"This Is My Now" is a song written by Jeff Peabody and Scott Krippayne. It is Jordin Sparks's first single. The top two finalists of the season 6 finale of American Idol. (Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks) sang it during the May 22 and May 23, 2007 finale shows. It was chosen over thousands of other entries in a songwriting contest for fan-written songs to be sung on the show. The song was included on her debut album, Jordin Sparks.

Lewis sang it first during the May 22 show and received poor reviews from the judges, because the song was not Lewis' style of music. He later revealed in an interview that the producers of the show did not allow him rearranging the song because "it was the song that won the contest".^[1] Sparks received better feedback and Simon Cowell stated that she "wiped the floor" with Lewis' rendition. Sparks sang a reprise of "This Is My Now" after winning the competition on the May 23 show.

The song was distributed online at americanidol.com and iTunes Store.

Charts[link]

It is one of the six American Idol coronation songs not to reach the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, others include Ruben Studdard's "Flying Without Wings" (number two), David Cook's "The Time of My Life" (number three), Kris Allen's "No Boundaries" (number eleven), Lee DeWyze's "Beautiful Day" (number twenty-four) and Scotty McCreery's "I Love You This Big" (number eleven). It was the second coronation song not to have a physical release and first to miss the top ten on the Hot 100. The song has so far sold 301,000 copies in the United States.^[3]

References[link]

This Is Your Life
Title card from 1954
Genre	Reality Documentary
Presented by	Ralph Edwards
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Ralph Edwards
Running time	45–48 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Picture format	Black-and-white
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	October 1, 1952 (1952-10-01) – 1961
Chronology
Related shows	British version Australian version New Zealand version

This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.

Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. The show originated as a radio show on NBC Radio airing from 1948 to 1952.

Other versions of the television show have also been made in Britain from 1955, as well as in Australia, in New Zealand and in Sweden.^[1] The This Is Your Life format is distributed internationally by DRG.^{[citation needed]}

Concept[link]

The idea for This Is Your Life arose while Edwards was working on Truth or Consequences. He had been asked by the U.S. Army to "do something" for paraplegic soldiers at Birmingham General Hospital, a Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California Army rehabilitation hospital (a site later converted into a high school). Edwards chose a "particularly despondent young soldier and hit on the idea of presenting his life on the air, in order to integrate the wreckage of the present with his happier past and the promise of a hopeful future."^[2] Edwards received such positive public feedback from the "capsule narrative" of the soldier he gave on Truth or Consequences that he developed This Is Your Life as a new radio show.^[3] In the show, Edwards would surprise each guest by narrating a biography of the subject. The show "alternated in presenting the life stories of entertainment personalities and 'ordinary' people who had contributed in some way to their communities."^[3] The host, consulting his "red book", would narrate while presenting the subject with family members, friends, and others who had had an impact on his or her life.

By the 1950s, the show was aired live before a theater audience. The guests were surprised by Ralph Edwards and confronted by the microphone and cameras. They made their way to the studio during the first commercial break. Most^{[citation needed]} of the honorees quickly got over their initial shock and enjoyed meeting bygone friends again, as with Don DeFore on May 6, 1953.^[4] Movie producer Mack Sennett's response was typical:^{[citation needed]} he hated being caught off-guard, but as the tribute progressed he relaxed, and by the end of the show he was quite pleased with the experience.

Planning for the broadcast meant that some would know in advance about the surprise. Carl Reiner later admitted that he knew beforehand about his appearance.^{[citation needed]} In some cases the episode was not a surprise: Eddie Cantor had a heart condition, so the show's producers made sure that he wasn't surprised.^[3]

Notable guests[link]

William Frawley receives a lifetime baseball pass from the Angels' Fred Haney in January 1961. Fred MacMurray also was part of the Frawley show.

Some celebrities were unpleasantly surprised. Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy was angered by being "tricked" into what would be the team's only American television appearance, on December 1, 1954. Laurel later said, "[Oliver Hardy] and I were always planning to do something on TV. But we never dreamed that we would make our television debut on an unrehearsed network program...I was damned if I was going to put on a free show for them." Lowell Thomas "displayed obvious anger and embarrassment";^[3] when host Ralph Edwards tried to assure him that he would enjoy what was to come, Thomas replied, "I doubt that very much."^{[citation needed]} In 1993, Angie Dickinson refused to appear on a retrospective show.^[5]

One of the show's subjects was Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. During the episode Edwards introduced Tanimoto to Robert A. Lewis, the co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.^[6] Hanna Bloch Kohner, a Holocaust survivor, was a subject on May 27, 1953.^[7]

In February 1953, Lillian Roth, a "topflight torch singer of the Prohibition era" was the subject of the show, "cheerfully admitt[ing] that she had been a hopeless drunk for 16 years before being rescued by Alcoholics Anonymous."^[2][6] Edwards described Roth's condition as "impending blindness, an inflamed sinus and a form of alcoholic insanity" and brought on a psychiatrist who had treated her, a brother-in-law "who had paid her bills" and several "glamorous foul-weather friends" such as Lita Grey Chaplin and Ruby Keeler.^[2] Roth's story became the basis of her autobiography and the film, I'll Cry Tomorrow, with Edwards appearing as himself.

Kate Newcomb, a doctor who practiced in a "70-mile circle" around Woodruff, Wisconsin and was later honored as the namesake of that town's Dr. Kate Newcomb Museum, was the subject of a 1954 episode, bringing attention to her "million pennies" drive to raise funds for a small community hospital; viewers of the episode donated over $112,000 in pennies.^[8]

According to The Complete Directory of Prime-Time Network TV Shows,^{[citation needed]} one celebrity that was definitely off-limits was Edwards himself, who supposedly threatened to fire every member of his staff if they ever tried to turn the tables on him and publicly present Edwards' own life.

Reception[link]

This Is Your Life was nominated three times for as " Best Audience Participation, Quiz or Panel Program" at the Emmy Awards, losing in 1953 at the 5th Emmy Awards to What's My Line? and sharing the category's award with What's My Line? at the Emmys in 1954 and 1955.

By October 1960, Time magazine was calling This Is Your Life "the most sickeningly sentimental show on the air"; it cited a May 1960 episode on "Queens housewife and mother" Elizabeth Hahn as evidence that the show had "run through every faded actress still able to cry on cue" and had instead "turned to ordinary people as subjects for its weekly, treacly 'true-to-life' biographies."^[9] The episode on Hahn was also cited as an example of the limited research that the show was doing on its guests. The show had presented Hahn as "devoted to her husband and so dedicated to her children that she had worked as a chambermaid, waitress and cook to further their education and keep them off the streets", ignoring details such as that Hahn, on the advice of her rabbi, had brought her daughter into a magistrate's court as a delinquent, and that before the episode was broadcast, Hahn's husband had sued Hahn for divorce.^[9]

Reruns and revivals[link]

In the late 1980s, Edwards made many episodes that featured celebrities available for re-broadcasting: American Movie Classics aired them for several years, accompanying them with "screenings of movies from studio-era Hollywood."^[3]

Edwards revived the series twice in syndication, the first with Edwards again as host and in 1983 with Joseph Campanella. Both failed to capture the magic of the original series, mostly due to the series being filmed or taped and, in the case of the 1971-72 version, some stations that aired it gave away the surprise elements in ads and promos for the show. During the late-1980s, Ralph Edwards hosted a few single prime time network airings of This Is Your Life, most memorably an episode featuring Betty White and Dick Van Dyke.

In November 2005, ABC announced that it was developing a new version of the show, to be hosted by Regis Philbin. Coincidentally, the show's creator, Ralph Edwards, died not long after the announcement was made. In August 2006, Philbin decided not to renew his contract with the show (he was committed to hosting America's Got Talent on NBC). ABC announced it was considering moving forward with another host in 2006 but this never came to fruition.^[10][11]

In October 2008, Survivor producer Mark Burnett signed a deal with Ralph Edwards Productions to produce an updated version,^[12]. This also did not come to fruition.

References[link]

External links[link]

• This Is Your Life at the Internet Movie Database
• Encyclopedia of Television: This is Your Life from the Museum of Broadcast Communications
• This Is Your Life (US) radio and TV episode list at ClassicTVInfo.com

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

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

Personal life[link]

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

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

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

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

Career[link]

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

1995–1999: Early career and success[link]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Armin Van Buuren performing at Avalon, Boston, Massachusetts 2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discography[link]

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

Year Mixes[link]

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

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Armin van Buuren

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

Trevor Guthrie (born February 11, 1973) is the former lead singer of the now defunct pop group soulDecision and is now a solo artist.^[1]

Early years[link]

Trevor Guthrie was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. At age 3 he was playing the piano and played his first concert at four. In high school, he began playing the guitar and writing music. He can also speak French, Spanish, and Japanese.^{[citation needed]}

No One Does It Better[link]

After a name change and a new record company, MCA, Indecision emerged as soulDecision. And released a number one smash hit with the pop/R&B song "Faded". The song became #1 hit in Canada and a top 25 hit in the United States. The success of that single was followed up by the smash "Ooh It's Kinda Crazy". The album No One Does It Better which was recorded in Velvet Sound Studios in Sydney, Australia; went on to sell over a million copies.

Shady Satin Drug[link]

After a four year hiatus and a label change, soulDecision released the single "Cadillac Dress". The single was a moderate radio hit. They released their second album Shady Satin Drug in November 2004. Due to the lack of support from the Canadian music industry, less than 2000 copies were printed and available for sale. Shady Satin Drug, however spawned two more singles, Hypnotize and Kiss The Walls.^[2]

2008-Present[link]

On his Myspace page, Trevor recorded a new song titled "Strong Hands" inspired by the lack of knowledge and respect for WWII veterans from the youth of today. He lives in Vancouver.

References[link]

Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith performing in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, September 2005.
Background information
Birth name	Michael Whitaker Smith
Born	(1957-10-07) October 7, 1957 (age 54) Kenova, West Virginia, USA
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Genres	CCM, Christian rock, pop rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, actor
Instruments	Piano, keyboards, vocals, guitar
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Reunion, Provident Label Group
Associated acts	Amy Grant, Kathy Troccoli, Chris Rice, Steven Curtis Chapman
Website	www.michaelwsmith.com

Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American contemporary Christian musician, who is best known for his Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit song, "Place in this World". As a longtime Musician, he has charted primarily in the contemporary Christian and occasionally in the mainstream charts.^[1] His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in this World" hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Smith is a three-time Grammy Award winner, and has earned 40 Dove Awards. Over the course of his career, he sold more than 13 million albums and recorded 29 No. 1 Hit songs, fourteen gold albums, and five platinum albums. Smith is an American Music Award recipient; he was also named one of People magazine's "Most Beautiful People".^[2]

Early life[link]

Michael Whitaker Smith was born to Paul and Barbara Smith in Kenova, West Virginia. His father was an oil refinery worker at the Ashland Oil Refinery, one of the top ten largest oil refineries in the world, in nearby Catlettsburg, Kentucky and his mother was a caterer.^[3] He inherited his love of baseball from his father, who had played in the minor leagues. As a child, he developed a love of music through his church. He learned piano at an early age and sang in his church choir. At the age of 10, he had "an intense spiritual experience" that led to his becoming a devout Christian. "I wore this big cross around my neck," he would recall, "It was very real to me."^[4] He became involved in Bible study and found a group of older friends who shared his religious faith.^[4]

After his older Christian friends moved away to college, Smith began to struggle with feelings of loneliness and alienation. After graduating from high school, he gravitated toward alcohol and drugs.^[3] He attended Marshall University for a few semesters while developing his songwriting skills. He also played with various local bands around Huntington, West Virginia. During that time, his friend Shane Keister, who worked as a session musician in Nashville, encouraged him to move to Nashville, the Country Music capital, and pursue a career in music.^[4]

In 1978, Smith moved to Nashville, taking a job as a landscaper to support himself. He played with several local bands in the Nashville club scene. He also developed a problem with substance abuse.

In November 1979, Smith suffered a breakdown that led to his recommitment to Jesus Christ. The next day he auditioned for a new contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, Higher Ground, as a keyboardist and got the job. It was on his first tour with Higher Ground, playing mostly in churches, that Smith was finally able to put the drugs and alcohol behind him.^[4]

Career[link]

In 1981, Smith was signed as a writer to Meadowgreen Music, where he wrote a number of gospel hits penned for artists such as Sandi Patty, Kathy Troccoli, Bill Gaither and Amy Grant, to the effect that some of these popular worship songs can now be found in church hymnals. The following year, Smith began touring as a keyboardist for Grant on her Age to Age tour. He would eventually become Grant's opening act and recorded his first Grammy-nominated solo album The Michael W. Smith Project (which he also produced) in 1983 on the Reunion Records label, a label started by Grant's brother-in-law, Dan Harrell, along with Michael Blanton. This album contained the first recording of his hit "Friends", which he co-wrote with his wife Deborah. They wrote it one afternoon for a friend who was moving away.

By the time Smith's second pop album was released in 1984, he was headlining his own tours. In 1986, Smith released The Big Picture, produced by Johnny Potoker. Smith intros "Tearin' Down the Wall" with an Amy Grant recording of "Emmanuel" played backwards via the CD search button. He has explained that he and Potoker were trying to come up with a different way to go into the song.^{[citation needed]}

After the release of his 1988 effort, i 2 (EYE), Smith once again teamed up with Grant for her "Lead Me On World Tour". The following year, Smith recorded his first Christmas album.

In the mainstream[link]

In 1990, Smith released Go West Young Man, his first mainstream effort, including the mainstream crossover hit "Place in This World," which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, he released Change Your World (which included the No. 1 adult contemporary hit "I Will Be Here for You"), 1995's I'll Lead You Home, and 1998's Live the Life. Also in 1998, Smith released his second Christmas effort, Christmastime. In 1999, Smith released "This Is Your Time" (about Cassie Bernall, one of the students killed during the Columbine massacre). In the music video for this song, the beginning shows a real video of Bernall talking about her religious beliefs and how she wanted to spread the word of God. Smith wrote the song with Wes King, the brother-in-law of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Smith had been asked to perform at some of the memorial services that were held in honor of the victims.

In 1996, Smith opened his own record label, Rocketown Records, named for a song on The Big Picture. He does not personally record on it. He states the label is driven by the artists, and the first artist signed was Chris Rice, who had written "Go Light Your World", a No. 1 hit song by Kathy Troccoli, in 1995. In 1999, Smith collaborated with Jim Brickman on "Love of My Life" from the album Destiny, which went to No. 9 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.

Nearly all of Smith's albums contain at least one instrumental track, and in 2000, Smith recorded his first all instrumental album, Freedom. The following year, Smith released an all Christian music album, Worship, on September 11. This album was followed by a sequel, Worship Again in 2002, recorded live at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. Both albums were recorded live in concert. (Both are also the only two albums to be composed almost entirely of songs he did not write himself). A Worship DVD, which comprised a selection of songs from both albums, was recorded live in Edmonton, Alberta at YC Alberta and released in 2002. It immediately topped the Billboard video charts and went gold in both the U.S. and Canada.

Smith won the Male Vocalist of the Year award at the GMA Music Awards in 2003.^[5]

Smith wrote a song entitled "There She Stands", inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks. He performed this song live for the 2004 Republican National Convention,^[6] saying that President George W. Bush, whom he said is a fan and a family friend, had asked him to write a song about the attacks.^[7]

Smith's album, Healing Rain, was released in 2004 and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 200 Chart. The title track rose to No. 1 on the Radio & Records Charts and a music video for the song was released. The album nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, combines the pop style of his previous recordings with the religious feel of his two releases in that genre. A new album, Stand, was released in November 2006.

In October 2007, he released It's a Wonderful Christmas. On June 20, 2008, Smith recorded his third live Worship album at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, titled A New Hallelujah. It was released in October 2008. That same month he began a tour with Steven Curtis Chapman. In September 2010, he released Wonder,^[8] and in October started touring with Third Day, tobyMac, and Max Lucado on the "Make a Difference" tour.

Other ventures[link]

In 1994, Smith opened a teen club, named Rocketown, in Nashville, Tennessee (6th Avenue). Later in early 2003, the club was moved to a new location—a renovated warehouse in downtown Nashville. The venue offers a large dance floor, extensive indoor skate park, and a cafe hosting live acoustic music.

Smith is actively involved in volunteer service and is vice chair of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, which is chaired by Jean Case of the Case Foundation. He is also an avid spokesperson for sponsoring children through Compassion International.^[9] Smith finished work on a film directed by Steve Taylor entitled The Second Chance which was released on February 17, 2006 in selected theatres. In the movie, he stars as a pastor assigned to work in the inner city. The DVD of the movie was released in July 2006.

Personal life[link]

Smith is married to Deborah "Debbie" Kay Davis (b. 1958) and has five children: Ryan Whitaker, Whitney Katherine Smith-Mooring (married to Jack Mooring (of the band Leeland)), Tyler Michael (keyboard player for the United Tour), Anna Elizabeth and Emily Allison. He resides in the Nashville suburbs and spends time at the Smith family farm.

Alderson-Broaddus College awarded Smith the degree Doctor of Music honoris causa in 1992.

Smith is the founding pastor of New River Fellowship in Franklin, Tennessee, where he was the lead pastor from 2006 to 2008. Currently Smith and his wife remain involved members of the church.

Smith supports the Republican Party, and is personal friends with several prominent Republicans, including former President George W. Bush.^[10][11][12]

Works[link]

Discography[link]

Publications[link]

• Old Enough to Know. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1987.
• Friends are Friends Forever. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997.
• Your Place in This World. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998.
• This Is Your Time: Make Every Moment Count. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999.
• The Price of Freedom. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001.
• Worship. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002.
• Freedom. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002.
• It's Time to Be Bold. New York: Doubleday Books, 2003.
• Above All. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003.
• Signs. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004.
• Healing Rain. Nashville: Thomas-Nelson. 2004.
• A Simple Blessing. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011.^[15]

Audio books[link]

• The Gospels Come to Life. Irving, Texas: Gospels Come to Life, 2003.

Awards[link]

Grammy Awards

• 1984 Best Gospel Performance, Male for Michael W. Smith 2
• 1995 Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for I’ll Lead You Home
• 2002 Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for Worship Again

Grammy Nominations

• 1983 Best Gospel Performance, Male for Michael W. Smith Project
• 1986 Best Gospel Performance, Male for The Big Picture
• 1988 Best Gospel Performance, Male for I 2(Eye)
• 1989 Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male for "Holy, Holy, Holy"
• 1990 Best Pop Gospel Album for Go West Young Man
• 1998 Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for Live the Life
• 2000 Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for This Is Your Time
• 2002 Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for 'Worship
• 2006 Best Christian Pop Album for Healing Rain

Dove Awards

• 1985 Songwriter of the Year
• 1987 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for The Big Picture (producer, artist)
• 1988 Long Form Music Video of the Year for "The Big Picture Tour Video" (artist)
• 1990 Short Form Music Video of the Year for "I Miss the Way" (artist)
• 1991 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Go West Young Man (producer, artist)
• 1992 Choral Collection of the Year for The Michael W. Smith Collection (artist)
• 1992 Musical Album of the Year for Change Your World (artist)
• 1992 Song of the Year for "Place in this World" (artist)
• 1993 Praise and Worship Album of the Year for Songs from the Loft (artist)
• 1993 Recorded Music Packaging of the Year for The Wonder Years (artist)
• 1994 Musical Album of the Year for Living on the Edge (artist)
• 1996 Songwriter of the Year
• 1996 Special Event Album of the Year for My Utmost For His Highest (artist)
• 1997 Special Event Album of the Year for Tribute: The Songs of Andre Crouch (artist)
• 1998 Children’s Music Album of the Year for Sing Me to Sleep Daddy (artist)
• 1998 Special Event Album of the Year for God With Us: A Celebration of Christmas Carols and Classics (artist)
• 1999 Artist of the Year
• 1999 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for Live the Life (producer, artist)
• 1999 Producer of the Year
• 1999 Special Event Album of the Year for Exodus (artist)
• 2000 Short Form Music Video of the Year for "This is Your Time" (artist)
• 2000 Song of the Year for "This Is Your Time" (artist)
• 2000 Songwriter of the Year
• 2001 Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year for This is Your Time (producer, artist)
• 2001 Youth/Children’s Musical Album of the Year for Friends 4 Ever (artist)
• 2002 Album of the Year for Worship (producer, artist)
• 2002 Artist of the Year
• 2002 Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year for "Above All" (artist)
• 2002 Instrumental Album of the Year for Freedom (producer, artist)
• 2003 Album of the Year for Worship Again (producer, artist)
• 2003 Artist of the Year
• 2003 Long Form Music Video of the Year for Worship DVD/Video (producer, artist)
• 2003 Male Vocalist of the Year
• 2008 Christmas Album of the Year
• 2009 Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year for "A New Hallelujah"
• 2009 Praise & Worship Album of the Year for A New Hallelujah

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Michael W. Smith at Allmusic
• Michael W. Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/10/lkl.01.html Transcript of February 10, 2006 interview with Larry King
• Yamaha Corporation artist biography