Name	Shawn King
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Shawn Engemann
Born	November 05, 1959Studio City, California, United States
Spouse	Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King (1997- 201?) (div. filed)2 childrenDaniel Southwick 1980- ? 1 child

Shawn King (born Shawn Engemann on November 5, 1959) is an American singer. She is the wife of television and radio personality Larry King. King has recorded one album, In My Own Backyard, for Lofton Creek Records.

Personal

King was born in Studio City, California.

King attended Brigham Young University. She married Larry King on September 5, 1997. She is the mother of three sons: Chance Armstrong King (b. March 9, 1999) and Cannon Edward King (b. May 22, 2000), who are from King, and Danny Southwick (b. Sept. 28, 1981) from a previous marriage.

King is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her father, Karl Engemann, is an executive in the recording industry and began working with the Osmond Family in the mid-1970s. Shawn's uncle, Bob Engemann, is an original member of the 1960s trio The Lettermen.

On April 14, 2010, both Larry King and Shawn King filed for divorce. They have since stopped the proceedings, claiming, "We love our children, we love each other, we love being a family. That is all that matters to us".

According to a Reuters report, Shawn attempted suicide in May 2010 when she overdosed on prescription pills.

References

External links

Shawn King

Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:Musicians from California Category:Living people Category:1959 births Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:People from the San Fernando Valley Category:Lofton Creek Records artists

Name	Vybz Kartel
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Adijah Palmer
Alias	Addi Di Teacha, Gaza Thug, Dancehall Hero
Born	January 07, 1975Kingston, Jamaica
Origin	Portmore, Jamaica
Genre	ReggaeDancehallReggae fusion
Occupation	DJ, Entrepreneur, Lyricist, Producer
Years active	2002–Present
Label	Adidjaheim Records, NotNice Production
Wife	Shakeem fisher
Associated acts	Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Aidonia Elephant Man, Ninjaman, Alliance, Portmore Empire, Major Lazer & Popcaan
Url	Vybz Kartel's MySpace

Adijah Palmer (born January 7, 1975), better known as Vybz Kartel, is a Jamaican dancehall artist and lyricist.

Biography

Kartel has had several collaborations with international hip hop and pop stars. He has released two albums for the UK/US based label Greensleeves Records. He was also featured twice on the Def Jamaica project, and nominated for the Source, VIBE and UK MOBO awards, although his 2004 UK MOBO award nomination was withdrawn amidst controversy over allegedly homophobic content of his lyrics.

Towards the end of 2006, due to disagreements and internal rivalries, Vybz Kartel left The Alliance, a group of dancehall artists founded by Bounty Killer(who was once a mentor to Kartel) . Tensions arose following Kartel's continued association with Bounty Killer's longtime enemy, Beenie Man, including Kartel attending Beenie Man's wedding to Bounty Killer's ex-girlfriend, D'Angel.

Following Vybz Kartel's departure from The Alliance, a very public feud arose between him and his former collaborator Mavado. Numerous diss tracks were released, in which each artist verbally attacked the other one and his associates over popular dancehall riddims.

The feud threatened to escalate beyond lyrics in the following months, with shootouts at the popular hangouts of the artists, and on-stage scuffles between members of each camp. This intensification prompted a police-overseen press conference in which both Mavado and Vybz Kartel publicly announced an end to hostilities and apologized to fans.

Education

Adijah Palmer attended Calabar High School in Kingston but was expelled. He completed his studies at Tutorial College, a private school in Kingston, Jamaica and graduated with English, History, Geography, and Literature at CXC levels.

Awards

2003

* Stone Love's 30th Anniversary

** DJ of the Year

2008

* CUMA (Caribbean Urban Music Awards)

2009

EME Awards

** Male DJ of the Year

** Lyricist/Songwriter of the Year

** Song of the Year (Romping Shop ft. Spice)

2010

EME Awards

** Male DJ of the Year

** Lyricist/Songwriter of the Year

** Recording Artist of the Year

WBLS Caribbean Artiste of the Year

References

External links

Vybz Kartel Feat. Russian – Jeans & Fitted

Vybz Kartel & Popcaan Tour Europe

Kartel reveals life story

Vybz Kartel, one of the baddest DJs

Vybz Katel vs Bounty Killer - The summer war

Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Dancehall musicians Category:Reggae fusion artists Category:Jamaican reggae musicians

Name	Sean Kingston
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kisean Anderson
Born	February 03, 1990Miami, Florida, United States
Years active	2007-present
Label	Beluga Heights, Epic, E1 Music
Occupation	Singer, rapper
Genres	Pop, hip hop, R&B;, Reggae fusion

Sean Kingston (born Kisean Anderson on February 3, 1990) is an American singer and rapper. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with Sean Kingston.

Early life

Kingston was born on February 3, 1990 in Miami, Florida and attended Ocho Rios High School in Ocho Rios, Saint Ann, Jamaica. His grandfather was the noted Jamaican reggae producer Lawrence Lindo, who worked under the stage name Jack Ruby.

Music career

2007-2008: Sean Kingston

Anderson moved back to Miami to pursue a music career. Beluga is a label notable for its focus on discovering and developing artists. In an interview with HitQuarters label head and producer J.R. Rotem described this process with regards to Kingston:

"Sean Kingston was a rapper when we found him and it was a development process to get him more melodic. At Beluga we essentially refine the talent so that it's more of a marketable product." The single, based on the bass line and lyrical "association" of the 1961 hit "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King, reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the UK Singles Chart along with many other international charts. Similarly, the song "Me Love" samples the main hook out Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. The song also debuted at number one in Australia, where it knocked off Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", which had been at number one for nine weeks. The song stayed on the Canadian Hot 100 number one spot for over six weeks before getting knocked down to third place by the Plain White T's. "Beautiful Girls" remained at number one in Canada longer than any other song in 2007. In 2007, Kingston was the opening act for Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour and for select dates on Beyoncé's The Beyoncé Experience Tour.

2009–2010: Tomorrow

The album Tomorrow was released on September 22, 2009. Big-name producers involved in the album included former Fugee Wyclef Jean; RedOne (of recent Lady GaGa fame); plus Sean's original mentor, J.R. Rotem. So far, the singles "Fire Burning", and "Face Drop" have been released. Additionally, five promotional digital singles were released leading up to the album.

Kingston co-wrote Jason Derülo's "Whatcha Say". He also found the R&B;-reggae singer Iyaz on MySpace and signed him to his record label.

He also recorded the track "Miss Everything" for the UK girl-group Sugababes studio album Sweet 7 which was released March 15, 2010 in the UK.

Kingston and DJ Khaled are being featured on Bow Wow's New Single "For My Hood" From the upcoming movie, The Lottery Ticket

2010–present: Dumb Love and other projects

According to Sean Kingston, he is already working on his next album. The lead single was confirmed to be "Dumb Love" featuring Lil Wayne by Kingston himself, but Lil Wayne is serving a prison sentence and a music video has not been filmed. It is still possibly a future single to be released with a music video shot after Lil Wayne is released from prison. The song is also featured in a episode of The Suite Life on Deck which Kingston guest starred on. The album will also feature T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Wyclef Jean, Akon and Dr. Dre. The first single from the album is "Eenie Meenie" featuring Justin Bieber, released on March 23, 2010, which is also included on Bieber's My World 2.0 album. This collaboration with the young star has been the source of much disapproval from the rap community. The second single from the album "Letting Go (Dutty Love)", which features a verse from Nicki Minaj. It was released on iTunes August 3, while the third is "Dumb Love" and was released on iTunes September 8, the song does not features Lil Wayne. Sean Kingston's new song "She Moves" samples Irena Cara's "What a Feeling" from the film Flashdance''. A fourth single "Party All Night (Sleep All Day)" was released on December 21, 2010. The song leaked online in December of 2010. The music video has already been shot. The video was released on December 23, 2010. Sean said this would be the song of the new year.

Kingston represented the continent of America to sing the Official Theme Song of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Everyone. He collaborated with four other international artists representing their continent, South African Jody Williams representing Africa, Singaporean Tabitha Nauser (Asia), British Steve Appleton (Europe), and Australian Jessica Mauboy representing (Oceania) However, Kingston was unable to attend, the Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 opening ceremony, due to passport mix ups

He also released a single called "Letting Go (Dutty Love)" with Young Money's Nicki Minaj. Plus, near the end of July 2010, he was invited and featured on Cash Money Records/former So So Def member Bow Wow on his single "For My Hood". He performed it with him along with DJ Khaled on BET's television program 106 & Park the day after release.

Sean Kingston will release a mixtape with pop star Justin Bieber, called Our World. It will feature about 12-14 songs and includes their versions of songs like Pretty Boy Swag and Billionaire. The mixtape is finished and Sean showed his fans a preview on ustream on August, 19, 2010.

Television appearances

For his 18th birthday, Sean appeared on the US TV show My Super Sweet 16. The show was memorable for Sean's elaborate entrance to his party, which involved Sean arriving at his party on a private yacht, wearing his own personalized white suit.

Sean appeared on the Nick Jr. Original Series Yo Gabba Gabba.

He was also featured as a guest star on the 2009 remake of The Electric Company.

He made appearances on the MTV reality show The Hills and MTV's Cribs.

In 2010 he appeared in an episode of the Disney Channel series The Suite Life on Deck as himself and performed his latest single "Dumb Love"

In 2010 he appeared in Katy Brand vs. series on ITV2 in the United Kingdom.

Discography

Sean Kingston (2007)

Tomorrow (2009)

TBA (2011)

Mixtapes

Our World (2010)

King Of Kings (2011)

Awards/nominations

*2008, Outstanding New Artist (nominated)

MOBO Awards

*2007: Best Reggae Acts

Teen Choice Awards

*2007: Choice R&B; Track "Beautiful Girls"

*2007: Choice Summer Track "Beautiful Girls" (nominated)

*2009: Choice Summer Song "Fire Burning" (nominated)

References

External links

Official UK website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American reggae musicians Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Rappers from Miami, Florida Category:Hip hop singers Category:Reggae fusion artists

David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown, aired for 10 episodes in 1988 and 1989. Chase is best known for his second original series, the influential and critically acclaimed HBO drama The Sopranos, which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2007. A prominent figure in American television, Chase has won seven Emmy Awards.

Early life

David Chase was born in Mount Vernon, New York. An Italian-American, Chase grew up in a small garden apartment in Clifton, New Jersey and in North Caldwell. Chase has stated that as a youth he had many issues with his parents, whom he feels were overbearing. Chase claims his father was an angry man who belittled him constantly as a child and his mother was a "passive-aggressive drama queen" and "a nervous woman who dominated any situation she was in by being so needy and always on the verge of hysteria. You walked on eggshells." One of his characters on the HBO original series The Sopranos, Livia Soprano is based on his mother. Chase struggled with severe depression as a teenager, something he still deals with today. He graduated from high school in 1964 and attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where his depression worsened. "I slept 18 hours a day," Chase later stated. He described his problems as "what's come to be known as normal, nagging, clinical depression. It was awful." In a recent interview Chase stated that he experienced frustration for a long period with being unable to break out of the TV genre and into film over this time. Although the one-hour series was well-received by critics, only 10 episodes aired from November 1988 to February 1989.

The Sopranos

30 episodes of The Sopranos are explicitly credited to Chase. However, as the show's creator, showrunner and head writer he had a major role in all of the scripts, including producing and touching up each script's final draft. He also directed the pilot episode and the series finale (both of which he also wrote). Of the controversial final scene of the series finale, Chase said, "I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there."

Future projects

A Ribbon of Dreams

David Chase is in works to develop A Ribbon of Dreams, a mini-series for HBO. According to an HBO press release, the mini-series' plot will "begin in 1913 and follow two men, one a college-educated mechanical engineer, the other a cowboy with a violent past, who form an unlikely producing partnership and together become pioneers and then powers for a time in motion pictures." Specifically, the two men will "begin as employees of D.W. Griffith, and then cross career paths with John Ford, John Wayne, Raoul Walsh, Bette Davis, Billy Wilder and others who gave shape to Hollywood as it grew from the age of rough-hewn silent Westerns, to the golden era of talkies and the studio system, to the auteur movement, to television, and finally to the present day."

Untitled film, 2010

David Chase is currently working on a new feature film for Paramount. The film has been described as "a music-driven coming-of-age story set in the 1960s."

Personal life

After graduating from NYU in 1968 Chase moved to California and married his high school sweetheart Denise Kelly.

Awards and recognition

References

External links

Information about David Chase at HBO.com

Debate regarding Sopranos finale at HBO.com

Category:1945 births Category:American screenwriters Category:American television writers Category:Edgar Award winners Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Living people Category:People from Essex County, New Jersey Category:People from Passaic County, New Jersey Category:People from Westchester County, New York

Name	Shawn Phillips
Background	solo_singer
Born	February 03, 1943
Origin	Texas, United States
Genre	Folk rock
Years active	1960s - present
Url	shawnphillips.com

Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) helped define folk-rock in the 1960s and progressive-new-age rock in the 1970s.

...an artist of such raw talent, ambition and good will... Phillips' main attraction is still his voice. Reedy and flexible, with a remarkable falsetto, it is a potent dramatic instrument.

Shawn Phillips has twenty albums to his credit and a host of associations with some of the most respected names in the industry including Donovan, Paul Buckmaster, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bernie Taupin, and many others, yet he is virtually forgotten except by his cadre of loyal fans, despite remaining active through today. The Texas-born singer/songwriter was called "The best kept secret in the music business," by the late rock impresario Bill Graham.

Beginning in the 1960s, Phillips made noteworthy contributions to popular music. As a session player he contributed to several Donovan LPs including Fairytale, Sunshine Superman and Mellow Yellow, performed at the Isle of Wight festival in front of half a million people, sang on the Beatles' "Lovely Rita (Meter Maid)" song, and was cast to play the lead in the original production of Jesus Christ Superstar (he had to withdraw due to his heavy recording and touring schedule.) In February 1969 Phillips wrote and performed, with The Djinn, the music for the controversial Jane Arden (director) play Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven at the Arts Laboratory on Drury Lane.

Throughout the 60s Phillips worked the folk music scene in Los Angeles, New York Greenwich Village, and London. In 1967 Phillips moved to Positano, Italy, where he remained throughout the 1970s, writing some of his most well known work. This period produced the albums Contribution, Second Contribution, Collaboration and ''Faces'.

Four of his albums Faces, Bright White, Furthermore and Do You Wonder made it into the Billboard Top 100. In addition, the singles "Lost Horizon" and "We" made Billboard's top 100 in 1973 (63 and 92 respectively), although "Woman" and "Anello (Where Are You)" didn't. One of the most sought after Christmas songs is Phillips' 1970 45rpm release of "A Christmas Song" on A&M; 1238. The track is now available on the re-issue of Faces.

His album No Category, featuring his longtime collaborators Paul Buckmaster and Peter Robinson, was released in 2002.

In 2007, his first live album, Living Contribution, was released, along with a Live DVD of the same title.

Today, Shawn lives in Port Elizabeth, South Africa with his wife Juliette and their son Liam. He divides his time between writing, touring, and his work as an emergency medical technician (EMT), firefighter, and 1st Officer, Navigator, and Extrication Specialist with the NSRI National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa.

Discography

Favourite Things (also called: I'm A Loner) (1964)

First Impressions (also called: Shawn) (1966)

Contribution (1970)

Second Contribution (1970)

Collaboration (1971)

Faces (1972)

Bright White (1973)

Furthermore (1974)

Do You Wonder (1974)

Rumplestiltskin's Resolve (1975)

Spaced (1977)

Transcendence (1978)

Beyond Here Be Dragons (1983)

Best of Shawn Phillips (1990)

The Best of Shawn Phillips: The A&M; Years (1992)

The Truth If It Kills (1994)

Another Contribution: Anthology (1995)

No Category (2002)

Living Contribution (2007)

At The BBC (2009)

References

External links

Official website

Donovan, Pete Seeger, and Rev. Gary Davis">On Rainbow Quest with Donovan, Pete Seeger, and Rev. Gary Davis

Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriates in South Africa Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American rock guitarists Category:American folk singers Category:American rock singers Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:Musicians from Texas

Name	Sean Wright
Other names	Caestus
Nationality	Scottish
Birth date	February 12, 1981
Birth place	Glasgow, Scotland
Fighting out of	Chiang Mai, Thailand
Height
Weight
Weight class	Welterweight
Style	Muay Thai
Team	Sasiprapa Gym Lanna Muay Thai Griphouse Gym
Trainer	Thakoon Pongsupha John Craig
Years active	2002–present
Kickbox win	29
Kickbox kowin	14
Kickbox loss	14
Kickbox draw	2
University	Glasgow University
Url	http://www.seanwrightpro.com/
Updated	June 28, 2009

Sean "Caestus" Wright (born February 12, 1981) is a Scottish Welterweight kickboxer, fighting out of Lanna Muay Thai Gym in Chiang Mai, Thailand. He is a current WMC Intercontinental Muay Thai champion and a semi finalist on the reality show The Contender Asia.

Biography and career

Sean Wright was born on February 12, 1981 in Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up in the south of Spain and returned to Glasgow with his family in 1990. Wright began martial arts training at the age of 14, trying out several forms such as Ninjitsu and Wing Chun until he found Muay Thai.

Titles

2008 The Contender Asia Season 1 Semi-finalist

2007 WMC Intercontinental Title at 72 kg

2003 SMTC Welterweight British champion

2002 IMTC Super Welterweight British champion

{| class="toccolours" width=90% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;" |- ! colspan=2 style="background:#A9A9A9" | Kickboxing record |- valign="top" | Legend: |}

See also

List of male kickboxers

List of kickboxing organizations

References

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Scottish kickboxers Category:Welterweight kickboxers Category:British Muay Thai practitioners Category:People from Glasgow Category:British expatriates in Thailand

Name	Sara Bareilles
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Sara Beth Bareilles
Alias	Serina
Born	December 07, 1979Eureka, California, United States
Instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar
Genre	Pop soul, pop rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	2003–present
Label	Epic
Associated acts	Ingrid Michaelson, Weezer, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, Marc Broussard
Url	www.sarabmusic.com

Sara Beth Bareilles (; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records worldwide and has been Grammy nominated three times.

Early life and family

Bareilles was born and raised in Eureka, California, the youngest of three daughters of Bonnie Halvorsen (née Capellas), a funeral home worker, and Paul Bareilles, an insurance adjuster. She was raised Catholic and participated in the high school choir, Limited Edition, and local community theater musical productions, including her high school's production of Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey.

Bareilles attended the Communication Studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles, and can be heard on their Dysfunktional Family album singing "Gravity" and "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5. The group's rendition of Bareilles' "Gravity" was featured on the Best of College A Cappella 2004 compilation CD. Sara also stated on MTV's TRL that she and the band Maroon 5 go back far to their younger days in California when the band was known as Kara's Flowers. She performed in the annual student concert, UCLA Spring Sing, winning twice.

Career

2002–2007: Beginnings

After graduating from college in 2002, Bareilles performed at local bars and clubs (such as the Hotel Café and Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles), building a following before performing in larger venues. She issued two demos of mostly live tracks in 2003: The First One in April and The Summer Sessions in October. In 2004, she appeared as a singer in a bar in the indie film Girl Play, performing the song "Undertow". The remainder of the year and early 2006 were spent writing and reworking songs for her upcoming album. She toured as the opening act in 2006 for Marc Broussard's "Carencro" tour. In 2007, Bareilles toured as the opening act for Aqualung and Mika, and later that year opened for several shows on both Maroon 5 and Paolo Nutini's U.S. tours. She also opened for James Blunt on his U.S. Tour in association with VH1 You Oughta Know.

2007–2008: "Love Song" and Little Voice

In June 2007, iTunes featured Bareilles' single "Love Song" as the free single of the week. The following month, her major-label debut Little Voice shot to #1 on the list of most downloaded albums of the music store in its first week of release, and debuted at #45 on the Billboard 200 chart. After being featured on a Rhapsody commercial in 2007, "Love Song" began climbing the pop charts, jumping from #73 to #16 in one week. It entered the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 27, 2007, and peaked at #4. On other charts, such as the Pop 100 and Hot AC, "Love Song" hit #1. Bareilles performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday, January 17, 2008, and on the Today show on Thursday, February 21, 2008. Soon after that, the song entered the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #4. The music video was directed by Josh Forbes and stars British actor Adam Campbell.

As of 2010, Little Voice has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album peaked in the Billboard 200 at #7, and the UK Top 40 at #9. Bareilles' breakthrough single, "Love Song" has since been certified 3x platinum.

On October 28, 2008, Bareilles released "" on DVD and CD. The package is a recording of her first headlining tour at the famous Fillmore in San Francisco. She concluded the tour in her home town of Eureka, California on December 19, 2008, at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.

She toured with Counting Crows and Maroon 5 between July 22 and August 26, 2008. The first stop was Virginia Beach, Virginia and the last stop Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Bareilles was selected as MTV artist of the week for July 7–11 and appeared again on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, July 9, 2008; and on December 9, 2008 (with Ingrid Michaelson).

During the spring of 2009, Bareilles was on her second headlining tour, the "Gravity Tour," to promote the third and final single from her album Little Voice. She made her third appearance in Charlottesville, VA during UVA's annual Springfest on March 28, her first as the opener for Marc Broussard in 2005 and the second being an opening for Maroon 5. Bareilles also played multiple college shows in April and May. Some were for college students only and others were open to the public.

She sent out a special holiday message to fans on her mailing list and gave out a free live acoustic EP recorded during her Gravity Tour last Spring. The EP contains 7 acoustic songs, including a new song "Free Ride," "I'm On Fire" a Bruce Springsteen cover duet with Tony Lucca, and two speaking segments.

In early 2010, Bareilles recorded video of what she called "An Ode To Jersey Shore" and posted it to her official website as a gag for fans.

2009–present: Kaleidoscope Heart

Bareilles began work on the follow-up to her major label debut in the summer of 2009, collaborating with the likes of Amir "Questlove" Thompson, members of Weezer, and Pharrel Williams. As the songs began to take their final shape, Neal Avron was assigned to produce, record, and mix the entire album. The album was recorded at The Village Recorder and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles.

The first single from her second album, "King of Anything," began receiving radio airplay in the US in May 2010, and was released for sale in June. "King of Anything" had its first play on the UK radio airwaves on Paul Kay's "Album Download" show on Mid-Wales commercial radio station "Radio Maldwyn - The Magic 756" in August. King of Anything has since been certified Gold by the RIAA.

In anticipation of the new album, Bareilles released a series of webisodes, featuring the making of select songs from "Kaleidoscope Heart," including "King of Anything," "Uncharted," "Gonna Get Over You," "Bluebird," and a strings only version of "King of Anything." The first webisode also contains Sara writing the chorus for "Hold My Heart". She was selected as VH1's Posted Artist of the Month for July 2010, chronicling her life leading up to the album's release.

Kaleidoscope Heart was released on September 7, 2010 and debuted at number 1 in the United States, selling 90,000 copies. Interestingly, her previous album Little Voice re-entered the charts at number 200 in the same week, bookending the charts.

Bareilles is touring the US and Europe with Maroon 5 throughout the fall of 2010, and early 2011. She also toured in support of Kaleidoscope Heart from September to December 2010, with most of the shows being sold out. She will also be opening select shows for country music duo Sugarland on their 2011 Incredible Machine Tour.

Influences and musical style

Bareilles' vocal range registers from contralto to mezzo-soprano, and is often compared to artists such as Fiona Apple, Billy Joel,Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones due to her vocal ability and incorporation of piano in her music. Her musical influences include Sarah McLachlan, Nelly Furtado, Alicia Keys and Joni Mitchell.

Her sound is described as "slightly edgy, stompy piano-based pop rock" that incorporates jazz and soul, with Bareilles finding inspiration from singers such as Etta James and Sam Cooke. Daniel Rhine (bass) and Joshua Day (percussion and vocals). Other musicians who have toured with her as part of her band include Eric Robinson (guitar and keys), Holly Conlan (backing vocals), and Philip Krohnengold (guitar and keys).

Collaborations with other artists

In December 2008, a single with Ingrid Michaelson titled "Winter Song" was released off the compilation The Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs. The two performed it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and an animated video was released. She also recorded a song "Come Home," a duet with OneRepublic, which was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009.

Bareilles performed with many other singers on the season 3 finale of 30 Rock, alongside Mary J. Blige, Rachael Yamagata, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Elvis Costello. She also appeared with Weezer on Jimmy Kimmel Live and AOL Sessions guest performing "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" as well for a special performance on YouTube.

She has performed for the First Family numerous times. Bareilles was first invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to play at the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh in September 2009. Here she performed songs for the First Ladies of 20 nations and afterward dined with Michelle Obama. The Obamas again invited her to perform at the Easter Egg Roll in 2010. On October 20, it was announced that Sara would open for President Obama at a Las Vegas rally for the Democratic midterm elections. In December, Bareilles and fellow singer Ingrid Michaelson performed "Winter Song" for the Obamas and many spectators at the National Christmas Tree Lighting.

In December 2010, Bareilles appeared with The Backbeats on the season finale of The Sing-Off.

Discography

2004: Careful Confessions

2007: Little Voice

2010: Kaleidoscope Heart

Awards and nominations

2008

* Billboard Year End Awards: Hot Adult Contemporary Songs for "Love Song" (#1)

* Billboard Year End Awards: Hot Digital Songs for "Love Song" (#6)

2009

* Grammy Award: Song of the Year for "Love Song" (Nominated)

* Grammy Award: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Love Song" (Nominated)

2010

* Soul and Jazz Awards: Best Artist of the Year Act Alternative for "Sara Bareilles" (Nominated)

* Soul and Jazz Awards: Best Album Alternative of the Year for "Little Voice" (Nominated)

* Soul and Jazz Awards: Best Alternative Song for "Love Song" (Nominated)

2011

* Grammy Award: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "King of Anything" (Pending)

References

External links

Official website

Sara Bareilles on Twitter

Sara Bareilles Fansite & Community

Music Videos

Category:American contraltos Category:American female singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Musicians from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Eureka, California Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Blue-eyed soul musicians

Name	Justin Bieber
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
Born	March 01, 1994
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion,
Genre	Pop, R&B; ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010.
Name	Bieber, Justin
Short description	Canadian singer
Date of birth	March 1, 1994
Place of birth	Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Stratford, Ontario Category:Canadian people of German descent

Name	Jermaine Jackson
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jermaine La Jaune Jackson
Born	December 11, 1954Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Genre	R&B;, soul, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer
Years active	1964–present
Instrument	Vocals, electric bass, guitar, keyboards
Label	Motown, Epic, Arista, LaFace
Associated acts	The Jackson 5SwitchWhitney Houston

Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director. He also produced and recorded duets with American singer Whitney Houston in her early years as a recording artist.

Biography

Early life

Jackson is the fourth child of Joseph and Katherine Jackson, born in Gary, Indiana after his brother Tito Jackson. His brothers and sisters are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Marlon, La Toya, Michael, Randy and Janet. He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness by his devout mother (though he later converted to Islam in 1989 after a trip to Iraq and has been staunch supporter of peace in the region). Jermaine was the original lead singer of the Jackson Brothers—an earlier incarnation of The Jackson Five—until 1968, when younger brother Michael began assisting with lead vocals. He remained the lead vocalist with Michael for many years. Jackson graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California in 1973.

The Jackson 5

Jermaine and his brothers signed with Motown Records in 1968. As the co-lead singer of The Jackson 5 after his brother Michael, Jermaine sang notable parts of "I Want You Back", "I'll Be There", "The Love You Save","Dancing Machine", and many other Jackson 5 songs. In 1975, after six years performing with his brothers, Jermaine split from the Jackson 5 to continue his solo career at Motown Records while the other Jackson brothers left to sign with Epic Records. In 1983, he reunited with his brothers for the television special. After the success of the broadcast, he rejoined the band to record the album Victory and participated in the Victory Tour. He stayed with the group for their final album 2300 Jackson Street in 1990. In 2001, he reunited with his brothers to perform for the of Michael's solo career, in an interview he states," when Michael had his success, me and my brothers were kind of jealous."

Solo career

Like Michael, Jermaine began a solo career while still a member of The Jackson 5, and had a hit with the 1972 Shep and the Limelites cover "Daddy's Home". It sold over one million copies by March 1973, and was awarded a gold disc. When The Jackson 5 left Motown, Jermaine left the group and stayed at Motown, as he had married Hazel Gordy and Motown head Berry Gordy was in father-in-law. In 2009, Jermaine claimed on the family reality series it was because "Motown was gonna make us like the Beatles. We were the Jackson 5 and that's all I wanted."

Jermaine was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B; Vocal Performance for his 1980 album Let's Get Serious. He had numerous Billboard Top 30 hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including "Daddy's Home" (#9), "That's How Love Goes", "Let's Be Young Tonight", "Bass Odyssey", "Feel the Fire", "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" (featuring Devo on backing vocals) (#18), "Let's Get Serious" (#9, also one of his only two UK hits, peaking at #8), "Dynamite" (#15), "Do What You Do" (#13), and "I Think It's Love" (#16). A duet with his brother Michael, "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)", hit #1 on the dance chart in 1984. He and Michael also collaborated with Rockwell, both providing guest vocals on his 1984 hit single, "Somebody's Watching Me". In 1985, his duet with Pia Zadora, When the Rain Begins to Fall, topped several singles charts in Europe. His final chart success, 1989's "Don't Take It Personal", hit #1 on the Billboard R&B; singles chart. Some of Jermaine's finest moments as a singer can be heard in the soulful "Castle of Sand" and the Earth Wind & Fire inspired "You Need To Be Loved".

Jackson is proficient on the electric guitar and is a talented bass guitar player. Already at an early age he performed the parts of legendary bass player James Jamerson etc., when J5 performed live. Jermaine also composed and produced for other artists like Switch. He also produced and sang a couple of duets on Whitney Houston's debut album on Arista Records. In 1992, he produced , an award-winning and highly-rated miniseries about the history of The Jackson 5. Jermaine Jr. portrayed his father as a young teenager in the miniseries.

Reality TV: Big Brother UK

Jackson was the first housemate to enter the Celebrity Big Brother UK house in 2007. He steered clear of the controversy caused by the series, avoiding confrontation and offering moral support to fellow housemate Shilpa Shetty against alleged bullying from fellow housemates Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd, and Jo O'Meara. He was often considered to be the most stable minded in the house. During a task in the Big Brother house, the housemates had to create a tribute band for The Jackson 5. The performance of "I Want You Back" helped put The Jackson 5 back in the UK charts at #53. The final three consisted of Dirk Benedict, Jermaine Jackson, and Shilpa Shetty. After leaving Big Brother, Jackson did several interviews on UK television, stating why and how he took his peaceful and mediating stance in the Big Brother house. He also spoke about the Jackson 5 reuniting for a performance. Jackson was part of the second season of the CMT reality show Gone Country. On one episode, he admitted that he needs to sleep with the lights on in an exchange with roomie Sebastian Bach. When Bach probed Jackson further, Jackson said that he "sees people" from the 1800s if he sleeps with the lights off.

Later works

He is planning a stage show based on his family to be released in the UK. He has said that The Jacksons are recording an album and planning a family tour. Jackson returned to the UK in March 2007 to take part in the Channel 4 show Musicool as a mentor.

He is also currently involved in several charity projects and has been working on projects to help orphaned children around the world. Among other countries, he has visited Bangladesh as part of his work to raise funds and help children. He has also figured heavily on the Islam Channel in the UK where he talked about his Islamic faith as well as announcing several charity projects that he plans to undertake.

In April 2007, Jackson returned to the UK to take part in a one-off special of ITV's Challenge Anneka. On the same trip he appeared in Glasgow with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, speaking in support of Searchlight magazine's anti-racism campaign, the Daily Mirror "Hope Not Hate bus".

On November 23, 2007, Jackson appeared on and again talked of a reunion with his brothers on a tour the following year. In 2008, Jackson flew to Australia to be a guest judge and mentor for the top 5 Michael Jackson night on Australian Idol. In March 2008, Jackson was the guest of honour at the Muslim Writers Awards in Birmingham.

He currently appears on the A&E; television series documenting the return of him and his three brothers to music and preparing for a 40th anniversary tour and album. Jermaine Jackson will also be playing a concert at the planet hollywood hotel and casino in Las Vegas on October 2, 2010. The concert is set to be the kick off to his new tour titled "40 Years of Jackson Music", with a special dedication to his brother, Michael Jackson.

Personal life

His middle name "La Jaune" means "The Yellow" in French.

On December 15, 1973, Jackson married Hazel Gordy, who is the daughter of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. The couple had three children together, Jermaine La Jaune "Jay" Jackson Jr., (born January 27, 1977), Autumn Jackson (born July 10, 1978), and Jaimy Jackson (born March 17, 1987).

While Jermaine was married to Hazel he began an extra-marital affair with Margaret Maldonado and had gotten both women pregnant. After his divorce from Gordy in 1988, Jackson started living with Margaret Maldonado. The couple had two children named Jeremy Maldonado Jackson, (born December 16, 1986) and Jourdynn Michael Jackson, (born January 5, 1989).

Shortly after separating from Maldonado, on March 18, 1995, in that same year Jermaine abruptly married his brothers ex-girlfriend Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza who also had three children with his youngest brother Randy Jackson. Jermaine Jackson and, Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, had two sons, Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson (born July 25, 1996) and Jermajesty Jermaine Jackson (born October 7, 2000). In November 2004 Jackson separated, then discovered that Oaziaza had not divorced her first husband Nicholas Ray, so their marriage was annulled Halima Rashid became Jackson's second wife.

Jackson converted to Islam in 1989 after a trip to Bahrain and publicly expressed his religious beliefs during his appearance on Big Brother; while filming the program, Jackson prayed and fasted. He also expressed his hopes to convert his brother Michael to Islam, saying it would have provided him with peace and heal his problems.

In 2004 Jackson told the media that he married Halima Rashid. They currently live in Los Angeles, but often travel around the world.

He supported his brother Michael Jackson, during the 2005 child-abuse trial. He came to Michael's defense on CNN's Larry King Live and appeared with him in court on many occasions. On June 25, 2009, Jermaine held a press conference at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and broke the news of Michael Jackson's death to the media.

Jackson attended the memorial service for his brother Michael on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. He acted as a pallbearer, and performed the song Smile by Charlie Chaplin, which was believed to be his brother's favorite song, in tribute.

Jackson is an avid Los Angeles Dodgers fan. In 2009 while wearing a Manny Ramirez jersey, he made a one-handed catch of a foul ball while seated behind the Dodgers dugout. !! width="30"| USR&B; |- | 1972 || Jermaine || align="center"|27 || align="center"|6 || align="center"|- |- | 1973 || Come Into My Life || align="center"| || align="center"| || align="center"|- |- | 1976 || My Name Is Jermaine || align="center"|164 || align="center"|29 || align="center"|- |- | 1977 || Feel The Fire || align="center"|174 || align="center"|36 || align="center"|- |- | 1978 || Frontiers || align="center"|- || align="center"|- || align="center"|- |- | 1979 || Let's Get Serious || align="center"|6 || align="center"|1 || align="center"|22 |- | 1980 || Jermaine || align="center"|44 || align="center"|1 || align="center"|- |- | 1981 || I Like Your Style || align="center"|86 || align="center"|31 || align="center"|- |- | 1982 || Let Me Tickle Your Fancy || align="center"|46 || align="center"|9 || align="center"|- |- | 1984 || Dynamite (also called Jermaine Jackson) || align="center"|19 || align="center"|13 || align="center"|57 |- | 1986 || Precious Moments || align="center"|46 || align="center"|25 || align="center"|- |- | 1989 || Don't Take It Personal || align="center"|115 || align="center"|18 || align="center"|- |- | 1991 || You Said || align="center"|- || align="center"|39 || align="center"|- |- |align="center" colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"|"—" denotes releases that did not chart |- |}

Compilations

Singles

Motown releases

{| class="wikitable" |- bgcolor="CCCCCC" ! Year !! Song title !! width="30"| US |- | rowspan=4|1984 || "Sweetest Sweetest" || align="center"|- || align="center"|- || align="center"|52 |- | "Dynamite" || align="center"|15 || align="center"|8 || align="center"|- |- | "Do What You Do" || align="center"|13 || align="center"|13 || align="center"|6 |- | "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" (with Michael Jackson) || align="center"|- || align="center"|- || align="center"|- |- | rowspan=2|1985 || "When the Rain Begins to Fall" (with Pia Zadora) || align="center"|52 || align="center"|54 || align="center"|68 |- | "(Closest Thing) To Perfect" || align="center"|67 || align="center"|63 || align="center"|- |- | rowspan=3|1986 || "I Think It's Love" || align="center"|16 || align="center"|14 || align="center"|96 |- | "Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone" || align="center"|- || align="center"|- || align="center"|- |- | "Do You Remember Me" || align="center"|71 || align="center"|40 || align="center"|- |- | 1987 || "Words Into Action" || align="center"|- || align="center"|90 || align="center"|- |- | 1989 || "Don't Take It Personal" || align="center"|64 || align="center"|1 || align="center"|69 |- | rowspan=2|1990 || "I'd Like to Get to Know You" || align="center"|- || align="center"|27 || align="center"|- |- | "Two Ships (In the Night)" || align="center"|- || align="center"|21 || align="center"|- |- | rowspan=2|1991 || "Word to the Badd!" (with T-Boz)|| align="center"|78 || align="center"|88 || align="center"|- |- | "You Said, You Said" || align="center"|- || align="center"|27 || align="center"|- |- | 1992 || "I Dream, I Dream" || align="center"|- || align="center"|30 || align="center"|- |- |align="center" colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"|"—" denotes releases that did not chart |}

References

External links

Only website full dedicated to Jermaine Jackson (fanclub)

Video interview about his Islamic beliefs

VH1 Profile

Jermaine Jackson Complete Motown Discography

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:African American guitarists Category:African American singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American expatriates Category:American male singers Category:American Muslims Category:African American Muslims Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues musicians Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:Songwriters from Indiana Category:American soul musicians Category:American soul singers Category:Arista Records artists Category:American bass guitarists Category:Big Brother UK contestants Category:Epic Records artists Category:The Jackson 5 members Category:Jackson musical family Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Motown artists Category:Musicians from Indiana Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:Converts to Islam from Christianity Category:African American converts to Islam

Name	Jay Sean
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kamaljit Singh Jhooti
Alias	Jay Sean
Born	March 26, 1981Harlesden, Brent, London, England
Instrument	Guitar, piano
Genre	Pop, R&B;, hip hop, bhangra
Occupation	Singer–songwriter, rapper, beatboxer, record producer, arranger
Years active	2003–present
Label	Relentless, Virgin, 2Point9, Jayded, Cash Money, Universal Republic, Island
Associated acts	Birdman, Craig David, Drake, Kevin Rudolf, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Sean Paul, Sway, Thara, Keisha Buchanan
Url

Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (; born 26 March 1981), better known by his stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer-songwriter, rapper, beatboxer and record producer. He debuted in the Asian underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart in 2003. This led to him being signed to Virgin Records and having two UK top 10 hits as a solo artist in 2004: "Eyes On You" at #6 and "Stolen" at #4. They were included in his critically-acclaimed debut album Me Against Myself which, though only moderately successful in the UK, sold more than two million copies across Asia and remains his most successful album to date.

He eventually left Virgin in 2006 and founded his own independent label, Jayded Records. After a gap of nearly four years, he returned in 2008 with "Ride It", which reached #11 in the UK and topped the charts in several Eastern European countries, including Romania where it was one of the best-selling singles of the year. It was followed by hits such as "Maybe", which reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100, and "Tonight". They were included in his second album, My Own Way, which became his most successful album on the UK Albums Chart, reaching #6, and topped the UK R&B; Chart.

Since the end of 2008, has he been signed to Cash Money Records. In 2009, his American debut single "Down" topped the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first solo artist of South Asian origin and first UK urban act to top the Hot 100. It was the seventh-best selling song of 2009, having sold more than three million digital copies in the United States, and six million copies worldwide, It was soon followed by another hit, "Do You Remember", which has sold more than a million copies in the US, and entered the top ten on the Hot 100, making him the first male act since Chingy in 2003 to "simultaneously appear in the Hot 100 top 10 with his first two charting singles." They were included in his American-debut album All or Nothing, which debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200 and reached #11 on the Japan Oricon Albums Chart. and was ranked #35 in Billboard's Hot 100 Artists of 2009.

Life and career

1981–2002: Early life and career beginnings

Jay Sean was born as Kamaljeet Singh Jhooti in Harlesden, Northwest London to Sharan and Bindi Jhooti, Punjabi Sikh immigrants. His year of birth is uncertain, with different sources giving dates ranging from 1979 to 1983. He was raised in Southall, and displayed musical talent at an early age. At age 11, he and his cousin Pritpal Rupra formed a hip hop duo named "Compulsive Disorder". His stage name at the time was MC "Nicky J", with the "J" being derived from the first letter of his last name "Jhooti". He eventually came to be known by the nickname "Jay" among his friends. He finished his GCSEs as a "straight-A student" and then completed his A Levels with an A grade in Biology and B grades in Mathematics and Chemistry. He later enrolled in Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London, to study Medicine before he dropped out in 2003 to pursue a singing career. For his music career, he chose the stage name Jay Sean; "Jay" was the nickname his friends knew him as (derived from his previous stage name "Nicky J"), while "Sean" is derived from "Shaan"—a nickname he was called at home by his grandmother—which means "shining star" or "pride" in Punjabi.

2003–06: Me Against Myself with Relentless Records

After Sean's track "One Minute" fell into the hands of producer Rishi Rich, the Rishi Rich Project was formed (consisting of Rich, Sean and Juggy D) in 2003. Their first taste of UK chart success was the Asian underground song, "Dance with You (Nachna Tere Naal)", which became a Top 20 hit, peaking at #12. This led to Sean signing a £1m deal with Virgin Records, under their label Relentless Records. His third single, "Stolen," peaked at #4, with Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu making an appearance in the video. His debut album, Me Against Myself, was released in 2004 and received much critical praise and acclaim. Sean was referred to as an "Asian sensation" and was praised for his experimental, creative fusion of contemporary R&B;, British hip hop and Indian music.

Despite initially failing to reach the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart (where it peaked at #29), the album gradually managed to sell 100,000 copies in the UK and went on to become a substantial hit in India, selling over two million copies there. He made a brief appearance in the 2005 Bollywood film Kyaa Kool Hai Hum, providing the song "Dil Mera (My Heart)" to the soundtrack, based on "One Night" from his own debut album. Beyond India, the album sold over 300,000 copies across other parts of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, His performance of tracks from Me Against Myself on MTV Asia (alongside the Rishi Rich Project) had a television audience as large as 165 million viewers. It helped establish Sean as a major recognized artist across Asia and among the worldwide Desi diaspora, and remains his most successful album to date. With his debut album, Sean was influential in popularizing Indian-R&B; fusion sounds in Asian underground and Indian pop music. In February 2006, after several delays of his second album, he left Virgin Records.

2007–09: My Own Way and All or Nothing

After parting ways with Virgin Records, Jay Sean continued to work on his second album, which was initially named after the title track "Deal With It," but the song ended up being given to Corbin Bleu. Sean's background vocals remain on Bleu's version of the track. The song "Deal With It" earned Sean a BMI Songwriter Award and later inspired the 2009 single "Juliette" by South Korean band Shinee.

Jay Sean returned in late 2007 with the new single "Ride It", which was the first single from his second album My Own Way. It was to be the first album released as a joint-venture between his own label Jayded and 2Point9 Records. The video for "Ride It", released in early 2008, featured Jay Sean with a new style after being out of the limelight for nearly three and a half years. My Own Way debuted at #6 in the official UK Albums Chart and generated two more UK top 20 singles, "Ride It" and "Maybe". On the back of this Jay received two MOBO Award nominations, for Best UK Male (alongside Dizzee Rascal, Taio Cruz, Wiley and Sway) and Best R'n'B/Soul (alongside Usher, Estelle, Ne-Yo and Chris Brown). "Ride It" was successful in Eastern Europe, especially in Russia, Turkey and Romania, where it became one of the three best-selling singles of the year. "Maybe" was his most successful single in Japan, where it reached #7 on the Japan Hot 100 Singles.

Touch Magazine in the U.K. described him as "the U.K.'s answer to Ne-Yo," while The Independent called him "...an urban legend in the making." In August 2008, Jay Sean co-hosted London radio station Choice FM's Breakfast show a week in which he only performed previously unheard tracks, including a song whose title was left to the listeners to decide. The unknown track was later confirmed to be called "Tonight" and is included in My Own Way: Deluxe Edition. Jay Sean was confirmed for the third series of Celebrity Scissorhands in October 2008 but he withdrew before the show was aired for unclear reasons.

On 15 October 2008 during the MOBO Awards, Jay Sean announced that he had signed with the American hip-hop oriented record label Cash Money Records distributed via Universal Republic Records making him the first male British Asian singer to sign with an American label. His American-debut single was "Down" featuring American rapper and label mate Lil Wayne. It topped the Billboard Hot 100, replacing Black Eyed Peas. This makes him the first British artist to top the Hot 100 since Freddie Mercury of Queen in 1980, and the first solo artist of Asian descent to do so. "Down" has sold more than six million copies worldwide, and three million digital copies in the US, In addition, "Down" has received a large airplay of two billion listener impressions on radio worldwide. In November 2009, Sean's next single from his album, "Do You Remember", was released and featured Jamaican dancehall superstar Sean Paul plus US Southern crunk rapper Lil Jon. It entered the Hot 100 top ten on the week of 9 January 2009, After the award, he was in America for the first time since signing with Cash Money, he announced through a interview with MTV IGGY that he was recording five new songs for his album, then titled My Own Way (U.S. edition), one of which was his American-debut single with Lil Wayne, later titled "Down". Sean discussed a collaboration with Akon at the 2009 Grammy Awards, in addition to recording a song with Nadine Coyle and told viewers that the album will be released in third quarter of 2009. The album title was later changed to All or Nothing, and featured brand new songs and some of the songs from My Own Way. Despite success with two singles from the album, the album itself only debuted at #37 on the US Billboard 200. It was his lowest-charting entry on the UK Albums Chart, debuting there at #62. Despite this, it has become his highest-charting album in Japan, reaching #11 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

Sean was featured on a song called "Written on Her" alongside Birdman for the CEO’s project, released on 23 June 2009 on iTunes. This song was played during an interview on Westwood Radio 1 with Birdman and Jay Sean. Jay Sean has featured on Skepta's single "Lush" released on 10 June 2009 on iTunes. On 2 February 2010, Kevin Rudolf's single "I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)", featured Jay Sean alongside Birdman and Lil Wayne, was released. In early December 2009, it was confirmed that he has collaborated with Justin Timberlake and Esmée Denters on a song, "Love Dealer". There have been talks of collaborations with other American artists such as Ashley Tisdale, Taylor Swift, Nicole Scherzinger, Rihanna, Usher, and Jay-Z & Beyoncé.

Jay Sean was in early September 2009 nominated for the 30 Under 30 award. At the 2009 UK Urban Music Awards, he won the Best Collaboration award for "Down" alongside Lil Wayne. In early December 2009, he was ranked #35 in Billboard's Hot 100 Artists of the year. Sean's performance "had the entire crowd – parents and children, teens and twenty-somethings – dancing."

2010–present: Freeze Time

Early in May, Usher was asked about what he thought of the Stateside success of British R&B; artists like Jay Sean and Taio Cruz. "Sustaining longevity is all about time. They have a lot to prove." Usher said. While Sean could have responded aggressively to the comments, he went a different route. "He's been in the game for, what, 17 years? I completely agree with what he says. Longevity trumps everything. America has only heard one album." "I'm so new to America. I've got so much more to show them, so much more to give them." Sean said.

Jay Sean has confirmed he is working on a new album, with a tentative release date of 2 November 2010. He has stated that he has completed roughly 75 percent of the album and that guests so far include Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj and Mary J. Blige. Other possible collaboration for the album include Akon, Rihanna and Drake. "2012 (It Ain't the End)" was released to U.S. radio stations and as a digital download to iTunes on 3 August 2010, as the lead single of the album. The video leaked on 14 August 2010, but Jay Sean confirmed that the leaked version of the video wasn't the final version. The final version of the video premiered on 24 August 2010. In October 2010, it was announced that the album got pushed back to 22 February 2011.

Sean will be part of the Summerbeatz tour held in Australia alongside, Flo Rida, Soulja Boy and Travie McCoy in November 2010.

Community work

Jay Sean is known for community work. He has worked with BBC Blast doing Q&A;'s on tour events in an effort to "give something back". He has supported the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in the charity event Partnership Walk and Run by performing in Regent's Park in 2004 and 2009.

In 2009, Sean performed in Justin Timberlake's charity concert to raise funds for the Shriners Hospital for Children, alongside artists such as MC Zani, Taylor Swift and Alicia Keys. It became one of the highest-earning charity events of the year, raising more than $9 million.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Me Against Myself (2004)

My Own Way (2008)

All or Nothing (2009)

Freeze Time (2011)

Filmography

Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005), himself

References

External links

Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Old Latymerians Category:English male singers Category:English pop singers Category:English rhythm and blues singers Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English rappers Category:English record producers Category:Beatboxers Category:Musicians from London Category:English Sikhs Category:Bhangra Category:People from Hounslow Category:People from Southall Category:Punjabi people Category:Punjabi-language singers