Lawson may refer to:

Look up Lawson in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Music[link]

• Lawson, an album by John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew of Henry Lawson's poetry put to music.
• Lawson, a British four-piece pop rock band.

Places[link]

Australia

• Lawson Lam Ontario Canada,
• Lawson Mountain Range, in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales; named after Cole Lawson
• Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains
• Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra

Canada

• Lawson Island, Nunavut

United States

• Lawson, Colorado
• Lawson, Missouri
• Lawson, Mesquite, Texas

People[link]

• Lawson (name), people with Lawson as surname or given name

Others[link]

• Lawson (store), a convenience store popular in Japan
• Lawson Arena, home to the Western Michigan University ice hockey team of the CCHA
• Lawson Software, enterprise resource planning software provider
• Lawson the Tank Engine Twin, from Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
• Lawson criterion, an important general measure of a system that defines the conditions needed for a fusion reactor to reach ignition
• Thomas W. Lawson (ship) - a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner, built 1902, destroyed 1907
• Lawson L-2 - a biplane airliner designed and built by the Lawson Air Line Company of Milwaukee
• Lawson L-4 - a Tri motor aircraft designed in the 1920's for overnight transportation

See also[link]

• Lawsone, a naphthoquinone dye from henna
• Lawsonville, North Carolina
• Lawson McGhee Public Library, Knoxville, Tennessee, downtown library branch
• Sam H. Lawson Middle School, Cupertino, California, USA

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars performing in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 19, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Peter Gene Hernandez
Born	(1985-10-08) October 8, 1985 (age 26)[1] Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Genres	Reggae fusion, pop, soul, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, model, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar, keyboard, bass, piano, harmonica
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Atlantic, Elektra
Associated acts	The Smeezingtons
Website	www.brunomars.com

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. He performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career. Mars produced songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.

Mars had an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, but then signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number-one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.^[2] Mars was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".

Mars' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from various genres. Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Little Richard,^[3] Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."^[4] Worldwide, Mars became the best-selling digital artist in 2011. He had three singles in the top ten, including first place with "Just The Way You Are," which sold 12.5 million copies.^[5] Mars won Best International Male Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards in 2012.^[6] Bruno Mars has sold 5 million albums and 36 million singles worldwide.^[7]

Early life[link]

Bruno Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez on October 8th, 1985, and raised in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, by parents Pete Hernandez, of Puerto Rican descent, and Bernadette "Bernie," a Filipina.^{[8][9][10][11]} His mother emigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines as a child and his father moved to the island from Brooklyn, New York.^[12] Mars' parents met while performing in a show, where his mother was a hula dancer and his father played percussion.^[12] At the age of two, he was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father, because of his resemblance to legendary professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino.^[13]

Mars was one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B.^[14][15] In addition to being a dancer, his mother was a singer and his father used his musical ability to perform Little Richard rock n roll music.^[3] Mars' uncle was an Elvis impersonator. By the age of three his uncle had Mars up on the stage performing. He also performed songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations.^[10] At age four, Mars began performing five days a week with his family's band, The Love Notes, in which he became known on the island for his impersonation of Presley.^[16]

In 1990, Mars was featured in MidWeek as "Little Elvis", going on to have a cameo in the film Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992.^[10][17] He later reflected on the influence Presley had on his music: "I watch the best. I'm a big fan of Elvis. I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan."^[18] In 2010, he also acknowledged his Hawaiian roots and musical family as an influence, explaining, "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments...I've just been surrounded by it."^[19] In 2003, shortly after graduating from President Theodore Roosevelt High School at the age of seventeen, Mars moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a musical career.^[10][17] He adopted his stage name from the nickname his father gave him, adding "Mars" at the end because "I felt like I didn't have [any] pizzazz, and a lot of girls say I’m out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars."^[20]

Career[link]

[edit] 2004–10: Career beginnings and It's Better If You Don't Understand

Bruno Mars performing in Houston, Texas in November 2010.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Mars signed to Motown Records in 2004, in a deal that "went nowhere".^[21] However, Mars' experience with Motown proved to be beneficial to his career when he met songwriter and producer Philip Lawrence, who was also signed to the label. Mars, Lawrence, and engineer Ari Levine began writing songs together, and formed the production team The Smeezingtons.^[21] In 2006, Lawrence introduced Mars to his future manager at Atlantic Records, Aaron Bay-Schuck.^[22] After hearing him play a couple of songs on the guitar, Bay-Schuck wanted to sign him immediately, but it took about three years for Atlantic records to finally sign Mars to the label.^[22] In the meantime, Bay-Schuck hired Mars and the Smeezingtons to write and produce songs for the label's artists.^[22] According to Bay-Schuck in an interview with HitQuarters, Mars had stated that although his ultimate goal was to be a solo artist, he was willing to write and produce for other artists, both to help improve his songwriting and help him discover the type of artist he ultimately wanted to be.^[22] Bay-Schuck credits this as a period of "self-discovery" that contributed significantly to Mars' later success.^[22]

Before becoming a successful solo artist, Hernandez was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy, Sean Kingston, and Flo Rida.^[14][23] He also co-wrote the Sugababes' hit song "Get Sexy" and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7.^[24][25] His first musical appearance as a singer was in Far East Movement's second studio album Animal, featured on the track "3D".^[26] He was also featured on pastor and hip hop artist Jaeson Ma's debut single "Love" in August 2009.^[27][28] He reached prominence as a solo artist after being featured on and co-writing B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire"; both songs peaked within the top ten of many charts worldwide.^{[29][30][31][32]} He said of them, "I think those songs weren't meant to be full-sung songs. If I'd sung all of "Nothin' on You", it might've sounded like some '90s R&B." Following this success, Mars released his debut extended play (EP), titled It's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010.^[33] The EP peaked at the 99th position on the Billboard 200 and produced one single, "The Other Side", featuring singers Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.^[34][35] Mars collaborated with Green once more in August 2010 by co-writing his single "Fuck You!". He performed a medley of "Nothin' on You" and "Airplanes" with B.o.B and Hayley Williams at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.^[36]

[edit] 2010–present: Doo-Wops & Hooligans

Bruno Mars' debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, was released digitally on October 4, and saw its physical release on October 5, 2010.^[37][38] The lead single, "Just the Way You Are", was released on July 19, 2010,^[39] and has reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well as several other charts worldwide.^[40][41] The music video was released on September 8, 2010.^[42] The second single, "Grenade", was released September 28, 2010, and has also seen successful international chart performance.^[43][44] In the United States, Doo-Wops & Hooligans debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 for the week of October 13, 2010, selling 55,000 copies.^[2] The album also received generally positive reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt praised Mars for his "instant-access melodies" and "sly snatches of dance-floor swagger", but noted weaknesses in songs deviant from his conventional pop and soul genres.^[45] He opened for Maroon 5 on the fall leg of the Hands All Over Tour starting October 6, 2010 and co-headlined with McCoy on a European tour starting October 18, 2010.^[38]

On September 19, 2010, Mars was arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine.^[46] When talking to a police officer, Mars reportedly stated that what he did was "foolish" and that "he has never used drugs before".^[47][48] Mars pled guilty to felony drug possession, and in return for his plea, he was told that the charges would be erased from his criminal record as long as he stayed out of trouble for a year, paid a $2,000 fine, did 200 hours of community service and completed a drug counseling course.^[49]

On February 13, 2011, Mars won his first Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, having received six nominations; Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Nothin' on You", Record of the Year for "Nothin' on You" and "Fuck You", Song of the Year for "Fuck You", and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

On September 16, 2011, Bad Meets Evil released their single, "Lighters", which featured Mars in the song. The song was met with mixed reviews from critics and many criticized Mars for doing this type of song.^[50] On September 22, 2011, it was announced on Mars' website that his new song "It Will Rain" will appear on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack which was released on November 8.^[51] On October 30, 2011, Mars gave an exclusive performance of "Runaway Baby" on the results show of The X Factor UK, the same day that Mars received six nominations for a Grammy Award; Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Grenade", and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical at the 54th Grammy Awards. During the ceremony, Mars performed "Runaway Baby" but he did not win any awards as Adele won in all the categories he was nominated in and also lost to Paul Epworth for Producer of the Year.

Mars has confirmed on Twitter that his work on his second album has begun.^[52] On March 22, 2012, it was announced that Mars had signed a worldwide publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis US.^[53]

Musical style[link]

Mars performing on November 24, 2010. Mars plays several instruments including piano, guitar, bass and congas.^[54]

Mars' music has been noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, including pop,^[55] rock,^[55] reggae,^[55] R&B,^[56] soul,^[45] and hip hop.^[57] His co-producer Philip Lawrence says, "What people don't know is there's a darker underbelly to Bruno Mars." Mars himself says, "I blame that on me singing to girls back in high school."^[58] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called him "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that’s an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor."^[4] Mars was initially influenced by R&B artists such as Keith Sweat, Jodeci and R. Kelly, as well as 1950s rock 'n' roll and Motown.^[59] In high school, he began listening to classic rock groups such as The Police, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles.^[59] All of these genres of music have influenced Mars' musical style; he observed that "It’s not easy to [create] songs with that mixture of rock and soul and hip-hop, and there’s only a handful of them."^[59] Mars also stated that he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White and The Saturdays.^[60]

In addition, Mars claims that his work with other artists influenced his musical style, saying that "'Nothin' on You' had a Motown vibe, 'Billionaire' was a reggae acoustic guitar-driven song, though one of my favorites is the Cee-Lo [Green] song ['Fuck You']. I don't think anyone else could've sung that song. And there's 'Just the Way You Are.' If you know my story, you know I love all different genres of music."^[61] He cites doo-wop as a major influence on his music, referring to the genre as "just straightforward love songs – so charming and simple and romantic."^[61] In addition, Mars states that growing up in Hawaii influenced his music, giving the songs a reggae sound. He explains that "In Hawaii some of the biggest radio stations are reggae. The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley. That music brings people together. It's not urban music or pop music. It's just songs. That's what makes it cross over so well. The song comes first."^[12] Lyrically, many of Mars' songs have been described as "feel-good", carefree, and optimistic,^[62] however, darker subjects are addressed in songs such as "Grenade", "Liquor Store Blues", and "Talking to the Moon", which detail failed relationships and self-destructive behavior.^[45][63]

Discography[link]

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)
• TBA (2012)

Tours[link]

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans tour (2010–2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bruno Mars

• Official website
• Bruno Mars on Twitter
• Bruno Mars at the Internet Movie Database

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. (July 2011)

Josh Lawson
Josh Lawson at the Any Questions for Ben? Premiere In Sydney, Australia, February 2012
Born	Joshua Lawson (1981-07-22) 22 July 1981 (age 30) Brisbane, Australia

Joshua Lawson (born 22 July 1981) is an Australian actor. He grew up in Brisbane and attended St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace. He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2001. He also spent one year studying improvisation techniques in Los Angeles at The Second City, The Groundlings, ACME Comedy Theatre and I.O. West.

Lawson has had guest-starring roles in such popular Australian television programs as Blue Heelers and Home and Away, but is probably best known for his appearances on the improv comedy program Thank God You're Here and on the Australian drama, Sea Patrol and The Librarians. Josh has also starred in several television commercials, including advertisements for Coca-Cola Cherry, and Gold Class cinemas.

In 2006, he made his feature film debut in BoyTown.

He also hosted Wipeout Australia with James Brayshaw.^[1]

His older brother, Ben Lawson, had a full-time role on popular soap opera Neighbours as Frazer Yeats, while his younger brother, Jordan Lawson, plays bass in the Brisbane-based band The Gallant.

He played 'Ben' in the American pilot of Spaced, Shawn on Romantically Challenged for ABC, and currently plays Doug Guggenheim on Showtime's House of Lies.^[2]

He is currently^[when?] living in Los Angeles.

Lawson had the starring role in the 2012 Australian comedy Any Questions for Ben?, created by Working Dog Productions.^[3] He was also one of the "Uncles" on the ABC's Agony Uncles (2012).

References[link]

External links[link]

• Josh Lawson at the Internet Movie Database
• Josh Lawson's Literary Agent

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This article about an Australian comedian is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Richard Durand (born 1976, Amsterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch Disc jockey and record producer. His real name is Richard van Schooneveld (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈri.ʃɑrt vɐn ˈsχoː.nə.ˌvɛlt])

Biography[link]

Starting his career in 2005, Durand was recommended by Tiësto as his 'Tip For The Top in 2007' in DJ Magazine. In that same year he was placed in the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJs poll.

His first creations were tech trance singles "Make Me Scream" and "Slipping Away" on the Terminal 4 label, but his real success started with remixes of Tiësto singles "Lethal Industry", "Flight 643" and "Break My Fall", and reworks of The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" and Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" which brought him into the playlist of DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Judge Jules and Eddie Halliwell.

In 2008, Durand remixed Fragma's "Toca's Miracle" and Armin van Buuren's "In And Out Of Love". His solo productions included "Weep" featuring Skin from Skunk Anansie on vocals, which was signed to Perfecto Records.

In 2009 Durand remixed Art of Trance's "Madagascar" followed by his debut artist album Always The Sun on Magik Muzik / Black Hole Recordings. The album spawned three singles "Into Something", title track "Always The Sun" and "No Way Home".^[1]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Released under Terminal 4

• "Make Me Scream" (2005)
• "Slipping Away" (2006)
• "Sunhump 2006" (2006)
• "Any Time" (2007)
• "For the Believers 2.0" (2007)
• "Inside My Brain" (2007)
• "Submerge" (2007)
• "Sweep and Repeat" (2007)
• "Ledged Up" (2008)
• "Predator vs. Cha Cha" (2008)
• "Weep" (2008)

Released under Magik Muzik

• "Always the Sun" (2009)
• "No Way Home" (2009)
• "Into Something" (2009)
• "Silver Key" (2009)
• "Tiger's Apology" (2009)
• "N.Y.C." (with JES) (2010)
• "Dryland* (with Phynn) (2010)
• "Night and Day" (with Christian Burns) (2010)
• "Xelerate" (2010)
• "Run To You" (feat. Hadley) (2011)

Albums[link]

Artist Albums

• Always the Sun (2009)
• Wide Awake (2011)

Compilations

• In Search of Sunrise 8: South Africa (2010)
• In Search of Sunrise 9: India (2011)

External links[link]

• Official Website
• MySpace
• Richard Durand Discography

References[link]

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. (June 2011)

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (September 2011)

Ellie Lawson is a British folk music singer-songwriter.^[1][2]

Ellie Lawson is a British Acoustic/Folk/Pop writer and recording artist. Born in South London, the vocalist/lyricist/musician/composer has released 2 albums independently and recently co-wrote and recorded 3 singles with Dutch Trance producers.

Ellie is an ambassador for the clothing brand Quiksilver Women and in 2010 toured Quiksilver stores in the UK and Ireland as part of her sponsorship deal. The singer who was previously signed with Atlantic records in the USA with her debut album was championed by chat show host Ellen De Generes where Ellen predicted live on air that Ellie would become 'the hugest, hugest star.' Ellie has tracks produced by William Orbit and DJ Lethal who signed her to his production company alongside lawyer/Publishing head/Manager David Mantel for her first album The Philosophy Tree.

The independent Singer-Songwriter has her own label called 'Create your Own reality' and previously sold 25,000 records with the USA book retailer Barnes and Noble. Lawson's performances include opening for the BBC presenter Jimmy Doherty's festival where KT Tunstall and Jose Gonzalez headlined, the Abbey Road studios as part of the Brit awards, Sundance film festival, Relentless Boardmasters festival and many others.                                                    

Discography[link]

• The Philosophy, 2005^[3]
• Lost Songs, 2009
• Safe From Harm, 4 Strings, (File, MP3, 320), Liquid Recordings, 2010
• Wide Awake, Richard Durand, Magik Muzik, 2011^[4]
• Place in the Sun, Menno De Jong, Intuition Recordings, 2011
• Lost Without You (Ellie Lawson's song), 2011
• A Day Without Rain (Ferry Corsten's track), Ferry Corsten, Flashover Recordings, 2012^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• "Ellie Lawson", PETA
• "Music Review: Ellie Lawson - Lost Songs", Eurorock, Jeff Perkins