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A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged.^[1][2][3] Often teen idols are actors or musicians but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors. The idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. Many teen idols are targeted for adults for nostalgia purposes.

There were teen idols before there were teen magazines, but idols have always been a permanent feature in magazines such as 16 magazine, Tiger Beat and Right On! in the United States, and in similar magazines elsewhere. With the advent of television, teen idols were also promoted through programs such as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Soul Train. Some contemporary teen idols include Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Taylor Lautner, One Direction, Big Time Rush and Selena Gomez.^[4] Many American teen idols achieve "cross-over" success internationally, however this list is not limited to American artists alone with some people like German popstar Bill Kaulitz of the pop-rock band Tokio Hotel. In Asia, idols range from Japanese pop megastars Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro as well as Kana Nishino and Japanese music groups such as Morning Musume, AKB48, and Perfume and Johnny & Associates boy bands Arashi, NEWS, KAT-TUN, and Hey! Say! JUMP among others while Chinese pop icon Jay Chou and South Korean singers BoA and Rain and music groups TVXQ, Beast, Shinee, Super Junior, 2NE1, Big Bang, Wonder Girls, T-ara, Kara and Girls' Generation are examples.^[5][6]

It is the essence of the teen idol to appeal to the burgeoning sexuality of the young without in any way threatening it.^{[citation needed]} As recently as the 1970s, some stars were asked to shave their chests because it was perceived that chest hair was threatening to young girls.^{[citation needed]} In previous eras, because teen idols were supposed to have an aura of approachability, they often needed to keep their romantic relationships and marriages a secret for fear of decreased popularity.^{[citation needed]} In recent times, the concept of a teen idol has changed. Today's idols include film and television stars, pop singers, and supermodels. Celebrities' private lives are no longer taboo; to the contrary, they have spawned an entire industry of gossip magazines, television shows, and whole television channels such as E!. Young sports icons are considered teen idols like Nadia Comăneci, Mary Lou Retton, Shawn Johnson, Michael Phelps and Apolo Ohno as well as 1970s nine time swimming gold medalist Mark Spitz.

Early teen idols[link]

Rudolph Valentino, one of the first "teen idols" of the 20th century

The teen idol is primarily a phenomenon of 20th century mass communication. Its first manifestation (often referred to as matinee idol) may have been Rudolph Valentino, whose good looks and winning way with women featured heavily in such silent films as The Sheik. Valentino was so popular with young women, many of them went into mass hysteria after he died at the age of 31 in 1926. Judy Garland's pin-ups adorned many a high school male's locker after her sudden rise to fame. But it was probably Frank Sinatra, whose early career is often linked to his appeal to bobby soxers,^[3] who is generally regarded as being the first true 'teen idol'.

1950-1960s[link]

The great success of young rock stars like Elvis Presley and film stars like James Dean in the 1950s, as well as the wider emergence of youth subcultures, led promoters to the deliberate creation of teen idols such as Frankie Avalon and Fabian — and to artists who deliberately cultivated a (safer) idol image, like Paul Anka.

Anka initially modelled himself on a particular generic type, the teen idol [who] carried on the process ... of changing the image of male youth ... from wild to mild, by providing a cleaner, more wholesome image of masculinity than that of the previous era's rebellious rockabilly heroes [and (working-class) so-called juvenile delinquents, like those in West Side Story]....

—^[7]

Portable phonograph

Post-war teens were able to buy relatively inexpensive phonographs — including portable models that could be carried to friends' houses — and the new 45-rpm singles. Rock music played on 45s became the soundtrack to the 1960s as people bought what they heard on the radio. The great majority of the music being marketed to 50s teens was being written by adults, but 60s teens were increasingly appreciating and emulating artists closer to their own age, to teen fashion, and to lyrics which addressed their own concerns. Their parents worried about their attraction to artists (and DJs) who were edgy and rebellious. Faces on magazines fed fans; fans buy records, see films, watch TV and buy fashions.

Marketing of the teen idol generally focuses on the image.... The teen idol is structured to appeal to the pre-teen and young teen female pop audience member and children in general.... [They] are commodified in forms and images that are relatively non-threatening to this young audience and to the ancillary market of parents... The teen idol never appears to be autonomous and therefore never appears to be threatening as an adult; he remains, as long as he is popular, perpetually childlike and dependent.

—^[8]

Some marketers turned to film and TV for fresh, attractive, 'safe' faces. Tommy Sands's debut in a television film about the phenomenon, The Idol, made a teen idol out of Sands himself. Ricky Nelson, a performer of rockabilly music, also became a teen idol through his parents' television series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Some young TV stars were being hustled into studios to make recordings; for example, ex-Mousketeer Annette Funicello became one of the first big female idols; another, Johnny Crawford of The Rifleman, had five Top-40 hits.^[3] In 1963, Luke Halpin made a big splash as a teen idol in the television program Flipper. After Bye Bye Birdie was released in 1963, Bobby Rydell became an instant teen tdol.

In the 1960's as situation comedy's and dramas on television using child actors became more popular, actors Paul Peterson and Shelley Fabares from The Donna Reed Show, Sally Field of Gidget, Jon Provost of Lassie, Jay North from Dennis the Menace, Sajid Khan of Maya, and Keith and Kevin Schultz known as the "Schultz Twins" on The Monroes all became younger preteen idols and grew into being teen idols.

Likewise, Tommy Steele, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys were teen idols, especially during the earlier part of their careers, although they quickly grew out of that status. The Rolling Stones did it through a more rebellious image, The Beatles did it through their more developed (or "grown up") music. Similarly, Neil Sedaka had two distinct eras of his career, with about a decade in between: one as a teen idol in the 1960s (in which many of his songs note his attraction to 16-year-old girls), and a later career in adult contemporary music. The Cowsills were teen idols and were on every teen magazine cover for many years as well as the show The Partridge Family that was written in their likeness.

All of The Monkees became instant teen idols in the late 1960s after their TV show became an over night success, especially Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones. The English born member of The Monkees Davy Jones was regularly features in all time teen idol lists. In 2008, Yahoo Music named Jones the number one teen idol of all time,^[9] and in 2009 he was ranked second in a list compiled by Fox News.^[10]

1970s[link]

After Davy Jones came Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy. They held the title of Teen Idols from the late 1960s til the mid 1970s. Both Sherman and Cassidy were actors on television and musicians in the pop-rock category at the time. Sherman was on hit TV shows Shindig and Here Come the Brides among many others. Musical series such as Cassidy's The Partridge Family, the animated series The Archie Show, and (to a lesser extent) The Brady Bunch integrated television and teen-pop music to significant success during this time frame. Musicians The Hudson Brothers were on many teen magazine covers for a number of years as teen idols. They had two shows on TV during the 1970s and recorded many albums.

One of the features of many teen idols is that their fans (and, in some cases, the musicians themselves) tend to develop a distaste for the music once they become adults, and it is not much listened to by adults, except for nostalgia: the legacy of bubblegum pop. Teen idol performers in this category would include Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Donny Osmond/The Osmond Brothers, Andy Gibb, Tony DeFranco, and The Bay City Rollers. Even modern classic hits and oldies outlets, which cover this time period, rarely play cuts from the teen idols of the era, with the exception of Michael Jackson of The Jackson Five, who began his career as a teen idol along with his brothers, but whose individual career eventually evolved far beyond the limitations of that description and into superstardom.

1980s[link]

In the mid 1980s there was a group of young actors called The Brat Pack, the whole group collectively and separately became teen idols. They were Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. They starred in many coming of age films together in some fashion and became incredibly popular without being musicians.

Actors Corey Feldman and Corey Haim became teen idols during the later part of the 1980s with films The Goonies and together The Lost Boys and License to Drive among other films. They were dubbed "the two Coreys". Before Corey Haim's death in 2010, they did a reality TV show for two seasons (2007–08) on A&E named The Two Coreys after their 1980s moniker.

Australian/American singer/actor Rick Springfield was regarded as the teen idol in the 1980s with such hits as "Jessie's Girl" and "Don't Talk to Strangers". The Grammy Award winning musician Springfield was known for playing Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital. He originated the character from 1981-1983. He left acting after his music career took off.

At the end of the 1980s, actor Kirk Cameron became a major teen idol teenage heartthrob. Cameron was best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains from 1985 to 1992.

In popular music, the late 1980s was the boom of teenagers dominating the music charts. Debbie Gibson became the youngest person to write, perform and produce a number-one single "Foolish Beat", and also had bunch of hits from her first two albums. Tiffany, another teen icon, became a pop sensation at 15 years old thanks to an aggressive marketing strategy. She promoted her debut album in shopping malls of the US. She is also the youngest person to have a debut album hit number one and have multiple number one singles from that album (I Think We're Alone Now and Could've Been). Having become a household name, she had then-unknown band New Kids on the Block as an opening act for her shows. However, the sudden popularity of the New Kids caused their roles to be reversed. Gibson and Tiffany's career had stalled by the early 1990s; so had NKOTB by the mid-ninetees.

1990s[link]

The manufacturing of teen idols has been marketed more aggressively and with greater sophistication since the 1980s.^[11] The rise of MTV in the 1980s and the success of the boy bands of the 1990s and 2000s has continued to fuel the phenomenon.^[8][12] Besides the obvious combination of what are perceived to be good, clean-cut looks and a ubiquitous, almost invasive marketing campaign, one of the key selling points of the "manufactured band" is the "something for everyone" approach, although this strategy has been criticized for being more along the lines of "something for everyone who hasn't had much exposure to music". Each band member can be promoted separately for a unique look and one-note personality: the "shy one", the "intelligent one", "the rebel", and so on. Classic examples of boy bands include Menudo, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, The Spice Girls became the best selling pop group of the decade and are often cited as the pioneers that paved the way for the commercial breakthrough of teen pop in the late 1990s. Other Female Teen Pop stars such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson then also became very popular at the end of the decade. Hanson was initially marketed as such a band, but eventually outgrew this label to become a successful indie band. Other notable examples from the 1990s are Brothers Nick Carter from The Backstreet Boys and pop star Aaron Carter were both teen idols in their heyday, as was Ricky Martin during the Latin music explosion of the late 1990s. .

Most of the teen idols in the 1990s were from boy bands and musical acts. One major exception was the situation comedy Home Improvement 's Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who played Randy Taylor from 1991–1998; "JTT" (as he would come to be known during this time), uncomfortable with his teen idol status, left the show (and, for the most part, the entire acting scene) one year shy of the show's last year on the air. Other Teen Idol's from TV at around the same time were most of the cast of Saved by the Bell, Rider Strong of Boy Meets World, Joey Lawrence of Blossom (and to a lesser extent, Joey's brothers, Matthew and Andrew), Jason Priestley and Luke Perry of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame, and Erik Von Detten of various TGIF shows. These actors were often found on the covers and pages of teen magazines during the 1990s as teen idols as well.

2000's and beyond[link]

Hilary Duff (left) and Lindsay Lohan (right) were remarkable teen idols in the early 2000s.

The Walt Disney Company and its numerous outlets (e.g. Disney Channel, Radio Disney and Walt Disney Pictures) have successfully developed a new generation of teen idols. In the early 2000s, the company developed the careers of Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, initially targeting youth and female teen audiences. The success of this marketing led to further development of the genre, including new teen idols such as Raven-Symoné, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and Bridgit Mendler. Disney also has used the acquisition of ABC Family to develop shows and stars popular among teen girls. Not to be outdone, rival Nickelodeon has developed its own slate of stars for its television shows, including Miranda Cosgrove, Victoria Justice, Jennette McCurdy and the group Big Time Rush, all of whom have not only starred in TV shows, but recorded albums as well.

The 2000s have also seen many new teen idols emerge from popular feature films such as the casts of the Harry Potter (e.g. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) and Twilight (e.g. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner) film franchises; television series such as Glee have also developed stars who are popular among younger viewers. Since their rise to fame in recent years, singers Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift have become recent examples of modern-day teen idols who have achieved international success, known for their devoted teen and tween fan base. Of note is that many of the modern-day teen idols are females marketed as "role-models" to teen and tween girls, a departure from the traditional role of the male teen idol marketed as the idealized teen "heart-throb".

See also[link]

• Matinee idol
• Sex symbol
• Pin-up
• Jailbait
• Celebrity Worship Syndrome
• Boy band
• Girl group
• Junior idol
• Japanese idol
• South Korean idol

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Top 25 Teen Idols of All-Time at Yahoo.com

Look up idol in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

An idol is an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed or any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.^[1]

More specific terms include:

Worship

• Cult image, a religion-neutral term for a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents
• Idolatry, a term used in monotheism for the worship of cult images, termed idols, perhaps tending towards iconoclasm, the destruction of images
• Murti, a point of focus for devotion or meditation in Hindu and Buddhist religion (not always man-made)

Entertainment

• Idol series, one of several television shows that give formerly unknown persons an opportunity to become stars. The Idol series began in the United Kingdom and has since spread around the world - Australia, Singapore, Canada, France, Germany, India, the United States, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, South Africa, West African countries, Indonesia, and many other countries.
• Teen idol, a popular celebrity "worshipped" by teenagers
• Japanese idol, a heavily promoted and merchandised singer or actor
• South Korean idol
• Billy Idol, English rock musician
• The iDol, Japanese comedy movie
• Idoling!!!, a Japanese female idol group
• "Idol", an episode of the television show Power Rangers: SPD
• Matinee idol, an adored film or theater star
• The Idols, a Greek pop band of the late 60s and early 70s [1]
• Idoli, a Serbian new wave band from the early 1980s
• 1dol, a Philippine TV musical

Other

• Brad Cain, a professional wrestler known as Lodi and Idol
• Idol (philosophy), one of several concepts developed by various philosophers
• Idol Records, a record label
• IDOL (software), meta software developed by Autonomy Corporation

See also[link]

• Divinization (disambiguation)

References[link]

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

Ricky Nelson
Background information
Birth name	Eric Hilliard Nelson
Born	(1940-05-08)May 8, 1940 Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	December 31, 1985(1985-12-31) (aged 45) De Kalb, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Rockabilly, rock 'n' roll, pop, folk, country
Occupations	Actor, musician, singer
Years active	1949-1985
Labels	Imperial, Decca (MCA), Epic
Associated acts	Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, Carl Perkins, James Burton
Website	http://www.rickynelson.com/

Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including "Poor Little Fool", which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's then newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded nineteen additional top-ten hits,^[1] and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.^[2]

Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons. In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky. In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, "Poor Little Fool", and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo. A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.

Nelson and Sharon Kristin Harmon were married on April 20, 1963, and divorced in December 1982. They had four children: Tracy Kristine, twin sons Gunnar Eric and Matthew Gray, and Sam Hilliard. On February 14, 1981, a son (Eric Crewe) was born to Nelson and Georgeann Crewe. A blood test in 1985 confirmed Nelson was the child's father. Nelson was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death in an airplane crash on December 31, 1985.

In 1996, Ricky Nelson was ranked #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[3]

Early life[link]

Ricky Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 at 1:25 p.m. at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey.^[4][5][6] He was the second son of big band leader Ozzie Nelson, who was of half Swedish descent, and his wife, big band vocalist Harriet Hilliard Nelson (née Peggy Louise Snyder). Harriett remained in Englewood, New Jersey with her newborn and her older son David while Ozzie toured the nation with the Nelson Orchestra.^[7] The Nelsons bought a two-story Colonial in Tenafly, New Jersey,^[7][8] and six months after the purchase, moved with son David to Hollywood, California where Ozzie and Harriet were slated to appear in the 1941-42 season of Red Skelton's The Raleigh Cigarette Hour; Ricky remained in Tenafly in the care of his paternal grandmother.^[9] In November 1941, the Nelsons bought what would become their permanent home: a green and white, two-story, Cape Cod Colonial at 1822 Camino Palmero in Los Angeles.^[10][11] Ricky joined his parents and brother in Los Angeles in 1942.^[10]

Ricky was a small and insecure child who suffered from severe asthma. At night, his sleep was eased with a vaporizer emitting tincture of evergreen.^[12] He was described by Red Skelton's producer John Guedel as "an odd little kid," likable, shy, introspective, mysterious, and inscrutable.^[13] When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Guedel crafted the radio sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, for Ricky's parents.^[13][14] The show debuted on Sunday, October 8, 1944 to favorable reviews.^[15][16] Ozzie eventually became head writer for the show and based episodes on the fraternal exploits and enmity of his sons.^[17] The Nelson boys were first played in the radio series by professional child actors until twelve-year-old Dave and eight-year-old Ricky joined the show on February 20, 1949 in the episode, "Invitation to Dinner."^[18][19]

In 1952, the Nelsons tested the waters for a television series with the theatrically released film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film was a hit and Ozzie was convinced the family could make the transition from radio's airwaves to television's small screen. On October 3, 1952, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast in first run until September 3, 1966 to become one of the longest running sitcoms in television history.

Education[link]

Nelson attended Gardner Street Public School,^[20] Bancroft Junior High,^[21] and Hollywood High School between 1954 and 1958 from which he graduated with a B average.^[22][23][24] He played football at Hollywood High^[22][23] and represented the school in interscholastic tennis matches.^[25] Twenty-five years later, Nelson told the Los Angeles Weekly he hated school because it "smelled of pencils" and he was forced to rise early in the morning to attend.^[22]

Hollywood High (2008)

At Hollywood High, Nelson was blackballed by the Elksters, a fraternity of a dozen conservative sports-loving teens who thought him too wild.^[26][27] Many of the Elksters were family friends and spent weekends at the Nelson home playing basketball or relaxing around the pool.^[27] In retaliation, he joined the Rooks, a greaser car club of sideburned high school teens clad in leather jackets and motorcycle boots.^[27][28] He tattooed his hands, wrist, and shoulder with India ink and a sewing needle, slicked his hair with oil, and accompanied the Rooks on nocturnal forays along Hollywood Boulevard randomly harassing and beating up passersby.^[27][28] Nelson was jailed twice in connection with incidents perpetrated by the Rooks, and escaped punishment after sucker-punching a police officer only through the intervention of his father.^[28] Nelson's parents were alarmed. Their son's juvenile delinquency did little to enhance the All-American image of Ozzie and Harriet and they quickly put an end to Ricky's involvement with the Rooks by banishing one of the most influential of the club's members from Ricky's life and their home.^[25]

Ozzie Nelson was a Rutgers alumnus and keen on college education,^[29] but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93-percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend.^[23] At thirteen, Ricky was making over $100,000 per annum and, at sixteen he had a personal fortune of $500,000.^[30] Nelson's wealth was astutely managed by parents who channeled his earnings into trust funds. Although his parents permitted him a $50 allowance at the age of eighteen, Rick was often strapped for cash, and, one evening, collected and redeemed empty pop bottles to gain entrance to a movie theater for himself and a date.^[31] Accustomed to affluence, Nelson had a cavalier attitude about money and never managed his finances very well.^[26]

Music career[link]

Debut[link]

Nelson played clarinet and drums in his tweens and early teens, learned the rudimentary guitar chords, and vocally imitated his favorite Sun Records rockabilly artists in the bathroom at home or in the showers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club.^[32][33][34] He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins' March 1956 Top Ten hit, "Blue Suede Shoes".^[33][34]

At sixteen, he wanted to impress a friend who was an Elvis Presley fan, and, although he had no record contract at the time, told her that he, too, was going to make a record.^{[32][35][36][37]} With his father's help, he secured a one-record deal with Verve Records, an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing.^{[36][37][38][39]} On March 26, 1957, he recorded the Fats Domino standard "I'm Walkin'" and "A Teenager's Romance" (released in late April 1957 as his first single), and "You're My One and Only Love".^[39][40]

Before the single was released, he made his television rock and roll debut on April 10, 1957 lip-synching "I'm Walkin'" in the Ozzie and Harriet episode, "Ricky, the Drummer".^[41][42] About the same time, he made an unpaid public appearance as a singer at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly in Los Angeles with the Four Preps and was greeted by hordes of screaming teens who had seen the television episode.^[43][44]

"I'm Walkin'" reached #4 on Billboard's Best Sellers in Stores chart, and its flip side, "A Teenager's Romance", hit #2.^[36][44] When the television series went on summer break in 1957, Nelson made his first road trip and played four state and county fairs in Ohio and Wisconsin with the Four Preps who opened and closed for him.^[45]

First album, band, and number one single[link]

In early summer 1957, Ozzie Nelson pulled his son from Verve after disputes about royalties, and signed him to a lucrative five-year deal with Imperial Records that gave him approval over song selection, sleeve artwork, and other production details.^[46][47] Ricky's first Imperial single, "Be-Bop Baby", generated 750,000 advance orders, sold over one million copies, and reached number three on the charts. Nelson's first album, Ricky, was released in October 1957 and hit number one before the end of the year.^[48] Following these successes, Nelson was given a more prominent role on the Ozzie and Harriet show and ended every two or three episodes with a musical number.^[49]

Nelson grew increasingly dissatisfied performing with older jazz session musicians who were openly contemptuous of rock and roll. After his Ohio and Minnesota tours in the summer of 1957, he decided to form his own band with members closer to his age.^[50] Eighteen-year-old electric guitarist James Burton was the first signed and lived in the Nelson home for two years.^[51] Bassist James Kirkland, drummer Richie Frost, and pianist Gene Garf completed the band.^[52] Their first recording together was "Believe What You Say". Rick selected material from demo acetates submitted by songwriters. Ozzie Nelson forbade suggestive lyrics or titles, and his late-night arrival at recording sessions forced band members to hurriedly hide their beers and cigarettes. The Jordanaires, Elvis Presley's back-up vocalists, worked for Nelson but at Presley's behest were not permitted credit on Nelson's albums.

In 1958, Nelson recorded seventeen-year-old Sharon Sheeley's "Poor Little Fool" for his second album Ricky Nelson released in June.^[53][54] Radio airplay brought the tune notice and Imperial suggested releasing a single; but Nelson opposed the idea, believing a single would diminish EP sales. When a single was released nonetheless, he exercised his contractual right to approve any artwork and vetoed a picture sleeve.^[53][55] On August 4, 1958, "Poor Little Fool" became the number one single on Billboard's newly instituted Hot 100 singles chart,^[56][57] and sold over two million copies.^[53] Nelson so loathed the song he refused to perform it on Ozzie and Harriet.^[53] Sheeley claimed he ruined her song by slowing the tempo.^[56] More generally, Nelson stated

NME - November 1958^[58]

During 1958 and 1959, Nelson placed twelve hits on the charts in comparison with Presley's eleven (it should be remembered that the latter was then serving in Germany with the U.S. Army). During the sitcom's run, Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son's fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept his son from appearing on other television shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular.^[56] In the summer of 1958, Nelson conducted his first full-scale tour, and averaged $5,000 nightly. By 1960, the Ricky Nelson International Fan Club had 9,000 chapters around the world.^[59]

NME - May 1960^[60]

Nelson was the first teen idol to utilize television to promote hit records. Ozzie Nelson even had the idea to edit footage together to create some of the first music videos. This creative editing can be seen in videos Ozzie produced for "Travelin' Man."^{[citation needed]} Nelson finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. He also appeared on other television shows (usually in acting roles). In 1973, he had an acting role in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco, in which he played the part of a hippie flute-playing leader of a harem of young prostitutes. In 1979, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live, in which he spoofed his television sitcom image by appearing in a Twilight Zone send-up, in which, always trying to go "home", he finds himself among the characters from other 1950s/early 1960s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Make Room for Daddy, and I Love Lucy.

Nelson knew and loved music, and was a skilled performer even before he became a teen idol, largely because of his parents' musical background. Nelson worked with many musicians of repute, including James Burton, Joe Osborn, and Allen "Puddler" Harris, all natives of Louisiana, and Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires, Scotty Moore and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette.

From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 Top-40 hits, more than any other artist except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard charts.

While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like "Believe What You Say" (Hot 100 #4), "I Got a Feeling" (#10), "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (#12), "Hello Mary Lou" (#9), "It's Late" (#9), "Stood Up" (#2), "Waitin' in School" (#18), "Be-Bop Baby" (#3), and "Just a Little Too Much" (#9), his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with "Travelin' Man" (#1), "A Teenager's Romance" (#2), "Poor Little Fool" (#1), "Young World" (#5), "Lonesome Town" (#7), "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (#6), "Sweeter Than You" (#9), "It's Up to You" (#6), and "Teenage Idol" (#5), which clearly could have been about Nelson himself.

Nelson performing on The Jim Nabors Show in 1970.

In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plusThe Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965).

On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), he officially modified his recording name from "Ricky Nelson" to "Rick Nelson". (However, not too long before his untimely death, he realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins, who, while musing that they were the last of the "rockabilly breed", addressed him as "Ricky".) In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records. After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964's "For You" (#6), Nelson's chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.

In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music, becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called "California Sound" (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like the Eagles). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" with the Stone Canyon Band, featuring slide guitarist Ric Mix.

"Garden Party"[link]

In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with "Garden Party", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him, because, in his mind, he was playing new songs instead of just his old hits. When he performed the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" he was booed off the stage. He watched the rest of the performance on a TV monitor backstage and quietly left the Madison Garden without taking a final bow for the finale. He wanted to record an album featuring original material, but the single was released before the album because Nelson had not completed the entire Garden Party album yet. "Garden Party" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single. The second single release from the album was "Palace Guard", which reached number 65 in the charts.

Nelson was with MCA at the time, and his comeback was short-lived. Nelson's band soon resigned, and MCA wanted Nelson to have a producer on his next album. His band moved to Aspen and changed their name to "Canyon". Nelson soon put together a new Stone Canyon Band and began to tour for the Garden Party album. Nelson still played nightclubs and bars, but soon advanced to higher-paying venues because of the success of Garden Party. In 1974 MCA was at odds as to what to do with the former teen idol. Albums like Windfall failed to have an impact. Nelson became an attraction at theme parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland. He also started appearing in minor roles on television shows.

Nelson tried to score another hit, but did not have any luck with songs like "Rock and Roll Lady". With seven years to go on his contract, MCA dropped him from the label.

Nelson studied karate, earning a brown belt before going on to learn Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto. Inosanto described Nelson as a "good martial artist for those times".^[61]

Personal life[link]

In 1957, Nelson was seventeen when he met and fell in love with Marianne Gaba, who played the role of Ricky's girlfriend in three episodes of Ozzie and Harriet.^[62][63] Nelson and Gaba were too young to entertain a serious relationship although, according to Gaba, "we used to neck for hours."^[64][65] The next year, Nelson fell in love with 15-year-old Lorrie Collins, a country singer appearing on a weekly telecast called Town Hall Party.^[66][67] The two wrote Nelson's first composition, the song "My Gal", and she introduced him to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter. Collins appeared in an Ozzie and Harriet episode as Ricky's girlfriend and sang "Just Because" with him in the musical finale.^[68] They went steady and discussed marriage, but their parents discouraged the idea.^[68][69]

At the age of 45, Nelson said the only girl he ever really loved was involved with him for two years in the late 1950s. After she became pregnant and had a nearly fatal abortion, she married another man.^[70][71]

Kris Harmon[link]

Television publicity photo of Rick and Kris Nelson, 1964.

At Christmas 1961, Nelson began dating Sharon Kristin "Kris" Harmon (born June 25, 1945), the daughter of football legend Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox (née Elsie Kornbrath), and the older sister of Kelly and Mark.^[72][73] The Nelsons and the Harmons had long been friends and a union between their children held great appeal.^[74] Rick and Kris had much in common: quiet dispositions, Hollywood upbringings, and high-powered, domineering fathers.^[75]

They married on April 20, 1963. Kris was pregnant,^[76] and Rick later described the union as a "shotgun wedding".^[77] Nelson, a non-practicing Protestant, received instruction in Catholicism at the insistence of the bride's parents,^[77][78] and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faith.^[76] Kris Nelson joined the television show as a regular cast member in 1963.^[71][79] They had four children: actress Tracy Kristine Nelson, twin sons Gunnar Eric Nelson and Matthew Gray Nelson who formed the band Nelson, and Sam Hilliard Nelson.

Following the birth of their last child, the marriage deteriorated by 1975, and a very public controversial divorce involving both families was covered in the press for several years. In October 1977, Kris filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children, and a portion of community property. The couple temporarily resolved their differences but Kris retained her attorney to pursue a permanent break.^[80] Kris was contentious and jealous. Both spent enormous sums of money: Kris on parties, Rick on renting a private Lear jet.^[81] Nelson had a tremendous sexual appetite and a casual attitude toward sex, once estimating he had had sex with thousands of women.^[82] Kris wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but the family enjoyed a recklessly expensive lifestyle, and Kris's extravagant spending left Rick no choice but to tour relentlessly.^[83] The impasse over Rick's career created unpleasantness at home. Kris became an alcoholic and left the children in the care of household help.^[84] After years of legal proceedings, they were divorced in December 1982. The divorce was financially devastating for Nelson with attorneys and accountants taking over $1 million.^[85] Years of legal wrangling followed.^[86][87]

Georgeann Crewe[link]

On May 16, 1980, Nelson met Georgeann Crewe at the Playboy Resort in Great Gorge, New Jersey.^[88][89] Crewe later claimed she felt "an attachment, an immediate attraction" to Nelson.^[88][89] Crewe unsuccessfully attempted to contact Nelson several times to let him know that she was pregnant, and on March 25, 1981, she gave birth to Nelson's son, Eric Jude Crewe.^[88] In 1985, a blood test confirmed Nelson was the father,^[88] but Nelson was not interested in Crewe or their son. He declined to meet with them to the point that he avoided playing concerts in Atlantic City. Although Nelson agreed to provide $400 a month in child support, he did not provide for the child in his will.^[90]

Helen Blair[link]

In 1980, Nelson met Helen Blair, a part-time model and exotic animal trainer, in Las Vegas.^[91] Within months of their meeting, she became his road companion, and, in 1982, moved in with him. She was the only woman he dated after his divorce.^[91][92]

Blair tried to make herself useful in Nelson's life by organizing his day and acting as a liaison for his fan club,^[91] but Nelson's mother, brother, business manager, and manager disapproved of her presence in his life.^[93] He contemplated marrying her, but eventually declined.^[94] Blair died with Nelson in the airplane fire. Her name was never mentioned at Nelson's funeral.^[95] Blair's parents wanted their daughter buried next to Nelson at Forest Lawn Cemetery but Harriet Nelson dismissed the idea.^[96] The Blairs refused to bury Helen's remains and filed a $2 million wrongful death suit against Nelson's estate.^[95] They received a small settlement. Nelson did not provide for Blair in his will.^[90]

Drug use[link]

Nelson used marijuana early in his musical career, and became a regular user. He buried his stash in his yard. He supported marijuana's legalization. He tried mescaline, was a regular cocaine user and carried the drug in an empty ginseng capsule.^[97][98]

During the Nelson divorce proceedings, Rick was accused by his wife's attorney of using cocaine, quaaludes, and other drugs, and of having "a severe drug problem" encouraged by his managers, his entourage, and his groupies. The attorney noted that Nelson's "personal manager" secured drugs for Nelson, wild parties took place in Nelson's home whether he was present or not, and his children, aware of his drug use, were in great physical danger from drugged persons entering and exiting the house at all hours.^[99] Following Nelson's divorce, while he was involved with Helen Blair, his drug use grew so dire friends urged him to seek treatment for substance abuse.^[100]

Death[link]

Nelson dreaded flying but refused to travel by bus. In May 1985, he decided he needed a private plane and leased a luxurious, fourteen-seat, 1944 Douglas DC-3 for private use that once belonged to the DuPont family and later to Jerry Lee Lewis. The plane's history was plagued with annoying mechanical issues.^[101] In one incident, the band was forced to push the plane off the runway after an engine blew, and in another incident in September, a malfunctioning magneto prevented Nelson from participating in the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois.

On 26 December 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the Southern United States. Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and band members boarded the DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year's Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas.^[102] The plane crash-landed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas less than 2 miles from a landing strip at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on 31 December 1985, impacting trees as it came to earth. Seven of the nine occupants were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bass guitarist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows, though Ferguson was severely burned.

Nelson's remains were lost in transit from Texas to California, delaying the funeral for several days. On 6 January 1986, 250 mourners entered the Church of the Hills for funeral services while 700 fans gathered outside. Attendees included 'Colonel' Tom Parker, Connie Stevens, Angie Dickinson, and dozens of actors, writers, and musicians. Nelson was privately buried days later in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Kris Nelson threatened to sue the Nelson clan for her former husband's life insurance money and tried to wrest control of his estate from David Nelson, its administrator. Her bid was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Nelson bequeathed his entire estate to his children and did not provide for Eric Crewe, Helen Blair, or Kris Nelson. Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash. Those allegations were refuted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).^[103]

The reports vary as to whether or not the plane was on fire before it crashed. According to witnesses, the plane appeared to be on fire before it force-landed. Jim Burnett, then-Chairman of the NTSB, however, said that even though the plane was infested with smoke, the plane landed and came to a stop before it was swallowed by flames.^[104] The NTSB conducted a year-long investigation and finally stated that, while the definitive cause was still unknown, the crash was probably due to a gas-fueled heater that reportedly had caused in-flight problems.^[105]

When questioned by the NTSB, Pilots Brad Rank and Ken Ferguson had diversely different accounts of key events. According to co-pilot Ferguson, the cabin heater was acting up after the plane took off. Ferguson continued that Rank kept going back to the back of the plane to see if he could get the heater to function correctly and that Rank told Ferguson several times to turn the heater back on. "One of the times, I refused to turn it on," said Ferguson. He continued, "I was getting more nervous. I didn't think we should be messing with that heater en-route." After the plane crashed, Ferguson and Rank climbed out the windows, suffering from extensive burns. They shouted to the passenger cabin, but there was no response. Ferguson and Rank backed away from the plane, fearing explosion. Ferguson stated that Rank told him, "Don't tell anyone about the heater, don't tell anyone about the heater."^[106]

Pilot Rank, however, told a different story: Rank said that he was checking on the passengers when he noticed smoke in the middle of the cabin, where Rick Nelson and Helen Blair were sitting. Even though he never mentioned a problematic heater, Rank stated that he went to the rear of the plane to check the heater, saw no smoke, and found the heater was cool to the touch. After activating an automatic fire extinguisher and opening the cabin's fresh air inlets, Rank said that he returned to the cockpit where Ferguson was already asking traffic controllers for directions to the nearest airfield.^[106]

Rank was criticized by the NTSB for not following the in-flight fire checklist; opening the fresh air vents instead of leaving them closed, not instructing the passengers to use supplemental oxygen, and not attempting to fight the fire with the hand-held fire extinguisher that was in the cockpit. The board said that while these steps might not have prevented the crash, "they would have enhanced the potential for survival of the passengers."^[107] The words of the NTSB seem to echo that of firefighter, Lewis Glover, who was one of the first on the scene. Glover stated, "All the bodies are there at the front of the plane. Apparently, they were trying to escape the fire."^[108]

An examination indicated that a fire had originated in the right side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. Some reports said the passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined. According to another report, the pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the gasoline cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a history of problems with the cabin heaters.

Tributes, honors, recognition[link]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2006)

Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.

Along with the recording's other participants, Nelson earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions."

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson number 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[109]

At the 20th anniversary of Nelson's death, PBS televised Ricky Nelson Sings, a documentary featuring interviews with his children, James Burton, and Kris Kristofferson. On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled Ricky Nelson's Greatest Hits that peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Bob Dylan wrote about Nelson's influence on his music in his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1".

Nelson's estate (The Rick Nelson Company, LLC) owns ancillary rights to the Ozzie and Harriet television series, and, in 2007, Shout! Factory released official editions of the show on DVD. Also in 2007, Nelson was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

John Frusciante song "Ricky" was inspired by Ricky Nelson.

For the 25th anniversary of Nelson's death, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Burton, Nelson's original guitarist for nearly ten years, spoke about his friendship and experiences with the singer in an extensive series of interviews for Examiner.com. The first installment is entitled "Remembering Rick Nelson: An Interview With His Friend, Guitarist James Burton."

Discography[link]

See also[link]

Biography portal

References[link]

• Bashe, Philip (1992). Teenage Idol, Travelin' Man: The Complete Biography of Rick Nelson. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 1-56282-969-6. 
• Brackett, Nathan (Ed.); Hoard, Christian (Deputy Ed.) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. 
• Bronson, Fred (2003). Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN 0-8230-7738-1. 
• Dennis, Jeffrey P. (2006). Queering Teen Culture: All-American Boys and Same-Sex Desire in Film and Television. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, Inc.. ISBN 1-56023-349-4. 
• Holdship, Bill (2005). Ricky Nelson Greatest Hits. Hollywood, CA: Capitol Records. 
• Pohlen, Jerome (2006). Oddball Texas: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-583-4. 
• Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Contemporary Books, Inc.. ISBN 0-8092-4187-0. 

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ricky Nelson

• Rick/Ricky Nelson's Official Website
• Ricky Nelson at the Internet Movie Database
• Ricky Nelson at Allmusic
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Report on plane crash
• Rockabilly Hall
• Ricky Nelson^{[dead link]}
• Ricky Nelson interviewed on The Pop Chronicles (recorded 11.17.1967)[1]
• RCS Artist Discography
• Ricky Nelson at Find a Grave

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]