"It girl" is a term for a young woman who possesses the quality "It", absolute attraction.

The early usage of the concept "it" in this meaning may be seen in a story by Rudyard Kipling: "It isn't beauty, so to speak, nor good talk necessarily. It's just 'It'."^[1] Elinor Glyn lectured: "With 'It' you win all men if you are a woman and all women if you are a man. 'It' can be a quality of the mind as well as a physical attraction."^[2] The expression reached global attention in 1927, with the film It, starring Clara Bow.

While "it girls" of today are commonly young females in the worlds of fashion or show-business, the original concept focused on personality. Kipling's "Mrs. Bathurst" was a middle-aged widow, and Glyn significantly kept both Benito Mussolini^[3] and the doorman at the Ambassador hotel^[4] on her "It men" list.

Kipling, Glyn and Clara Bow[link]

The invention of the concept "It" is often attributed to Elinor Glyn, who wrote the original magazine story which inspired the film It. However, Rudyard Kipling,^[5] in the short story "Mrs. Bathurst", had introduced "It" as early as 1904.^[6][7][8]

In the introduction to the film, Glyn described the term thus:

"It" is that quality possessed by some which draws all others with its magnetic force. With "It" you win all men if you are a woman and all women if you are a man.^[2]

and

Self-confidence and indifference whether you are pleasing or not and something in you that gives the impression that you are not at all cold.^[2]

Glyn stated that "Personality plus", was the rock-bottom definition^[9] and that "conceit" destroyed "It".

However, the movie also plays with the notion that "It" is a quality which eschews definitions and categories; consequently the girl portrayed by Bow is an amalgam of an ingenue and a femme fatale, with a touch of "material girl". By contrast, her rival is equally young and comely, and rich, blonde and well-bred to boot, but she simply hasn't got "It".

The movie was planned as a special showcase for the popular Paramount Studios star Clara Bow, and her spectacular performance^[10] introduced the term "It" to the cultural lexicon. Bow said she wasn't sure what "It" meant,^[11] although she identified Lana Turner,^[12] and later Marilyn Monroe,^[13] as It girls, and Robert Mitchum as an It man.^[12]

Musical[link]

Glyn's movie script was adapted into a musical called The It Girl, which opened off-Broadway in 2001 at the York Theatre Company starring Jean Louisa Kelly.^[14]

Modern "It girls"[link]

Since 1927, the term has been extended beyond the world of film, to whoever in society, fashion or the performing arts was in vogue at the time, and eventually to mere "media celebrities".^{[citation needed]}

Andy Warhol's muse, Edie Sedgwick, was dubbed the "It Girl".^[15]

The writer William Donaldson observed that, having initially been coined in the 1920s, the term was applied in the 1990s to describe "a young woman of noticeable 'sex appeal' who occupied herself by shoe shopping and party-going."^[16]

American actress and former model Chloë Sevigny was described as an "it girl" by The New York Times editor Jay McInerney in the early 1990s because of her status as a fashion impresario.

It Girls (2002) is a feature documentary film directed by Robin Melanie Leacock, which chronicles the activities of a group of socialites in Manhattan during New York Fashion Week.

In Britain, the "it girl" label has been widely and consistently applied by the media since the mid 1990s to Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and her friend Tamara Beckwith, both of whom come from affluent backgrounds.

In Lisi Harrison's young adult novel series, The Clique, set in an all-girls middle school, the term is used in a subtly different sense: whereas the leader of the eponymous clique is described as the "alpha" or "Queen Bee", her right-hand-woman or "beta" is also termed the "It girl", being physically more attractive.

The British underground newspaper International Times, also known as IT, used as its logo a black-and-white image of Theda Bara, vampish star of silent films. The founders' original intention had been to incorporate an image of Clara Bow, but an image of Theda Bara was used by accident and, once deployed, was never changed. The paper's logo is therefore sometimes called "the it girl".^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• 15 minutes of fame
• Celebutante
• Famous for being famous
• Sex symbol
• Socialite

References[link]

1. ^ "Mrs. Bathurst"(1904)
2. ^ ^{a b c} Introduction script from the movie It (USA, 1927)
3. ^ March, 1927, Photoplay Magazine
4. ^ J. Morella, E. Epstein. "The 'It' Girl". p.84. Delacorte Press. 1976. ISBN 0-440-04127-9
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ March 9, 1930, The New York Times
7. ^ April 17, 1932, Galveston Daily News
8. ^ August 25, 1955, San Antonio Light
9. ^ The Southtown Economist, February 4, 1927
10. ^ January 1(private showing), 1927, Variety
11. ^ Waterloo Daily Courier, September 21, 1950
12. ^ ^{a b} September 21, 1950, Waterloo Daily Courier
13. ^ Stenn, David (1988). Clara Bow:Runnin' Wild. Doubleday. p. 272. ISBN 0-385-24125-9. 
14. ^ It Girl Musical
15. ^ http://amanoutoftime.livejournal.com/600411.html?mode=reply
16. ^ Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics, 2002

External links[link]

• Clara Bow, the original It girl

Jason Derülo
Derülo at Music Online Entertainmentz Inc. 2010
Background information
Birth name	Jason Joel Desrouleaux
Born	(1989-09-23) September 23, 1989 (age 22)
Origin	Miami, Florida, United States
Genres	R&B, pop, dance[1][2]
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actor
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Warner Bros., Beluga Heights, TM3 Records, Music Online Entertainmentz.
Associated acts	The Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa, Birdman, Diddy-Dirty Money, Lil Wayne, Big Boi, Kid Cudi, Jin Akanishi
Website	jasonderulo.com

Jason Joel Desrouleaux ^[3] (born September 21, 1989), better known by his stage name Jason Derülo, is an American singer-songwriter, actor and dancer. After producing records for several artists and writing songs for Cash Money Records, co-founder of the label Birdman, Young Money Entertainment owner Lil Wayne and rapper Diddy, Derülo signed to minor recording label Beluga Heights. After Beluga Heights became part of the Warner Music Group, Derülo released his debut single, "Whatcha Say" in May 2009, which sold over five million digital downloads, gaining an RIAA certification of double platinum, and reaching number 1 in the U.S. and New Zealand. Derülo released his second single, "In My Head", in December 2009. His debut album, Jason Derülo, was released on March 2, 2010. He released his second studio album, Future History on September 16, 2011.

Early life[link]

Derulo was born in Miami, Florida,^[4] to Haitian parents. His birth name is Desrouleaux, but he changed the spelling for his stage name to make it easier to pronounce.^[5]

Derülo has been performing since the age of three. He wrote his first song, "Crush on You", at age eight, and was heard singing part of the song on a [The Galaxy Network|Galaxy FM] interview. Derülo spent his youth studying opera, theater, and ballet. He attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York at the age of 17.

At age 18, Derülo met his future manager, Frank Harris, a law school student who was helping him improve his basketball skills.^[6]

Music career[link]

2007–2009: songwriting and musical beginnings[link]

Derülo has been writing songs for artists including Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie, Lil Wayne since he was 16, intent on becoming a solo performer.^[7] After attending performing arts schools and honing his talents as a singer and dancer (plus acting in theatre productions like Ragtime and Smokey Joe's Cafe),^[8] Derülo won the grand prize on the 2006 season finale of the TV show Showtime at the Apollo. Derülo was discovered by music producer J. R. Rotem, who signed him to his record label Beluga Heights Records and Warner Bros. Records.

In a HitQuarters interview, Rotem highlighted Derülo's dedication to his art by saying, "Jason Derülo has one of the most impressive work ethics I've ever come across – he just keeps knocking out songs in the studio. That's an amazing quality."^[9]

Derülo's music career began in 2006, when he was featured on Birdman's song "Bossy", which was featured on his album, 5 * Stunna.

[edit] 2009–present: Jason Derulo and Future History

On August 4, 2009, Jason released his debut single, "Whatcha Say". It was produced by J. R. Rotem with additional production by Fuego. The track samples the Imogen Heap song "Hide and Seek".^[10] In late August 2009, the song debuted at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100^[11] and hit number 1 in November 2009.^[12] The single's music video was released in September 2009; after the single became successful, Derülo began work on his debut album. He released the second single from his album, "In My Head", on December 8, 2009. It debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number five.^[13]

Derülo's debut album, Jason Derülo, was released on March 2, 2010. He spent six weeks promoting the album in his appearances as one of the opening acts for Lady Gaga's 2009–2010 The Monster Ball Tour. The third single of the album is "Ridin' Solo," which was released worldwide on April 26, 2010. By July, the single had reached number nine in the Billboard Hot 100.^[13] Derülo has also recently been featured in a song by new artist Will Roush called "Turn it Up," which also features Stat Quo and Young Buck. He also collaborated with UK singer Pixie Lott on a song called "Coming Home" which will be on Lott's new album Turn It Up Louder to be released in the United States in 2011.

Jason Derülo first charted within the top ten of the UK and Irish Albums Charts in early March 2010.

Derülo's second studio album, Future History, was released on September 27, 2011.^[14] Derülo is currently detailing his journey recording the album via a series of webisodes that are posted on his official website every Friday.^[14] Its lead single, "Don't Wanna Go Home", was released on May 20, 2011. It landed the number-one spot in the UK and in the top five in Australia.^[15] Derülo planned to embark on an eight-date UK tour in support of the album in February 2012, including a show at Wembley Arena on March 1.^[16] However, on January 6, 2012, while Derülo was rehearsing for his Future History Tour, he broke one of his vertebrae. As a result, he canceled all of his tour dates.^[17]

In 2011, he recorded a track titled "Together" for Demi Lovato. The official studio version with Derulo appeared on Lovato's album Unbroken.

On March 28, 2012, Derulo appeared on American Idol to announce he would allow fans to help him finish the lyrics for a new song entitled Undefeated, as part of a partnership with American Idol and Coca Cola.^[18] Fans were given the opportunity to submit their own lyrics to complete the song, and fans were then given the chance to vote on which lyrics they liked the most. On May 5, 2012, Derulo announced that his first post-neck injury television performance would be on the eleventh season finale of American Idol, on May 22, 2012.^[19]

Tours[link]

• 2009–2010 The Monster Ball Tour (opening act)
• 2010 The E.N.D. World Tour (opening act for Canada dates)
• 2010–2011 Jason Derülo World Tour (headlining)

Discography[link]

• Jason Derülo (2010)
• Future History (2011)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Marina and the Diamonds
Marina and the Diamonds performing in Edinburgh on 2 November 2010
Background information
Birth name	Marina Lambrini Diamandis
Born	(1985-10-10) 10 October 1985 (age 26) Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
Genres	indie pop, pop, New Wave, electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician poet,
Instruments	Vocals, keyboard, piano, glockenspiel, casio VL-tone, organ
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Neon Gold, 679, Chop Shop
Website	marinaandthediamonds.com

Marina Lambrini Diamandis^[1] (Greek: Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη, pronounced [ðʝaˈmadi];^[2] born 10 October 1985), better known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds (sometimes stylised as Marina & the Diamonds), is a Welsh singer-songwriter.^[3][4] She rose to fame after reaching number two on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list, coming second to Ellie Goulding. After releasing one private EP, Diamandis released her second extended play, The Crown Jewels EP, with help from Neon Gold Records, in 2009.^[5] Now signed to 679 Recordings, she released her debut full length studio album, The Family Jewels, followed by her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, in 2010. In 2011, Diamandis announced that she was working on her second album, Electra Heart, which was released in April 2012 and went to #1 in the UK and Ireland.

Her stage name, "Marina and the Diamonds", consists of Diamandis' first name and the translation of her surname which means "Diamonds" in Greek. Although "The Diamonds" is often mistakenly believed to refer to her backing band,^[6] it in fact refers to Diamandis' fans: she explains this on her Myspace page by saying "I'm Marina. You are the diamonds."^[7]

Diamandis' musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo New Wave-style songs with full band backing.^[4] She has cited a wide-range of influences such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Britney Spears, Yann Tiersen, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton and Madonna.^[8][9]

Background[link]

Diamandis was born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. Her father is Greek and her mother is Welsh,^[10] and brought up in the village of Pandy with her parents and her older sister.^[11] She attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, of which she said "I sort of found my talent there... I was the one who always skived off choir, but I had an incredible music teacher who managed to convince me I could do anything."^[12] When her parents separated, Diamandis moved to Greece when she was sixteen years old to live with her father but returned to Wales two years later.^[11]

Diamandis moved to London at the age of eighteen where she attended dance school for only two months.^[6] Following this, in 2005 she took a one year singing course at Tech Music Schools.^{[citation needed]} Diamandis enrolled in a music degree at the University of East London, transferring in her second year of studies to Middlesex University, but later dropped out.^[13] She went for many auditions including the West End musical, The Lion King.^[14] Diamandis admitted that she auditioned for a reggae boy band, held by Virgin Records, in 2005 to try to make it into the music business. She said she was "delusional with drive" and ultimately decided to dress up in male attire to try to amuse the record label to sign her, but she was unsuccessful. However, she was called back by the record label a week later.^[15][16]

Diamandis has a synaesthetic condition that involves seeing musical notes and days of the week in different colours.^[17]

Musical career[link]

2005–2008: Early career[link]

Diamandis live at the NME Radar Tour

In 2005, Diamandis created the name "Marina and the Diamonds".^[18] When describing the origin of the name, she said:

I never envisaged a character, pop project, band or solo artist. I saw a simple group made up of many people who had the same hearts. A space for people with similar ideals who could not fit in to life's pre-made mould. I was terribly awkward for a long time! I really craved to be part of one thing because I never felt too connected to anybody and now I feel I have that all around me.^[18]

Early demos of Marina and the Diamonds' songs were self composed and produced on the Apple software application Garageband.^[14] Through Gumtree she found someone to produce a few tracks, for which she paid £500.^[19] These ended up on her debut extended play Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP which was released on 23 November 2007. The record was created on hand-made CD-Rs by Diamandis and sold through her MySpace page. An estimated seventy copies were sold overall.^[20]

In January 2008, Diamandis was first discovered by music scouter Derek Davies of Neon Gold Records. Davies booked Diamandis to open for Belgian-Australian singer Gotye later that year where Warner Music Group first saw her and ended up signing her in October 2008 to 679 Recordings.^[19]

Marina and the Diamonds performing at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York.

Diamandis' debut single was a double a-side consisting of "Obsessions" and "Mowgli's Road" which was issued on Neon Gold Records in the United States on 19 November 2008, followed by her second extended play The Crown Jewels EP on 1 June 2009 featuring her second single "I Am Not a Robot".^[21] Her first major label single, a re-recording of "Mowgli's Road", was released on 13 November 2009 under 679 Recordings in the UK and through Atlantic Records in the USA. On 7 December 2009 she was listed on the longlist for the BBC Sound of 2010 poll,^[22] and on 7 January 2010 it was announced that she had taken second place.^[23]

[edit] 2009–2010: The Family Jewels

Marina and the Diamonds' debut album, The Family Jewels, was released in February 2010. It peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver in the United Kingdom days before its release.^[24] A re-release of "Mowgli's Road" was released as the album's lead single in November 2009.^[25] However, the song "Hollywood" was released as the first major single from the album in February 2010.^[26] A re-release of "I Am Not a Robot" in April 2010 became the album's third single; Diamandis said she decided to re-release the song because "people seem to empathize and relate with the song, regardless of gender or age."^[27] "Oh No!" became the album's fourth single in August 2010,^[28] and "Shampain" became the fifth single in October 2010.^[29] She embarked on her first headlining tour on 14 February 2010, consisting of seventy dates around the United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada.^[30]

Also during 2010, Diamandis collaborated with producer Benny Blanco and guitarist Dave Sitek in Los Angeles on new material which she described as "a really great opportunity for me as a songwriter. [We are] such a weird threesome—a combination of super pop and really indie".^[6]

In March 2010, Atlantic Records signed Marina and the Diamonds to Chop Shop Records in the United States.^[31][32] Before the album's American release in May 2010,^[33] Diamandis released her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, digitally and exclusively for the United States in March 2010.^[31][32] Diamandis made her North American debut on 14 March 2010 through a series of performances.^[34]

Marina and the Diamonds was nominated for Critics' Choice at the 2010 BRIT Awards^[35] and came fifth in SHREDnews' "Ten Artists To Watch in 2010" list in March 2010.^[36] She also won the award for Best UK & Ireland Act at the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards.^[37]

[edit] 2011–present: Electra Heart

In a January 2011 interview, Diamandis announced that her second album would mainly be about female sexuality and feminism.^{[citation needed]} The same month, Diamandis was announced as a support act for the U.S. leg of Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour.^[38] Three early demos were leaked in early 2011, called "Sex, Yeah", "Living Dead" and "Jealousy", each showing a more pop sound.^[39] Diamandis recorded material with producers Cirkut, Guy Sigsworth, Labrinth, Greg Kurstin, Diplo, Dr. Luke, Stargate and Liam Howe.

In August 2011, Diamandis uploaded a video to her YouTube page titled "Part 1: Fear and Loathing". In an interview with Popjustice, she explained the concept of the album, titled Electra Heart after a character of her creation; she said the guise "epitomises and embodies the lies, illusions and death of American ideologies involved in the corruption of self [...] Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that’s the corruption of yourself. My worst fear—that’s anyone’s worst fear—is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you’re very ambitious."^[40] The campaign's first single, "Radioactive" produced by Stargate, was released in October 2011 (reaching number twenty-five in the UK),^[41] followed by a demo of the song "Starring Role" in November^[42] and a video titled ♡ PART 3: "THE ARCHETYPES" ♡ in December.^[43] A track titled "Homewrecker" was issued as a free download to her mailing list subscribers.^[44]

Electra Heart was released in April 2012,^[45] preceded by the single "Primadonna" produced by Dr Luke, Diplo and Cirkut.^[46][47] "Primadonna" debuted at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Diamandis' highest peaking single to date. "Power and Control" has been announced officially as the next single from the album.^[48]

Artistry[link]

Music style and influences[link]

Marina and the Diamonds performing on The Gem Tour in Birmingham, UK.

Marina and the Diamonds has been influenced by a wide-range of musicians from PJ Harvey to Britney Spears.^[8] Diamandis has also noted Daniel Johnston as one of her major influences saying:

He really opened me up to a whole new world of music and a whole new perception of what an artist is. For me, he really encouraged me because if you think of someone who has been spoon-fed pop, up until twenty-one years old, and you hear someone like Daniel Johnston you're like "God, this is terrible, but I love it." It sounds like a child has made it, like, the production is so all over the place. He's obviously got something very captivating here yet he doesn't fit the normal mould and people still love him. I thought "if he can do it then [so can I]," that's when I started to produce things myself and play live, even though I wasn't even great on the piano. It's all about emotion and if you have heart, people connect to that.^[49]

Diamandis calls herself a "DIY musician"^[49] and describes her sound as an alternative to mainstream pop music.^[8] In an interview with ClashMusic Diamandis said that she does not come from a musical background and explained "I probably have a bit of a different sound because I don’t really know what I’m doing".^[50] Lyrically, she says her music analyzes people and that if she wasn't a musician, she would be a psychologist.^[51]

Critics usually catalogue Marina and the Diamonds as a New Wave pop artist. In an interview with The Guardian she said, "I suppose I'm an indie artist with pop goals".^[9] Although Diamandis has asserted that she never tries to sound like any other artist or copy a genre of music, she has been compared to a variety of artists such as Kate Bush^[50] and most commonly Florence and the Machine.^[52] PopMatters commented on her vocal delivery and attitude saying it "has a tendency to overshadow the music, which is often melodically inventive, but we are rarely given the chance to realise this."^[53] The Guardian's Paul Lester wrote that "her songs are hard to fathom. They veer between simple keyboards-based ballads and more upbeat and catchy, quirky new wave-inflected numbers enhanced by percussion, guitar and drums."^[4]

Public image[link]

As well as her music, Marina and the Diamonds is also notable for her unique attire.^[54] When asked in an interview to describe her fashion style in three words, Diamandis said "vintage, cheerleader and cartoon".^[55] You can see an element of this style in the video for 'Oh No!' which was released in June 2010. She has praised model/DJ Leigh Lezark's fashion style and called Gwen Stefani her definitive style icon describing her image as "cartoonized but in a very fresh way".^[55] Diamandis has mentioned that she sometimes makes her own outfits with clothes she buys from charity shops.^[56] She also collects vintage cheer jackets.^[55] She has often been seen wearing clothes by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac,^[57] Laura Mackness,^[58] Beyond Retro,^[59] Motel Rocks,^[60] Jervoise Jackets^[61] amongst others. Diamandis has admitted that she would "like to do something in fashion, not designing, not one of those skanky celebrity lines, but being involved behind the scenes".^[11]

As part of Selfridges' "Sound of Music", Diamandis designed her own window display for the London Oxford Street branch in May 2010.^[62] She also appeared as a "live mannequin" for the display.^[63] Diamandis was featured on Vogue UK's official website throughout November 2010 for a popular sartorial section called "Today I'm Wearing", where she blogged her daily style choices for the fashion website.^[64] In December 2010, Diamandis announced on her Twitter that she would be the new face of the Max Factor make-up range Max Colour Effects.

Discography[link]

• 2010: The Family Jewels
• 2012: Electra Heart

Filmography[link]

• 2013: Homewrecker (Set to be released in Summer 2013)

Touring[link]

Marina and the Diamonds at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ

In 2009, Marina and the Diamonds played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon early in May 2009,^[3] Glastonbury Festival in June 2009,^[65] and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2009.^[66]

In promotion for her album and "Hollywood", Diamandis performed at Brand New: 10 for 10 at London's Dingwalls,^[67] had an eleven minute 4Music special - 4Play: Marina and the Diamonds - on Channel 4,^[68] performed at T4's Outside-In Festival,^[69] New to Q Sessions^[70] in January 2010, was a musical guest on GMTV, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Review Show in February 2010^[71] and Later... with Jools Holland and T4's Frock Me! in April 2010. She performed at the Isle of Wight Festival 2010 and Glastonbury Festival 2010 in June 2010 and is planned to appear at other music festivals across the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and North America.

Diamandis had already sold out the first leg of her first headlining tour, The Family Jewels Tour before the release of her debut album. Her entire tour currently consists of seventy dates across six legs around the United Kingdom, North America, Ireland and mainland Europe.^[30][72][73] Diamandis was accompanied by support acts Clock Opera and Alan Pownall for the first leg of her tour and Spark on The Gem Tour.^[74]

Headlining

• The Family Jewels Tour (2010 - 2011)
• Lonely Hearts Club Tour (2012)

Supporting

• California Dreams Tour (2011)
• Mylo Xyloto Tour (2011 - 2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marina and the Diamonds

• Official website
• Marina and the Diamonds on BBC Wales
• Today I'm Wearing at Vogue UK