Amel
Coat of arms
Amel Location in Belgium
Coordinates: 50°21′N 06°10′E / 50.35°N 6.167°E / 50.35; 6.167
Country	Belgium
Region	Wallonia
Community	German-speaking Community
Province	Liège
Arrondissement	Verviers
Government
• Mayor	Klaus Schumacher (GI)
• Governing party/ies	GI
Area
• Total	125.15 km2 (48.32 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2011)[1]
• Total	5,435
• Density	43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Demographics
• Foreigners	3.96% (7 January 2005)
Postal codes	4770-4771
Area codes	080
Website	www.amel.be
Map of Amel

Amel (French: Amblève) is a Belgian municipality in the Walloon province of Liège, and is part of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (German: Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens).

On January 1, 2006 Amel had a total population of 5,282. The total area is 125.15 km² which gives a population density of 42 inhabitants per km². There are seventeen villages in Amel: Schoppen, Stephanshof, Iveldingen, Eibertingen, Montenau, Born, Deidenberg, Medell, Möderscheid, Hepscheid, Heppenbach, Halenfeld, Mirfeld, Valender, Wereth, Meyerode and Herresbach.

The name Amel is of Celtic origin and means water. The river Amblève (German: Amel) flows through the municipality.

Amel is the birthplace of Karl-Heinz Lambertz, current leader (Minister-President) of the community executive of the German-speaking community of Belgium.

History[link]

In 716, the Battle of Amblève, between Charles Martel with the Austrasians on one side and the joined forces of the Frisians and Neustrians under Ragenfrid and Chilperic II on the other side, was the first victory for Charles Martel.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gazetteer Entry

v t e Municipalities of the Province of Liège Huy Amay Anthisnes Burdinne Clavier Engis Ferrières Hamoir Héron Huy Marchin Modave Nandrin Ouffet Tinlot Verlaine Villers-le-Bouillet Wanze Liège Ans Awans Aywaille Bassenge Beyne-Heusay Blegny Chaudfontaine Comblain-au-Pont Dalhem Esneux Flémalle Fléron Grâce-Hollogne Herstal Juprelle Liège Neupré Oupeye Saint-Nicolas Seraing Soumagne Sprimont Trooz Visé Verviers Amel Aubel Baelen Büllingen Burg-Reuland Bütgenbach Dison Eupen Herve Jalhay Kelmis Lierneux Limbourg Lontzen Malmedy Olne Pepinster Plombières Raeren Sankt Vith Spa Stavelot Stoumont Theux Thimister-Clermont Trois-Ponts Verviers Waimes Welkenraedt Waremme Berloz Braives Crisnée Donceel Faimes Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher Geer Hannut Lincent Oreye Remicourt Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse Waremme Wasseiges

This Liège location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Amel Larrieux
Amel Larrieux in San Diego on October 30, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Amel Eliza Stowell[1]
Born	(1973-03-08) March 8, 1973 (age 39) Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Soul, R&B, neo soul, jazz, folk
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, keyboardist, record producer
Instruments	Singing, keyboards
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Epic, 550 Music, Blisslife
Associated acts	Groove Theory, Bryce Wilson, Mondo Grosso, Sweetback
Website	www.blisslife.com

Amel Larrieux (born March 8, 1973) is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the group in 1999, she released her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities the following year on Epic Records. In late 2003, Larrieux founded her own independent label, Blisslife Records, on which she has released three albums so far. Larrieux cites Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder, Shawn Colvin, Chaka Khan, John Lennon, Patrice Rushen, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell as her musical influences.^[2]

Biography[link]

Larrieux was born and raised an only child in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. Her African American - Sub-Saharan mother, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, is a dance critic, author, and college instructor. Her father is of French, English, and Scottish descent. Larrieux was raised in a very artistic environment and was surrounded by talented and inspirational artists. Larrieux attended Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. Some of her classmates include: members of Boyz II Men, jazz bassist Christian McBride, jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco, and The Roots member Questlove. Larrieux attended the senior prom with Questlove. Many of her influences are drawn from R&B, soul, jazz, folk, hip hop, and gospel with flashes of Middle Eastern, West African, and Indian ethnic styles. She has often been documented for describing her music as "Amel's music". Larrieux currently resides in New York City with her husband, Laru, and their two daughters, Sanji Rei and Sky. Her forename Amel means "hope" in Arabic.

Career[link]

Groove Theory[link]

In 1991 Larrieux met Mantronix member Bryce Wilson at Rondor Music. Wilson, who wanted to begin his solo career as producer and musician, was looking for a vocalist to work with. Wilson and Larrieux began to produce demos together and subsequently formed R&B/hip hop duo Groove Theory. Their debut release, Groove Theory, spawned several radio hits such as "Tell Me", "Keep Tryin'", and "Baby Luv". The duo were also featured in successful motion picture soundtracks such as 1996's Sunset Park and 1997's Love Jones. Larrieux, pursuing a solo career, would not be involved in the duo's eventually-shelved second album The Answer. Makeda Davis would step in as lead singer in 1999 until Groove Theory officially disbanded in 2001. Larrieux said of leaving the group, "You have to make a bunch of compromises and .. you know, I just couldn’t go on forever. We wanted different things and a combination of that and the label wanting different things from us just made me decide that it was time to move on."

Early Solo Career[link]

In 1996, Larrieux guested on the self-titled debut album of Sade's backing band Sweetback, yielding the top forty-five R&B entry "You Will Rise".

Larrieux co-wrote and co-produced her debut solo album Infinite Possibilities, released in early 2000 on Epic Records, along with husband Laru Larrieux; the album reached number seventy-nine on the Billboard 200 and number twenty-one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and produced the hit "Get Up", her highest charting solo hit to date. Some tracks from the album, such as the eighth track "Down", could be described as acid jazz, a musical genre which combines elements of jazz with soul and funk.

Larrieux was released from Epic Records after this CD. She says of the release "I was asked to tone it down as a solo artist, which is one of the reasons why I was really glad to leave the major label where I was signed."^[3] Husband Laru Larrieux, who had been co-writing and producing most of Amel's material, started the independent label BlissLife Records with her to distribute her music.

In 2001, Larrieux recorded "Sophisticated Lady" with artist Clark Terry for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo, a tribute to Duke Ellington, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.

On November 10 in 2010, Larrieux spoke about going independent, saying "This is the right time [to be independent]. People are more hip to the internet. People are more open to what independent means." She went on to say that Black independent artists are too under the radar.^[4]

Independent Releases[link]

Bravebird
Her second album Bravebird was released under Larrieux's indie label Blisslife Records label on January 20, 2004. While it underperformed on the Billboard 200, it peaked at number twenty-eight on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number five on Independent Albums. It spawned the midtempo radio single "For Real", which showcases her ability to utilize the whistle register and inspired Ebony magazine to rave about her "ethereal high-octave vocals that bring to mind Minnie Riperton.^[5] A portion of the album's seventh track, "Giving Something Up", could be heard in the commercial for BET's HIV/AIDS awareness campaign Rap-It-Up, in which Larrieux participated in September 2003.^[6]

Larrieux's collaboration with Stanley Clarke and Glenn Lewis, a cover of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway's 1972 song "Where Is the Love" from Clarke's 2003 album 1, 2, To the Bass, received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Morning
Larrieux's third effort Morning was released in April 2006 and features the single "Weary", which reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart in mid-2006.^[7] Morning is her highest-charting album to date, peaking at number seventy-four. Follow-up single "No One Else", written for Mike Shaunessy was featured on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's 2007 film Why Did I Get Married?. The song Gills and Tails also received radio airplay.

Lovely Standards
In May 2007, Larrieux released a jazz standard cover album entitled Lovely Standards. It broke into the top five of the Top Jazz Albums and sold 3,700 units in its first week on store shelves.

Larrieux was featured on 2Pac's 2007 greatest hits album Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug, on the previously unreleased song "Resist the Temptation".

Recent career[link]

On February 4, 2010, SoulSummer.com announced that Larrieux is currently in the studio with Bryce Wilson working on Groove Theory's second official album.^[8] The duo had their first live show together in years on Oct 7, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.^[9] Larrieux said of the show, "Tokyo was too fly, as usual. The audiences just got better and better." Larrieux said in a November 2010 interview that she and Wilson are currently looking for a label they feel comfortable with.^[10] As of August 2011 Larrieux stated Groove Theory have not recorded any new material.^[11]

In March 2009, Larrieux released the songs "Orange Glow" and "Don't Let Me Down" from her forthcoming album, Ice Cream Every Day, to iTunes and other online music stores.^[12][13][14] Larrieux also contributed "Don't Let Me Down" to the Enough Project. Proceeds from the compilation fund efforts to make the protection and empowerment of Congo’s women a priority, as well as inspire individuals around the world to raise their voice for peace in Congo.^[15] Larrieux said on Oct 19, 2010 that she was "dutifully" trying new things for her fifth studio album.^[16] In August 2011, Larrieux confirmed through Power Player Magazine the release date for her new album to be late January 2012. When asked about the five year delay on her fifth album, Larrieux said she wanted to add and delete more songs to perfect the final product. "I stay on the road a lot," she said. "My experiences inform me as a writer, so then I come back and I have more songs to write, and I keep adding and subtracting, so the editing process made this album take a little bit longer than I expected." ^[17]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Album appearances[link]

Soundtracks[link]

Videos[link]

• 1996: "You Will Rise" (Sweetback featuring Amel Larrieux) — directed by Polish Brothers
• 1999: "Get Up" — directed by Floria Sigismondi
• 2000: "Sweet Misery" — directed by Earle Sebastian
• 2001: "Glitches (The Skin You're In)" (The Roots featuring Amel Larrieux) — directed by Nzingha Stewart
• 2004: "For Real" — directed by Sanaa Hamri
• 2006: "Weary" — directed by Jon Menefee and 8 Hertz

References[link]

External links[link]

• Blisslife Records website
• Amel Larrieux at Allmusic
• Amel Larrieux on Myspace
• Amel Larrieux at the Internet Movie Database
• Obnoxious Listeners review of Amel Larrieux

For Real was an American R&B and soul quartet, that formed in 1993.^[1] In the latter part of that decade they were nominated for a Grammy, Billboard Music Award, and Soul Train Music Award.

Biography[link]

For Real secured their recording contract by accident. "We were picking up our manager from the airport. So we decided to greet him with an acappella song. Someone from A&M Records just happened to be in the airport and heard them perform. Not long after, they were signed," said Latanyia Baldwin.^[2]

The band released their debut album, It's a Natural Thang, with production from Brian McKnight on A&M Records in 1994, and it became a critical success, including a rare four stars from Rolling Stone magazine.^[3] Their first single, "You Don't Wanna Miss" hit #28 on the Billboard chart, courtesy of a danceable new jack swing remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley, which was featured in the song's video. A second single, "Easy to Love", peaked at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album scored another chart hit with the a cappella love song, "You Don't Know Nothin'", which was written and produced by Mervyn Warren, and which peaked at #27. The song peaked at #54 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1995.^[4] The album sold over one million copies worldwide, and peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200.

In 1995, the band appeared in Italian Vogue, modeling men's suits. They toured alongside Stevie Wonder,^[5] and lent their voices to the Martin Scorsese film project Grace of My Heart. The foursome also forayed into acting with appearances in the film Shake, Rattle and Rock! starring Renée Zellweger and Howie Mandel^[6] on Showtime.

They also hit the US Top 20 with the single "Freedom (Theme from Panther)" featuring Aaliyah, TLC, En Vogue, BlackGirl, SWV, and Vanessa Williams from the film Panther. They also recorded a duet with Stevie Wonder called "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", which appeared on the Marvin Gaye tribute album, Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye.^[7] For Real also recorded songs for the soundtracks of the films Waiting to Exhale and Fled.

After a label change from A&M to Dallas Austin's Arista imprint Rowdy Records in 1996, For Real struck again with the Austin-produced, 60s-leaning single "Like I Do", from their second album Free. "Like I Do" hit #10 on the Billboard singles chart. The video also earned a Billboard nomination for Best R&B Clip; the album made the Top 100, and sold nearly 400,000 copies in the US. The album's next and last single was the Diane Warren-penned pop ballad "The Saddest Song I Ever Heard" which hit #65 on the Top 100 singles chart. The band performed "Saddest Song" on the TV series All That. Free included production from top R&B/pop producers like Babyface, Mario Winans, and Jon B..

The band also recorded three songs ("I Do", "Born to Love That Boy" and "Unwanted Number") and appeared in the critically acclaimed film Grace of My Heart. The film's soundstrack won a Satellite Award in 1997.^[9][10]

In January 1997, the band won an American Music Award for their work on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, in Summer 1997, the group earned a Soul Train Award nomination for Album of the Year (By a Group, Band or Duo) for Free.

In 1999, Wendi Williams lent her voice to the Emmy-winning film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge with Halle Berry, in which Berry plays a singer but Williams is behind her singing voice.^[11]

In 2002, their song "Love Will Be Waiting at Home" appeared in the film Two Can Play That Game, which starred Vivica A. Fox and Morris Chestnut.

In 2009, CoryLavel began to work with Josina Elder on her new album.

Discography[link]

• It's a Natural Thang (1994)
• Free (1996)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• SingingFool.com Streaming music videos for "Like I Do" and "The Saddest Song I Ever Heard"
• Allmusic^{[dead link]} Discography, biographies, and pictures
• IUMA Group photos, lyrics, message board, audio streams, and biography
• Google Album info, photos, and lyrics

Amel Bent Bachir
Background information
Born	(1985-06-21) June 21, 1985 (age 27)
Origin	Joué-lès-Tours, France
Genres	Pop, R&B, Adult contemporary
Occupations	Vocalist,
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Sony BMG

Amel Bent (born Amel Bent Bachir Arabic:أمل بنت بشير, on June 21, 1985 in Paris) is a French singer.

Biography[link]

Amel Bent grew up in the French commune of La Courneuve^[1] with her Algerian father and a Moroccan mother. She has a brother and a sister.^[1][2] Her career jump started after making it to the semi-finals of the reality TV show Nouvelle Star 2, France's version of Pop Idol. Although her performance did not make it to the finals, she was still noticed by some of the show's producers, and would end up making her début album later that year, titled: Un Jour d'été, released in late 2004. The album would sell more than 550,000 copies in France alone,^[3] but the success of the album would ultimately be derived from the single, "Ma Philosophie", which would sell at more than 500,000 copies, staying at the No.1 slot, in France, for more than 6 weeks during and after sales.

Amel Bent at the TF1 concert for Tolerance in Yasmine Hammamet in Tunisia.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

¹ French Digital Charts
² Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart

Singles[link]

¹ French Digital Charts
² Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• http://www.last.fm/music/Amel+Bent
• http://influence.over-blog.com/article-10167534.html

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amel Bent

• (French) Official website
• Amel Bent Ma Philosophie + Lyrics
• Official MySpace
• (French) Interview with Amel Bent on SoulRnB.com (13/12/10)