrics were full of "American gothic imagery", talking about horror stories.[1] The single "Release the Bats" with its story about "vampire sex" was "influential" in the emerging "gothic scene".[1][2] At that time, Cave also became a regular member of a gothic club in London called The Batcave.[11]
After establishing a cult following in Europe and Australia, The Birthday Party disbanded in 1984. Howard and Cave found it difficult to continue working together and both were rather worn down from alcohol and drug use.
The band with Cave as their leader and frontman has released fourteen studio albums. Their most recent album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! was released on 8 April 2008. Though their sound tends to change considerably from one album to another, the one constant of the band is an unpolished blending of disparate genres, and song structures which provide a vehicle for Cave's virtuosic, frequently histrionic theatrics. NME used the sentence "gothic psycho-sexual apocalypse" to describe the "menace" present in the lyrics of the title track.[12]
Critics Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Steve Huey write, "With the Bad Seeds, Cave continued to explore his obsessions with religion, death, love, America, and violence with a bizarre, sometimes self-consciously eclectic hybrid of blues, gospel, rock, and arty post-punk, although in a more subdued fashion than his work with the Birthday Party".[3] Pitchfork Media calls the group one of rock's "most enduring, redoubtable" bands, with an accomplished discography.[13] A documentary film about the band The Road to God Knows Where/Life at paradiso directed by Uli M Schueppel, about their 1989 tour, was voted in the year 2008, under the 20 best musicmovies of all the time of the reader and journalists of Total Film.
Cave and the band curated an edition of the famous All Tomorrow's Parties music festival, the first in Australia, throughout the country in January 2009.
In addition to his performances with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Cave has, since the 1990s, performed live 'solo' tours with himself on piano/vocals, Warren Ellis on violin/accordion and various others on bass and drums. The current trio are Bad Seeds' Martyn P. Casey, Jim Sclavunos and Ellis (nicknamed the Mini-Seeds). In 2006, this line-up, now including Cave on electric guitar, continued his 'solo' tours performing Bad Seeds material.
In the same year three other Bad Seeds, Mick Harvey, Thomas Wydler and James Johnston, undertook Harvey's first 'solo' tours of Europe and Australia performing material from his own albums. Melbourne double bassist Rosie Westbrook completed the quartet.
An album of new material by Cave's 'solo' quartet, now named Grinderman, was released in March 2007.
Nick Cave 'solo' and Grinderman both played at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in April 2007. This was Grinderman's first public performance. Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream accompanied Grinderman on backing vocals and percussion.
In December 2011, after performing at Meredith Music Festival, Cave announced that Grinderman were over.[14][dead link]
Many of Nick Cave's songs have found their way into movie soundtracks. One of the earliest to feature Cave's distinctive style by incorporating him as part of the movie's music scene—circa 1979—was Dogs in Space, a film by Richard Lowenstein.[15] Cave performed parts of the Boys Next Door song "Shivers" twice during the film, once on video and once live.
Another early fan of Cave's was German director Wim Wenders, who lists Cave, along with Lou Reed and Portishead, as among his favorites.[16] Two of Cave's songs were featured in his 1987 film Wings of Desire.[17] Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds also make a cameo appearance in this film. Two more songs were included in Wenders' 1993 sequel Faraway, So Close!, including the title track. The soundtrack for Wenders' 1991 film Until the End of the World features Cave's "(I'll Love You) Till the End of the World." His most recent production, Palermo Shooting, also contains a Nick Cave song, as does his 2003 documentary The Soul of a Man.[18]
Cave's songs have also appeared in a number of Hollywood blockbusters and major TV shows. For instance, his "There is a Light" appears on the 1995 soundtrack for Batman Forever, and "Red Right Hand" appeared in a number of films and TV shows, including The X-Files, Dumb & Dumber; Scream, its sequels Scream 2 and 3, and Hellboy (performed by Pete Yorn). In Scream 3, the song was given a reworking with Cave writing new lyrics and adding an orchestra to the arrangement of the track. This version appears on The Bad Seeds B-Sides and Rarities album. The song "People Ain't No Good" was featured in the animated movie Shrek 2, as well as in one of the episodes of the television series The L Word. Cave also sang a cover of The Beatles' "Let It Be," for the 2001 film I Am Sam.
Original material written for movie productions includes the song "To Be By Your Side," for the soundtrack of the 2001 French documentary Le Peuple Migrateur (called Winged Migration in the US). Cave composed the soundtrack for the 2005 film The Proposition with fellow Australian and Bad Seed Warren Ellis. Cave and Ellis once again collaborated on the music for the 2007 film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Also in 2007, Cave and Ellis wrote the soundtrack for the feature documentary The English Surgeon. The duo also provided original music for The Road in 2009 and the soundtrack for the audiobook of Cave's novel The Death of Bunny Munro.[19]
Most recently, his song "Up Jumped the Devil" was featured in the Remedy-developed 2010 video game Alan Wake.
Cave's song "O Children" was featured in the 2010 movie, though not in the official soundtrack, of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1.
Nick Cave has also played with Shane MacGowan, in a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Death is Not the End", and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". Cave has also performed "What a Wonderful World" live with The Flaming Lips. Cave recorded a cover version of the Pogues song "Rainy Night in Soho", written by MacGowan.
MacGowan also sings a version of "Lucy", released on B-Sides and Rarities. On 3 May 2008, during the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! tour Shane MacGowan joined Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on stage to perform "Lucy" at Dublin Castle in Ireland. Pulp's single "Bad Cover Version" includes on its B-side a cover version by Cave of that band's song "Disco 2000". On the Deluxe Edition of Pulp's Different Class another take of this cover can be found.
In 2000, one of Cave's heroes, Johnny Cash, covered Cave's "The Mercy Seat" on the album American III: Solitary Man, seemingly repaying Cave for the compliment he paid by covering Cash's "The Singer" (originally "The Folk Singer") on his Kicking Against the Pricks album. Cave was then invited to be one of many rock and country artists to contribute to the liner notes of the retrospective The Essential Johnny Cash CD, released to coincide with Cash's 70th birthday. Subsequently, Cave cut a duet with Cash on a version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" for Cash's American IV: The Man Comes Around album (2002). A similar duet, the American folk song "Cindy", was released posthumously on the "Johnny Cash: Unearthed" boxset. Cave's song "Let the Bells Ring" is a posthumous tribute to Cash. Cave has also covered the song "Wanted Man" which is best known as performed by Johnny Cash but is a Bob Dylan composition.
In 2004, Cave gave a hand to Marianne Faithfull on the album, Before the Poison. He co-wrote and produced three songs ("Crazy Love", "There is a Ghost" and "Desperanto"), and the Bad Seeds are featured on all of them. He is also featured on "The Crane Wife" (originally by The Decemberists), on Faithfull's 2008 album, Easy Come, Easy Go.
Cave collaborated with the band Current 93 on their album All the Pretty Little Horses, where he sings the title track, a lullaby. For his 1996 album Murder Ballads, Cave recorded "Where The Wild Roses Grow" with Kylie Minogue, and "Henry Lee" with P.J. Harvey.
Cave also took part in the "X-Files" compilation CD with some other artists, where he reads parts from the Bible combined with own texts, like "Time Jesum...", he outed himself as a fan of the series some years ago, but since he does not watch much TV, it was one of the only things he watched. He collaborated on the 2003 single "Bring It On", with Chris Bailey, formerly of the Australian punk group, The Saints. Cave contributed vocals to the song "Sweet Rosyanne", on the 2006 album Catch That Train! from Dan Zanes & Friends, a children's music group.
In 2011, Cave recorded a cover of the Zombies' "She's Not There" with Neko Case, which was used at the end of the first episode of the fourth season of True Blood.
Cave released his first book, King Ink, in 1988. It is a collection of lyrics and plays, including collaborations with Lydia Lunch. In 1997, he followed up with King Ink II, containing lyrics, poems, and the transcript of a radio essay he did for the BBC in July 1996, "The Flesh Made Word," discussing in biographical format his relationship with Christianity.
While he was based in West Berlin, Cave started working on what was to become his debut novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989). Significant crossover is evident between the themes in the book and the lyrics Cave wrote in the late stages of the Birthday Party and the early stage of his solo career. "Swampland", from Mutiny, in particular, uses the same linguistic stylings ('mah' for 'my', for instance) and some of the same themes (the narrator being haunted by the memory of a girl called Lucy, being hunted like an animal, approaching death and execution). On 21 January 2008, a special edition of Cave's novel And the Ass Saw the Angel was released.[20] Cave's second novel The Death of Bunny Munro was published on 8 September 2009 by Harper Collins books.[21][22] It tells the story of a sex-addicted salesman, was also released as a binaural audio-book produced by British Artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard and an iPhone app.[23] The book originally started as a screenplay Cave was going to write for John Hillcoat.[24]
As proof of his interest in scripture, so evident in his lyrics and his prose writing, Cave wrote the foreword to a Canongate publication of the Gospel according to Mark, published in the UK in 1998. The American edition of the same book (published by Grove Press) contains a foreword by the noted American writer Barry Hannah.
Cave and Ellis composed scores for a production by the Icelandic theatre company Vesturport of Woyzeck by Georg Büchner, performed at the Barbican Theatre in the Barbican Arts Centre in London in 2005,[25] and a stage adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis at the Lyric Hammersmith in London in 2006.[26]
Cave is a contributor to the 2009 rock biography on The Triffids Vagabond Holes: David McComb and the Triffids, edited by Australian academics Niall Lucy and Chris Coughran.[27]
Cave has made occasional appearances as an actor, most prominently in the 1989 film Ghosts ... of the Civil Dead, written and directed by John Hillcoat, and in the 1991 film Johnny Suede with Brad Pitt.
Cave appeared in the 2005 homage to Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, in which he performed "I'm Your Man" solo, and "Suzanne" with Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla. He also appeared in the 2007 film adaptation of Ron Hansen's novel The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, where he sings a song about Jesse James. Cave and Warren Ellis are credited for the film's soundtrack.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are also featured in Wim Wenders' 1987 film Wings of Desire.
Displaying a keen interest in other aspects of film, Cave wrote the screenplay for The Proposition, a film set in the colonial Australian Outback. Directed by John Hillcoat and filmed in Queensland in 2004, it premiered in October 2005 and has since been released worldwide to critical acclaim.[28] The movie reviewer for British newspaper The Independent called it "peerless," "a star-studded and uncompromisingly violent outlaw film."[29] It even features on a website promoting tourism to the area.[30] The generally ambient soundtrack was recorded by Cave and Warren Ellis.
At the request of friend Russell Crowe, Cave wrote a script for a proposed sequel to Gladiator which was rejected by the studio.[31]
His interest in the work of Edward Gorey led to his participation in the BBC Radio 3 programme, guest+host=ghost, featuring Peter Blegvad and the radiophonic sound of the Langham Research Centre.[32]
Cave has also lent his voice in narrating an award winning animated film called The Cat Piano. It was directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson (of The People's Republic Of Animation), produced by Jessica Brentnall and has music by Benjamin Speed.[33]
Cave wrote the screenplay for The Wettest County in the World.,[34] which has been renamed "Lawless", and has completed the script for a new film titled Death of a Ladies' Man and will rewrite the script of The Crow remake.
Currently, Cave is collaborating with Andy Serkis to develop a screen version of the Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht musical, The Threepenny Opera.[35]
Cave dated Anita Lane from the late 1970s to mid 1980s. She had an undeniably strong influence upon Cave and his work, often cited as his "muse".[citation needed] Despite this, Cave and Lane recorded together on only a few occasions. Their most notable collaborations include Lane's 'cameo' verse on Cave's Bob Dylan cover "Death Is Not The End" from the album Murder Ballads, and a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin song "Je t'aime, moi non plus/ I love you, nor do I". Lane co-wrote the lyrics to the title track for Cave's 1984 LP, From Her to Eternity, as well as the lyrics of the song "Stranger Than Kindness" from Your Funeral, My Trial. Cave, Lydia Lunch and Lane wrote a comic book together, entitled AS-FIX-E-8, in the style of the old "Pussy Galore"/Russ Meyer movies.
After completing his debut novel And the Ass Saw the Angel, Cave left West Berlin shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall and moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where he met Brazilian journalist Viviane Carneiro. The two have a son, Luke (b. 10 May 1991), but never married. Cave's son Jethro (born in 1991) lives with his mother, Beau Lazenby, in Australia and has a career in modelling.[36]
Cave briefly dated PJ Harvey during the mid 1990s. The love affair and their break-up inspired him to write the album The Boatman's Call.
He met British model Susie Bick in 1997. A cover star of the Damned's 1985 album Phantasmagoria and a Vivienne Westwood model, she gave up her job when they married in summer 1999. They have twin sons, Arthur and Earl (born in 2000).[37][38] Cave and Bick lived for some time on a houseboat near Hove. They currently live in Brighton and Hove, England.
Cave performed "Into My Arms" at the televised funeral of Michael Hutchence, but refused to play in front of the cameras. Cave is godfather of Hutchence's only child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily.[39]
In the past, Cave identified as a Christian. In his recorded lectures on music and songwriting, he has claimed that any true love song is a song for God and has ascribed the mellowing of his music to a shift in focus from the Old to the New Testaments. He does not belong to a particular denomination and has distanced himself from "religion as being an American thing, in which the name of God has been hijacked".[40] He said in a recent Los Angeles Times article: "I'm not religious, and I'm not a Christian, but I do reserve the right to believe in the possibility of a god. It's kind of defending the indefensible, though; I'm critical of what religions are becoming, the more destructive they're becoming. But I think as an artist, particularly, it's a necessary part of what I do, that there is some divine element going on within my songs".[41]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nick Cave |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nick Cave |
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Susan Boyle | |
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Susan Boyle in November 2009 |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Susan Magdalane Boyle[1][2][3] |
Born | [1] | 1 April 1961
Origin | Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Genres | Pop[4] |
Occupations | Singer |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | Sony Music, Syco, Columbia |
Associated acts | Elaine Paige, Geraldine McQueen, Emeli Sandé |
Website | susanboylemusic.com |
Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961[1][5]) is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables. Her first album was released in November 2009 and debuted as the number one best-selling album on charts around the globe.
Global interest in Boyle was triggered by the contrast between her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and her plain appearance on stage.[6] The juxtaposition of the audience's first impression of her, with the standing ovation she received during and after her performance, led to an international media and Internet response. Within nine days of the audition, videos of Boyle—from the show, various interviews and her 1999 rendition of "Cry Me a River"—had been watched over 100 million times.[7] Her audition video has been viewed on the internet several hundred million times.[8] Despite the sustained media interest she later finished in second place in the final of the show behind dance troupe Diversity.
Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream (2009) remains as the UK best-selling debut album of all time, beating previous record holder, Spirit by Leona Lewis.[9] I Dreamed a Dream is ranked fourth in its first week sales according to the Official Chart Company in the United Kingdom.[9] In her first year of fame, Boyle made a fortune of £5 million with the release of I Dreamed a Dream and its lead off singles, "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Wild Horses".[10] The success was continued with her second album, The Gift (2010), and was followed by Boyle's third album, Someone to Watch Over Me, released on 31 October 2011.[11] On 12 May 2012, Susan returned to Britain's Got Talent to perform as a guest in the final singing "You'll See".[12] The following day, she performed at Windsor Castle for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant singing "Mull of Kintyre".[13] Boyle's net worth was estimated at £22 million in April 2012.[14]
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Boyle was raised in Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland,[15] by her parents Patrick Boyle, a miner, World War II veteran and singer at the Bishop's Blaize, and Bridget, a shorthand typist,[16] whose family comes from County Donegal, Ireland.[17] She was the youngest of four brothers and five sisters.[15] Boyle was briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability.[18] Boyle says she was bullied as a child[15][19] and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school.[20]
After leaving school with few qualifications,[15] she was employed for the only time in her life as a trainee cook in the kitchen of West Lothian College for six months,[20] took part in government training programmes,[16] and performed at a number of local venues.[18]
Boyle took singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil.[15] She attended Edinburgh Acting School and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe.[18] Prior to Britain's Got Talent, her main experience had come from singing in her local Catholic church, Our Lady of Lourdes; in local choirs; and in karaoke performances at pubs in and around her village. She had also auditioned several times for My Kind of People.[21] She has also long participated in her parish church's pilgrimages to the Knock Shrine, County Mayo, Ireland, and has sung there at the Marian basilica.[22]
Her repertoire through the years has included songs such as "The Way We Were" and "I Don't Know How to Love Him." British tabloids claimed "exclusives" of video clips of some early performances.[23][24] In 1995, her audition for Michael Barrymore's My Kind of People[18] at the Olympia Shopping Centre in East Kilbride was filmed – the amateur video shows Barrymore was more interested in mocking her than in her ability to sing.[25]
In 1999, she submitted a track for a charity CD to commemorate the Millennium[15][26] produced at a West Lothian school. Only 1,000 copies of the CD, Music for a Millennium Celebration, Sounds of West Lothian, were pressed.[27] An early review in the West Lothian Herald & Post said Boyle's rendition of "Cry Me a River" was "heartbreaking" and "had been on repeat in my CD player ever since I got this CD..."[28][29] The recording found its way onto the internet following her first televised appearance and the New York Post said it showed that Boyle was "not a one trick pony."[30] Hello! said the recording "cement[ed] her status" as a singing star.[31]
In 1998, Boyle recorded three tracks "Cry Me A River", "Killing Me Softly" & "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"at Heartbeat Studio, Midlothian.[32] She used all her savings to pay for a professionally cut demo, copies of which she later sent to record companies, radio talent competitions, local and national TV. The demo consisted of her versions of "Cry Me a River" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song"; the songs were uploaded to the Internet after her BGT audition.[33]
After Boyle won several local singing competitions, her mother urged her to enter Britain's Got Talent and take the risk of singing in front of an audience larger than her parish church. Former coach O'Neil said Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent believing she was too old, but O'Neil persuaded her to audition nevertheless.[34] Boyle said that she was motivated to seek a musical career to pay tribute to her mother.[15] Her performance on the show was the first time she had sung in public since her mother died.[35][36]
In August 2008, Boyle applied for an audition for the third series of Britain's Got Talent (as contestant number 43212) and was accepted after a preliminary audition in Glasgow. When Boyle first appeared on Britain's Got Talent at the city's Clyde Auditorium, she said that she aspired to become a professional singer "as successful as Elaine Paige".[37] Boyle sang "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables in the first round of the third series of Britain's Got Talent, which was watched by over 10 million viewers when it aired on 11 April 2009.[38] Programme judge Amanda Holden remarked upon the audience's initially cynical attitude, and the subsequent "biggest wake-up call ever" upon hearing her performance.[39]
I know what they were thinking, but why should it matter as long as I can sing? It's not a beauty contest.
This performance was widely reported and tens of millions of people viewed the video on YouTube.[38] Boyle was "absolutely gobsmacked" by the strength of this reaction.[40] Since the appearance, Paige has expressed interest in singing a duet with Boyle,[37] and has called her "a role model for everyone who has a dream".[41] Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" has been credited with causing a surge in ticket sales in the Vancouver production of Les Misérables.[42][43] Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of the Les Misérables musical, also praised the performance, as "heart-touching, thrilling and uplifting".[38]
She was one of 40 acts that were put through to the semi-finals.[44] She appeared last on the first semi-final on 24 May 2009, performing "Memory" from the musical Cats.[45] In the public vote she was the act to receive the highest number of votes and go through to the final.[46][47] She was the clear favourite to win the final,[48] but ended up in second place to Diversity; the UK TV audience was a record of 17.3 million viewers.[49]
I didn't pick up on any unduly troubling signs. She was nervous, yes, but no more nervous than Paul Potts had been before his live final two years previously. She understood the significance of the night.
Then, during the final show, at the crucial point when the dance group Diversity won, I looked over at her face and thought: 'Christ, she doesn't know how to deal with not winning.'
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) became concerned by press reports about Boyle's erratic behaviour and speculation about her mental condition and wrote to remind editors about clause 3 (privacy) of their code of press conduct.[48] The day after the final, Boyle was admitted to The Priory, a private psychiatric clinic in London,[49] TalkbackThames explained "Following Saturday night's show, Susan is exhausted and emotionally drained." Her stay in hospital attracted widespread attention, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown wishing her well.[51] Cowell offered to waive Boyle's contractual obligation to take part in the BGT tour. Her family said "she's been battered non-stop for the last seven weeks and it has taken its toll [...but...] her dream is very much alive," as she had been invited to the Independence Day celebrations at the White House.[49]
Boyle left the clinic five days after her admission[52] and said she would participate in the BGT tour. Despite health worries, she appeared in 20 of the 24 dates of the tour,[53] and was well received in cities such as Aberdeen,[54] Edinburgh,[55] Dublin,[56] Sheffield,[57] Coventry,[58] Birmingham[59] and London.[60] The Belfast Telegraph said "Despite reports of crumbling under the pressure..., she exuded a confidence resembling that of a veteran who has been performing for years".[61]
Boyle's first album, I Dreamed a Dream, was released on 23 November 2009.[62] The album includes covers of "Wild Horses" and "You'll See" as well as "I Dreamed a Dream", and "Cry Me a River".[63] I Dreamed a Dream became Amazon.com's best-selling album in pre-sales on 4 September 2009, three months before the scheduled release.[64] In Britain, Boyle's debut album was recognised as the fastest selling UK debut album of all time selling 411,820 copies, beating the previous fastest selling debut of all time, Spirit by Leona Lewis.[65] I Dreamed a Dream also outsold the rest of the top 5 albums combined in its first week.[66]
In the U.S., the album sold 701,000 copies in its first week, the best opening week for a debut artist in over a decade.[67] It topped the Billboard chart for six straight weeks and although it narrowly failed to become the best-selling album of 2009, with sales of 3,104,000 compared to 3,217,000 for Taylor Swift's Fearless, it was one of only two albums to sell over 3 million copies in the U.S., and was also the top selling "physical" album of 2009, with only 86,000 of its sales coming from digital downloads.[68] This has in turn garnered more media attention, as mentioned by People magazine.[69]
In Italy, it was the first album of the month in the Italian No. 1 Account by a non-Italian artist ever. In only a week, it sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, becoming the fastest selling global female debut album.[66]
Boyle gave a U.S. concert tour in November as a lead-up to the album release.[70] On 13 December 2009 she appeared in her own television special "I Dreamed a Dream: the Susan Boyle Story", featuring a duet with Elaine Paige.[71] It got ratings of 10 million viewers in the United Kingdom[72] and in America was the TV Guide Network's highest rated television special in its history.[73]
In November 2009 it was reported[74] that Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" would be the theme song of the anime movie Eagle Talon The Movie 3 which was later released in Japan on 16 January 2010.[75] Boyle performed for Pope Benedict XVI on his tour of Britain in 2010.[76] In May 2010, Susan Boyle was voted by Time magazine as the seventh most influential person in the world.[77][78]
On 9 July 2010, Boyle announced that her second album would be a Christmas album entitled The Gift.[79] As part of the lead-up to the album, she held a competition called Susan's Search, the winner of which sang a duet with her on her new CD.[80] The album was released on 8 November 2010.[81]
The album was produced by Steve Mac, who said that "Now Susan's used to the studio and the recording process, this time round we might go even further down a traditional route of recording by getting a band together and rehearsing songs before we go into the studio to see what works, how she reacts with certain parts, and so we can change the arrangements that way. I think that’s going to work much better....With Susan it’s very important she connects with the public and the public connect with her. She doesn’t want to sing anything that hasn’t happened to her or she can’t relate to."[82] Boyle has suggested the album will include some jazz numbers now she's "a bit more content" within herself. "My next album has to have an element of surprise in it again. I'm hoping to make it better and a bit extra special."[83]
In November 2010, Boyle became one of only three acts ever to top both the UK and US album charts twice in the same year.[84] On 30 November 2010, in the United States, Boyle performed on ABC's The View singing "O Holy Night" and then on NBC's Christmas at Rockefeller Center program performing "Perfect Day" and "Away in a Manger". During her appearance on The View she was unable to finish her song, stating that she had a "frog in her throat"; she wanted to start the song over but was not allowed to. The audience applauded her anyway and she later performed an unaired version of the song which was uploaded to The View's YouTube account.
Emeli Sande was reported to have helped Boyle to write songs for her third studio album, which was released on 31 October 2011.[85] Boyle performed on the second semi-final results show of the sixth season of America's Got Talent, which aired on 31 August 2011.[86]
Boyle made her first appearance in Australia, on X Factor Australia, on 8 November 2011 and sang "Autumm Leaves".
Websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have been crucial in facilitating Boyle's rapid rise to fame:[87] The most popular YouTube video submission of her audition garnered nearly 2.5 million views in the first 72 hours.[88] On the day following the performance, the YouTube video was the most popular article on Digg[89] and made the front page of Reddit.[90] Within a week, the audition performance had been viewed more than 66 million times, setting an online record, while on Wikipedia her biographical article attracted nearly half a million page views. A total of 103 million video views on 20 different Web sites was reached within nine days.[7] The Los Angeles Times wrote that her popularity on YouTube may in part be due to the broad range of emotion packed into a short clip which was "perfect for the Internet".[91] In December 2009 her audition was named the most watched YouTube video of the year with over 120 million viewings, more than three times higher than the second most popular video.[92]
Additionally, Boyle’s first on camera interview with Scots journalist Richard Mooney for her local newspaper the West Lothian Courier, was named as YouTube’s Most Memorable Video of 2009.[93] The video went viral after being uploaded to YouTube on 14 April 2009.[94]
Many newspapers around the world[95][96] (including China,[97] Brazil[98] and the Middle East[99][100]) carried articles on Boyle's performance. British tabloid The Sun gave her the nickname "Paula Potts" in reference to the first series' winner Paul Potts.[101] Later, the British press took to referring to her by a short-form of her name, 'SuBo'.[102] In the U.S., several commentators also drew parallels between Boyle's performance and that of Potts.[103] ABC News hailed "Britain's newest pop sensation", and its Entertainment section headlined Boyle as "The Woman Who Shut Up Simon Cowell".[104]
Within the week following her performance on Britain's Got Talent, Boyle was a guest on STV's The Five Thirty Show.[105] She was interviewed via satellite on CBS's Early Show,[26] Good Morning America,[106] NBC's Today, FOX's America's Newsroom.[106][107] and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Via satellite on Larry King Live,[108] Boyle performed an a cappella verse of "My Heart Will Go On".[109] She was also portrayed in drag by Jay Leno, who joked that they were related through his mother's Scottish heritage.[110]
At the invitation of NHK, a major Japanese broadcaster, Boyle appeared as a guest singer for the 2009 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen, annual songfest on 31 December in Tokyo.[111][112] She was introduced as the ouen kashu (応援歌手 lit. "cheering singer" ) by the MCs and appeared on the stage escorted by Takuya Kimura, and sang "I Dreamed a Dream".[113]
Although Boyle was not eligible for the 2010 Grammy Awards,[114] its host Stephen Colbert paid tribute to Boyle at the ceremony, telling its audience "you may be the coolest people in the world, but this year your industry was saved by a 48-year-old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes."[115] There was also earlier controversy, when Boyle was not nominated in any of the categories for the 2010 Brit Awards.[116]
A stage musical of Boyle's life was originally planned with Boyle appearing as herself. She said she hated "having to sit watching people up there" who are actors.[117] However it was later decided that actress Elaine C Smith would portray her [118] and Boyle would join the cast of I Dreamed a Dream for a cameo appearance.
I Dreamed a Dream opened on 27 March 2012 with fans from all over the world occupying the Theatre Royal, Newcastle for the opening week.[119] The musical received rave reviews.[120] David Cavendish wrote in his 5 star review “The overall shape of the show is hard to fault, and in matching the gutsy good humour of its heroine without stooping to hagiography, this is a delight that deserves to go far, and fast, as she has done.”[121] John Dixon from his 5 star review on WhatsOnStage.com wrote "This production is a standalone show that should still play to audiences long after Elaine C Smith and Susan Boyle have left. In fact it deserves to become recognised as the Scottish equivalent to Blood Brothers, so strong are the production values. There is no doubting I Dreamed A Dream is one of the musical events of the year."[122]
The musical will later tour the UK and Ireland.[123]
The Huffington Post noted that the producers of the show would have anticipated the potential of this story arc, by deliberately presenting Boyle in a manner that would enhance this initial reaction.[124] The Herald described Boyle's story as a modern parable and a rebuke to people's tendency to judge others based on their physical appearance.[125] Similarly, Entertainment Weekly said that Boyle's performance was a victory for talent and artistry in a culture obsessed with physical attractiveness and presentation.[126]
Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. [...] There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.
The Washington Post believed that her initial demeanour and homely appearance caused the judges and audience to be "waiting for her to squawk like a duck".[128] New York's Daily News said that an underdog being ridiculed or humiliated but then enjoying an unexpected triumph is a common trope in literature, and the stark contrast between the audience's low expectations and the quality of her singing made Boyle's performance such an engaging piece of television.[129]
R.M. Campbell, music critic for The Gathering Note compared her to Ella Fitzgerald, in that "[... it is] really, really hard to make a career if a woman isn't attractive."[130] In another Huffington Post article, Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote that although people may "weep for the years of wasted talent", Boyle's performance was a triumph for "women of a certain age" over a youth culture that often dismisses middle-aged women.[131] Tanya Gold wrote in The Guardian that the difference between Boyle's hostile reception and the more neutral response to Paul Potts in his first audition reflected society's expectation that women be both good-looking and talented, with no such expectation existing for men.[132] Los Angeles vocal coach Eric Vetro stated, "She's an Everywoman as opposed to an untouchable fantasy goddess, so maybe that's why people react to her."[133]
Several media sources have commented that Boyle's success seemed to have particular resonance in the United States. An American entertainment correspondent was quoted in The Scotsman comparing Boyle's story to the American Dream, as representing talent overcoming adversity and poverty.[134] The Associated Press described this as Boyle's "hardscrabble story", dwelling on her modest lifestyle and what they characterised as urban deprivation in her home town.[36] Similarly, The Independent's New York correspondent David Usborne wrote that the United States will always respond to "the fairy tale where the apparently unprepossessing suddenly becomes pretty, from Shrek to My Fair Lady".[135]
Boyle still lives in the family home, a four-bedroom council house in Blackburn which she purchased from her earnings in 2010.[15][136] Her father died in the 1990s, and her siblings had left home. Boyle never married, and she dedicated herself to care for her ageing mother until she died in 2007 at the age of 91. A neighbour reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter "wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone."[137] Boyle is a practising Roman Catholic and sang in her church choir at her church in Blackburn.[138] Boyle remains active as a volunteer at her church, visiting elderly members of the congregation in their homes.[19] On a 2010 episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show, Boyle summarised that her daily life was "mundane" and "routine" prior to stardom.
In August 2010, British tabloid, News of the World, reported that Boyle was experiencing financial woes as she was unable to access her fortune, which was being controlled by her management team – consisting of Andy Stephens, Ossie Killkenny and Boyle's lawyer and niece, Kirsty Foy. Boyle's brother Gerry said that his sister was fearful of losing her contract and of returning to her previous financial situation and also that she has been unable to move into her £300,000 five-bedroom house in Blackburn because she does not have the cash to furnish it. He said "[Her] millions are ring-fenced but Susan has no concept of money" and that she was "extremely distressed" at having to live off £300 a week after being banned from withdrawing money from the bank or owning a credit card.[139] This story was contradicted the following day, however, by the news that she had bought two houses.[136] It was also reported that Boyle had been on a spending spree in which she had bought a grand piano, an iPhone and five dresses made by Stewart Parvin, the Queen's dressmaker.[140] The press had previously stated that Boyle was suing her brother Gerry for other stories he had sold to the newspapers.[141]
The American cartoon show South Park made a reference to the Susan Boyle craze in the episode "Fatbeard", which aired on 22 April 2009;[142][143] the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show aired a comedy sketch showing the "feel good" effect that Susan Boyle's performance has had on people;[144] The Simpsons aired a new commercial for its 20th-anniversary show "Springfield's Got Talent", in which Homer Simpson talks about his dreams "to be a great singer like Boyle".[145][146] A European trailer for the video game The Sims 3 includes a character mocked up as Boyle.[147] In June 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a short story called "I Dreamed a Dream" that was based on a combination of Boyle's appearances on Britain's Got Talent and the political difficulties of Gordon Brown.[148] The 5 November 2009 episode of the show 30 Rock showed recurring character Kathy Geiss (Marceline Hugot) – who has a dowdy appearance – singing in the style of Susan Boyle as Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy teared up.[149] In a Season 35 sketch on Saturday Night Live, an accountant (Andy Samberg) doing Boyle's taxes, notes that her income for 2008 was $1, $900,000,000 for 2009, and projected to be $1 for 2010. Bobby Moynihan played Boyle in the sketch.
In the Futurama episode "Attack of the Killer App", Leela has a boil named Susan ("Susan Boil") that can sing show tunes.[150]
Year | Association | Category | Result |
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2011 | 53rd Grammy Awards | Best Pop Vocal Album – I Dreamed a Dream[151] | Nominated |
2012 | 54th Grammy Awards | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album – The Gift[152] | Nominated |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Susan Boyle |
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Brad Paisley | |
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Brad Paisley performing on August 19, 2007 |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Brad Douglas Paisley |
Born | October 28, 1972 |
Origin | Glen Dale, West Virginia, United States |
Genres | Country, Country Rock |
Occupations | Singer-songwriter, musician |
Instruments | Vocals, guitar, mandolin |
Years active | 1997–present |
Labels | Arista Nashville |
Associated acts | Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Chely Wright, Scotty McCreery |
Website | BradPaisley.com |
Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references.
Paisley was the 2008 CMA and ACM Male Vocalist of the Year winner. Starting with the release of his 1999 album Who Needs Pictures, Paisley has recorded seven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashville label, with all of his albums certified gold or higher by the RIAA.[1] In addition, he has charted 25 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, 16 of which have reached #1 with a record 10 consecutive singles reaching the top spot on the chart.[2] On November 10, 2010, Paisley won the Entertainer of the Year award at the 44th annual CMA Awards.[3]
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Paisley was born on October 28, 1972 in Glen Dale, West Virginia to Douglas Edward "Doug" Paisley, who worked for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, and Sandra Jean "Sandy" (née Jarvis) Paisley, a teacher.[4] He was raised in Glen Dale, West Virginia. He has stated that his love of country music stems from his maternal grandfather, Warren Jarvis, who gave Paisley his first guitar, a Sears Danelectro Silvertone[5] at 8-years-old and taught him how to play. At age 10, he performed for the first time in public by singing in his church. He later recalled that, "Pretty soon, I was performing at every Christmas party and Mother's Day event. The neat thing about a small town is that when you want to be an artist, by golly, they'll make you one".[5] At age 12, Paisley wrote his first song, entitled, "Born on Christmas Day".[5] He had been taking lessons with local guitarist Clarence "Hank" Goddard.[5] By age 13, Goddard and Paisley formed a band called "Brad Paisley and the C-Notes", with the addition of two of Paisley's adult friends.[5]
While in junior high, his principal heard him perform "Born On Christmas Day" and invited him to play at the local Rotary Club meeting. In attendance was Tom Miller, the program director of a radio station in Wheeling, West Virginia. Miller asked him if he would like to be a guest on Jamboree USA. After his first performance, he was asked to become a member of the show's weekly lineup. For the next eight years, he opened for country singers such as The Judds, Ricky Skaggs and George Jones. He would become the youngest person inducted into the Jamboree USA Hall of Fame. He also performed at the Jamboree in the Hills.[6]
Paisley graduated from John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, West Virginia in 1991,[7] studied for 2 years at West Liberty University (WV) and later was awarded a full-paid ASCAP scholarship to Belmont University, in Nashville, Tennessee (from 1993 to 1995). He interned at ASCAP, Atlantic Records, and the Fitzgerald-Hartley management firm. While in college, he met Frank Rogers, a fellow student who went on to serve as his producer. Paisley also met Kelley Lovelace, who became his songwriting partner. He also met Chris DuBois in college, and he too would write songs for him.[6]
After graduating from Belmont with a Bachelor's degree in music business, within a week Paisley signed a songwriting contract with EMI Music Publishing;[6] and, he wrote David Kersh's "Top 5" hit, "Another You", as well as David Ball's 1999 single, "Watching My Baby Not Come Back." The latter song was also co-written by Ball.[8]
His debut as a singer was with the label Arista Nashville, with the song "Who Needs Pictures" (released February 22, 1999). In May of that same year, he made his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.[1] Seven months later he had his first #1 hit with "He Didn't Have to Be," which detailed the story of Paisley's frequent co-writer Kelley Lovelace and Lovelace's stepson, McCain Merren.[9] We Danced also was a hit for Paisley off the debut album, reaching #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. By February 2001, the album was certified platinum.[10]
In 2000, Paisley's mainstream notoriety received a huge boost when he was exposed to his first national non-country music oriented audience on the TLC special, "Route 66: Main Street America." Producer, Todd Baker, tapped the young musician to appear on this show when he was a relative unknown outside the world of country music. It featured Paisley and band doing rare live and acoustic versions of Route 66. The international and home video versions of this program end with a full, un-cut acoustic rendition of the piece, which was performed live on Rainbow Bridge in Riverton, KS.[11] The show accurately predicted that Paisley would become a legendary musician, and also featured blues artist, Buddy Guy.[12]
Later in 2000, Paisley won the Country Music Association's (CMA) Horizon Award and the Academy of Country Music's best new male vocalist trophy. He received his first Grammy Award nomination a year later for Best New Artist. On February 17, 2001, Paisley was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry[1] He was 28 when he accepted the invitation, and was the youngest member ever to join. PBS did a 75th anniversary concert special, which saw Paisley pair up with Chely Wright and sing a song called Hard to Be a Husband, Hard to Be a Wife, and would be included on the album Backstage at the Opry, It would get a CMA nomination for Vocal Event of the Year.[13]
In 2002, he won the CMA Music Video of the Year for "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)." Several celebrities made notable guest appearances in the video, including Little Jimmy Dickens, Kimberly Williams, Dan Patrick, and Jerry Springer. His three other singles off the Part II album, "I Wish You'd Stay", "Wrapped Around", and "Two People Fell in Love", all charted in the top 10. The album stayed in the charts for more than 70 weeks and was certified platinum in August 2002. To support his album, he toured the country as the opening act for Lonestar.[14]
Paisley released his third album, Mud on the Tires (2003), following Who Needs Pictures and Part II. The album features the hit song "Celebrity", the video of which parodies reality shows such as Fear Factor, American Idol, The Bachelorette and According to Jim, and included such celebrities as Jason Alexander, James Belushi, Little Jimmy Dickens, Trista Rehn and William Shatner. (Paisley later contributed to Shatner's album Has Been.) The album's title track, "Mud on the Tires", reached Billboard #1 in 2004.[15]
In addition, the ninth track from Mud on the Tires, "Whiskey Lullaby", a duet with Alison Krauss reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for Whiskey Lullaby also won several awards and was rated #2 on the 100 Greatest Music Videos by CMT in 2008. The album would be certified double platinum.[14]
In 2005, after touring with Reba McEntire and Terri Clark on the "Two Hats and a Redhead Tour," he released Time Well Wasted, containing 15 tracks. This album includes "Alcohol," two duets — "When I Get Where I'm Going" with Dolly Parton and "Out in the Parking Lot" with Alan Jackson — and a bonus track, "Cornography." On November 6, 2006, the album "Time Well Wasted" won the Country Music Association CMA Award for Best Album. "Time Well Wasted" also won album of the year at the 2006 ACM Awards.
Paisley also contributed two original songs to the Disney film Cars. These can be found on the film's soundtrack. This was in recognition of his contribution to the "Route 66: Main Street America" television special.
At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Paisley received four nominations: Best Country Album (for Time Well Wasted), Best Country Song (for "Alcohol"), Best Country Instrumental (for "Time Warp") and Best Country Vocal, Male (for "Alcohol").
Paisley's fifth studio album, 5th Gear, was released in the United States on June 19, 2007. The first four singles from the album, "Ticks", "Online", "Letter to Me", and "I'm Still a Guy", all reached number one on the country music single charts, making seven straight number one hits for Paisley."[16] "Online" featured the Brentwood High School marching band playing toward the end of the song, a cameo by Jason Alexander, and again featured a cameo by William Shatner. Throttleneck would also reach number one, which would get Paisley his first Grammy.[17]
The fifth single from 5th Gear actually came from a reissued version of the album – a new recording of "Waitin' on a Woman", a track cut from Time Well Wasted. The reissued version received unsolicited airplay in late 2006, and features less prominent string guitar and violin parts and a more "muted" musical tone. For the chart week of September 20, 2008, the song became Paisley's twelfth number-one single and his eighth straight number-one hit, making him the artist with the most consecutive Number One country hits since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990.[18]
In July 2006, producer Todd Baker tapped Brad for a television appearance as an animated character in The Wonder Pets, Daddy Armadillo. The yet-to-be-broadcast episode features Brad's wife, Kimberly Williams, as Mama Armadillo.
Paisley toured April 26, 2007 through February 24, 2008 in support of 5th Gear on the Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour. The tour visited 94 cities over a 10 month period and played for over 1,000,000 fans. The tour was so successful that it was extended past its original end date to February 2008. Some of the opening acts who appeared during the tour were Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler, Jack Ingram, Rodney Atkins and Chuck Wicks.
Paisley was nominated for three 2008 Grammy Awards related to 5th Gear: Best Country Album (for 5th Gear), Best Country Collaboration (for "Oh Love" with Carrie Underwood), and Best Country Instrumental (for "Throttleneck"). On February 10, 2008, he won his first Grammy award for Best Country Instrumental for "Throttleneck".
In March 2008, Brad Paisley announced his next tour, "The Paisley Party," a 42-date tour sponsored by Hershey's. The tour kicked off on June 11, 2008, in Albuquerque, New Mexico with Chuck Wicks, Julianne Hough and Jewel as the opening acts.[16]
A sixth, largely instrumental album, titled Play, was released on November 4, 2008.[19] Brad Paisley and Keith Urban released to country radio their first duet together on September 8, 2008, "Start a Band." It was the first and only single from Play, and it went on to become Paisley's thirteenth number one hit and his ninth in a row. The album also features collaborations with James Burton, Little Jimmy Dickens, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, B.B. King, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Buck Owens, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner. Paisley and Urban both received Entertainer of the Year nominations from the CMA on September 10, 2008. On November 12, 2008 Brad Paisley won Male Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year for "Waitin' on a Woman" during the CMA's.
Brad Paisley announced on January 26, 2009 his new tour named "American Saturday Night." Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne will be opening in the majority of the shows. Brad Paisley's newest album, American Saturday Night was released on June 30, 2009. The album's lead off single, "Then" was released in March 2009 and performed for the first time on American Idol on March 18. It went on to become Paisley's 14th number one single and his tenth in a row.
On May 6, 2009, Paisley gave an exclusive performance[20] to a small group of members from his fan club in Studio A of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN as he and his band taped an episode of CMT Invitation Only. The show gives fans a chance to see their favorite artists in a more intimate setting up close and personal. There was a Q & A session and interaction between Paisley and his fans. The show aired on Monday, August 3 at 9:00 p.m. on CMT.
On July 21, 2009, Paisley performed at the White House in celebration of country music. "Country Music at the White House " was streamed live on the White House web-site as well as a special on Great American Country.
On November 11, 2009, Paisley co-hosted the CMA Awards for the second straight year. He also performed "Welcome to the Future", and won both Male Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for Start a Band with Keith Urban.
On March 1, 2010, Paisley was the first musical performance with "American Saturday Night" for the second tenure of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
On Friday March 5, 2010, Paisley slipped and fell performing his last song of the set, "Alcohol," at a concert at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, South Carolina, on the final date of the American Saturday Night Tour. Fearing a broken rib, he was held overnight at an area hospital, but was released when a CT scan was negative.[21]
On July 31, 2010 Brad performed alongside Carrie Underwood at the inaugural Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour Event in Lewisburg, W.Va. An estimated 60,000 people attended the outdoor event to watch Carrie and Brad perform in the pouring rain.
On August 4, 2010, it was announced on his official website that Paisley would release his first official greatest hits package, entitled Hits Alive. Released on November 2, 2010, Hits Alive is a double-disc collection, with one disc containing studio versions of Paisley's hit singles, while the companion disc features previously unreleased live versions of his songs.[22]
Brad Paisley cohosted the 44th Annual CMA Awards on November 10, 2010, where he was also awarded the CMA's top award, Entertainer of the Year.[23] During his acceptance speech, Paisley emotionally honored his grandfather, who inspired him to play the guitar.
In 2012, MSN.com listed American Saturday Night as one of the 21 Essential 21st-Century Albums.[24]
In December 2010, Paisley released "This Is Country Music" as the title track to his eighth studio album, released May 23, 2011. The album's second single, "Old Alabama" (with Alabama), released to country radio on March 14, 2011 and became Paisley's nineteenth number one hit. "Remind Me," with Carrie Underwood, was released May 23, 2011 to radio.
On March 22, 2011, Paisley's website announced a new beta game titled "Brad Paisley World." The game is modeled after other Facebook games such as Farmville or Mafia Wars and features original animation. The game provides a new way for fans to interact with each other and view exclusive material that would otherwise be unavailable.
On May 12, 2011, Paisley's website announced that he would release two songs on the soundtrack for the film Cars 2. One of them would be a collaboration with British pop singer Robbie Williams.
On October 19, 2011, Paisley made a voice cameo as various background characters in the South Park episode "Bass to Mouth". [25]
On January 14, 2012, Paisley was a guest on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, during which he did a rendition of "Life's Railway to Heaven" by Charles Davis Tillman.[26]
Brad also tweeted that he has started recording his upcoming album.
On April 25, 2012, Paisley was featured on the South Park episode "Cartman Finds Love", in which he voiced himself,[27] sang "The National Anthem", and helped Cartman sing the 90's hit song "I Swear", which was popularized in 1994 by the country musician John Michael Montgomery and the pop group All-4-One. [28]
Paisley extended his "Virtual Realty" tour throughout the summer of 2012. He will be touring the country and making pit stops at local country music festivals. The goal of these outdoor concerts is to give the audience the full experience of Brad Paisley's music, as many of his songs contain outdoor elements. [29]
Paisley records his studio albums, in most part, with the backing of his live band, The Drama Kings. Their first gig together was May 7, 1999. The only changes have been Randel Currie's addition on the steel guitar in 2000 and Jimmy Heffernan's departure in 2001. Also, Jody Harris worked as Paisley's guitar tech until officially becoming a bandmember for the American Saturday Night Tour. As of 2010, the lineup is:
Brad Paisley has been married to actress Kimberly Williams since 2003. Paisley had first seen Kimberley Williams in Father of the Bride with a former girlfriend. Brad and his former girlfriend broke up prior to the release of Father of the Bride Part II, which Brad went to see alone.[30] Brad has stated that he watched Kimberly Williams' performance and thought "She seems like a great girl — smart and funny and all those things that are so hard to find."[30]
Paisley and Williams began dating in 2001. In 2002, Williams appeared in a video for the song "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," the last release from his Part II album. The two married on March 15, 2003, at Stauffer Chapel on the campus of Pepperdine University after a nine month engagement. They live in Franklin, Tennessee, and have another home in Malibu.
Paisley and Williams first son, William Huckleberry, or "Huck", was born on February 22, 2007, in Nashville, Tennessee.[31] Their second son, Jasper Warren (named after his grandfather who bought Brad his first guitar), was born on April 17, 2009.[32]
In the last months of 2000, Paisley had a relationship with fellow country music singer Chely Wright,[33][34][35] even though Wright and her female lover had moved together into a new home earlier in the year. Wright was touring together with Paisley, with whom she had co-written one song the previous year, and he had been enamored of her ever since. Although she felt no sexual attraction to Paisley, as to all men,[36][37] she recounts why Paisley was the man she decided to have a relationship with, "he’s wickedly smart, which is one of the reasons why I made the decision to spend time with him. I loved Brad. I never had the capacity to fall in love with him, but I figured if I’m gonna live a less than satisfied life, this is the guy I could live my life with. If I’m gonna be with a boy, this is the boy."[38] Her actions were further fueled by the fact that she held him in high esteem and great affection in every way other than sexual attraction.[36][39] In her autobiography she expresses remorse for how she treated him.[40]
Paisley is a member of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry,[41] and a Noble of the AAONMS,[42] also known as Shriners. He was accompanied by his father, Doug Paisley (32º), for the ceremony on October 28, 2006.[41]
He is also a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Browns. Paisley sang the national anthem before a game during the 1999 season, and stated in an interview, with ESPN his dream job would be to play football for them.[43] He also invited former Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn to a concert at the Blossom Music Center, in 2008.[44]
Paisley is also a fan of West Virginia University athletics and the Boston Red Sox.[45]
In late 2009, it was announced in Variety that Paisley would enter the world of scripted television as an executive producer of a new hour-long drama series for The CW network called, appropriately, Nashville.[46] The plot was written and created by Neal Dodson and actor Matt Bomer. The creator of the series One Tree Hill, Mark Schwahn will direct the pilot and oversee the series. Actor Zachary Quinto is also an executive producer on the series, along with Dodson, Bomer, and Corey Moosa.[47] The pilot was not picked up for a series when The CW's fall schedule was announced in May 2010.
Paisley's first guitar, a gift from his grandfather, was a Silvertone Danelectro 1451, which came with a "amp-in-case".[48] His next guitar, which he got at the age of 10 or 11, also from his grandfather, was a Sekova copy of a Gibson ES-335, with a Fender Deluxe Reverb. The instrument most often associated with him is a 1968 Pink Paisley Fender Telecaster.[48]
Like many Nashville-based musicians, he lost a lot of instruments and other gear in the 2010 flood in Nashville, including a 1970s Gibson Les Paul and the prototype for a Z Wreck, one of the signature Paisley Dr. Z amplifiers. The insurance money, however, allowed him to buy (from George Gruhn's store) an exclusive 1937 herringbone Martin D-28.[48]
Brad Paisley has won the following awards:[49]
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