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Tuesday, 04 December 2012

Interview mit Chef von SONY BMG Austria - Horst Unterholzner

Seviyorum Sevmiyorum (Nil Karaibrahimgil)

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Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers (as of December 31, 2009). In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated revenue and an operating EBIT of €1.568 billion. Among its some 2000 subdivisions, subsidiaries, and branches are Random House, RTL Group, Gruner + Jahr, Arvato, and BMG Rights Management.
Bertelsmann is majority owned (77.4%) by the Bertelsmann Foundation, a non-profit organisation and political think tank founded by the Mohn family. The Mohn family owns the remaining 22.6% of the company.
The C. Bertelsmann Verlag was founded as a publishing house and print shop in July 1835 by Carl Bertelsmann. At first Bertelsmann concentrated on Christian songs and books. In 1851, led by Carl Bertelsmann's son Heinrich, the company began publishing novels. During the following years Bertelsmann expanded steadily. By 1939 the publishing house employed 401 people. During World War II, Bertelsmann was the biggest single producer of Nazi propaganda. Its owner, Heinrich Mohn, is said to have belonged to a group that donated money to the Nazi squadron SS. At the end of World War II, the publishing house was closed for some time because of illegal paper-trading. During the Nazi period, it published books by Nazi authors such as Will Vesper (who did the commemorative speech at the 1933 book burning) and Hans Grimm. In 1947, the company was re-founded by Reinhard Mohn, fifth generation of the Bertelsmann family. In 2002 a commission appointed by the company itself found that it had co-operated closely with the Nazis during the war and used Jews as cheap labour.

wn.com/Bertelsmann
MuchMusic
MuchMusic (often referred to simply as Much) is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.
MuchMusic was licensed on April 2, 1984 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to CHUM Limited. Shortly thereafter, MuchMusic was launched on August 31, 1984 as one of the first Canadian cable specialty channels on the air. It was headed by John Martin and Moses Znaimer, the channel's founders. On June 22, 2007, CTVglobemedia gained control of MuchMusic as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited.
The first video played on MuchMusic was "an early music-to-film synchronization short from the 1920s which featured Eubie Blake performing Snappy Songs." The first video made specifically for television air play was Rush's "The Enemy Within".
Bell Canada gained control of MuchMusic through its takeover of CTVglobemedia on April 1, 2011, thus renaming the company's name to Bell Media and giving the channel a new look and a new logo, as well as airing television shows, mainly dramas and reality shows.

wn.com/MuchMusic
New York
New York (/njuː ˈjɔrk/; locally IPA: [nɪu ˈjɔək] or [nuː ˈjɔɹk] ( listen)) is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th most extensive, the 3rd most populous, and the 7th most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west and north, and Quebec to the north. The state of New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.
New York City, with a population of over 8.1 million, is the most populous city in the United States. Alone, it makes up over 40 percent of the population of New York state. It is known for its status as a center for finance and culture and for its status as the largest gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, New York City is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both the state and city were named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.

wn.com/New_York
RTL Radio
Coordinates: 49°38′13.23″N 6°09′50.15″E / 49.6370083°N 6.1639306°E / 49.6370083; 6.1639306
RTL Radio, formerly Radio Luxemburg, is commercial radio station in the German language. It began broadcasting after World War II from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 208 metres in the medium wave band.
RTL Radio is part of the RTL Group. Today there are two stations, the German national station "RTL Radio", and "RTL Radio 93.3 & 97.0 FM". The former is broadcast via cable, satellite and on the internet. The latter, regional programme broadcasts on FM in Luxembourg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, eastern Belgium, and Lothringen.
From Stuttgart the station broadcast 1950s, 60s and 70s music over the old Luxembourg frequencies (from the Grand Duchy) and via the "Oldie Sender" network in Germany.
Only a few years later Der Oldie Sender became RTL Oldies, including 1980s hits, with studios in Luxembourg and Germany-wide broadcasts on satellite and cable.
In the 1980s the German service was called "RTL 208" and broadcast between 5am and 1am CET On 1440 kHz MW (until 7pm only) 6090 kHz SW and 88.9/97.0 FM.

wn.com/RTL_Radio
United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

wn.com/United_States

Akio Morita
Akio Morita (盛田昭夫 Morita Akio, January 26, 1921, Nagoya, Aichi – October 3, 1999, Tokyo) was a Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony Corporation along with Masaru Ibuka.
Akio Morita was born in the village of Kosugaya, Japan. Morita's family was involved in sake, miso and soy sauce production in the Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture since 1665. He was the oldest of four siblings and his father Kyuzaemon trained him as a child to take over the family business. Akio, however, found his true calling in mathematics and physics, and in 1944 he graduated from Osaka Imperial University with a degree in physics. He later joined the navy and served as a lieutenant during World War II. During his service, Morita met his future business partner Masaru Ibuka in the Navy's Wartime Research Committee.
On May 7, 1946, Morita and Ibuka founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, the forerunner of Sony Corporation) with about 20 employees and initial capital of ¥190,000. Ibuka was 38 years old, Morita, 25. Morita's family invested in Sony during the early period and was the largest shareholder.

wn.com/Akio_Morita
Amy Pascal
Amy Pascal (Amy Beth Pascal, born March 25, 1958) is Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE) and Chairman of SPE's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. She oversees all development, production and marketing activities at Columbia Pictures. In 2001, she was awarded the Crystal Award by Women in Film for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. She was listed as number one on the 15th annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 list published in 2006 by the Hollywood Reporter. In 2009, Forbes ranked her 60th of the 100 most powerful women in the world.

wn.com/Amy_Pascal
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.
Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.
Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver, although he was frequently unemployed; his surname is Dutch for jump stone. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.

wn.com/Bruce_Springsteen
Howard Stringer
Sir Howard Stringer (born February 19, 1942) is a Welsh-born American businessman. He is the chairman and former CEO of Sony Corporation.
Stringer was born in Cardiff, Wales, the son of Marjorie Mary (née Pook), a Welsh schoolteacher, and Harry Stringer, an English sergeant in the Royal Air Force. He emigrated to the United States in 1965, and drafted into United States Army during the Vietnam War. Stringer became a naturalized citizen in 1985 and now holds dual US-UK citizenship. His younger brother, Rob Stringer, was chairman of Sony Music Label Group^{[citation needed]}. In 1978, Stringer married Jennifer A. Kinmond Patterson. They have two children.
Stringer attended Oundle School in Northamptonshire and received a Master of Arts from the University of Oxford in Modern History. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on December 31, 1999.
Stringer had a 30-year career at CBS, where he was a journalist, producer and senior executive. He served as president of CBS from 1988 to 1995, where he was responsible for all the broadcast activities of its entertainment, news, sports, radio and television stations.

wn.com/Howard_Stringer
Kazuo Hirai
Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai (平井一夫, Hirai Kazuo^?, born December 22, 1960) is the President and CEO of Sony Corporation. He also serves as Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony. He was noted by Entertainment Weekly as one of the most powerful executives in the entertainment industry. Hirai became Chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment on September 1, 2011 and was replaced by Andrew House as President and Group CEO. Hirai became the President and CEO of Sony on April 1, 2012.
Hirai was born in 1960 in Tokyo, Japan. The son of a wealthy banker, Hirai often traveled with his father across the world to California, New York, and Canada and around Japan — a trait which Hirai noted to be a major factor in his later multi-continental business success.
It was his interest in games that later brought him into the entertainment business. After graduating from the International Christian University in August 1984 with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree, Hirai was hired at CBS/Sony Inc. (now Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.), where he was involved in marketing international music within Japan.

wn.com/Kazuo_Hirai
Ken Kutaragi
Ken Kutaragi (久夛良木健, Kutaragi Ken^?, born August 8, 1950) is the former Chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI), the video game division of Sony Corporation. He is known as "The Father of the PlayStation", and its successors and spinoffs, including the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation 3.
Before this time, he had designed the sound processor for the Super Nintendo. With Sony, he designed the VLSI chip which works in conjunction with the PS1's RISC CPU to handle the 3D rendering.
Kutaragi was closely watched by financial analysts who trace profiles of the losses and profits of the Sony Corporation. This has been attributed to the PlayStation franchise's high profit returns for Sony; it has been the key source of profit for the company.
Ken Kutaragi is currently president and CEO of Cyber AI Entertainment Inc. He also serves on the boards of Kadokawa Group Holdings, Inc., Nojima Corporation, and Rakuten, Inc.
In 2009, he became a visiting professor of Ritsumeikan University.

wn.com/Ken_Kutaragi
Masaru Ibuka
Masaru Ibuka (井深大 Ibuka Masaru, April 11, 1908, Nikkō City, Japan – December 19, 1997, Tokyo) was a Japanese electronics industrialist. He co-founded what is now Sony.
He graduated in 1933 from Waseda University. After graduating, he went to work at Photo-Chemical Laboratory, a company which processed movie film. In 1946, he left the company and founded a radio repair shop in Tokyo.
In 1946 Ibuka and Akio Morita co-founded Sony Corporation, originally named Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation (prior to 1958). Ibuka was instrumental in securing the licensing of transistor technology to Sony from Bell Labs in the 1950s, thus making Sony one of the first companies to apply transistor technology to non-military uses. Ibuka served as president of Sony from 1950 to 1971, and then served as chairman of Sony between 1971 and 1976.
Ibuka left Sony in 1976, but maintained close ties as an advisor until his death in 1997 from heart failure at the age of 89
Ibuka also authored the book Kindergarten is Too Late (1971), in which he claims that the most significant human learning occurs from birth to 3 years old and suggests ways and means to take advantage of this. The book's foreword was written by Glenn Doman, founder of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, an organization that teaches parents about child brain development. Ibuka and Doman agreed that the first years of life were vital for education.

wn.com/Masaru_Ibuka
Michael Lynton
Michael Lynton (born January 1, 1960) is the CEO of Sony Corporation of America and Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Since 2004, Lynton has managed Sony Pictures’ global operations, including motion pictures, television and digital content production and distribution, as well as home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, and the development of new entertainment products, services and technologies.
In March of 2012, Sony Corporation announced that Lynton would additionally hold the position of CEO of Sony Corporation of America, overseeing Sony’s entertainment businesses, including Sony Music Entertainment, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Lynton is the former CEO of AOL Europe and chairman and CEO of Pearson PLC’s Penguin Group. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Business School. He speaks four languages: English, French, Dutch, and German.
Lynton is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the UK government's Film Policy Review group and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Natural Resources Defense Council, and the board of trustees of The Modern Times Group and the Rand Corporation.

wn.com/Michael_Lynton
Nicole Seligman
Nicole Seligman (born 1957) is an American attorney. She is currently Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Sony Corporation, and has received national attention in the United States for her representation of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North during the Iran-Contra hearings and of President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial.
Recruited to Sony Corporation of America (SCA) by CEO Howard Stringer, Seligman became the company's Executive Vice President and General Counsel in September 2001, and became Corporate Executive Officer of the worldwide Sony Corporation in June 2003. When Stringer became Sony Corporation CEO in June 2005, Seligman rose to become General Counsel of that corporation, retaining the same role at SCA.
Before joining Sony, Seligman was a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C. Only shortly after joining the firm, she was assigned to assist partner Brendan Sullivan in representing Lt. Col. North before Congressional hearing and at his trial. Eleven years later, her more senior partner, David Kendall, President Clinton's outside counsel, asked for her assistance. She appeared with Clinton when he testified before the grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and she spoke on his behalf before the Senate at the impeachment trial. Her other clients at Williams & Connolly included large media organizations such as CNN (in the Operation Tailwind matter), ABC, and occasionally the National Enquirer (which was primarily represented by Kendall).

wn.com/Nicole_Seligman
Nobuyuki Idei
Nobuyuki Idei (出井伸之, Idei Nobuyuki; born November 22, 1937) was a former Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation until the 7th March 2005. He is also a director of General Motors, Accenture, Baidu, Yoshimoto Kogyo and Nestlé. BusinessWeek magazine nominated him as one of the "Worst Managers of 2005" due to the losses at Sony during his tenure.
After a stroke sidelined former chairman Akio Morita, Sony CEO and new chairman Norio Ohga selected Idei to be the next president, a choice that raised eyebrows at Sony. His sweeping reorganizations of the company included trimming the board of directors from 38 members dominated by company management to 10 with a substantial presence of outsiders. Already perceived as the company's driving force, Idei was formally named co-CEO in 1998 and sole CEO in 1999. In 2000, while Ohga remained Chairman of the Board, Idei became Executive Chairman and Kunitake Andō became president.
In 2003, on Ohga's retirement, Idei became the sole Chairman, and the title of Chief Executive Officer was altered to Group Chief Executive Officer.

wn.com/Nobuyuki_Idei
Norio Ohga
Norio Ohga (大賀典雄, Ōga Norio^?), otherwise spelled Norio Oga, (January 29, 1930 – April 23, 2011) was the former president and chairman of Sony Corporation, credited with spurring the development of the compact disc as a commercially viable audio format.
Ohga was born in Numazu, Shizuoka. When he was a child, he suffered tuberculosis that kept him in bed for a long time during which an acquaintance taught him physics and music. As a young man, Ohga aspired to be a professional opera singer, and went on to read at the prestigious Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, graduating in 1953. It was a highly critical letter written to the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo KK (also known as Totsuko and later as Sony), complaining about their tape recorder’s many failings that got him noticed by Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita and other Totsuko executives. Because of his insight in music and technology, the company hired him as a part-time consultant. He went on to study music in Munich and Berlin, where he formed a friendship with the conductor Herbert von Karajan. The young man's knowledge of sound and electrical engineering continued to be an asset to the company, and rising to become the president of CBS/Sony Records Inc. (currently Sony Music Entertainment Japan) in 1970, by the age of 40 - this was unprecedented in the history of the Japanese company.

wn.com/Norio_Ohga

Britney Spears - Do Somethin' (HQ)

published: 20 Jun 2009

author: BritneyTVExtra

Sonny BMG Rome 2008 Demo

Did you know?...

published: 27 Oct 2008

author: herbg

Sony-BMG and Epic logo

From "Oral Fixation Tour"...

published: 26 Jun 2009

author: IVANOFVOCHITO88

I Muvrini - Sarà - Sony BMG- 2007 -

Montaje de video sobre la canción Sarà de I Muvrini, perteneciente al disco "I Muvrini et ...

published: 10 Jan 2008

author: Roixordo2007

Slot Machine - grey sky

published: 11 May 2011

author: slotmachineVEVO

Interview mit Chef von SONY BMG Austria - Horst Unterholzner

Interview von musikvonhier.at mit Horst Unterholzner (Managing Director SONY BMG Ausria) -...

published: 07 Oct 2007

author: musikvonhier

Shayne Ward - No Promises

published: 19 Jan 2012

author: ShayneWardVEVO

Afili Yalnızlık (emreaydın)

Afili Yalnızlık (2006) - SONY BMG MUSIC...

published: 27 Jan 2010

author: muyap

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

Music video by Rick Astley performing Never Gonna Give You Up. YouTube view counts pre-VEV...

published: 25 Oct 2009

author: RickAstleyVEVO

Adam (Sibel Alaş)

Adam (1995) - SONY BMG MUSIC...

published: 01 Mar 2010

author: muyap

La Fontaine (Murat Dalkılıç)

La Fontaine (2009) - SONY BMG MUSIC...

published: 30 Mar 2010

author: muyap

Seviyorum Sevmiyorum (Nil Karaibrahimgil)

Nil Kıyısında (2008) - SONY BMG MUSIC...

published: 08 Jan 2010

author: muyap

Beyonce - Halo (Official Video) Sony BMG Copyright(FIUHfTQ5MnA).mp4

...

published: 30 Nov 2009

author: lapoblanitacarranza

Wham! - Last Christmas

published: 25 Oct 2009

author: WhamVEVO

Springbok Nude Girls 'Fallen'

A golden oldie from Star, featuring a group of sexy ladies performing the song instead of ...

published: 01 Feb 2010

author: Star Productions

CASSETTE KIDS - You Take It

debut single for Sydney band CASSETTE KIDS www.myspace.com/cassettekids label: Sony BMG p...

published: 20 Sep 2008

author: Jan Reichle

Destine - In Your Arms music video

Director/Editor: Marco De La Torre. Director of photography/Operator/Colorist: Greg Ephra...

published: 08 May 2009

author: greg ephraim

The Ting Tings - Hands

PORTABLE: http://portable.tv/music/post/the-ting-tings-get-handsy/ Artist: Ting Tings Tra...

published: 13 Sep 2010

author: Warren Fu

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photo: AP / Bassem Tellawi

A Syrian man reads a newspaper covering Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. Presidential election as he stands in front of a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. In Syria, a nation isolated by the Bush administration in the last few years, the people and political analysts were hopeful Obama would work for peace in the Mideast and improve America's image and his win proved the failure of Bush's policies. Relations with Washington have started to improve recently but plummeted after a U.S. commando raid across the Iraq border into Syria killed eight people last m

Obama warns Syria against using chemical weapons

The Guardian

04 Dec 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) â President Barack Obama warned Syria on Monday that the use of chemical weapons would be "totally unacceptable" and that the country's leaders would be held accountable ... Obama stopped short of detailing those consequences....(size: 6.7Kb)

photo: UN / Shareef Sarhan

File- A view of the outer perimeter of Palestine Stadium, severely damaged by Israeli air strikes in Gaza City earlier this week, 19 November, 2012.

The End of Jewish Power

WorldNews.com

02 Dec 2012

Article by WN.com Guest Writer Gilad Atzmon. Israel suffered a humiliating defeat at The UN recently. The nations of the world stood up and said NO to the Jewish state - NO to Israeli occupation, NO to Israeli human rights abuse, NO to Jewish racism. In effect, they stood up and confessed to serious Zio-fatigue ... This is a very good news indeed. But interestingly, this united opposition to Israel is not in response to Israeli strength ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)

photo: USAF / Senior Airman Patrice Clarke

File - U.S. Army Capt. Peggy Hu, Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team civil affairs, speaks with a local child during a routine patrol in the local area Nov. 21, 2012, in Afghanistan.

'Taliban attackers' target US Afghanistan base

BBC News

02 Dec 2012

There have been "multiple explosions" near an airfield at a US base in eastern Afghanistan, Nato has said. Afghan intelligence officials told the BBC seven suicide attackers targeted the base in Jalalabad, and witnesses said that gunfire was heard ... Counter claims ... There were no Nato casualties in the attack, officials said ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)

photo: AP / Anja Niedringhaus

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland

Israel settlement bid a 'fatal blow' to peace

New Straits/Business Times

03 Dec 2012

UNITED NATIONS. UN leader Ban Ki-moon warned Sunday that if Israel implemented its latest plan for new settlements it would deal an “almost fatal blow” to any prospects for peace with the Palestinians.   Israel’s announcement about the 3,000 Jewish settler homes, whose planned location was not revealed, came in the wake of a historic vote by the United Nations General Assembly to upgrade Palestine’s diplomatic status ... ....(size: 4.2Kb)

photo: AP / Patrick Semansky

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, center, steps out of a security vehicle as he is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, for a pretrial hearing.

Pfc. Manning: From Bloody Eagle to Bloody Cage

WorldNews.com

02 Dec 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. Much like the United States, the Vikings were a paradoxical and duplicitous civilization. Not only were they highly skilled shipbuilders and tremendous explorers, not to mention their expertise in the fishing, farming and trading industries, but they helped establish and contribute to the nation-states of France, England, Ireland, Germany, Russia, and Iceland ... This came to mind when Pfc....(size: 5.5Kb)

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Remix rules for Ribin Richards

Deccan Chronicle

27 Nov 2012

Ribin Richard may look like any other music lover who aims to make it big. But his experiments with music, which started from his schooldays, makes him stand apart ... Ribin has not mastered any of the remixing or programming techniques professionally ... Ribin has done two remix tracks in B’town — 'Tera Deedar Hua' from 'Jannat 2' and 'Kukkad' from 'Student of the Year' for Sony BMG’s record album, 'Bollywood Grooves' ... ....(size: 2.0Kb)

Lenny Kravitz To Play Marvin Gaye In 'Midnight Love'

Starpulse

21 Nov 2012

Lenny Kravitz has reportedly been tapped to portray Marvin Gaye in filmmaker Julien Temple's forthcoming biopic. The controversial British director stepped in to revive the project last year after both Cameron Crowe and F ... PR Photos , Sony BMG. ....(size: 1.1Kb)

Fiona Apple Cancels Tour: Singer Stays Home To Be With Her Dying Dog

Huffington Post

20 Nov 2012

(C) 1997 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENTFiona Apple - Every Single Night ... (C) 1996 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENTFiona Apple - Paper Bag ... (C) 2000 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENTFiona Apple - Werewolf (Studio Version) ... (C) 1996 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENTFiona Apple - Fast As You Can ... (C) 1999 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENTFiona Apple - Not About Love ... (C) 2005 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENTFiona Apple - Valentine....(size: 9.8Kb)

Until June’s Josh Ballard: Young but definitely not foolish

The Examiner

20 Nov 2012

Related topics. Until JuneJosh Ballardmusic interview. Advertisement ... Now I’m not really comparing Until June’s self-titled debut album to a dull discourse. And the young rockers’ elementary school days are a distant memory ... “Very much ... They made the deadline of course – signed by Flicker Records/Sony-BMG – but in reality, the chemistry that the Ballards and Dempsey shared from the start has really been what’s kept them plugging away ... ....(size: 13.3Kb)

'Dull Tool': Fiona Apple's 'This Is 40' Song Arrives With Plenty Of Spunk

Huffington Post

18 Nov 2012

Dave Matthews Band To Play Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert

Starpulse

15 Nov 2012

Dave Matthews Band have turned the first stop of their upcoming winter tour into a benefit concert to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy ... According to the Associated Press, the band estimates it will raise at least $1 million ... Photo Credits. PR Photos , Sony BMG. ....(size: 1.2Kb)

What Do The Stars Look Like In The Throes Of Passion? Check Out Our Favorite Celebrity 'O-Faces'

Starpulse

10 Nov 2012

Everyone has fantasized about what it would be like to be with their favorite celebrity while in the hot-and-heavy throes of passion, but going by imagination can only take you so far ... 'Oh... Oh...  . 1 of 18Next page. © 2012 Starpulse.com ... PR Photos; Sony BMG; PacificCoastNews.com. ....(size: 1.4Kb)

Ying Quartet Performs in Hatch Recital Hall on the Eastman-Ranlet Series (University of Rochester)

noodls

09 Nov 2012

The original concert date of Sunday, Dec. 2, will be for series subscribers and is being supplemented by another presentation for the general public at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec ... His music is regularly broadcast on national radio, including NPR, BBC, and NHK, and has been recorded on labels including Sony/BMG, EMI Classics, Koch, Kleos Classics, RCA, Naxos, Pony Canyon, GENUIN, Capstone, MSR Classics, Innova, ARS, and Crystal ... # # # ... Bartók ... 6....(size: 4.4Kb)

The Guy Leading Sony's Charge Against Apple And Spotify Is Reportedly Out

Business Insider

08 Nov 2012

Q&A; With Sony President Tim Schaaff ... Sony - That's Sony, Not Sony-BMG - Buys Gracenote For $260M ... Sony executive Tim Schaaff, hired away from Apple in 2005 to help the Japanese electronics giant ... A spokesperson for Sony, reached for comment, couldn't verify the report ... When Schaaff joined Sony, Businessweek called him the company's "renaissance geek."...(size: 2.3Kb)

India.Arie Slams Zoe Saldana's Nina Simone Role

Starpulse

08 Nov 2012

R&B star India Arie has slammed Zoe Saldana's casting as jazz legend Nina Simone, branding the move "ridiculous" ... In a message posted on NinaSimone.com, she writes, "I saw the images of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone... SAD ... PR Photos , Sony BMG. ....(size: 1.3Kb)

Andy Lysandrou on the relaunch of UK garage label Ice Cream Records

The Independent

06 Nov 2012

In the mid to late nineties Ice Cream Records was one of the most popular garage labels ... Ice Cream Records re-released their entire back catalogue not too long ago and now look set to push forward with lots of new music ... They couldn’t believe the way that we were putting our music out – vinyl, 500 pressings – they liked what we were doing and they gave us a deal in ‘97, Sony BMG, right up until 2002 ... Volume 1 ... New music ... RSS ....(size: 12.3Kb)

Idris Elba & Mumford & Sons Team For 'Lover Of The Light' Video

Huffington Post

05 Nov 2012

Idris Elba in the Mumford & Sons video for "Lover of the Light .". Idris Elba and Mumford & Sons. two great tastes that taste great together?. The dashing British star and the folk rock band have teamed up for a new music video for the song "Lover of the Light"; the track appears on the album "Babel," Mumford & Sons' sophomore release ... @idriselba ... Loading Slideshow ... No copyright claimed by me, this belongs to Sony BMG ... Recorded on my iPhone....(size: 7.6Kb)

Black Sabbath To Headline Japan's First Ozzfest

Starpulse

02 Nov 2012

Photo Credits. © Sony BMG Entertainment . ....(size: 0.6Kb)

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Sony BMG Music Entertainment
225px
Former type	Joint venture
Industry	Music & Entertainment
Fate	Sony buys Bertelsmann's share
Successor(s)	Sony Music Entertainment
Founded	March 3, 2004
Defunct	October 1, 2008
Headquarters	New York City, New York, US
Key people	David Gordon: Chairman Sound & Vision
Products	Music & Entertainment
Parent	Bertelsmann (50%) Sony Corporation of America (50%)
Website	sonybmg.com^{[dead link]}

Sony BMG Music Entertainment was a recorded music company, which was a 50–50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann AG. The venture’s successor, the again-active Sony Music Entertainment, is 100% owned by the Sony Corporation of America.

1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

History [link]

Sony BMG Music Entertainment began as the result of a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Music Entertainment (part of Sony) and Bertelsmann Music Group (part of Bertelsmann) completed on March 4, 2004. It is one of the Big Four music companies, and includes ownership and distribution of recording labels such as Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Victor Records, RCA Records, Legacy Recordings, Sonic Wave America, and others. The merger affected all Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group companies worldwide except for Japan, where it was felt that it would reduce competition in that country’s music industry significantly.

Financial analysts covering the merger anticipated that up to 2,000 jobs would be cut as a result, saving Sony BMG approximately $350 million annually.

The company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, who succeeded Andrew Lack on February 10, 2006. In the first half of 2005, the company's share of new releases in the United States (US) declined from 33% to 26% according to Nielsen SoundScan. This, and Lack's negotiation of what some called an "ill-conceived" deal with Bruce Springsteen led to Bertelsmann informing Sony that it would not renew Lack's contract.

The company signed a content deal with the popular video sharing community YouTube.

On August 5, 2008 Sony Corp. agreed to buy Bertelsmann AG's 50 percent stake in the music company for $1.2 billion to get full control. The music company will be renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and will become a unit of Sony Corporation of America.^[1] This will allow Sony the rights to artists on the current and historic BMG roster and would allow Sony Corporation to better integrate its functions with its PlayStation 3 and upcoming new media initiatives.

References [link]

^ Thiel, Simon (2008-08-05). "Sony Buys Bertelsmann Sony BMG Stake for $1.2 Billion". Bloomberg L.P.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=awvLxyBlODc4&refer=japan. Retrieved 2008-08-05.

Leonard, Devin (Nov. 28, 2005). "Music Lessons." Fortune, pp. 31–32.

External links [link]

v t e Sony Corporation

Primary businesses	Sony Corporation (electronics & holding of the Sony group) · Sony Music Entertainment (music) · Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures and television) · Sony Computer Entertainment (video games) · Sony Financial Holdings (financial services; 60%) · Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation

Technologies and brands	α · Betacam · Blu-ray · BRAVIA · CD · Cyber-shot · Dash · Dream Machine · DVD · Handycam · HDCAM/HDCAM-SR · LocationFree · Memory Stick · MiniDisc · MiniDV · mylo · Reader · S/PDIF · SDDS · SXRD · Sony Tablet · UMD · VAIO · Video8/Hi8/Digital8 · Walkman · Walkman Phones · XDCAM · Xplōd · HMZ-T1

Historical products	AIBO · CV-2000 · DAT · Betamax · Sony CLIÉ · Discman · JumboTron · Lissa · Mavica · NEWS · Qualia · Rolly · TR-55 · Trinitron · U-matic · Watchman · WEGA

Electronics	Sony EMCS · Sony Electronics (subsidiary in the US) · Sony Creative Software · Sony Mobile Communications · S-LCD (50% minus 1 share) · Sony Mobile Display · Sony Optiarc · Sharp Display Products (7%) · Aiwa (former)

Sony Music Entertainment	Sony/ATV Music Publishing (50%) · Columbia Records · Epic Records · RCA Records · Sony Music Nashville (Arista Nashville, BNA Records, Columbia Nashville, RCA Records Nashville) · Provident Label Group · Verity Gospel Music Group · Sony Music Latin · Sony Masterworks · Legacy Recordings · RED Distribution · IODA · Syco Music · Syco TV · Syco Film · Sony Music Australia · Sony Music Japan · Gracenote · Aniplex · A-1 Pictures

Sony Pictures Entertainment	Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group (Columbia Pictures · Sony Pictures Classics · Screen Gems · TriStar Pictures · Triumph Films) · Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (Destination Films · Stage 6 Films · Affirm Films) · Sony Pictures Television Group (Adelaide Productions · Culver Entertainment · Embassy Row · 2waytraffic · Lean-M · Gogglebox Entertainment · Victory Television · Silver River Productions · Starling · Huaso · Floresta · Teleset) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment · Sony Wonder · Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group · Sony Pictures Digital (Sony Pictures Imageworks · Sony Pictures Animation · Sony Pictures Mobile) · Sony Pictures Studios · Sony Pictures Consumer Marketing (Sony Pictures Consumer Products · Sony Pictures Loot)

U.S. networks	Sony Movie Channel · GSN (40%), joint venture with DirecTV · FEARnet HD (joint venture with Comcast and Lionsgate) · 3net (joint venture with Discovery Communications and IMAX)

International networks	Sony Entertainment Television (Asia, South East Asia, India, Latin America, South Africa, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Baltic and United Kingdom) · AXN · AXN HD · AXN HD+1 · AXN Asia · AXN India · AXN Pakistan · AXN White · AXN Crime · AXN Black · AXN Mystery · AXN Sci Fi · AXN Spin · Sony Aath · Multi Screen Media · Animax · Animax Asia · Animax India · Animax Pakistan · Animax Korea · Animax Eastern Europe · BeTV · Sony Spin · SET One · SET Max · Sony SIX · Sony MIX · SET PIX · SAB TV · Men&Movies · Movies4Men

Sony Computer Entertainment	Sony Online Entertainment · PlayStation · PSP · PlayStation Vita · Cellius (49%) · Square Enix (8.25%) · Sony Imagesoft (defunct)

Online distribution platforms	Sony Entertainment Network (Music Unlimited · Video Unlimited · PlayStation Network) · FEARnet · The Minisode Network · Crackle

Financial services	Sony Financial Holdings · Sony Life Insurance · Sony Assurance · Sony Bank · Sony Bank Securities

Other businesses	So-net Entertainment · Sony Broadcast & Professional Research Laboratories · Sony Sendai

Other assets	Sony Corporation of America (umbrella company in the US) · Other subsidiaries

Joint ventures	Sony/ATV · FeliCa Networks · Vevo · Cellius (49%) · Sharp Display Products (7.04%)

Key personnel	Kazuo Hirai · Masaru Ibuka · Nobuyuki Idei · Yasuo Kuroki · Ken Kutaragi · Michael Lynton · Akio Morita · Norio Ohga · Amy Pascal · Howard Stringer · Nicole Seligman

Category · Commons · Wikinews

Bertelsmann

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(Douglas Gibson Books

Random House Struik (with New Holland Publishers)
RH Mondadori (with Mondadori)
Plaza & Janés
Goldmann
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RTL Group (90.3%)

TV	RTL Televizija (90%) M6 (48.8%) RTL Television RTL II Super RTL VOX n-tv Alpha TV RTL Klub RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg RTL Nederland REN TV (30%)

Radio	RTL Fun Radio RTL Radio Radio 538

Production	FremantleMedia FremantleMedia Australia Talkback Thames UFA Original Productions (75%)

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Prisma Presse	Voici VSD

Motor Presse Stuttgart	sport auto Aerokurier Auto, Motor und Sport

News (56%)	News Profil

arvato

arvato digital services
arvato print
arvato systems
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Other assets

BMG Rights Management (49%)
Direct Group

Category
Commons

Music industry

Genres

Avant-garde · Blues · Contemporary R&B · Country · Crossover · Dance · Drum and bass · Easy listening · Electronica · Experimental · Folk · Funk · Gospel · Hip hop · Instrumental · Jazz · Latin · Motown · New age · Operatic pop · Pop · Reggae · Rock · Soul · Soundtrack · World

Sectors and
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Album cover design · Artists and repertoire (A&R) · Distribution · Entertainment law · Music education · Music executive · Music journalism · Music publisher · Music venue · Musical instruments · Promotion · Radio promotion · Record label · Record shop · Road crew · Talent manager · Tour promoter

Production	Arrangement · Record producer · Recording artist · Session musician · Songwriter · Sound engineer

Record labels

Major: EMI · Sony Music Entertainment · Universal Music Group · Warner Music Group · Independent: Independent UK record labels

Release formats

Album · Extended play (EP)/Mini album · Single

Awards

American Music Award · ARIA Music Awards · Billboard Music Awards · Brit Awards · Choice Music Prize · Classic Brit Awards · Diapason d'Or · Echo Award · Golden Disk Awards · Grammy Award · Grand Prix du Disque · Juno Award · Latin Grammy Awards · Meteor Music Awards · MTV Europe Music Awards · MTV Video Music Awards · MuchMusic Video Awards · Music of Black Origin Awards · New Zealand Music Awards · NRJ Music Award · TEC Awards · World Music Awards

Charts

ARIA Charts · Billboard Hot 100 · Canadian Hot 100 · RIANZ Singles Chart · Irish Singles Chart · UK Singles Chart

Sales certifications

ARIA (Gold · Platinum) · BPI (Silver · Gold · Platinum) · CRIA (Gold · Platinum · Multi-Platinum · Diamond) · PROMUSICAE (Gold · Platinum) · RIAA (Gold · Platinum · Multi-Platinum · Diamond)

Publications

Billboard · HitQuarters · Hot Press · Kerrang! · Mojo · NME · Q · Rolling Stone · Smash Hits · Top of the Pops

Retailers

Amazon.com · Fnac · HMV Group · Online music stores (iTunes Store) · Trans World Entertainment · Virgin Megastores

Television

Black Entertainment Television · Country Music Television · Fuse TV · Idol · Juice TV · MTV · MuchMusic · The Music Factory · Star Academy · Viva · The Voice · The X Factor

Other

A-side and B-side · Christian music industry · Hidden track · Grammy Museum · White label

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

"Britney" redirects here. For other uses, see Britney (disambiguation).

Britney Spears
Spears performing at her Femme Fatale Tour in Europe, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Britney Jean Spears
Born	(1981-12-02) December 2, 1981 (age 30) McComb, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Pop, dance
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Jive, RCA^[1]
Associated acts	The New Mickey Mouse Club
Website	britneyspears.com britney.com

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist.^[2] During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20,^[3] garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".^[4]

In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went into hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer", and hits such as "Circus" and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour,^[5] The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. In October of the same year, she released a chart-topping single, "3", which became her third single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Her seventh studio album Femme Fatale, released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States, "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends" and "I Wanna Go". The same year, she also gained her fifth number one single when she featured on the remix of "S&M" alongside Rihanna.

Spears work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 6 MTV Video Music Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 9 Billboard Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, Billboard ranked her as the 8th overall Artist of the Decade,^[6] and also recognized her as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[7] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) also recognized Spears as the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums.^[8] Nielsen SoundScan ranked Spears the tenth best-selling digital artist of the country, with more than 28.6 million digital singles as of January 2012.^[9] She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[10] Rolling Stone recognized her instant success as one of the Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments of all time,^[11] while VH1 ranked her eleventh on their "100 Greatest Women in Music" list in 2012.^[12] Forbes also revealed that Spears was the sixth most powerful celebrity, and the third best paid musician of 2011-12, having topped the list back in 2002.^[13] In Fall 2012, Spears will serve as a judge in the second season of the American version of The X Factor.^[14]

Biography [link]

1981–97: Early life, and career beginnings [link]

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portelli who was born in London, and of distant Maltese and Sicilian (Sicani) descent.^[15]^[16]^[17] Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn.^[18] At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows.^[19]^[20]^[21] Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".^[20] At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show Star Search, as well as being cast in a number of commercials.^[22]^[23] In December 1992, she was finally cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was canceled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."^[20]^[24]

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song of Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing that audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph.^[25] Senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that."^[20] She then sang Houston's "I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and got signed to the label.^[26] They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney."^[27] After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others.^[20]

[edit] 1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time, and Oops!... I Did It Again

After Spears returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour to promote her forthcoming album. Her show was a four song set and she was accompanied by two back up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for 'N Sync.^[28] Her debut album, ...Baby One More Time, was released on January 1999.^[29] It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year.^[30] It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist.^[21] The title track was released as the lead single from the album. Originally, Jive Records wanted its music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected it, and suggested the final idea of a Catholic schoolgirl.^[27] The single sold 500,000 copies on its first day, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks.^[31]^[32] "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.^[33] The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies.^[34] It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history.^[35] Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country.^[36] "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ...Baby One More Time to sell 26 million copies.^[37]

The April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone featured Spears lying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time."^[38] Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage.^[21] On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics,^[39] but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits.^[40] An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.^[24]

Oops!... I Did It Again, her second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1,3 million copies, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist.^[41] The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[42] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition."^[43] The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations.^[36]^[44] The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.^[45]

The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart, co-written with her mother.^[21]^[46] On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer.^[47] Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake.^[21]

[edit] 2001–03: Britney, Crossroads, and In the Zone

Spears performing at the NFL Kickoff Live in 2003.

In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled A Mother’s Gift.^[21] Her third studio album, Britney, was released in November 2001. While on tour, she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound.^[48] The album debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide.^[36]^[49]^[50] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet."^[51] The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years".^[52]^[53] The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.^[54]

Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears.^[47] To support the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the pièce de résistance being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage.^[55]^[56] The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour.^[57] Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity.^[58] Spears also landed her first starring role in Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting.^[59]^[60]^[61] Crossroads, which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide.^[61]

In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised".^[62] In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in November to record her new album.^[63] Spears' relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him.^[64]^[65] As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani.^[66] The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst said that he was in a relationship with Spears. However, Spears denied Durst's claims.^[67] In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her."^[67] Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized.^[61]

Spears released her fourth studio album, In the Zone, in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material.^[21] Vibe called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter."^[68] NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work."^[69] In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one.^[21] It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.^[70] In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide.^[71] The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won Spears her first and only Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous".^[21]

[edit] 2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles, and Blackout

Spears performing live on The Onyx Tour in 2004

On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions".^[72] She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone in March 2004.^[73] On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled.^[74] During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.^[75]

In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time.^[21] The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement.^[76] Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume.^[21] In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family.^[77] Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004.^[78] Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway.^[79] The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe.^[80]^[81] Worldwide, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative sold over 5 million copies.^[82] In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons.^[83]^[84] Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.^[85]

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, B in the Mix: The Remixes, which consists of eleven remixes.^[86] It has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling remix albums of all time.^[87] In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part.^[21] The following month, she guest-starred on the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as closeted lesbian Amber Louise.^[88] She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion."^[75] Two months later, Spears posed nude for the cover of Harper's Bazaar. The picture was heavily compared to Demi Moore's August 1991 Vanity Fair cover.^[21] She gave birth to her second child, Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006.^[89] On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences.^[90] Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children.^[91] Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January.^[92] On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, Los Angeles. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks.^[93] After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD."^[21] In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour.^[94] Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.^[95] Also, in 2007 Spears was sued by Louis Vuitton over her 2005 music video "Do Something" for pimping out her Hummer interior in counterfiet Louis Vuitton cherry blossom fabric. Which resulted in her video being banned on European TV stations.^[96]

Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. Billboard 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's Long Road out of Eden— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart.^[97] Blackout sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide.^[98] Peter Robinson of The Observer said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's Shock Value and her own back catalogue."^[99] Dennis Lim of Blender commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop."^[100] Blackout won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by The Times.^[101]^[102] Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards".^[103] Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted.^[104]^[105] The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly.^[106]^[107]^[108] In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.^[109]

[edit] 2008–10: Conservatorship, and Circus

Image of a blond female performer. She has a headset around her hand and is wearing sparkly silver and black lingerie, fishnet stockings and knee-high black boots. She stands in front of a black and golden couch.

Spears performing "Freakshow" at The Circus Starring Britney Spears, 2009.

On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets.^[21] Spears was released on February 6, 2008. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her.^[110] The following month, she guest-starred on the How I Met Your Mother episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series its highest ratings ever.^[111]^[112] In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel.^[113] On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for "Piece of Me".^[114] A 60-minute introspective documentary, Britney: For the Record, was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, For the Record was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008.^[115] Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. For the Record was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 5.6 million viewers for the two airings on the premiere night. MTV reported that Spears' documentary garnered on average, the highest rating in its Sunday night timeslot, in the network's history.^[116]

Her sixth studio album Circus, was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100.^[117] Circus debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations.^[105]^[118] In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.^[119] She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold.^[118] Circus became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year,^[120] and has sold 4 million copies worldwide.^[121]^[122] Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden.^[123]^[124] It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording.^[125] In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members.^[126] Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.^[127]

She released her second greatest hits album, The Singles Collection in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years.^[128] Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!".^[129] In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship.^[130] Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010.^[131] On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show Glee, titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics.^[132]^[133] The episode drew Glee's second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.^[134]^[135]

[edit] 2011–present: Femme Fatale and The X Factor

Image of a blond female performer surrounded by a group of dancers. She is sitting on a purple coach and wearing a golden outfit. The dancers are wearing short black hooded sweatshirts.

Spears performing "Gimme More" at the Femme Fatale Tour, 2011.

In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album Femme Fatale.^[136] Max Martin and Dr. Luke executive produced the album and the album's first single "Hold It Against Me". The single debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. This gave Spears her fourth number-one single on the chart, and made her only the second artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at number-one, after Mariah Carey.^[137] The album peaked at number one in the United States (selling 276,000 copies in its first week), Canada, and Australia, and peaked inside the top ten on nearly every other chart. The album's peak in the United States ties Britney with Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson for the third-most number ones among women.^[138] As of March 9, 2012, Femme Fatale has sold 883,000 copies in the United States and 2.2 million worldwide and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.^[139]^[140] The album received positive critical reviews after its release, receiving a score of 67 on Metacritic, her highest critical score since Oops!... I Did It Again, with many critics naming the album one of Spears's best.^[141] In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix to the song "S&M" by Rihanna after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with.^[142] The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Spears her fifth number one on the chart.^[143] In early May, Spears' second single from Femme Fatale, "Till The World Ends", reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and had ninety-eight million audience impressions on the Billboard chart, granting Spears the highest weekly audience of her 13-year chart career.^[144]

Femme Fatale's third single "I Wanna Go" reached the top forty on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2011. Among females in the last thirteen years, Spears now has the third-most top forty hits, with twenty-one.^[145] In August, the single managed to reach the top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100, which is the first time for Spears to have three songs from one album in the top-ten.^[146] On the week ending September 24, 2011, "I Wanna Go" moved 2–1 on the mainstream top 40, becoming her sixth number-one on that chart (making her tied for third all-time) and her first number-one and third top-ten pop song for Femme Fatale.^[147] Spears now has the longest span of number ones on the mainstream top 40, with a length of twelve years, seven months, and four days.^[147] In October 2011, the music video for Femme Fatale's fourth single "Criminal" caused controversy when British politicians criticized Spears for using replica guns while filming the video in an area of London that had been badly affected by the 2011 England riots. Members of the Hackney London Borough Council felt Spears "promoted gun violence" and suggested that Spears apologize and make a donation to a Hackney charity.^[148] Spears's management briefly responded, stating, "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened."^[149] Later that month, due to her continued popularity, Spears became the seventh artist to gain one billion cumulative views on her Vevo account.^[150] On Billboard's 2011 Year-End list, Spears was fourteen on the Artists of the Year,^[151] due to being 32 on Billboard 200 artists and 10 on Billboard Hot 100 artists.^[152]^[153] Additionally, many critics, including those at Rolling Stone, named "Till the World Ends" one of the best songs of 2011.^[154]^[155]^[156]

On March 2011, Spears announced that she would tour throughout the United States during summer 2011.^[157] The Femme Fatale Tour opened June 16 at the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California^[158] to positive reviews.^[159] Many critics noted that Spears sang more of the concert live in response to lip-synching accusations during The Circus Starring Britney Spears, and that the dancing is some of her best in years.^[159] The first ten US dates of the tour grossed $6.2 million, landing the fifty-fifth spot on Pollstar's Top 100 North American Tours list for the half-way point of the year.^[160] The tour ended on December 10, 2011 in Puerto Rico after 79 performances.^[161] A concert special of the tour was filmed in 2D and 3D in Canada on August 13 and 14. It premiered on November 12 on Epix, receiving mixed reviews.^[162]^[163]^[164]^[165] It was released to DVD on November 21^[166]^[167] and sold 19,000 copies, debuting at no. 2 on the US Billboard DVD Chart behind Lady Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden.^[168] Since its release, the DVD has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),^[169] and Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).^[170]

On June 15, 2011, it was announced by Billboard that the RCA/Jive Label Group would be splitting, with Jive Records being fully moved under RCA Records staying intact. In August it was announced that Spears had officially joined the RCA's roster.^[171]^[172] During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2011, MTV played tribute to Spears with a group of young female dancers that memorialised Britney's music videos, performances, and style. Following which, Spears accepted the MTV Video Vanguard Award from Lady Gaga, who said that "industry wouldn't be the same without [her]".^[173]^[174] On September 9, 2011, Spears announced her second remix album, B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2, which was released on October 7, along with the tracklist.^[175] On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Spears (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.^[176]^[177]

On December 16, Spears confirmed her engagement to her long-time boyfriend Jason Trawick, her former agent.^[178] Spears revealed her three-carat diamond ring at a party in Las Vegas on December 17.^[179] According to Joe Riccitelli, the executive vice president of promotion for RCA Records, Spears would be taking time off during 2012.^[180] However, on January 30, 2012, will.i.am confirmed that he recorded a track with Spears, set to be included on his upcoming fourth studio album, #willpower (2012).^[181] It was also reported that Simon Cowell was in talks with Spears for her to join the new season of the The X-Factor.^[182] According to Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, Trawick negotiated Spears' contract with the show,^[183] which was later approved by conservatorship judge Reva Goetz.^[184] Cowell and the producers of the show agreed to pay the singer $15 million for season two, and also added Trawick as a one of the producers for the season.^[185] The rumor was later confirmed to be true.^[14]^[186]^[187] Spears also teamed up with Hasbro to release an exclusive version of Twister Dance, which will include a remix of "Till the World Ends".^[188] The singer also participated on a commercial, which was directed by Ray Kay, to promote the game.^[188]

Artistry [link]

Musical style, and performance [link]

Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. The Daily Yomiuri reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson."^[189] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene."^[190] Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice."^[191] Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of Billboard observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice."^[192] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry."^[193] Spears later commented, "With ...Baby One More Time, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".^[194]

Oops!...I Did It Again and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga."^[195] Her third studio album, Britney derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums."^[196] Guy Blackman of The Age wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."^[197]

"You Got It All"

noicon

The cover of The Jets song was the first song recorded by Spears for her then-label Jive in 1997.^[198] The prominent use of melisma and vibratos as she continuously raises key into a high range was viewed as a Mariah Carey influence.^[199]

"Freakshow"

noicon

The track is built around the 'wobbler' effect of dubstep, and her vocals are pitched down low, making her sound masculine.^[200]^[201] She was credited as one of the artists who prompted the genre within a pop mainstream audience.^[202]

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Spears possesses a soprano^[203] vocal range; her vocal ability however has been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera.^[204] Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance."^[205] Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics.^[206] In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she can indulge herself.^[207] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's."^[208]

It has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna."^[209] Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket."^[210] Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert."^[209]

In Australia, NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge has advised disclaimers be printed on any ticket for concerts which contain any prerecorded vocals. She commented: "There could have been some instances where people actually go and purchase a ticket thinking that they're going to have a live performance ... for some people that means that everything is live, it's fresh, it happens instantaneously, it's not something that's been pre-recorded. You want to make sure that they're actually paying for what they think they're getting."^[211] Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, Los Angeles Daily News reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all".^[212] Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the Orlando Sentinel remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound."^[213] Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.^[214]

Influences [link]


Madonna (left) and Janet Jackson (right) are Spears's two biggest influences.

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration.^[215] According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know."^[216] In the 2002 book Madonnastyle by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."^[217]

Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the Rocky Mountain Collegian observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon."^[218] However, in examining her level of skill as an artist, it is questioned that "[a]lthough she has been classified among female elites such as Janet Jackson and Madonna, what does Ms. Spears really have in common with these divas of rock?"^[218] Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."^[219]

Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album Britney "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best."^[220] Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [Britney] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'."^[215]

Citing Jackson's resolve to incorporate personal and social issues into her work and Madonna's ability to constantly redefine the boundaries of socially acceptable material in the industry, Spears's catalog ultimately pales in comparison, because "[w]hile Jackson and Madonna wrote their own music about subjects of importance, [Spears's] music sounds like an upbeat version of either, 'I want to grow up but the media won't let me,' or 'Here kitty, kitty, I'm wearing my underwear outside of my leather pants'-type ballads."^[218] In contrast, Guy Blackman argues that although "no one would argue that Spears is some kind of pioneering pop auteur, there’s still a lot to like about her back catalogue. During her world-conquering peak, she was just about as cutting edge as you could get in the world of global pop superstardom. Spears didn’t just work with big names, she gave big names their names, and maintained her high currency in the world’s most fickle industry for years, when most aspiring starlets are lucky to manage months."^[197]

After meeting Spears face to face, Janet Jackson stated: "she said to me, 'I'm such a big fan; I really admire you.' That's so flattering. Everyone gets inspiration from some place. And it's awesome to see someone else coming up who's dancing and singing, and seeing how all these kids relate to her. A lot of people put it down, but what she does is a positive thing."^[221] Madonna's respect for Spears has also been a subject of observation. Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, 1983-2003 (2004) note that the most well known cross-generational relationship exists between Spears and Madonna in which "the entertainment newsmedia almost became obsessed with their relationship of mutual admiration."^[222] The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act."^[222]

Legacy [link]

Spears's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank".^[223] She is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ...Baby One More Time which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States.^[224] Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide".^[225] As of 2011, she has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[10] She was also ranked as the fourth VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" show list, ahead of most of her contemporaries and only behind veterans like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston.^[226] Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[7] In December 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Spears the 8th Artist of the 2000s decade in the United States.^[6]

Spears is also known for her iconic performances and music videos.^[227] The music video for her debut single, "...Baby One More Time", was ranked number one on TRL's Final Countdown of the most iconic music videos.^[228] On the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, before performing "Oops!... I Did It Again", the singer appeared behind a backlit screen, and descended a spiral staircase and started performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", while wearing a tuxedo.^[229] After performing a shortened version of the track, she tore the tuxedo off, revealing a skin-tight flesh-coloured outfit.^[230] The following year, Spears performed her single "I'm a Slave 4 U". Jocelyn Vena of MTV summarized the performance, saying, "draping herself in a white python and slithering around a steamy garden setting – surrounded by dancers in zebra and tiger outfits – Spears created one of the most striking visuals in the 27-year history of the show."^[231] She also duetted "The Way You Make Me Feel" with pop singer Michael Jackson on his 30th anniversary concert a few days earlier.^[232] During the opening of the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2003, Spears joined Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliott.^[233] Halfway through the performance, Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera on the lips.^[234] The kiss between Spears and Madonna generated strong reaction from the media.^[235] This performance was listed by Blender magazine as one of the twenty-five sexiest music moments on television history.^[236] MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moments in the history of MTV Video Music Awards.^[237] In 2011, Spears was honored with the MTV Video Vanguard Award, for having made a profound effect on the MTV culture.^[238]

Barbara Ellen of The Observer has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry".^[239] In 2011, Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly commented on the cultural significance of Spears' voice and music. "We don't ask a whole lot from Britney Spears as an entertainer...we'll still send her straight up the charts simply because she's Britney. She's an American institution, as deeply sacred and messed up as pro wrestling or the filibuster. Musically, though, Spears will always have to measure up to her own gold standards of pop euphony: the operatic slither of 2004's 'Toxic' and the candied funk of 2000's 'Oops!...I Did It Again.' Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls."^[240] 'Britney Spears' was Yahoo!'s most popular search term between 2005 and 2008, and has been in a total of seven different years.^[241] Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the Guinness World Records book edition 2007 and 2009.^[242] She was later named as the most searched person of the decade 2000 - 2009.^[243] Spears is the most followed person on Google's social network, Google+. Reaching 100,000 in under two months of the sites launch, quadrupling the amount within 10 days. By November she had over 760,000 followers,^[244] and by the end of December 2011, Spears became the first person to reach over 1 million followers.^[245]

Spears has been cited as a musical inspiration by contemporary artists. Gwyneth Paltrow's character on 2010 drama film Country Strong was inspired on the singer's public meltdown. According to film director Shana Fest, "that's where this movie came from. I mean, I was seeing what was happening in the media to Britney Spears. I think it's tragic how we treat people who give us so much, and we love to see them knocked down to build them back up again, to knock them down again."^[246] Nicki Minaj has cited Spears as a major influence on her career, and commented, "the fact that she came back out with just so much fire inspires me, and it inspires young women and people all over the world. It just inspires you. A lot of my fans feel like they are the underdog and feel like they are the people who aren’t ever accepted for themselves, or who are laughed at or poked fun at forever. It just goes to show that once you keep at whatever it is you’re doing, people may not like you, people may not love you, but they will have to respect you at the end of the day. And that respect is all that matters."^[247] Lana Del Rey revealed that she is compelled by Spears in an interview with MTV, saying, "I'm not really interested in a ton of female musicians but there is something about Britney that compelled me – the way she sings and just the way she looks."^[248] Del Rey also said that the "Toxic" music video is a main inspiration of her work.^[249] During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga said that Spears "taught us all how to be fearless, and the industry wouldn't be the same without her."^[238] Miley Cyrus credits Spears as her biggest inspiration, and has referenced the singer in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A." (2009).^[250]^[251] Spears' personal breakdown was also cited as an inspiration for Barry Manilow's album "15 Minutes".^[252]

Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Demi Lovato,^[253] Katy Perry,^[253] Kristinia DeBarge,^[254] Little Boots,^[255] Marina and the Diamonds,^[256] Pixie Lott,^[257] and Selena Gomez & the Scene.^[258] In 2007, Beyoncé Knowles also expressed her love for Spears in an interview with TRL Italy, saying, "I love Britney, I'm a fan of hers. I like her new album ['Blackout']."^[259] Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she was happy with Spears' return to the music industry, and continued, "It's amazing. For this many years being in the business, and everything she's been through, it's wonderful to see her make this huge of a comeback. Really, it's a beautiful thing."^[260] Simon Cowell explained that he is "fascinated by [Britney]. The fact that she’s one of the most talked about – not just pop stars – but people in the world today, means that you’ve got this star power. [...] She’s still hot, she’s still having hit records and she’s still controversial, there’s a reason for that."^[182] Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. South Korean KPop singer, BoA has also spoken of love and Spears' influence on her. First meeting in 2003 while Spears was promoting "In The Zone" - Britney would later provide a writing credit to the song, Look Who's Talking, on BoA's eponymous debut English album. Spears' version of the song leaked in 2012.^[261]^[262] Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". People magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears.^[263] Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.^[264]

Personal life [link]

In 1998, Spears entered a relationship with fellow pop singer Justin Timberlake, with whom she had worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club in 1993 and 1994. The relationship ended abruptly in March 2002 after reports of infidelity, however, both parties stated that the split was due to "conflicting schedules".^[265] The breakup influenced the lyrics and themes of their songs, "Everytime" and "Cry Me a River." In June 2011, Timberlake stated that he had not spoken with Spears in 9 years, and that their relationship had no chance of surviving the long term.^[266] On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, Spears stating she "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage".^[72]

In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer, Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, and received intense media attention. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6, 2004 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement.^[76] With Federline, Spears had two children, sons, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005, and Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006.^[85]^[89] She filed for divorce from Federline on November 7, 2006, citing irreconcilable differences.^[90] Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children.^[91] However, due to Spears' erratic behavior (including her shaving her head bald).^[267]in the following year, she lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.^[95] After a visit with her children on the night of January 3, 2008, Spears refused to give up her sons to Federline's representatives and locked herself in a bathroom. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was, again, committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father, James Spears, giving him complete control of her assets.^[21] In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel.^[113] And in September 2009, Spears and Federline agreed on sharing 50/50 of the children^[268]

On September 2011 Spears' former bodygaurd Fernando Flores persued a $10 million sexual harassment suit, also, citing alleged child abuse against her two sons.^[269]

On December 16, 2011, Spears confirmed her engagement to her boyfriend, Jason Trawick.^[270] Spears revealed her three-carat diamond ring at a party in Las Vegas on December 17.^[179]

Other ventures [link]

In 2000, the singer released a limited edition of glasses titled Shades of Britney.^[271] In 2001, Spears signed a deal with shoe company Skechers,^[272] and a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, their biggest entertainment deal at the time.^[273] Aside from numerous commercials with the latter during that year, she also appeared in a 2004 Pepsi television commercial in the theme of "Gladiators" with singers Beyoncé Knowles, Pink, and Enrique Iglesias.^[274] On June 19, 2002, she released her first multi-platform video game, Britney's Dance Beat, which received positive reviews.^[275] In March 2009, Spears was announced as the new face of clothing brand Candie's.^[276] Dari Marder, chief marketing officer for the brand, explained why they choose the singer, saying, "everybody loves a comeback and nobody's doing it better than Britney. She's just poised for even greater success."^[276] In 2010, Spears designed a limited edition line for the brand, which was released in stores in July 2010.^[131] In 2011, she teamed up with Sony, Make Up For Ever and PlentyofFish to release her music video for "Hold It Against Me", earning her $500,000 for the product placement.^[277]

Spears range of commercial deals and products also includes beauty care products and perfumes. She released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious in 2004, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume.^[21] By 2009, she had released seven more fragrances, which earned her the recognition of the best-selling celebrity fragrance line on the market. The singer's Elizabeth Arden scents make up 34% of celebrity fragrance sales.^[278] In 2010, Spears released her eighth fragrance, Radiance. In March 2011, company Brand Sense filed a lawsuit against Spears and Elizabeth Arden seeking $10 million in damages, claiming that the singer and her father, Jamie, allegedly stopped paying their thity-five percent commission that was agreed as part of the contract terms.^[279] In July 2011, a Los Angeles judge denied the request by the company lawyers, claiming the fact that Spears is still under conservatorship.^[280] Brand Sense, however, stated that they would appeal the decision.^[280] In 2011, Radiance was re-issued in a new fragrance titled Cosmic Radiance.^[281] Worldwide, Spears has sold over one billion bottles in only five years, which earned her an estimated $1.5 billion.^[282] By the time of Mother's Day in 2012, Fantasy, her second fragrance released back in 2006, was among the top three best selling fragrances of the year's first quarter.^[283]

Philanthropy [link]

The singer founded The Britney Spears Foundation, a charitable entity set up to help children in need. The philosophy behind the Foundation was that music and entertainment has a healing quality that can truly benefit these kid.^[284] The Foundation also supported the annual Britney Spears Camp for the Performing Arts, where campers had the opportunity to explore and develop their talents.^[285] In April 2002, through the efforts of Spears and The Britney Spears Foundation, a grant of $1 million was made to the Twin Towers Fund to support the children of uniformed service heroes affected by the disaster of September 11, 2001, including New York City Fire Department and its Emergency Medical Services Command, the New York City Police Department, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New York State Office of court Administration and other government offices.^[286] However, it was reported in 2008 that the Foundation had a deficit of $200,000.^[287] After the singer went through conservatorship, her father and lawyer Andrew Wallet zeroed out the effort, leading to its closure in 2011.^[288]

On October 30, 2001, Spears, alongside Bono and other popular recording artists under the name "Artists Against AIDS Worldwide", released a single titled "What's Going On", with the intention to benefit AIDS programs in Africa and other impoverished regions.^[289] In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, Spears donated $350,000 to Music Rising.^[290] Later in 2011, the singer raised $200,000 during An Evening of Southern Style at a private residence in Beverly Hills to benefit the St. Bernard Project, with the help of several celebrities, including Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez, Kelly Osbourne, Kellan Lutz and Kim Kardashian.^[291] Spears has also helped several charities during her career, including Madonna's Kabbalah-based Spirituality for Kids,^[292] cancer charity Gilda's Club Worldwide,^[293] Promises Foundation, and United Way^{[disambiguation needed ]}, with the latter two focused on giving families from various disadvantaged situations new hope and stable foundations for the future.^[290]

Discography [link]

Main articles: Britney Spears discography and Britney Spears videography

...Baby One More Time (1999)
Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)
Britney (2001)
In the Zone (2003)
Blackout (2007)
Circus (2008)
Femme Fatale (2011)

Filmography [link]

Main article: Britney Spears filmography

Films
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Longshot	Flight attendant	Cameo appearance
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Herself	Cameo appearance
2002	Crossroads	Lucy Wagner	Teen Choice Award for Best Actress Drama/Action Adventure Teen Choice Award for Best Chemistry (with Anson Mount) Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Dressed
2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Herself	Cameo appearance Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress

Television
Year	Title	Character
1993–1994	The Mickey Mouse Club	Various Roles (Series regular)
1999	The Famous Jett Jackson	Herself
1999	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Herself
1999	The Famous Jett Jackson	Herself
1999	Kenan & Kel	Herself
1999	Médico de familia	Herself
1999	Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree	Herself
2000	The Simpsons	Herself
2000	Saturday Night Live	Herself
2002	Stages: Three Days in Mexico	Herself
2002	Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe	Donner (voice)
2002	Saturday Night Live	Herself (host)
2003	Punk'd	Herself
2004	Britney & Kevin: Chaotic	Herself
2006	Will & Grace	Amber-Louise (1 episode)
2008	How I Met Your Mother	Abby (2 episodes)
2008	Britney: For the Record	Herself
2010	Glee	Herself
2012	The X Factor	Judge
2012	The Pauly D Project	Herself (1 episode)

Tours [link]

Main article: List of Britney Spears concert tours

...Baby One More Time Tour (1999–2000)
Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000–01)
Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–02)
The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004)
The M+M's Tour (2007)
The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009)
Femme Fatale Tour (2011)

Notes [link]

^ "RCA's Peter Edge, Tom Corson on the Shuttering of Jive, J and Arista". Billboard.biz. 2011-10-07. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rca-s-peter-edge-tom-corson-on-the-shuttering-1005394732.story. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
^ Folkard, Claire (2003). Guinness World Records 2003. Bantam Books. p. 288. ISBN 978-0-553-58636-7.
^ Ruggieri, Melissa (2000-12-19). "Music Notes". Richmond Times-Dispatch: pp. D.13
^ Often referred to in interviews, cover stories and promotional material as the new 'princess of pop' Susan Hopkins (2002), Girl Heroes: The New Force In Popular Culture, University of Michigan Press, p. 60
^ Esmailian, Ani (2010-05-21). "15 Most Profitable Female Tours Ever". Hollyscoop. DNA Group. http://www.hollyscoop.com/music/madonna/15-most-profitable-female-tours-ever_2133.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-27.
^ ^a ^b "Artists of the Decade". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010. http://www.billboard.com/#/features/artist-of-the-decade-1004053060.story. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ ^a ^b Grein, Paul (2009-05-29). "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 Album Sellers Of The 2000s". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/34074/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-album-sellers-of-the-2000s. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ "RIAA — Gold & Platinum — May 3, 2010". Recording Industry Association of America. Mitch Bainwol. 2010. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
^ "The Nielsen Company & Billboard's 2011 Music Industry Report" (Press release). Business Wire. Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. http://www.webcitation.org/64TshZep3.
^ ^a ^b Moodie, Clemmie (2011-11-03). "Britney Spears pictured backstage at Rock Of Ages with Shane Ward". Daily Mirror (UK: Trinity Mirror). http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/britney-spears-pictured-backstage-at-rock-89309. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
^ "The Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments - Britney Spears". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-top-25-teen-idol-breakout-moments-20120511/britney-spears-2000-19691231. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
^ Graham, Mark (2012-02-13). "VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music (Complete List)". VH1. Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. http://www.webcitation.org/65vGgxvII.
^ "The World's Most Powerful Celebrities". Forbes. 2012-05-16. http://www.forbes.com/celebrities/#p_1_s_d2_Musicians_. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
^ ^a ^b "The X Factor New Judges". TheXFactorUSA.com. 2012-05-14. http://www.thexfactorusa.com/articles/the-x-factor-new-judges. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
^ ethnic (1981-12-02). "Britney Spears | EthniCelebs – Celebrity Ethnicity |What Nationality Background Ancestry Race". EthniCelebs. http://ethnicelebs.com/britney-spears. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
^ Thomas, Liz (2008-09-17). "Exclusive: First photos of Britney Spears' newly-discovered British family". Daily Mail (UK). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1056674/EXCLUSIVE-First-photos-Britney-Spears-newly-discovered-British-family.html. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 4
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 211
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 56
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Daly, Steven (1999-04-15). "Cover Story: Britney Spears: Britney Spears : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Reporter, Staff (2008-07-31). "Britney Spears' Biography ". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,195283,00.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Spears & Craker 2008, p. 75
^ Laufenberg 2005, p. 616
^ ^a ^b Mundy, Chris (2000-05-25). "Cover Story: The Girl Can't Help It". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X.
^ Hughes 2005, p. 145
^ Taylor, Chuck (1998-10-24). "Air Waves: Jive's Britney Spears Sets Top 40 Abuzz With Rhythm-Leaning 'Baby One More Time'". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 110 (43). ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=JQoEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA1&lr&hl=en&rview=1&pg=PA80#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
^ ^a ^b Hughes 2005, p. 147
^ Blandford 2002, p. 28
^ "Britney Spears, Teen Queen: Rolling Stone's 1999 Cover Story". Rolling Stone. 2011. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/britney-spears-teen-queen-rolling-stones-1999-cover-story-20110329. Retrieved 2010-01-22.
^ Blandford 2002, p. 30
^ Blandford 2002, p. 29
^ Bronson 2003, p. 377
^ "Rock On The Net: 42nd Annual Grammy Awards – 2000". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. RockOntheNet.com. 2010. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2000/grammys.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Record-Breakers and Trivia". Everyhit.com. 2010. http://everyhit.com/record4.html. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Best Selling Singles Of All Time". Everyhit.com. 2010. http://everyhit.com/bestsellingsingles.html. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Britney Spears ". The Official Charts Company. 2010. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/BRITNEY%20SPEARS/. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Petridis, Alexis (2008-11-27). "Britney Spears: Circus". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/nov/28/britney-spears-circus.
^ Blandford 2002, p. 36
^ Stevenson, Jane (1999-07-10). "Spears takes aim at fame". Jam!. Quebecor Inc.. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/S/Spears_Britney/1999/07/10/749831.html. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
^ Blandford 2002, p. 38
^ Skanse, Richard (2000-05-25). "Oops!...She Sold 1.3 Million Albums: Britney Spears". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ Staff, Michael (2010-05-20). "Oops! Week: 10 Fun Facts". BritneySpears.com Brandcasting Unlimited. Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20100606172346/http://www.britneyspears.com/2010/05/oops-week-10-fun-facts.php. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Sheffield, Rob (2000-06-08). "Britney Spears: Oops!...I Did It Again : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
^ "ultratop.be — Britney Spears — Oops!... I Did It Again:". Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Oops!...+I+Did+It+Again&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Rock On The Net: 43nd Annual Grammy Awards – 2001". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. RockOntheNet.com. 2010. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2001/grammys.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Britney Spears on 100 Top Celebrities". Forbes. 2000. http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/53/2001/LIR.jhtml?passListId=53&passYear=2001&passListType=Person&uniqueId=PREW&datatype=Person. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
^ ^a ^b Montgomery, James (2007-09-06). "Britney Spears' Greatest VMA Hits: Barely There Costumes, Giant Snakes And A Scandalous Lip-Lock". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1568995/20070906/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Moss, Corey (2001-10-25). "Britney Says Britney Reflects Who Britney Is". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1450334/20011024/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Britney sold over 12 million copies worldwide". Live Nation. 2010. http://www.store.livenation.com/Product.aspx?cp=13281_16771_16305_16306&pc=MUDD413. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
^ "ultratop.be — Britney Spears — Britney". Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=Britney&cat=a. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). "Britney > Overview". Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r556064. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
^ "Rock On The Net: 45nd Annual Grammy Awards – 2001". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. RockOntheNet.com. 2010. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2003/grammys.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "The New Classics: Music". Entertainment Weekly. 2010. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207337,00.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "ultratop.be — Britney Spears — I'm a Slave 4 U". Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=Britney+Spears&titel=I%27m+A+Slave+4+U&cat=s. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ McHugh, Catherine (2002-07-01). "Britney's Big Splash". Live Design. Penton Media. http://livedesignonline.com/mag/britneys_big_splash/index.html?smte=wr. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ Singlerland, Amy L. (2002-08-01). "Singin' in the Rain". Live Design. Penton Media. http://livedesignonline.com/mag/lighting_singin_rain/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "McCartney Notches Year's Highest-Grossing Tour". Billboard. Nielsen Company. 2002. http://www.billboard.com/news/mccartney-notches-year-s-highest-grossing-1782120.story#/news/mccartney-notches-year-s-highest-grossing-1782120.story. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
^ "Forbes Celebrity 100 2002". Forbes (Forbes Publishing). 2002. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20101202174403/http://www.forbes.com/lists/home.jhtml?passListId=53&passYear=2002&passListType=Person. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Crossroads Movie Reviews, Pictures — Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. 2002. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112549-crossroads/. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ "Crossroads Film Review — Crossroads Film Pictures, Crossroads Film Trailer". View London. 2 View Group Ltd.. 2002-04-02. http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/crossroads-film-review-2625.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hughes 2005, p. 152
^ Moss, Corey (2002-11-27). "Britney Spears Bails On Her New York Restaurant, Nyla". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1458900/20021126/spears_britney.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
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^ "Britney Spears Raises $200,000 For Hurricane Katrina Charity". Starpulse. 2011-05-13. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2011/05/13/britney_spears_raises_200000_for_hurri. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
^ Friedman, Roger (2008-06-19). "Britney Spears' Charity in the Red". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,368961,00.html. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
^ "Britney Spears Donates $50,000 To Cancer Charity". Softpedia. 2005-07-14. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Britney-Spears-Donates-50-000-To-Cancer-Charity-4759.shtml. Retrieved 2012-05-14.

References [link]

Blandford, James R. (2002). Britney. Music Sales Group. ISBN 978-0-7119-9419-5.
Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2.
Hughes, Mark (2005). Buzzmarketing: get people to talk about your stuff. Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-59184-092-3.
Laufenberg, Norbert B. (2005). Entertainment Celebrities. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4120-5335-8.
Spears, Lynne; Craker, Lorilee (2008). Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 978-1-59555-156-6.

External links [link]

Find more about Britney Spear on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote

Official website
Britney Spears at the Internet Movie Database
Britney Spears at AllRovi
Britney Spears at Allmusic
Works by or about Britney Spears in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Britney Spears on Facebook

v t e Britney Spears

Discography Videos Unreleased songs Tours Films Products Awards and nominations

Studio albums	...Baby One More Time Oops!... I Did It Again Britney In the Zone Blackout Circus Femme Fatale

Compilation albums	Greatest Hits: My Prerogative B in the Mix: The Remixes The Singles Collection B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2

Video releases	Time Out with Britney Spears Live and More! Britney: The Videos Live from Las Vegas In the Zone Greatest Hits: My Prerogative Britney & Kevin: Chaotic Britney: For the Record Britney Spears Live: The Femme Fatale Tour

Concert tours	...Baby One More Time Tour Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour Dream Within a Dream Tour The Onyx Hotel Tour The M+M's Tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears Femme Fatale Tour

Filmography	Longshot Crossroads Austin Powers in Goldmember Robbie the Reindeer Britney: For the Record

Television	The Mickey Mouse Club Britney & Kevin: Chaotic "The Mansion Family" "Buy, Buy Baby" "Ten Sessions" "Everything Must Go" "Britney/Brittany" Britney Spears Live: The Femme Fatale Tour

Fragrances	Curious Fantasy Believe Radiance

Related topics	Jive Records Lynne Spears Jamie Lynn Spears Larry Rudolph Kevin Federline A Mother's Gift Max Martin

Book Category Portal

v t e Britney Spears singles

...Baby One More Time	"...Baby One More Time" "Sometimes" "(You Drive Me) Crazy" "Born to Make You Happy" "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart"

Oops!... I Did It Again	"Oops!...I Did It Again" "Lucky" "Stronger" "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know"

Britney	"I'm a Slave 4 U" "Overprotected" "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" "Anticipating" "Boys"

In the Zone	"Me Against the Music" "Toxic" "Everytime" "Outrageous"

Greatest Hits: My Prerogative	"My Prerogative" "Do Somethin'"

Blackout	"Gimme More" "Piece of Me" "Break the Ice"

Circus	"Womanizer" "Circus" "If U Seek Amy" "Radar" "Unusual You"

The Singles Collection	"3"

Femme Fatale	"Hold It Against Me" "Till the World Ends" "I Wanna Go" "Criminal"

Other singles	"What's Going On" "Someday (I Will Understand)" "And Then We Kiss" "S&M (Remix)"

Promotional singles	"I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)"

Other songs	"You Got It All" "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" "My Only Wish (This Year)" "Out from Under" "Kill the Lights" "Shattered Glass" "Mmm Papi" "Inside Out" "How I Roll" "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" "Big Fat Bass" "Whiplash"

Book:Britney Spears Category:Britney Spears Portal:Britney Spears

The X Factor (U.S.)

Seasons

1 · 2

Hosts

Former	Steve Jones

Judges

Current	Simon Cowell · L.A. Reid · Britney Spears · Demi Lovato

Former	Cheryl Cole · Paula Abdul · Nicole Scherzinger

Winners

Melanie Amaro

Winners' songs

"Listen"

Runners-up

Josh Krajcik

List of finalists (season 1) · The X Factor · SYCOtv · FremantleMedia North America · Fox

Persondata
Name	Spears, Britney
Alternative names	Spears, Britney Jean
Short description	American musician, singer, songwriter, actress, author
Date of birth	December 2, 1981
Place of birth	McComb, Mississippi, United States
Date of death
Place of death

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I Muvrini

Background information
Origin	Corsica
Genres	Folk
Years active	1979–present

I Muvrini is a Corsican folk music group who sing traditional Corsican music in their native Corsican language.

1 History
2 Group Members
3 Selected discography
4 External links
5 References

History [link]

The group was formed in the early 1980s by the brothers Jean-François Bernardini and Alain Bernardini who were born in the village of Tagliu-Isulacciu in the north of Corsica. They are named after a type of wild sheep which live in the mountains of Corsica.

The Bernardini brothers were introduced to traditional Corsican music at an early age by their father, Ghjuliu, who was a well-known poet and singer. They recorded their first single with their father in collaboration with the group Canta u Populu Corsu. Ghjuliu Bernardini died in December 1977 and I Muvrini's first album, I Muvrini ... ti ringrazianu, which was released in 1979, was dedicated to their father's memory.

In 2000, I Muvrini joined up with Sting to record their most famous song, "Terre d'Oru" (English: Fields of Gold).

Throughout their career they have promoted the Corsican language and culture.

A concert in Warszawa, September 2008

Group Members [link]

Jean François Bernardini - vocals

Alain Bernardini - vocals

Stephane Mangantini - vocals

Achim Meier - synthesizer & piano

Patrick Manouguian/Manu Vergeade/César Anot/Mao Otayeck/Abdenour Djemai - guitars

Batterie: Paco Sery

César Anot - bass & vocals

Amar Mohali - drums

1er violon Nicolas Stevens/2ème violon Laurence Ronveaux/alto Marc Pijpops/violoncelle Jean-François Assy, Paul de Rocca Serra/violons Djamel Benyeles, Bertrand Cervera, Florina, Dragan Urlic, Dominique Miletti

Selected discography [link]

Compilations [link]

1998 - Sò

Live albums [link]

1990 - In core
1994 - Zenith 93
1996 - Bercy 96
2006 - ALMA 2005

Videos / DVDs [link]

I Muvrini at Bercy '96
Giru FR3
Zenith '92
Terra
Alma 2005

Collaborations [link]

1999 - Άσε την εικόνα να μιλάει (Let the picture speak) with Pyx Lax.^[1]

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: I Muvrini

I Muvrini official web site (in English)
Terracorsa, information on Muvrini and Corsica (in English)
Curagiu, information (in French)
www.IMuvrini.eu, information on I Muvrini (in English, French, German and Dutch]

References [link]

^ CD single with three tracks, one of which is Terre d’ oru (Fields of Gold) with additional Greek lyrics. See http://web.archive.org/web/20051102084357/http://www.geocities.com/pixlax02/cd10.htm.

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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

This article is about the singer. For his self-titled album, see Shayne Ward (album).

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Shayne Ward
Ward in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Shayne Thomas Ward
Born	(1984-10-16) 16 October 1984 (age 27)
Origin	Clayton, Manchester, England
Genres	Pop, R&B, soul
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Syco (2005–2011)
Website	shayneward.com

Shayne Thomas Ward,born 16 October 1984^[1] in Manchester, England^[2], is an English pop singer who rose to fame as the winner of second series of The X Factor. He has sold over three million records worldwide and has had number one albums and singles in nine countries. During The X Factor competition, Ward was mentored by manager Louis Walsh. The Bookies' favourite to win the show, he defeated duo Journey South and singer Andy Abraham in the final screened by ITV1 by a margin of 1.2% of the vote, out of a reputed 10.8 million phone votes cast by viewers. His first single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on December21, 2005 and became the last number one of 2005, hitting the top spot on 31 December.^[3] It sold 313,000 copies on its first day of sales, making it the third fastest selling single of all time, behind Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" and Will Young's "Evergreen", which sold 685,000 and 400,000 copies in their first days of sale respectively. Ward's prize, as winner, was a recording contract with Simon Cowell's Syco record label, which is co-owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The contract had a stated value of £1 million, of which £150,000 was a cash advance and the remainder was allocated to recording and marketing costs.^[4]

1 Early life
2 Career
3 Discography
- 3.1 Studio albums
- 3.2 Singles
4 References
5 External links

Early life [link]

Ward was born in 1984 in Clayton to Irish Traveller parents Martin and Philomena.^[5] He has a twin sister named Emma and five other siblings: Mark, Martin, Michael, Lisa and Leona.^[5] He is a Manchester United supporter,^[6] and in 2002 he reached the final thirty of Popstars: The Rivals,^[7] the television show that created Girls Aloud. Prior to his participation in The X Factor, Ward was in a band called Destiny with two women named Tracy Murphy and Tracey Lyle, performing at pubs, clubs and weddings.^[7] Ward has been in a relationship with Faye McKeever since 2004.^[8]

Career [link]

[edit] 2005: The X Factor

In early 2005, Ward auditioned for the second series of The X Factor. He impressed all three judges (Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh) and passed through to the next round. His category (16 to 24 year olds) was then mentored by Walsh, and Ward was chosen to be among Walsh's top four contestants and perform on the live shows. Ward quickly became the bookmakers' favourite to win the show, and after making it to the grand final, he defeated Simon Cowell's duo Journey South and Sharon Osbourne's over-25 singer Andy Abraham and was crowned as the winner of The X Factor 2005.^[9] He had not fallen into the bottom two throughout the entire competition, and won by a margin of 1.2% of the vote, out of a reported 10.8 million phone votes cast by viewers. Immediately after the competition, his X Factor mentor Louis Walsh became his manager under a joint venture with Global Publishing and Walsh Global Management.

Table showing songs performed by Ward on *The X Factor* and the results
Week	Song	Result
Audition	"Sacrifice"	To final 24
Week 1	"Right Here Waiting"	Safe
Week 2	"If You're Not the One"	Safe
Week 3	"Summer of '69"	Safe
Week 4	"You Make Me Feel Brand New"	Safe
Week 5	"Cry Me a River"	Safe
Week 6	"A Million Love Songs"	Safe
Week 7	"I Believe in a Thing Called Love"	Safe
Week 8	"Careless Whisper"	Safe
Week 8	"Take Your Mama"	Safe
Semi-final	"If Tomorrow Never Comes"	Safe
Semi-final	"Unchained Melody"	Safe
Final	"If You're Not the One"	Winner
	"When a Child Is Born
	"Over the Rainbow"
	"That's My Goal"

[edit] 2006–07: Shayne Ward

Immediately after his victory on The X Factor, Ward signed a recording contract with Syco Music and his first single, "That's My Goal", was released in the UK on Wednesday, 21 December 2005. After selling 742,000 copies in the first week, including 313,000 on its first day, it became the Christmas number one single of 2005, held the top spot for four weeks and stayed in the top 75 until June 2006, a 21-week run. It became, at that time the fourth fastest-selling UK single of all time, beaten only by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind", Will Young's "Anything Is Possible/Evergreen", and Gareth Gates' "Unchained Melody" which sold 685,000, 403,000 and 335,000 copies in their first days of sale respectively. To date, "That's My Goal" has sold over 1.3 million copies in the UK. Ward also won an Ivor Nevello Award for being the Best Selling Single. Ward's second single, "No Promises", a cover of a Bryan Rice song was released on 10 April 2006, and peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart. Shayne Ward, his self-titled debut album was released on 17 April 2006. It sold 201,266 copies in the first week and entered the albums chart at number one. To date, the album has sold 520,000 copies in the UK and a further 2,000,000 worldwide, reaching number one in eight other countries. The album was certified platinum. Ward's third single "Stand by Me" failed to make the chart impact of the previous two, entering and peaking in the UK Singles Chart at number fourteen.^[10] It fared slightly better in the Irish charts however, reaching number nine. It was confirmed in Gary Barlow's autobiography My Take, that in 2006, fellow Take That member, Jason Orange threatened to quit the band, and Ward was seriously considered as his replacement. Orange, however, later changed his mind and a replacement was not required.^[11] In August 2006, it was reported that Ward had developed vocal cord nodules – the same condition that stopped the singing career of Julie Andrews – and was to be flown out to Los Angeles in early September to see a specialist surgeon. His manager, Louis Walsh, released a statement that he was confident Ward would be fine and would be back at work by the end of the month. Ward had successful treatment and was indeed able to return to his singing career. In November 2006, he released his autobiography entitled My Story. He travelled to several places around the UK for book signings, which hundreds of people attended. In early 2007, Ward embarked on a solo tour of UK & Republic of Ireland venues, taking in eighteen concerts in twenty-eight days from late January to mid-February. The tour commenced in Dublin on 21 January and ended in Birmingham on 17 February 2007.

[edit] 2007–08: Breathless

After the completion of his successful debut tour, Ward's fourth single and first from his second album, "If That's OK with You" was given a release date of 20 August 2007, but was then delayed and became a double A-side single with "No U Hang Up". It was finally released on 24 September 2007, and charted at number two in the UK being held off by the Sugababes with "About You Now". "No U Hang Up" and "If That's OK with You" charted separately in Ireland, the former reaching number eleven and the latter entering at number one. Ward's second album, Breathless, was released on 26 November 2007, and after selling over 95,000 copies in its first week, debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, held off the top spot by his X Factor successor, Leona Lewis's, multi-platinum selling debut, Spirit. In Ireland, the album debuted at number one, removing Lewis's album from the top spot, a position it held for three weeks, and was later certified five times platinum. The second single from Ward's album was announced as "Breathless", and was released on 19 November 2007. It peaked at number six in the UK and number two in Ireland. On 10 November, Ward performed "Breathless" on the live results show of the fourth series of The X Factor, although the single was not available for download until the 18 November, followed by a performance on The Paul O'Grady Show on 19 November. In the UK the album has been certified platinum with sales of over 450,000. In May 2008 Ward embarked on his month-long UK tour named The Breathless Tour 2008. He made his stage debut at London's O₂ Arena and visited his home town Manchester at the MEN Arena. He also performed his complete show as a support act for Westlife's 2008 tour in front of a crowd of over 80,000 at Ireland's Croke Park. Ward also played on the opening night at The O₂, Dublin, at the Cheerios Childline concert on 16 December 2008.

[edit] 2009–2011: Obsession

Simon Cowell refused to release any further music by Ward for three years in favour of Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle, prompting manager Louis Walsh to stop managing Ward.^[12] Ward began working on his third album in 2009 with producers RedOne and Taio Cruz.^[13] The album, titled Obsession, was released on 15 November 2010.^[14] The singer worked with songwriters such as Savan Kotecha, Quiz & Larossi and Lucas Secon, while the songs produced by RedOne and Taio Cruz will not be included.^[15] The first single from the album is a cover version of Nickelback's 2008 single, "Gotta Be Somebody".^[16] Ward's version was released on 7 November 2010 and reached number 12 in the UK and number 10 in Ireland.^[14] The video for the song premiered on 29 October 2010 and he performed the song on The X Factor on 7 November. Shayne also performed at the Miss World Pageant, which was held in Sanya, China. He did his first television appearance in over two years, on Live From Studio Five the day after his X Factor appearance, where he also performed his single. The album reached number 11 in Ireland on 19 November and peaked at number 15 in the UK on 21 November. On 8 March 2011, Shayne performed the title track from the album Obsession on The Alan Titchmarsh Show. In an interview with Digital Spy Ward stated that he hoped he could release a second single from the album. On 19 April 2011, it was reported that Syco Music had not renewed their recording contract with Ward due to the chart performance of Obsession.^[17] Ward later responded to the label's decision on his Twitter profile writing, "1 door closed, A Thousand more will open."^[18]

[edit] 2011-present: Rock of Ages

On 9 June 2011, it was announced that Ward would star as Stacee Jaxx in 80s-themed musical Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London.^[19] He has since announced that he will be returning to the studio in September 2012, after his contract with Rock of Ages ends.

Discography [link]

Studio albums [link]

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title	Album details	Peak chart positions					Certifications
Title	Album details	UK ^[20]	DEN ^[21]	IRE ^[22]	SWE ^[23]	EU ^[24]	Certifications
Shayne Ward	Released: 17 April 2006 Label: Syco Formats: CD, digital download	1	—	1	8	8	UK: Platinum^[25] IRE: 4× Platinum^[26]
Breathless	Released: 26 November 2007 Label: Syco Formats: CD, digital download	2	39	1	—	12	IRE: 5× Platinum^[27]
Obsession	Released: 15 November 2010 Label: Syco Formats: CD, digital download	15	—	11	—	39
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

Singles [link]

Single	Peak chart positions						Certifications	Album
Single	UK ^[20]	DEN ^[21]	IRE ^[22]	NOR ^[28]	SWE ^[23]	EU ^[29]	Certifications	Album
"That's My Goal"	1	—	1	—	58	4	UK: Gold^[25]	Shayne Ward
"No Promises"	2	—	1	13	4	—
"Stand by Me"	14	—	9	—	—	42
"If That's OK with You" ^[A] ^[B]	2	—	1	—	45	—		Breathless
"No U Hang Up"	2	11	—	38	38	—	DEN: Gold^[30]
"Breathless"	6	—	2	—	—	25
"Gotta Be Somebody"	12	—	10	—	—	—		Obsession
"Obsession"	97	—	—	—	—	—
"Must Be A Reason Why..." (featuring J. Pearl)	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released

Notes

^{^} "If That's OK With You" and "No U Hang Up" were released as a double-A side in the United Kingdom in October 2007, but were released separately elsewhere.
^{^} "If That's OK With You" also charted separately at number 72 in the UK in December 2007 due to strong digital downloads.^[20]

References [link]

^ Shayne Ward Official Site – Design a Shayne Birthday Card
^ Shayne Ward Official Site – Biography
^ The Virgin Book Of British Hit Singles Volume 2"
^ Hallelujah: how Leonard Cohen became an X Factor winner without trying The Times, 13 December 2008
^ ^a ^b Carroll, Sue (7 July 2006). "SHAYNE WARD EXCLUSIVE". Daily Mirror. UK: Trinity Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2006/07/07/shayne-ward-exclusive-115875-17342774/. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
^ Chua, Dennis (5 October 2008). "The Red Devil in Shayne". New Strait Times. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Features/20081005161719/Article/indexF_html. Retrieved 19 October 2008. ^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b BBC Wiltshire – Shayne Ward is Coming to Town
^ Levine, Nick (31 July 2007). "EXCLUSIVE: Shayne Ward's girlfriend 'furious' over phone bill". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a68833/shayne-wards-girlfriend-furious-over-phone-bill.html. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
^ "Shayne Ward wins X Factor". RTÉ Entertainment. 16 December 2005. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2005/1216/thexfactor.html. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
^ "X Factor Shayne is a chart flop". Daily Mail (London). 17 July 2006. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-396102/X-Factor-Shayne-chart-flop.html.
^ Lee, Ann (28 September 2010). "X Factor's Shayne Ward: 'I'm back and I want to work with Take That' | Metro.co.uk". Metro. http://www.metro.co.uk/music/842364-x-factors-shayne-ward-im-back-and-i-want-to-work-with-take-that. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
^ Lampert, Nicole (5 November 2010). "For three years Simon Cowell refused to release a new album by X Factor winner Shayne Ward...Then Daily Mail readers stepped in". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1326727/Shayne-Ward-prove-Simon-Cowell-wrong.html.
^ Fletcher, Alex (27 January 2010). "Shayne Ward records Haiti message". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a199672/shayne-ward-records-haiti-message.html. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
^ ^a ^b Copsey, Robert (13 September 2010). "Shayne Ward reveals album details". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a276318/shayne-ward-reveals-album-details.html. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
^ Levine, Nick (24 September 2010). "Music – Interview – Shayne Ward". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/s103/the-x-factor/interviews/a278385/shayne-ward.html. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
^ "Exclusive: New Shayne Ward single title announced". http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a278445/new-shayne-ward-single-title-announced.html.
^ Robertson, Colin (19 April 2011). "Shayne Ward dumped by Simon Cowell". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/3534096/Simon-Cowell-dumps-X-Factor-winner-Shayne-Ward.html.
^ Published Tuesday, Apr 19 2011, 14:34 BST (2011-04-19). "Shayne Ward reacts to Syco axe - X Factor News - Reality TV". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/s103/the-x-factor/news/a315401/shayne-ward-reacts-to-syco-axe.html. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
^ "Shayne Ward". Londonnet.co.uk. 2011-06-09. http://www.londonnet.co.uk/londoneroftheday/2011/jun/shayne-ward.html. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
^ ^a ^b ^c "UK Charts > Shayne Ward". Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/shayne%20ward/. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ ^a ^b "Danish Charts > Shayne Ward". danishcharts.com Hung Medien. http://danishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Shayne+Ward. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ ^a ^b "Irish Charts > Shayne Ward". irish-charts.com Hung Medien. http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Shayne+Ward. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ ^a ^b "Swedish Charts > Shayne Ward". swedishcharts.com Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Shayne+Ward. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ "Shayne Ward > Album & Song Chart History > European Albums". Billboard Nielsen Business Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/shayne-ward/chart-history/744976?f=293&g=Albums. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ ^a ^b "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ "IRMA 2006 Certification Awards". Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/multi_platinum06.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ "IRMA 2007 Certification Awards". Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/multi_platinum07.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ "Norwegian Charts > Shayne Ward". norwegiancharts.com Hung Medien. http://norwegiancharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Shayne+Ward. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ "Shayne Ward > Album & Song Chart History > European Hot 100". Billboard Nielsen Business Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/shayne-ward/chart-history/744976. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ "Hitlisten.NU". Hitlisterne.dk. http://www.hitlisterne.dk/tracklisten.asp?w=19&y=2008&list=t40. Retrieved 2012-03-13.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shayne Ward

Preceded by Steve Brookstein	Winner of The X Factor 2005	Succeeded by Leona Lewis

v t e Shayne Ward

Studio albums	Shayne Ward Breathless Obsession

Singles	"That's My Goal" " No Promises" "Stand by Me" "If That's OK with You" "No U Hang Up" "Breathless" "Gotta Be Somebody" "Obsession" "Must Be A Reason Why..."

Concert tours	Shayne Ward Live 2007 The Breathless Tour 2008

Related articles	The X Factor Louis Walsh Simon Cowell

The X Factor (UK)

Series

Main	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Celebrity	Battle of the Stars

Presenters

Current	Dermot O'Leary

Former	Kate Thornton

Judges

Current	Louis Walsh Gary Barlow Tulisa Contostavlos

Former	Simon Cowell Brian Friedman Sharon Osbourne Dannii Minogue Cheryl Cole Kelly Rowland

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Winners

Main series	Steve Brookstein Shayne Ward Leona Lewis Leon Jackson Alexandra Burke Joe McElderry Matt Cardle Little Mix

Celebrity series	Lucy Benjamin

Related singles

Winner's singles	"Against All Odds" "That's My Goal" "A Moment Like This" "When You Believe" "Hallelujah" "The Climb" "When We Collide" "Cannonball"

Charity singles	"Hero" "You Are Not Alone" "Heroes" "Wishing on a Star"

List of episodes
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Series four	Leon Jackson Rhydian Same Difference Niki Evans Daniel DeBourg

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Series six	Joe McElderry Olly Murs Stacey Solomon Jedward Stacey McClean Daniel Pearce

Series seven	Matt Cardle Rebecca Ferguson One Direction Cher Lloyd Mary Byrne Belle Amie John Adeleye Twem

Series eight	Little Mix Marcus Collins Carolynne Poole

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Rick Astley
Astley performing in Santiago de Chile, in 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Richard Paul Astley
Born	(1966-02-06) 6 February 1966 (age 46) Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England
Genres	Pop, dance-pop, blue-eyed soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards
Years active	1985–1993 2000–present
Labels	RCA, Polydor, Cruz
Associated acts	FBI Stock Aitken Waterman
Website	rickastley.co.uk

Richard Paul "Rick" Astley ( /ˈrɪk ˈæstli/; born 6 February 1966) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, and radio personality. He is known for his 1987 song, "Never Gonna Give You Up", which was a #1 hit single in 25 countries.^[1] Astley holds the record for being the only male solo artist to have his first 8 singles reach the Top 10 in the UK^[2] and by retirement in 1993 had sold approximately 40 million records worldwide.^[3]^[4]^[5]

After retiring from the music industry in 1993, Astley made a comeback in 2007 when he became an Internet phenomenon, as his video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" became part of a popular Internet meme known as "Rickrolling".^[6] Astley was voted "Best Act Ever" by Internet users at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008.^[7]

1 Early life
2 Signing to Stock Aitken Waterman
3 Success
4 Switching to soul and AC
5 Retirement
6 Return to singing
7 Astley today
8 Personal life
9 Discography
- 9.1 Studio albums
10 Rickroll internet phenomenon
11 See also
12 References
13 External links

Early life [link]

Richard Paul Astley was born on 6 February 1966 in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, becoming the fourth child of his family. His parents divorced when he was five, and Astley was brought up by his father.^[8] His musical career started when he was ten, singing in the local church choir.^[9] During his schooldays, Astley formed and played the drums in a number of local bands, where he met guitarist David Morris.^[2]^[10] After leaving school at sixteen, Astley was employed during the day as a driver in his father's market-gardening business and played drums on the Northern club circuit at night in bands such as “Give Way” - specialising in covering Beatles and Shadows songs - and “FBI”, which won several local talent competitions.^[9]

Signing to Stock Aitken Waterman [link]

In 1985, Astley was performing as a drummer with a soul band named FBI, with Morris on guitar. They were a well known local band writing and performing their own music, gigging in pubs and clubs. When FBI's lead singer left the band, and Morris left to concentrate on his career in hairdressing,^[10] Astley offered to be the lead vocalist. This was when he was noticed by the record producer Pete Waterman, who persuaded him to come to London to work at the PWL recording studio,^[2] with RCA Records publishing his records. Under the tutelage of the production team of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, known as Stock Aitken Waterman, Astley was taught about the recording process and groomed for his future career, supposedly starting off as the recording studio 'tea boy'.^[11] The reason for Astley to be hired initially as a 'tape op', was to overcome his shyness.^[12] SAW also hired most of FBI, including Morris as a guitarist/songwriter.^[10]

File:FBI with Astley.jpg

The group FBI, from left to right, Kevin Needham, Rick Astley, Will Hopper, Peter Dale, & Greg Smee, in 1984

Success [link]

His first single was the little-known "When You Gonna", released as a collaboration with Lisa Carter, with little promotion. It did not chart. His first solo offering was "Never Gonna Give You Up", recorded on New Year's Day 1987, and released eight months later, in August. Astley's distinctive rich, deep voice combined with dance pop, made the song an immediate success,^[13] spending five weeks at the top of the British charts and becoming the year's highest-selling single. The song was also a worldwide number one hit, topping the charts in 24 other countries, including the U.S., Australia, and Germany. It would become the first of 13 (worldwide) top 30 hit singles for him. "Never Gonna Give You Up" won Best British single at the 1988 BPI awards (now called the BRIT Awards),^[14] and he performed the hit in front of a global audience of 100 million.^[2]^[15]

His next single was "Whenever You Need Somebody", which was released in October. The single was a recycled Stock, Aitken, Waterman song, originally recorded by O'Chi Brown in 1985. It became a successful European hit, reaching #1 in seven countries, including Germany and Sweden, following up the success of his debut single. It also reached #3 in the UK. It was not released in North America.^[16]

In November 1987, the album Whenever You Need Somebody, containing four Astley-written tracks, also reached number one in the UK and Australia, and #10 in the U.S. It was certified 4x Platinum in the UK and Canada, and 2x Platinum in the US. Overall Whenever You Need Somebody sold 15.2 million copies worldwide, making him the top selling British act of the year.^[2]

In the run up to Christmas 1987, Astley released a cover version of the Nat King Cole classic "When I Fall in Love". This single is mainly remembered for a closely fought contest for UK Christmas Number 1. Rivals EMI, hoping to see their act the Pet Shop Boys reach #1, re-released the version by Nat King Cole.^[17]^[18] This led to a slowdown of purchases of Astley's version, allowing the Pet Shop Boys to reach the coveted top spot. Despite selling over 200,000 copies and gaining a Silver certification from the BPI,^[19] it peaked in the UK at #2 for two weeks. The re-release of Nat King Cole's version reached #4. The B side was a dance number "My Arms Keep Missing You", which was successful in mainland Europe.

Astley's fourth single release would be "Together Forever" in 1988, reaching #2 in the UK. It was denied the top spot by Neighbours sensation Kylie Minogue's debut "I Should Be So Lucky".^[20] "Together Forever" was more successful state-side, topping the U.S charts, making it his second U.S chart topper, which meant Astley was one of the few British acts to crack the American market. In 1989 he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, but lost to Tracy Chapman.

His fifth and final release from his debut album was "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man". It was a more soulful song, when compared to his other releases, and was mainly intended for the North American market. Thus, it was not released in Britain. It was another hit for Astley, reaching #10 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100, and #1 in Canada. During the period between his debut release and his fifth single, Astley outsold every other artist in the world.^[21] In the UK, he was in the Top 40 every week for the first 6 months of his career.^[2]

A fire in the PWL studios destroyed much of Astley's new material,^[2] causing a delay in the release of his second album. Hold Me In Your Arms was eventually released in January 1989, containing five singles, and reached #8 in the UK and #19 in the US, being certified platinum in the UK and gold in the US.

File:Rickastleyposter.jpg

Rick Astley was presented by Stock Aitken Waterman as a boy next door type act. After leaving PWL, Astley changed his image to a more mature and moody musician.

Astley's relationship with British media deteriorated significantly after the release of Whenever You Need Somebody, with the media calling him a 'puppet' of Stock Aitken Waterman.^[14] This was despite Astley writing five of his new album's tracks. The negative press inevitably affected the sales of his singles.^[22] The first single from the album to be released was "She Wants To Dance With Me", a number penned by Astley himself. It was another successful single, reaching #6 on both the UK and US charts. "Take Me to Your Heart" was the next single to be released from the album. It reached #8 in the UK and was not released in the US. The Astley-written ballad "Hold Me in Your Arms" reached #10 in the UK and was also not released in North America. The next two singles released from the album were intended for the North American market. "Giving Up On Love" and a cover of The Temptations song "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" charted at #38 and #89 in the US respectively.

In December 1989, Astley set off on his first world tour, touring 15 countries including the UK, US, Australia, and Japan.^[2] By the end of the tour, Astley was tiring of the negative press, and wanted to explore alternative paths as a musician. Thus, he left his producers Stock Aitken Waterman, with RCA records buying out his contract with PWL.

Switching to soul and AC [link]

By 1990, Astley had parted company with Stock, Aitken, and Waterman. He also decided to leave his dance-pop days behind him, moving towards his passion, soul. This shift in musical genre led him to change his image too, ditching the boy next door look, presenting himself as a mature and passionate musician. His third album, Free, was released in 1991 containing collaborations with Elton John.^[14] The album contained three singles, and reached #9 in the UK and #31 in the US.

He achieved one more major success with the 1991 ballad "Cry for Help", which reached #7 in both the UK and the US. This would place Astley in The Guinness Book of Records, as he became the first male solo artist to have his first eight singles all chart in the UK Top 10. This record still stands to this day.^[2] The other two singles from Free were not as successful. "Move Right Out" reached #58 in the UK and #81 in the US; and "Never Knew Love" reached #70 in the UK and did not chart in the US. Free would mark the end of Astley's successful period, and "Cry for Help" would be the last Astley single to make the Top 10 in either the UK or US (as of May 2010).

His next album, Body and Soul, was released in 1993, and was largely an Adult Contemporary album. By the time the album was released, Astley had decided to retire from the music industry. As a result, the album did not get a lot of promotion,^[2] not charting in the UK but managing to make the Billboard 200, peaking at #182. The two singles, "The Ones You Love" and "Hopelessly", performed very well on the US adult contemporary chart, peaking at #19 and #4 respectively. "The Ones You Love" peaked at #48 in the UK but did not chart in the US. "Hopelessly" also crossed over and peaked at #28 on the US Billboard 100, staying in the US top 40 for five weeks, and #33 in the UK. It was named as one of the most performed songs at the 1994 BMI Awards,^[23] and is one of the few songs to achieve BMI 'Million-Air' status.^[24]

Retirement [link]

After 1993, Astley decided to retire from the music industry at the young age of 27, deciding that family life was more important. During Astley's time out of the music business, he raised his daughter Emilie, born in 1992. Thus, for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Astley remained largely out of the spotlight. One notable musical appearance by Astley during retirement was as a backing singer on The Lion King soundtrack in 1994.^[11]

Return to singing [link]

Almost 10 years after Body and Soul, Astley finally returned to the music world, signing a co-publishing deal with Polydor and releasing Keep It Turned On in 2002. The album featured the single "Sleeping", which became a minor club hit, thanks to a set of remixes from U.S. house producer Todd Terry. Keep It Turned On was only released in Continental Europe.^[2]

Astley's first compilation album, Greatest Hits, was released in 2002, and reached #16 on the UK Albums Chart. With no promotion from Astley, it sold over 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the BPI.^[2] After retirement in 1993, Astley continued to write songs for various acts and in 2003 he managed to chart at #10 in the UK as a songwriter with "Shakespeare's (Way With) Words" performed by short-lived boy band One True Voice.

In 2004, Astley toured for the first time in 14 years, which led him to a record contract with Sony BMG.^[2] In March 2005, Astley released the album Portrait in which he covered many classic standards such as "Vincent",^[25] "Nature Boy" and "Close to You". Both Astley and Sony BMG were unhappy with the end result so the album was poorly promoted,^[2] yet managed to reach #26 on the UK Albums Chart.

Astley performing in Denmark '09

In April 2008, the album "The Ultimate Collection: Rick Astley" was released by Sony BMG and by early May it had reached #17 on the UK Top 40 Albums Chart,^[26] again with no promotion from Astley.

In September 2008, Rick was nominated for the 'Best Act Ever' award at the MTV Europe Music Awards^[7] The push to make Astley the winner of the award continued after the announcement, as well as efforts to encourage MTV to personally invite Astley to the awards ceremony.^[27] On 7 November, following a massive internet campaign by fans, Rick won the award in Liverpool, but was not there in person to receive it. Perez Hilton collected the prize on his behalf.^[28] On the back of this, "Never Gonna Give You Up" returned to the UK charts, over 21 years after it was released, peaking at #73 during the Christmas period.

During the late 2000s, Astley continued touring across the globe, touring with various other '80s acts, such as Boy George and Belinda Carlisle, in the Here and Now Tour.^[2] In April 2009, he wrote an article for Time about moot.^[29]

Astley today [link]

Astley was a special guest throughout Peter Kay's new tour, The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour, from 27 April to 22 May 2010. To mark the occasion, Rick Astley released a new single "Lights Out" on his own label. It was released on 7 June 2010.^[30] This was Astley's first release in the UK Singles Chart in 17 years. It was well received by radio, peaking #15 on the UK Airplay Charts, but failed to become a commercial hit, reaching only #97 on the UK Singles Chart.

During the summer 2010, Astley became a radio DJ for London's Magic FM, presenting a Sunday show.^[31]^[32] Initially the contract was 8 weeks but he proved popular with listeners and his contract was extended till the end of the year.^[33] In December 2010, Astley co-hosted the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 with Peter Kay,^[34] and in March 2011 appeared in Comic Relief's Red Nose Day telethon on the BBC.^[35]^[36]

Personal life [link]

Rick Astley is married to Lene Bausager, and the couple have one daughter, Emilie, who was born in 1992. Astley met Lene when she was working as a promoter with RCA in 1988.^[8] Lene is a film producer, and was nominated for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the Sean Ellis film Cashback, where she was the main producer.^[37]^[38] The family lives in the London suburb of Richmond.^[39]

Discography [link]

Main article: Rick Astley discography

Canada Top data: for singles and albums from The Record magazine. US Top data: for singles from The Billboard Hot 100, for albums from The Billboard 200; UK Top data for singles and albums is from UK Singles Chart. Based on various music charts in the UK, US and Canada, Astley has charted a grand total of 14 different hit singles and 6 different hit albums, as of April 2010.

Studio albums [link]

Whenever You Need Somebody (1987)
Hold Me in Your Arms (1989)
Free (1991)
Body & Soul (1993)
Keep It Turned On (2001)
Portrait (2005)

Rickroll internet phenomenon [link]

Astley rickrolling the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2008

Main articles: Rickrolling and Never Gonna Give You Up

In 2007,^[40] Rick Astley became the subject of a viral internet meme known as Rickrolling. This is where internet users are tricked into watching Rick Astley's video "Never Gonna Give You Up" by following a link that claims to be something else.^[41] Views of this video on various websites are now in the millions. The phenomenon became so popular that on 1 April 2008, YouTube pranked its users by making every single featured video on its front page a Rickroll.^[42]

On November 27, 2008, Astley himself participated in a live Rickroll during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends characters were singing "Best Friend", the theme from the 1970s TV series The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Midway through the song, Astley emerged from the float and began to lip sync his signature hit. At the end of Astley's performance, Cheese (a character from Foster's) shouted out "I like Rickrolling!".^[43]^[44]

Despite the video garnering millions of hits on YouTube, Astley has earned almost no money from the meme, receiving only US$12 in royalties from YouTube for his performance share.^[45]

References [link]

^ Mike Stock Music - Biography
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Rickastley.com - Biography. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
^ MySpace.com - Rick Astley
^ Shropshire Star.com - 7th June 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
^ Liverpool Echo - 12th November 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
^ Rick Biografia. VH1 Spañol (undated). Retrieved 27 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Astley shortlisted for MTV award". BBC News. 2 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7646807.stm. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
^ ^a ^b "Rick Astley: The pop idol returns". London: The Independent. 13 October 2005. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/rick-astley-the-pop-idol-returns-510759.html. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
^ ^a ^b "Rick Astley - About". lookstudio.com. http://lookstudio.com/rickastley/about.html. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
^ ^a ^b ^c "MP David Morris on his journey from pop to politics". BBC. 2 March 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12523570. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b "YouTube - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (1987)". www.youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HrSN7176XI&feature=player_embedded. Retrieved 2010-02-11. ^{[dead link]}
^ "YouTube - Rick Astley Interview in 1987 (TVam) (1987)". www.youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9fNRXUoveg&feature=related. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
^ "allmusic - Rick Astley - Overview". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3581. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Rick Astley - Biography". TalkTalk. http://www.talktalk.co.uk/music/biography/artist/rick-astley/biography/10843. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "YouTube - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (live) 1988". www.youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnM1Ee_H2As&NR=1. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
^ "Discography - Whenever You Need Somebody". www.rickastley.co.uk. http://www.rickastley.co.uk/discography/singles/singles02.html. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "The Ultimate Collection by Rick Astley". itunes.apple.com. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/take-me-to-your-heart/id277825763?i=277825791&ign-mpt=uo%3D4. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "Discography - When I Fall In Love". www.rickastley.co.uk. http://www.rickastley.co.uk/discography/singles/singles03.html. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "Certified Awards Search". BPI. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "Singles Chart 12/03/88". chartstats. http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19880312. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "Ask Rick Astley". Sunday Sun. http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/your-questions/2008/02/24/ask-rick-astley-79310-20515633/. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "Discography -Hold Me In Your Arms". www.rickastley.co.uk. http://www.rickastley.co.uk/discography/singles/singles09.html. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ The Eighties Club
^ BMI Million-Airs
^ Astley, Rick. "Vincent (Live)" (video). YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttfTJuU3frA&feature=related.
^ "Madonna celebrates chart double". BBC News. 4 May 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7383141.stm. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
^ Bestactever.com 10 October 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
^ "US stars scoop MTV Europe awards". BBC News. 7 November 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7714498.stm. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
^ "The 2009 Time 100". Time. 30 April 2009. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1894410_1893837_1894180,00.html. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
^ "Rick Astley Returns With Peter Kay". Fame Magazine. 28 April 2010. http://www.famemagazine.co.uk/2010/04/28/rick-astley-returns-with-peter-kay/.
^ "Rick Astley's Summer Soundtrack". Magic FM 105.7. http://www.magic.co.uk/sectional.asp?id=38003.
^ Halliday, Josh (5 July 2010). "Rick Astley to host Magic 105.4 Sunday show". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/05/rick-astley-magic-radio.
^ "Magic 105.4 Extends Rick Astley’s Show". Bauer Media. http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Press-Office/News/Magic-1054-extends-Rick-Astleys-Show/.
^ "Friday - It's Kay Day!". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wdf15.
^ "The Chefs Choir Sing "Never Gonna Give You Up" - Red Nose Day 2011". www.youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6_60oLrfI. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
^ "Celebrity choir sing Take That classic to wrap up Red Nose Day 2011". www.youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTGG-Ga64V0. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
^ Lene Bausager - IMDB at the Internet Movie Database
^ "Photo 29 Lene Bausager and Rick Astley | 78th Annual Academy Awards". Digitalhit.com. http://www.digitalhit.com/galleries/22/1/29. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
^ "RICK ASTLEY: 'I'M TOO NICE TO BE A POP IDOL'". Daily Express. http://www.express.co.uk/features/view/64384/RICK-ASTLEY-I-m-too-nice-to-be-a-pop-idol.
^ "Rick Roll related Google Trends". Google Trends. Google. http://www.google.com/trends?q=rick+astley%2C+rickroll%2C+rick+roll%2C+never+gonna+give+you+up&ctab=0&geo=all&date=2007&sort=0. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
^ Savage, Mark (1 April 2008). "Rickrolling and the league of web fame". BBC News (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7325280.stm. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
^ "YouTube RickRolls Users". TechCrunch. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/31/youtube-rickrolls-users/. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
^ North, Jesse (2008-11-27). "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Best and worst moments". http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/11/macys-thanksgiv.html. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "YouTube - Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Rickroll". www.youtube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL-hNMJvcyI. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
^ "German judge chides Google over YouTube freeloading". The Register. 2010-08-31. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/31/gema_youtube/.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rick Astley

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Rick Astley

Official Rick Astley website
Official Rick Astley MySpace
Official Rick Astley YouTube channel (1987-93) (country restricted)
Official Rick Astley YouTube channel (2010-)^{[dubious – discuss]}

v t e Rick Astley

Studio albums	Whenever You Need Somebody Hold Me in Your Arms Free Body & Soul Keep It Turned On Portrait

Compilations	Together Forever – Greatest Hits and More... Greatest Hits The Best of Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up 3 Originals Love Songs The Platinum and Gold Collection – Rick Astley Artist Collection: Rick Astley Collections Ultimate Collection Playlist: The Very Best of Rick Astley

Remix albums	Dance Mixes 12" Collection

Singles	"Never Gonna Give You Up" "Whenever You Need Somebody" "When I Fall in Love"/"My Arms Keep Missing You" "Together Forever" "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man" "She Wants to Dance with Me" "Take Me to Your Heart" "Don't Say Goodbye" "Hold Me in Your Arms" "Giving Up on Love" "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" "Cry for Help" "Move Right Out" "Never Knew Love" "The Ones You Love" "Hopelessly" "Sleeping" "Keep It Turned On "Lights Out"

Appeared on	"When You Gonna" "Let It Be" "Learning to Live (Without Your Love)" "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

Record labels	RCA Records Cruz Music

Related articles	Discography Rickrolling Stock, Aitken & Waterman

v t e UK best-selling singles (by year) (1970–1989)

1970: "In the Summertime" - Mungo Jerry · 1971: "My Sweet Lord" - George Harrison · 1972: "Amazing Grace" - The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Band · 1973: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" - Tony Orlando and Dawn · 1974: "Tiger Feet" - Mud · 1975: "Bye Bye Baby" - Bay City Rollers · 1976: "Save Your Kisses for Me" - Brotherhood of Man · 1977: "Mull of Kintyre"/"Girls' School" - Wings · 1978: "Rivers of Babylon"/"Brown Girl in the Ring" - Boney M. · 1979: "Bright Eyes" - Art Garfunkel · 1980: "Don't Stand So Close to Me" - The Police · 1981: "Tainted Love" - Soft Cell · 1982: "Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners · 1983: "Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club · 1984: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" - Band Aid · 1985: "The Power of Love" - Jennifer Rush · 1986: "Don't Leave Me This Way" - The Communards · 1987: "Never Gonna Give You Up" - Rick Astley · 1988: "Mistletoe and Wine" - Cliff Richard · 1989: "Ride on Time" - Black Box

Complete list (1952–1969) (1970–1989) (1990–2009) (2010–2029)

This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Astley

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

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Persondata
Name	Ward, Shayne
Alternative names
Short description	British singer
Date of birth	16 October 1984
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

Persondata
Name	Astley, Rick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	6 February 1966
Place of birth	Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England
Date of death
Place of death

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[edit] 1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time, and Oops!... I Did It Again

[edit] 2001–03: Britney, Crossroads, and In the Zone

[edit] 2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles, and Blackout

[edit] 2008–10: Conservatorship, and Circus

[edit] 2011–present: Femme Fatale and The X Factor

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Contents

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Contents

[edit] 2005: The X Factor

[edit] 2006–07: Shayne Ward

[edit] 2007–08: Breathless

[edit] 2009–2011: Obsession

[edit] 2011-present: Rock of Ages

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Contents

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