URL	www.allrovi.com
Commercial?	Yes
Registration	No
Available language(s)	English
Owner	Rovi
Launched	2011
Current status	Online

AllRovi is a commercial database launched by the Rovi Corporation in 2011. It combines information and reviews about music and movies from the former services AllMovie and AllMusic.

Content[link]

Reviewers include Jason Ankeny, Roxanne Blanford, Marisa Brown, John Bush, Al Campbell, Eugene Chadbourne, Matt Collar, Mark Deming, Ken Dryden, Bruce Eder, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Katherine Fulton, Jo-Anne Greene, David Jeffries, Thom Jurek, Andy Kellman, Rudyard Kennedy, Don Kline, the late Cub Koda, Andrew Leahey, Steve Leggett, Jason Lymangrover, Scott McClintock, Greg McIntosh, Opal Louis Nations, Wilson Neate, Heather Phares, Greg Prato,^[1] Ned Raggett, Margaret Reges, Eduardo Rivadavia, John Phillip Roberts, William Ruhlmann, Tim Sendra, Michael Sutton, Rob Theakston, Richie Unterberger, Joe Viglione, Sean Westergaard, and Scott Yanow.^[2]

AllRovi's database, which is licensed and used in point-of-sale systems by some music retailers, includes:

• Basic data: names, genres, credits, copyright information, product numbers
• Descriptive content: styles, tones, moods, themes, nationalities
• Relational content: similar artists and albums, influences
• Editorial content: biographies, reviews, rankings

AllRovi also claims to have the largest digital archive of music, including about 6 million digital songs, as well as the largest cover art library, with more than half a million cover image scans.

The website allmusic.com (oft-referred to as "AMG", or All Music Guide) is a sample of what is available in the database. The site was launched in 1995 as an online demonstration for potential database licensees of the breadth of content included in the database.

The AllRovi database is also used by several generations of Windows Media Player and Musicmatch Jukebox to identify and organize music collections. Windows Media Player 11 and the integrated MTV Urge music store have expanded the use of AllRovi data to include related artists, biographies, reviews, playlists, and other data.

AllRovi is also used to provide catalog data, artist biographies, album reviews, related artist information, playlists, and other information in the iTunes Music Store, Zune Marketplace, Zune player, eMusic, AOL, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, and other music stores. Additionally, AllRovi is at the heart of the Naim Extended Music database used by the Naim HDX hard disk player.

The web version of AMG has much more information on most forms of popular music than the 1,176 pages of the 1992 book edited by Michael Erlewine and Scott Bultman (All Music Guide: the best CDs, albums & tapes, published by Miller Freeman Inc., San Francisco), but it is missing much of the information on classical music that appeared in the book. One could look up a composer in the book and identify specific recordings recommended by AMG reviewers, but the website only provides a list of recordings.

AMG headquarters is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

History[link]

URL	www.allmovie.com
Commercial?	Yes
Registration	No
Available language(s)	English
Owner	All Media Guide (Rovi)
Launched	1998
Current status	Active

AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) was a commercial database of information about movie stars, movies and television shows.^[3][4] It was founded by popular-culture archivist Michael Erlewine, who also founded AllMusic and Allgame.

The database was licensed to tens of thousands of distributors and retailers for point-of-sale systems, websites, and kiosks. The Allmovie database is comprehensive, including basic product information, cast and production credits, plot synopsis, professional reviews, biographies, relational links, and more.

AllMovie data was accessed on the web at the allmovie.com website. It was also available via the AMG LASSO media recognition service, which can automatically recognize DVDs.

Rovi Corp renovated the website, and, now, the site is renewed/updated, and therefore, active.^[5][6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Habib Wahid
Background information
Birth name	Habibul Wahid
Also known as	Habib
Born	(1979-10-15) October 15, 1979 (age 32) Gulshan, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Origin	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Genres	Film score, techno, fusion, folk, pop
Occupations	Record producer, singer, musician
Instruments	keyboards, vocals, Guitar
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Sangeeta, Ektaar, Laser Vision
Associated acts	Kaya, Helal, Shireen

Habib Wahid (Bengali: হাবিব ওয়াহিদ; born October 15, 1979^[1]), better known as Habib (for short), is a Bangladeshi composer and musician. He is notable for his fusion of traditional Bengali folk music with contemporary techno and urban beats. His music is mainly influenced by British Bangladeshis, while he was living there as a student. He takes folk music and remixes with popular music forms. He remixes songs of composers like Hason Raja, Shah Abdul Karim, Amir Uddin and others with the tunes with hip-hop, reggae, rap and electronica.^[2]

Life and career[link]

Habib was born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He attended South Breeze School in Dhanmondi. His father is Ferdous Wahid, who was a Bangladeshi pop singer during the 1970s and 1980s. During his early years, Habib picked up the keyboard and approached by playing popular tunes. Later in teen age, he was recommended by one of his teachers to play in a band as a keyboardist, and so he did. A few years later, he went to the United Kingdom in pursuit of higher education and studied music and audio engineering at the School of Audio Engineering in London. Later he started to work with other Asian music producers such as Nitin Sawhney. He had already produced and planned his music, however he needed a vocalist to develop his new album. While living in London, he was searching for the vocalist Kaya, who was a Sylheti restaurant owner.^[3] In 2003, Habib released his first album Krishno, which proved to be a success in Britain and Bangladesh. The album Krishno had a unique mix of folk and modern electronica music, introducing a new sound to the Dhaka music arena.

In the next few years, Habib had released six albums which were Maya (2004), Moina Go... (2005), Shono (2006), Panjabiwala (2007), Bolchi Tomake (2008) and Obosheshe (2008). He has featured new voices in all of his albums. Besides Kaya, he has showcased singers such as Helal, Julie, Konica, Nirjho, Shireen (in Panjabiwala) and Nancy in these albums. Habib first debuted as a vocal in "Moina Go..." where he performed two soft singles. He also has his father, Ferdous Wahid singing a song in that album. On Wednesday, June 1, 2011 Habib's 8th album Ahoban! was released.^[4] The album consists 9 tracks in which three are duet songs with Nancy and Kona and one was sung by his father Ferdous Wahid. Overall he is considered one of the most talented singer/composer of Bangladesh in recent time periods.^{[citation needed]} .

Besides album work, Habib made a huge amount of jingles that actually changed the way TV advertisements in Bangladesh used to be; most popular ones include Banglalink, Citycell, Pran-up, Meril Beauty Soap, etc. As he said in an interview, he loves "putting music behind pictures and that's why [he does] jingles", and he has also stated that he's a "die-hard fan of A.R.Rahman" -whose music has a significantly big influence on Habib's compositions.

He also has composed songs for movies such as Hridoyer Kotha, Akash Chowa Bhalobasha, Chandragrohon, I Love You, Eito Prem, Third Person Singular Number, Amar Ache Jol, etc.; most of which were big hits. In this advanced technological age, Habib makes songs that "has the essence from the roots of Bangla music", says Kumar Bishwajit-(one of the most respected singers of Bangladesh) while recording a song under direction of Habib Wahid in a movie called Projapoti.

Discography[link]

• Krishno (2003)
• Maya (2004)
• Moina Go... (2005)
• Shono! (2006)
• Panjabiwala (2007)
• Bolchi Tomake... (2008)
• Aboseshe (2008)
• Ahoban! (2011)
• Somorpon(2011)

Awards[link]

He also won some awards as best musician and rising star in the beginning of his career, and later he got Meril Prothom-alo Best Song Award 2006 for Bhalobashbo (movie: Hridoyer kotha) and Meril Prothom-alo Best Song Award 2009 for Didha (movie: Third Person Singular Number). In 2011 He got Walton Boishakhi Star Award 2011 for Best Singer of 2010

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview with Habib Wahid BanglaMusic.com
• MusicBD - Habib Wahid
• Short Bio
• http://habibwahid.ning.com

Leighton Meester
Meester at Chanel's SoHo store re-opening, September 9, 2010
Born	Leighton Marissa Meester (1986-04-09) April 9, 1986 (age 26) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, model
Years active	1999–present
Website
leightonmeestermusic.com

Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986)^[1] is an American actress and singer. Meester first garnered attention and critical acclaim for playing Blair Waldorf in the CW's teen drama television series Gossip Girl. She most recently appeared in the 2010 country drama film Country Strong, the 2011 thriller The Roommate, and the 2011 romantic-comedy Monte Carlo.

Early life[link]

Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Constance and Douglas Meester and lived most of her life in New York City and Los Angeles.^[2][3][4] Meester's last name is the Dutch word for "master" or "teacher".^[5]

At the time of her birth, her mother was serving time in a federal prison for her involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States. She was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nurse her for three months in a halfway house, before returning to prison to complete her sentence,^[2][3] after which Leighton's grandmother cared for her. She has a brother, Alexander, who is 8 years younger.

Meester has maintained that her parents gave her a normal upbringing and, despite their criminal past, are good people with experience that has only made Meester more open-minded and non-judgmental, "It made me realize that you can't judge anyone — especially your parents — for what they've done in their past, because people change."^[6] Meester has joked, "Look, I could've turned out a lot worse."^[7] She has cited her mother as her style icon.^[8]

Meester grew up in Marco Island, Florida, where she participated in productions at a local playhouse.^[9] When she was 11 years old, Meester and her mother moved to New York City.^[9] Meester attended the Professional Children's School and also began working as a model with Wilhelmina, booking a Ralph Lauren campaign shot by Bruce Weber and working with then photographer (now film maker) Sofia Coppola^[9][10] as well as many commercials including Tamagotchi toys and Clearasil. She has also posed for Limited Too campaigns alongside fellow future actress, Amanda Seyfried, in which Seyfried recalls, "Leighton was very confident."^[11] Meester made her television acting debut as a murder victim's friend on an episode of Law & Order.^[9][10] At 14, Meester moved to Los Angeles, California, wanting more stable work, and attended Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School.^[10][12] She then transferred to a small private school and graduated a year early.^[13]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Meester at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival for the premiere of Killer Movie

After her television debut in 1999 playing Alyssa Turner in Law & Order, Meester appeared as a guest in two more series before landing her big role in the movie Hangman's Curse, based on the best-selling book by Frank Peretti. She appeared in Tarzan, which ran for only eight episodes. Meester then started to land guest roles in other series such as Crossing Jordan, 8 Simple Rules, 7th Heaven, Veronica Mars, 24, and Entourage.^[9]

In 2005, Meester began a regular role in the series Surface as Savannah Bennet. Meester appeared in two more 2006 movies, Flourish and Inside. She also guest appeared in Numb3rs and in two episodes of House M.D. as Ali, a young girl who has a crush on House.^[9] She had guest roles on CSI: Miami and Shark, and played the female lead in the horror film Drive-Thru.

In 2007, Meester was cast in the CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl as Blair Waldorf.^[9] The show is based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar about the lives of New York's privileged Upper East Side young adults. Her performance is the most critically acclaimed of the show, with Blair being cited as the series' breakout character, and also garnering much media recognition due to her wardrobe.^[14][15] She dated Gossip Girl co-star Sebastian Stan.^[16]

Meester appeared on the television film The Haunting of Sorority Row, and played a part in the ensemble comedy/drama Remember the Daze. She also appeared in the horror/thriller film Killer Movie in 2008.

Meester starred in three films in 2010 with small roles in the comedies Date Night and Going The Distance^[17] and a bigger role in Screen Gems' country drama Country Strong starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Garrett Hedlund. The Boston Globe found the best thing in the film was Meester because "she’s just doing Reese Witherspoon’s June Carter Cash in Walk the Line with dabs of Miley Cyrus and Kellie Pickler. But it’s not an impersonation; it’s a performance with its own comedy and sweetness."^[18] USA Today was also positive towards her performance writing "Meester shows she can do more than play one of Gossip Girl’s privileged Manhattan socialite."^[19]

In 2011, she played the role of Rebecca, an obsessive bipolar girl in the thriller The Roommate.^[20] Though the film mainly received negative reviews, Meester's portrayal was praised by critics. Entertainment Weekly found she was the only one to bring "the slightest trace of something fascinating to her role"^[21] while Los Angeles Times wrote "her performance often has the feeling of a sports car in neutral. When she punches it for quick changes of tone from manic to wounded or around the bend, she shows how much more she is capable of."^[22] Meester's second film of the year was the young femme comedy Monte Carlo, loosely based on Jules Bass's young-adult book Headhunters, in which she plays Selena Gomez's sister and Katie Cassidy's friend.^[23] Movieline noted that "As in Country Strong, Meester's crack timing and irresistible poignancy illuminate a part that would leave other actresses simpering themselves off the screen."^[24] Her last film of 2011 was the indie dramatic comedy The Oranges opposite Hugh Laurie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She will next star in the comedy That's My Boy, alongside Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Milo Ventimiglia, which is set to release in June 2012.^[25][26] She is also attached to The Uncatchable Cowgirl Bandits of Nottingham, Texas alongside Amber Heard.^[27]

Music[link]

Meester performing in June 2011

In April 2009, Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic.^[28] Meester's first official single, "Somebody to Love", featuring R&B singer Robin Thicke, was released for airplay on October 13, 2009, and became available for digital download on October 14, 2009.^[29] In November 2009, Meester revealed that Lil Wayne had worked with her on one of her songs titled "Make It Rain", which hasn't been released.^[30] Her second single, "Your Love's a Drug", was digitally released on March 30, 2010.^[31]

Meester is featured on Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", which reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #7, and on Stephen Jerzak's song "She Said".^[32][33] She recorded a cover of the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the compilation album A Very Special Christmas 7.^[34] For her 2010 country drama film Country Strong, she recorded a cover of the song "Words I Couldn't Say" by Rascal Flatts as well as "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans featured on the film's soundtrack; a promotional single titled "Summer Girl"; and a duet with Garrett Hedlund titled "Give In To Me".^[35]

In October 2010, Meester said she had been working with a band called Check in the Dark and had been writing for the last six months being inspired by Country Strong, "I've just been having fun and writing from my heart". She revealed her influences, "I love Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, that style of music, and as far as songwriting I think that's where my heart is."^[36] On April 22, 2012, Meester announced via Twitter a five-city tour with Check in the Dark, which will start on May 29 and end on June 4.^[37][38][39]

Endorsements[link]

Meester has fronted many charity as well as advertising campaigns. In 2008, she was a spokesperson for Sunsilk's "Life Can't Wait" campaign^[40] to motivate women to pursue their dreams and collaborated with Safe Horizon to raise awareness about and prevent domestic violence.^[41] Early in 2009, Meester partnered with Reebok to model their new Top Down sneakers.^[42] Outside of Gossip Girl, Meester has worked with co-star Ed Westwick in a Nikon Coolpix series camera advertisement and both were faces for a Korean clothing line called ASK Enquired.^[43] In 2010, Meester signed on to be the spokesperson for Herbal Essences hair products.^[44] In the same year, Meester took part in Bulgari's humanitarian efforts for the Save the Children organization with Isabella Rossellini and Maribel Verdútaken.^[45] Vera Wang has also chosen Meester to be the face of her newest scent Lovestruck, breaking in summer of 2011, stating that the actress's "beauty, talent and spirit will inspire all the young women that I hope will enjoy this passionate, new young fragrance."^[46] In 2011, Italian fashion house Missoni revealed they have tapped Meester to be part of their Spring/Summer 2011 campaign.^[47] She fronts another South Korean brand, this time a beauty campaign, called eSpoir.^[48] Leighton is additionally the new face of Vera Wang's scent "Lovestruck" which was first sold in Harrods on June 9, 2011. In May 2012, she became an endorser for Philippine clothing brand Penshoppe's campaign "All Stars".^[49]

In the media[link]

Meester was listed several times in Maxim's Hot 100, starting #48 in 2008,^[50] #12 in 2009,^[51] #17 in 2010^[52] and #16 in 2011.^[53] BuddyTV ranked her #32 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2010 list.^[54] She was ranked #75 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women of 2010" and #53 in 2011.^[55] Men's Health ranked her #30 in its "Hottest Women in 2011" list.^[56] Glamour ranked her #5 among the Most Glamorous Celebrities of 2011.^[57]

Personal life[link]

From 2008 to 2010, Meester dated actor Sebastian Stan.^[58] In July 2011, Meester and her mother filed lawsuits against each other regarding Meester's financial support of her younger brother, who has multiple health problems.^[59] Meester's suit claims the money she sent was misused by her mother; her mother's suit makes a cross-claim alleging breach of contract and physical abuse.^[59] In November 2011, Constance Meester dropped the $3 million claim for damages against her daughter. As a result, Leighton obtained a default judgement on December 7, 2011.^[60] Leighton is also said to be seeking custody of her 17-year-old brother Alexander, who has suffered health problems, including recently undergoing brain surgery.^[61] Meester is currently dating Remember the Daze co-star Aaron Himelstein, after meeting and briefly dating in 2007. ^[62]

Filmography[link]

Meester at the 2009 CW Upfront presentation.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leighton Meester

• Official website
• Leighton Meester at the Internet Movie Database
• Leighton Meester at AllRovi

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. (March 2008)

Garrett Hedlund
Hedlund at the 2010 Comic Con in San Diego
Born	Garrett John Hedlund (1984-09-03) September 3, 1984 (age 27) Roseau, Minnesota, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2004–present

Garrett John Hedlund (born September 3, 1984) is an American actor known for his roles in the films Friday Night Lights, Four Brothers, Eragon, Country Strong, for his role as Patroclus in the movie Troy and as Sam Flynn in the film Tron: Legacy.

Early life[link]

Hedlund was born in Roseau, Minnesota, the son of Kristine Anne (née Yanish) and Robert Martin Hedlund.^[1] He has an older brother, Nathaniel, and an older sister, Amanda. He also has a step brother, Cody and a step sister, Jennifer, and one niece. Hedlund was raised on a remote beef cattle farm near the small town of Wannaska, Minnesota.^[2][3] At fourteen, he moved with his mother to Scottsdale, Arizona. Once he arrived in Arizona, he paid to attend a talent convention with a scouting company called Pro Scout, where he was signed by a talent agency.^[2] After graduating from high school, he immediately moved in 2003 to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.^[4] Garrett is of Swedish descent, hence the surname Hedlund.

Career[link]

His first role was as Patroclus in Troy. The film, which starred Brad Pitt, was released May 14, 2004. He also starred as Don Billingsley in the 2004 drama film Friday Night Lights in which Tim McGraw played his abusive father.

He starred as Jack Mercer alongside Mark Wahlberg in the action/crime film Four Brothers. He next appeared in the film Eragon in a supporting role as Murtagh. In 2007, he starred in the Garry Marshall-directed comedy-drama Georgia Rule, alongside Lindsay Lohan and Jane Fonda. The film, which was released May 11, 2007, was negatively received by critics and failed to surpass box office expectations, only making a lifetime gross of $41 million. He also starred in Death Sentence opposite Kevin Bacon.

In 2010, he played a leading role alongside Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy, a sequel to the 1982 film Tron.^[5] The film was released on December 17, 2010.

Hedlund also co-starred with Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester and reunited with country singer/musician Tim McGraw in the country music drama Country Strong; which was released on January 7, 2011. For this film, he recorded several songs among which "Chances Are", which appeared on Country Strong: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. His performance was well-received by critics; noting voice similarities between him and Charlie Robison, Roughstock said "the best song on this album belongs to him" and Country Weekly wrote that of all the songs performed by actors in this film, his was "the most convincing".^[6][7] Six other songs including a duet with Leighton Meester were featured on a second soundtrack titled Country Strong: More Music from the Motion Picture.

He will next appear as Dean Moriarty in the movie of the Jack Kerouac novel On the Road, directed by Walter Salles. The film is scheduled to be released in 2012.

Personal life[link]

Hedlund lives in a Los Angeles apartment bought with an advance paycheck from his first movie, Troy. During press for Country Strong, Hedlund revealed that he was looking to buy a property in the Nashville area.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Chart history[link]

Hedlund's duet with Meester—"Give In to Me"— was the only song to chart as a single, reaching #79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #96 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Awards and nominations[link]

• On June 8, 2011 Hedlund was named Man of the Year at the Glamour Awards.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garrett Hedlund

• Garrett Hedlund at the Internet Movie Database