Right On may refer to:

Right On (album), 1970 album recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label

Right On (Beavis and Butthead episode)

Right On!, an American teen magazine catering to African-American readers

Right On, the seventh track on Marvin Gaye's landmark album, What's Going On

Right On, a song by OMC

Right On, a weekly talk show created by The Daily Telegraph

Name	Tony Hawk| headercolor=#99bdcc
Caption	Hawk in November 2006
Fullname	Anthony Frank Hawk
Birthdate	May 12, 1968
Birthplace	San Diego, California, United States
Sport	Skateboarding
Country
Height
Weight
Medaltemplates

}} Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), better known as Tony Hawk, is an American professional skateboarder. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision. He is widely considered one of the most successful and influential pioneers of modern vertical skateboarding.

Raised in San Diego, California, Hawk was described as being "hyperactive" as a child. His parents supported his skateboarding because it served as an outlet for his excessive energy, and as Hawk's skills developed, he became a professional skateboarder at age fourteen. In 1999, he became the first skater to land a 900 in competition. In 2002, he created the Boom Boom Huck Jam, an extreme sports competition in Las Vegas. Throughout his career, Hawk has made numerous appearances in films and other media, as well as his own series of video games. He has also been involved in various philanthropic activities, including collaborations with other athletes in the charity Athletes For Hope.

Early Life

Hawk was born in San Diego, California, to a retired U.S. Navy officer, Frank Hawk, and his wife Nancy, a part-time business teacher. Hawk began skateboarding at age eight after his older brother Steve bought him a used skateboard and his father constructed a ramp in their backyard. When Hawk was young, he was described as being "hyperactive,"

Film and television appearances

Hawk was hired for stunt work in the 1983 film as a stunt double for David Spade, but was fired as he was not a close physical match. In 1989, he appeared as a skateboarder in Gleaming the Cube. In 2002, he appeared in Neal H. Moritzs's and Christopher Gilcrest's film xXx playing the role of one of Xander Cages stuntman friends, and later in the movie, a skateboarder at a party. In 2004 he played himself in the Australian skateboarding movie Deck Dogz. In 2006, Tony Hawk appeared in a cameo on the film Drake & Josh Go Hollywood as himself; when Drake & Josh steal his car to escape from two crooks with the Geo (iPods) that carry illegal information for counterfeiting money. Tony Hawk also asks for the cops to give Drake & Josh a police escort to Sunset Studios, for a performance on TRL. Hawk has had a cameo in film The New Guy. Hawk appeared in with Mat Hoffman and Bam Margera, skateboarding in a fat suit and Jackass 2, while skateboarding through an obstacle course. Tony appears in the film following the 2006 Gumball Rally, 3000 Miles, again with Bam Margera. He also plays the police officer who arrests Ryan Dunn in the movie . Hawk also made a brief cameo appearance in Lords Of Dogtown as an astronaut, where he is shown comically falling off the skateboard as he is a "rookie". He played himself in an episode of Rocket Power.

Mobile Wave machine, installed for the 2009 Canadian National Exhibition.]]

Hawk was featured as an extra in the "Weird Al" Yankovic video "Smells like Nirvana". He can be seen sitting in the bleachers during the crowd sweep near Dick Van Patten. He also made a cameo appearance in the Simple Plan music video for "I'm Just a Kid", he can be seen, in a crowd, watching kids at a high school skating.

On television, he has also appeared in What I Like About You, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Tom Green Show, The Naked Brothers Band and Zeke and Luther. Hawk was a guest on the kid's show on Nickelodeon, Yo Gabba Gabba. He also guest voiced on The Simpsons episode "Barting Over", where he played himself, along with fellow San Diegans Blink-182. In the episode, Hawk lends Homer a new board from his brand where complete rookies are able to perform at the top levels. He ends up having a comical play off with him after Homer begins to show him up. On the PBS Kids show Cyberchase, he guest starred as Slider's long-lost father, Coop. In the episode "Game Over" he played a game programmer who was murdered. In 2008, he played on Million Dollar Password. Hawk also played on Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. Tony Hawk helped design the world famous Canvey Island skate park in 1982.

Video games

A video game series based on his skateboarding debuted in 1999. Since then, the series has spawned 15 titles, including main series titles, spin-offs, and repackages.

Hawk has also appeared in Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX and Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer as a hidden Rider and Surfer.

In-game likeness and appearances

Tony Hawk was originally designated as the protagonist of the Tony Hawk series. Hawk appears as a player character in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.

Hawk's role in the series was usurped by customizable player characters in later installments, but he has remained a prominent character. In the 2003 game Tony Hawk's Underground, he is a minor non-player character whom the player meets in Tampa, Florida and skates against. Impressed with the player's skills, Hawk grants them entry into a skate competition. He later appears in Moscow to teach them the "360 Varial Heelflip Lien" move. Hawk and other skaters are briefly playable near the end of the game when they skate in a promotional video for the player's skate team, and in all gameplay modes except the story mode.

Personal life

in 2007.]] Hawk married Cindy Dunbar in April 1990. They had a son, Hudson "Riley" Hawk (born December 6, 1992) whom they named for one of Hawk's ancestors. Riley also skates for Lakai Limited Footwear and Hawk's own Birdhouse Skateboards. The couple divorced in 1993. The couple's first child, a daughter named Kadence Clover Hawk, was born on June 30, 2008.

Philanthropy

In 2007, Hawk, Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Jeff Gordon, Mia Hamm, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded the charity Athletes for Hope which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and aims to inspire all people to volunteer and support their communities.

References

External links

Tony Hawk At Soggy Bottom on www.shredordie.com

Plum TV Telluride Talks to Tony Hawk at X Dance

Tony Hawk's Guest DJ Project on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ set

Tony Hawks Twitter Account

Category:1968 births Category:American businesspeople Category:American skateboarders Category:Sportspeople from California Category:Living people Category:People from San Diego, California Category:X-Games athletes

Name	The Cataracs
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Berkeley, California, United States
Genre	Hip hop, rap, indie pop, electro hop
Years active	2003–present
Label	Universal
Associated acts	Dev, The Pack, Far East Movement, Glasses Malone, New Boyz
Url
Current members	Cyrano (2003–present)Campa (2003–present)

The Cataracs is an American hip hop indie-pop duo formed in Berkeley, California, consisting of David “Campa” Benjamin Singer-Vine, a songwriter and vocalist and Niles “Cyrano” Hollowell-Dhar, a songwriter, vocalist, and producer. The duo started out as an independent group, during their years at Berkeley High School. The two were first signed to the label Indie-Pop. They describe their music as "an everyday man's take on pop music." They are currently based in Los Angeles, California.

Biography

Early days

The duo met in their sophomore year while attending Berkeley High School. Singer-Vine was featured in a rap CD that was being passed around campus. When Dhar eventually heard the CD, he subsequently created a response. However, the “diss” response brought the two together and they soon became friends . In 2003, the two joined together to create what is now The Cataracs (named after Snoop Dogg's song “What's my name Pt. 2” after the phrase “Who smoke ‘til your eyes get cataracts”) . In the summer of 2006, they released their first album, Technohop Vol. 1. In August 2006, the group joined with The Pack to make the single “Blueberry Afghani”. The song soon became a hit and was chosen as a “Download of the Week” by 106 KMEL and many music sites such as The Fader, UK’s Hip Hop Connection and XLR8R praised it. Dhar went on to attend San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California and Singer-Vine attended Columbia College Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois. But in order to pursue their dreams and career in music, they both decided that they would have to leave school. The duo then packed their bags and moved to Los Angeles, CA, where they began working on their music full-stream, creating songs like "Club Love" and “Baby Baby", the latter which went on to be featured on the hit reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians in early 2010. By 2007, they released their second album, Technohop Vol. 2, and in 2008 they released their third album The 13th Grade.

Rise to fame

In their new stage, they discovered Manteca, California native, Dev, a singer who posted much of her work on MySpace. Dhar asked if she would like to sing for them, which led to the song "2Nite." The Cataracs, along with Dev, signed to the Indie-Pop Label, which also features musicians such as Bobby Brackins, Maddy and Allyson Santa Cruz CA, and The Pack. They were later signed to a major label, Universal Records.. Through Universal, they began producing music for artists such as Far East Movement and Glasses Malone. As artist, The Cataracs received a lot of recognition through their 2010 single "Club Love", which received a lot of air play at clubs and on many different radio stations. Despite such accomplishments, the Cataracs have had their most mainstream success with the song "Like a G6" which was written by Singer-Vine/Dhar and produced by Dhar . The song peaked at #1 on the iTunes top 100 songs in the USA and also went on to peak at #1 on the Billboard charts. The chorus for the song is sampled from lyrics in the song "Booty Bounce" by Dev, which they also produced. They were featured on two of Shwayze's songs on his 2010 mixtape Love Stoned. The duo also produced songs for albums such as The Pack new album, Wolfpack Party, which hit the iTunes Hip-Hop charts at number 9. In early December 2010, a collaboration with Snoop Dogg, the inspiration behind the group's name, had leaked and is rumored to become Snoop Dogg's second single for his upcoming album Doggumentary Music.

Discography

Albums

September 18, 2006: Technohop Vol. 1

April 11, 2007: Technohop Vol. 2

January 1, 2008: The 13th Grade

October 8, 2008: Lingerie

June 1, 2009: Songs we Sung in Showers

Mixtapes

2008: Kids - Presented by DJ Eleven

2009: Yeah Buddy! Mixed by DJ Excel

2009: Stimulating Package Mixtape

2010: DJ Greg Street X The Cataracs - I Thought They Were Black

As featured artist

Music videos

References

Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:Electronic music duos Category:Musical groups established in 2003

Name	Nicki Minaj
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Born	December 08, 1984St James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2004–present
Label	Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money, Lil Wayne, Drake
Url

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1984), better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-American rapper and R&B; singer-songwriter. In August 2009, Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown. Minaj was dicovered by fellow American rapper, Lil Wayne and after the three mixtapes, Minaj signed a deal with Young Money Entertainment.

After signing the deal, Minaj began working on her debut album, titled Pink Friday, which charted at number-two on the US Billboard 200, with Susan Boyle holding her off the top spot. Minaj became the first artist ever to have seven songs within the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love" reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj became the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List One month after the release of Pink Friday, Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States. Minaj is also known for collaborating with other artists, performing guest raps on many popular singles.

Early life

Minaj was born on December 8, 1984 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago to parents of Indian and Afro Trinidadian descent. She lived in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank alcohol, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.

Music career

2007–09: Career beginnings and mixtapes

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007, after releasing, Playtime Is Over with an unknown label. She later released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label of Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine. Under the label of Trapaholics Records. In 2008 she won the Female Artist of the Year award at the Underground Music Awards. Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 which received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.

2010–present: Pink Friday

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing. In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday. Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.

On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel for her fans that the albums name would be Pink Friday stating, “To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday,!” A deluxe edition of the album was also released after the standard addition. Nicki Minaj released the artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010.

Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010. A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April. In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minajs most successful single to-date around Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010. Written by Stephen Hacker, Joe Satriani, Andrew Thielk, B.Evans and Minaj herself. The music video was released in late October, which featured Minaj a boy-and-girl relationship drama. "Moment 4 Life" followed "Right thru Me" and was released as the fourth overall single. The track featured Canadian rapper, Drake, which was released on December 7, 2010, which failed to chart as succesfully in the Billboard Hot 100, where it placed itself at number 63. However the single charted at number 10 on the Hot Rap Songs. Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release.

Musical style and image

Image

In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”

Alter egos

While growing up Nicki was surrounded by constant trouble and fighting between her parents. To escape her real life problems she would create characters and live her life through them. She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Nicki rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Nicki rapping. Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City. Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Influences

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.

Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either". In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with OUT, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

*Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (Won)

*Best New Artist (Won)

*Best Group (Young Money) - (Won)

*Best New Artist (Young Money) - (Nominated)

*Viewer's Choice: "BedRock" (Young Money feat. Lloyd) (Nominated)

2010 Teen Choice Awards

*Choice Breakout Artist – Female (Nominated)

2010 MTV Video Music Awards

*Best New Artist: "Massive Attack" (feat. Sean Garrett) (Nominated)

2010 BET Hip Hop Awards

*Rookie of the Year (Won)

*Made You Look (Won)

*People's Champ (Won)

*Hustler of the Year (Nominated)

*Lyricist of the Year (Nominated)

2010 MOBO Awards

Best International Act (Nominated)

2011 Grammy Awards

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "My Chick Bad" (Ludacris feat. Nicki Minaj) (Pending)

2011 NAACP Image Awards

Outstanding New Artist (Pending)

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American female singers Category:African American rappers Category:American musicians of Indian descent Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Female rappers Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts alumni Category:People from Queens Category:People from Port of Spain Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Singers from New York City Category:Trinidad and Tobago immigrants to the United States Category:Universal Records artists

Name	Nelly Furtardo
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nelly Kim Furtado
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Nelly Kim Furtado
Born	December 02, 1978
Origin	Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, ukulele, trombone
Vocal range	Mezzo-soprano (Ab3-G5)
Genre	Pop, folk, pop rock, Latin pop, R&B;, dance-pop, hip hop, trip-hop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, actress
Years active	1996–present
Label	DreamWorks, Geffen, MMG, Universal Music Latino
Url
Associated acts	Juanes, Justin Timberlake, Tiësto, Timbaland, K'naan, Julieta Venegas, Alex Cuba

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She has sold 20 million albums worldwide. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Furtado came into the public eye in 2000 with the release of her debut album Whoa, Nelly!, which featured her breakthrough Grammy Award-winning single "I'm Like a Bird". After becoming a mother and releasing the less commercially successful Folklore (2003), she returned to prominence in 2006 with the release of Loose and its hit singles "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "All Good Things (Come to an End)" and "Say It Right". In 2009, she released her first full-length Spanish album Mi Plan, which won a Latin Grammy Award in 2010.

Early life

Furtado was born on December 2, 1978, in Victoria, British Columbia to Portuguese parents, Maria Manuela and António José Furtado, both emigrants from the Azores. She was named after Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim. Her siblings are Michael Anthony and Lisa Anne. She was raised in a Roman Catholic home.

At age four she began performing and singing in Portuguese. Furtado's first public performance was when she sang a duet with her mother at a church on Portugal Day. She began playing musical instruments at the age of nine, learning the trombone, ukulele and — in later years — the guitar and keyboards. At the age of 12, she began writing songs, She has stated that coming from a working class background has shaped her identity in a positive way.

Music career

1996–99: Musical beginnings

During a visit with her sister Lisa Anne in Toronto, the summer after eleventh grade, Furtado met Tallis Newkirk, member of the hip hop group Plains of Fascination. She contributed vocals to their 1996 album, Join the Ranks, on the track "Waitin' 4 The Streets". After graduating from Mount Douglas Secondary School in 1996, she moved to Toronto to reside with her sister Lisa Anne. The following year, she formed Nelstar, a trip hop duo with Newkirk. Ultimately, Furtado felt the trip-hop style of the duo was "too segregated" and believed it did not represent her personality or allow her to showcase her vocal ability. Her performance attracted the attention of The Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton, who then approached her to write with him. He and fellow Kings member Brian West helped Furtado produce a demo. She left Toronto, but returned again to record more material with Eaton and West. The material recorded during these sessions led to her 1999 record deal with DreamWorks Records, where she was signed by A&R; executive Beth Halper, partner of Garbage drummer and record producer Butch Vig. Furtado's first single, "Party's Just Begun (Again)", was released that year on the .

2000–02: Whoa, Nelly!

Furtado continued the collaboration with Eaton and West, who co-produced her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, which was released in October 2000. Following the release of the album, Furtado headlined the "Burn in the Spotlight Tour" and also appeared on Moby's Area:One tour.

The album was an international success, supported by three international singles: "I'm like a Bird", "Turn off the Light", and "...On the Radio (Remember the Days)". It received four Grammy nominations in 2002, and her debut single won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Furtado's work was also critically acclaimed for her innovative mixture of various genres and sounds. Slant Magazine called the album "a delightful and refreshing antidote to the army of 'pop princesses' and rap-metal bands that had taken over popular music at the turn of the millennium". The sound of the album was strongly influenced by musicians who had traversed cultures and "the challenge of making heartfelt, emotional music that's upbeat and hopeful". According to Maclean's magazine, Whoa, Nelly! had sold six million copies worldwide as of August 2006. Portions of the song "Scared of You" are in Portuguese, while "Onde Estás" is entirely in Portuguese, reflecting Furtado's Portuguese heritage. The same year, Furtado provided her vocals to the Paul Oakenfold's song "The Harder They Come" from the album Bunkka and also made the song "These words are my own". She also had a collaboration with Colombian artist Juanes, in the song "Fotografia" where she showed her diversity of yet another language. Furtado was also featured in "Breathe" from Swollen Members "Monsters in the Closet" release; the video for "Breathe," directed by Spawn creator Todd MacFarlane, won the 2003 Western Canadian Music Awards Outstanding Video and MuchVIBE Best Rap Video.

2003–05: Folklore

Furtado's second album, Folklore, was released in November 2003. The final track on the album, "Childhood Dreams", was dedicated to her daughter, Nevis. The album includes the single "Força" (meaning "strength"/ "power" or "you can do it!" in Portuguese), the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship. Furtado performed this song in Lisbon at the championship's final, in which the Portugal national team played. The lead single is "Powerless (Say What You Want)" and the second single is the ballad "Try". The album was not as successful as her debut, partly due to the album's less "poppy" sound, as well as underpromotion from her label DreamWorks Records. DreamWorks had just been sold to Universal Music Group. In 2005, DreamWorks Records, along with many of its artists including Furtado, was absorbed into Geffen Records.

"Powerless (Say What You Want)" was later remixed, featuring Colombian rocker Juanes, who had previously worked with Furtado on his track "Fotografía" ("Photograph"). The two would collaborate again on "Te Busqué" ("I searched for you"), a single from Furtado's 2006 album Loose.

2006–08: Loose

Furtado's third album, named Loose, after the spontaneous, creative decisions she made while creating the album, was released in June 2006. In this album, primarily produced by Timbaland, Furtado experiments with sounds from R&B;, hip hop, and 1980s music. Furtado herself describes the album's sound as punk-hop, described as "modern, poppy, spooky" and as having "a mysterious, after-midnight vibe... extremely visceral". with some citing the "revitalising" effect of Timbaland on Furtado's music, and others calling it "slick, smart and surprising". Some have labeled her a "sellout" for seemingly abandoning her folk and rock roots in favour of hip hop and R&B;, while others have accused her of attempting to "sex up" her music and appearance to sell more records.

Loose has become the most successful album of Furtado's career so far, as it reached number one not only in Canada and the United States, but also several countries worldwide. The album produced her first number-one hit in the United States, "Promiscuous", as well as her first number-one hit in the United Kingdom, "Maneater". The single "Say It Right" eventually became Furtado's most successful song worldwide, due to its huge success in Europe and in the United States, where it became her second number-one hit. "All Good Things (Come to an End)" became her most successful song in Europe, topping single charts in numerous countries there.

On February 16, 2007, Furtado embarked on the "Get Loose Tour". She returned in March 2007 to her hometown of Victoria to perform a concert at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre. In honour of her visit, local leaders officially proclaimed March 21, 2007, the first day of spring, as Nelly Furtado Day. After the tour, she released her first live DVD/CD named Loose the Concert. On April 1, 2007, Furtado was a performer at and host of the 2007 Juno Awards in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She won all five awards for which she was nominated, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. She also appeared on stage at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London on July 1, 2007, where she performed "Say It Right", "Maneater", and "I'm like a Bird".

In 2007, Furtado and Justin Timberlake were featured on Timbaland's single "Give It to Me", which became her third number-one single in the U.S. and second in the UK. In late 2008, Furtado collaborated with James Morrison on a song called "Broken Strings" for his album "Songs for You, Truths for Me". The single was released on December 8 and peaked at #2 on the UK Singles Chart in early January.

In 2007, Furtado leaked plans to Flare regarding a song she was set to duet for Kylie Minogue's return. However, the song was not featured on her album X but Minogue says the aforementioned song "is still outstanding" and has plans to pursue it. She said "I am looking forward to getting in the studio and doing it because I know Nelly and I would have a great time together". The track hasn't appeared on Minogue's 2010 album Aphrodite as well.

In 2008, she sang with the Italian group "Zero Assoluto" the ballad Win or Lose - Appena prima di partire, released in Italy, France and Germany and whose video was shot in Barcelona.

On December 31, 2008, El Diario La Prensa posted an article that Furtado is planning on recording songs in English and Spanish for her upcoming album and that it is "expected to launch on September 15, 2009".

2009–present: Mi Plan and The Best of Nelly Furtado

Furtado made a guest appearance on Flo Rida's new album, R.O.O.T.S., which was released on March 31, 2009. The track is titled "Jump". Furtado has also made a guest appearance on Divine Brown's Love Chronicles, co-writing and singing on the background of the song "Sunglasses".

In early March, a song called "Gotta Know" leaked onto the Internet and was said to be Nelly's. As response, on March 4, 2009, Furtado stated on her MySpace blog that the song is not hers and that she is recording two new albums: one in Spanish, and the other in Portuguese. Nelly Furtado announced via the Perez Hilton blog, that the Spanish album would be titled Mi Plan and the first single titled "Manos Al Aire" (in English, meaning "Hands in the Air"). The album will have twelve new songs, all in Spanish, as stated by Nelly in a message left in her official website The second single "Más" was released on July 21, as it was announced on Nelly's official myspace. The third single "Mi Plan" (ft. Alex Cuba) was released on iTunes on August 11, 2009 and "Bajo Otra Luz" (ft. Julieta Venegas and La Mala Rodriguez) is the fourth and final countdown single and it was released on September 1, 2009. She also invited the Mexican star Alejandro Fernández to sing a duet song named "Sueños" ("Dreams"). The video for "Manos al Aire" premiered on July 29 on It's On with Alexa Chung. On November 11, 2010 Furtado won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Album for Mi Plan. She is the first Canadian to win a Latin Grammy award.

Furtado made a guest appearance on Canadian singer k-os's new album Yes!, collaborating alongside Saukrates on the song "I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman," released in early July 2009. Nelly Furtado will make a guest appearance on Tiësto's single "Who Wants to Be Alone" on his new album Kaleidoscope which was released on October 6, 2009.

Furtado also recorded "Manos al Aire" in Simlish for the new Sims 3 expansion, World Adventures

On February 12, 2010, Nelly Furtado sang in a duet with Bryan Adams at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. The Song was called "Bang The Drum" released on EMI album Sounds Of Vancouver 2010 (a commemorative album). On February 14, 2010, she appeared again at the Winter Olympic Victory Ceremony after the awarding of the medals for the athletes. On April 13, 2010, Nelly announced on her Twitter account that Lifestyle, her fourth English studio album, would not be released during the summer of 2010 and that she will go on a second leg of her Mi Plan Tour where she will get more inspiration for her upcoming album Lifestyle. Nelly Furtado is featured in a new song by N.E.R.D. called Hot N Fun. She also participated in the Young Artists for Haiti song, in which many Canadian artists came together and sang K'naan's inspirational song Wavin' Flag to raise money for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.

To promote the tour in Brazil, on March 24, 2010, Furtado made a "VIP Pocket Show" in reality show program Big Brother Brasil 10 from Rede Globo, the country's leading channel. She performed 5 songs from the tour in acoustic versions ("Maneater", "I'm Like A Bird", "Try", "Say It Right" and "Turn Off The Light"). Nelly Furtado participated in the live DVD recording of the Brazilian singer Ivete Sangalo in Madison Square Garden on September 4, 2010. Nelly Furtado sang two new songs: "Girlfriend" and "Night is Young" on her concert in Warsaw, Poland.

|source=— Furtado explaining song selected on The Best of Nelly Furtado.}}

Furtado was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in October 2010.

On October 26 2010, Furtado released Mi Plan Remixes featuring 12 tracks of remixed hits from "Mi Plan." This album included the Original Spanglish Version of "Fuerte," her final single from Mi Plan.

Furtado released her first greatest hits album entitled The Best of Nelly Furtado on November 16, 2010. The album's first single, "Night is Young" (originally "Free") premiered on BBC Radio 1 on October 3, 2010. The song was first released for digital download on October 12, 2010 in Australia. Three new songs will be on the greatest hits album, including "Night Is Young," another collaboration Salaam Remi entitled "Girlfriend in the City," and the Lester Mendez produced track, left over from the Loose sessions, "Stars."

Other work

Record label

She has formed her own record label, Nelstar, in conjunction with Canadian independent label group Last Gang Labels. The first act signed to Nelstar is Fritz Helder & the Phantoms. Furtado released her first Spanish single "Manos al Aire" on the new label.

Philanthropy

For World AIDS Day in 2006, Furtado took part in an AIDS awareness concert in South Africa hosted by MTV, BET, and Nike; fellow performers included Enrique Iglesias, Kanye West, Kelly Rowland, Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson Furtado also hosted a program about AIDS on MTV, which also featured guests Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake. She cites diverse influences, which include soul-trip/hip hop artists such as De La Soul, TLC, world music artists Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Amalia Rodrigues, as well as Caetano Veloso, Juanes, Jeff Buckley, Esthero, Björk, Cornershop, Oasis, Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins and Beck.

In June 2006, in an interview with Genre magazine, when asked if she had "ever felt an attraction to women", Furtado replied "Absolutely. Women are beautiful and sexy". Some considered this an announcement of bisexuality, but in August 2006, she stated that she was "straight, but very open-minded". In November 2006, Furtado revealed that she once turned down US$ 500,000 to pose fully clothed in Playboy.

She was mentioned on the November 19, 2009, episode of the American version of "The Office".

It was reported that Furtado was engaged to Cuban sound engineer Demacio "Demo" Castellón. They worked together on Loose. On October 17, 2008, it was reported in People Magazine which Furtado confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that she married Castellón on July 19, 2008.

Discography

Whoa, Nelly! (2000)

Folklore (2003)

Loose (2006)

Mi Plan (2009)

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Genre ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2001 | Roswell | Herself | American Science fiction Television series | Performed "I'm like a Bird" |- | 2006 | Floribella | Herself | Portuguese Soap Opera | Performed "Maneater" |- | 2007 | One Life to Live | Herself | American Soap Opera |}

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Nelly Furtado

References

External links

Official Website

Category:1978 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:People from Victoria, British Columbia Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian female guitarists Category:Canadian female singers Category:Canadian folk guitarists Category:Canadian folk singers Category:Canadian multi-instrumentalists Category:Canadian pop guitarists Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian singer-songwriters Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:Juno Award winners Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Musicians from British Columbia Category:Canadian people of Portuguese descent Category:Portuguese-language singers Category:Spanish-language singers Category:Trip hop musicians Category:Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music

Name	Marvin Gaye
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. Starting as a member of the doo-wop group The Moonglows in the late fifties, he ventured into a solo career after the group disbanded in 1960 signing with the Tamla Records subsidiary of Motown Records. After starting off as a session drummer, Gaye ranked as the label's top-selling solo artist during the sixties.
Name	Gaye, Marvin
Alternative names	Gay, Marvin Pentz, Jr.
Short description	American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
Date of birth	April 2, 1939
Place of birth	Washington, D.C., United States
Date of death	April 1, 1984
Place of death	Los Angeles, California, United States

Category:1939 births Category:1950s singers Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1984 deaths Category:African American drummers Category:African American pianists Category:African American singer-songwriters Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:African American record producers Category:American Christians Category:American composers Category:American expatriates in Belgium Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:American film score composers Category:American funk drummers Category:American funk keyboardists Category:American funk singers Category:African American male singers Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:American murder victims Category:American organists Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues keyboardists Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American Seventh-day Adventists Category:American soul keyboardists Category:American soul singers Category:American tenors Category:Ballad musicians Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Deaths by firearm in California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Marvin Gaye Category:Motown artists Category:Murdered musicians Category:Murdered African-American people Category:Musicians from Detroit, Michigan Category:Musicians from Washington, D.C. Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:People murdered in California Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Rhythm and blues drummers Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters from Washington, D.C. Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Soul drummers Category:United States Air Force airmen

Name	Jason Hall
Birth date	May 20, 1971
Birth place	Buffalo, New York
Death date
Nationality	American
Other names	Jace
Occupation	artist, producer, writer, gamer

Jason "Jace" Hall (born May 20, 1971 in Buffalo, New York) is an American film, television and video game producer, best known for being founder and Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Productions Inc. He is also the star, producer, and writer of the reality webseries, The Jace Hall Show as well as the Executive Producer of ABC's new "V" Television series.

Career

After becoming the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) in 2004, Hall produced and released video games including The Matrix Online, F.E.A.R., , , Justice League Heroes, Happy Feet, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Batman Begins and video game. One of his most notable roles inside a video game is as the voice of Tchernobog in Blood and as well as The Voice, the BloodBath commentator.And the up and coming adventures of where's Waldo.

In 2007, Hall founded HDFILMS INC., a production company that produces film, television, videogame and online content. The company is best known for its original reality show, The Jace Hall Show, which debuted on Crackle.com and reached over 4 million viewers. In 2010, the show switched to IGN.com. HDFILMS has a first-look development deal with Warner Bros. Studios and has several high-profile projects in the works including V: The Series, a remake of the original television series.

He also produced a video promoting the game "World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King" found on Youtube.

Video games credited (partial list of over 40 titles)

Television credited

V: The Series (2009–2010) (Warner Bros. Television) Executive Producer

Television series based on V (1983 miniseries) which premiered on NBC. Pilot in development with ABC and written by Scott Peters of The 4400.

The Unforgettable (2011) – (Warner Bros.) Co-producer and Original Concept by

Original concept entitled Species X or Iniquity, created by Hall and Nathan Hendrickson, is the basis for the movie as well as the video game and Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

Brothers in Arms (2009) – Executive Producer

Supposedly based on a true story, action is set at the end of WWII, when Gen. George S. Patton ordered up a top-secret mission to rescue his son-in-law from a POW camp 60 miles behind German lines. The brass said 3,000 men were needed for the job; Patton allotted 294 and a leader who wouldn’t quit, a 24-year-old captain named Abe Baum.

PVC-1 (2008) – Producer

Film was an award-nominated entry in the Cannes International Film Festival in 2007. IFC Films announced the acquisition of the film in 2008 for its Festival Direct arm.

Online content credited

Chadam – Executive Producer

Animated series created by Alex Pardee and produced by HDFilms and Warner Bros. Television to air online in 2009. The entire series was built using the Unreal Engine 3 - known as the engine behind the games Gears of War and Bioshock.

The Jace Hall Show – Executive Producer

The Jace Hall Show is an online reality show which airs on Microsoft's XBOX Live Marketplace as well as on Sony's Crackle.com. The show covers video game news and personalities as well as interviews with film/tv/sports celebrities.

Sources

NewsWeek

GamesIndustry.biz

Moby Games Database

GameSpy

Into the Pixel

HD Films

Kiwibox.com Interview

External links

The Jace Hall Show

HDFILMS, Inc.

References

Category:American film producers Category:American video game designers Category:Monolith Productions Category:Living people Category:1971 births Category:Video game actors Category:African-American people Category:American people of Italian descent Category:People from Buffalo, New York

Name	Hayley Williams
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Hayley Nichole Williams
Born	December 27, 1988 Meridian, Mississippi, US
Genre	Alternative rock, emo, pop punk
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, drums
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter
Years active	2004–present
Label	Fueled by Ramen, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Paramore

Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter and the lead vocalist of the band Paramore.

Life and career

In 2002, at the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown, Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee, where she met fellow band members Josh Farro and Zac Farro in school. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning. While still in school, she tried out for a local funk cover band called The Factory where she met Jeremy Davis.

Williams was discovered in 2003 by managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams who signed the 14-year-old to a production deal. According to former manager Jeff Hanson in an interview with HitQuarters, at the time she was writing pop songs with top songwriters in Nashville. Williams was introduced to Atlantic Records A&R; Tom Storms through Richard's attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and then signed to the label by Jason Flom. The label's original plan for their new artist was to make her a solo pop artist but Williams objected to this, saying that she wanted to be part of a band and play alternative music. Atlantic decided to go along with her wishes and she then formed Paramore with Jeremy Davis and Josh and Zach Farro.

In the 2007 Kerrang! Readers' Poll she finished second to Evanescence's Amy Lee in the "Sexiest Female" category, going on to win the first place spot for "Sexiest Female" a year later in the 2008 poll, and again in the 2009 poll. She also appears as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.

Williams wrote and recorded the song "Teenagers", which was featured in the soundtrack for the film Jennifer's Body. After the release of "Teenagers", Williams stated that she had no plans to establish herself as a solo artist. In 2010, she appeared on the tracks "Airplanes" and "Airplanes (Part II)" from alternative rapper B.o.B's debut album, . "Airplanes", later released as a single, peaked within the top ten in nineteen countries, including number one peak positions in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Hayley has also went onto stage during different intervals and sets of the Reading Festival 2010, and performed several songs with British pop band You Me At Six, including the band's latest hit single "Stay With Me". The band's frontman Josh Franceschi has reportedly expressed a keen interest in collaborating with Hayley after the stage performance. It hasn't been confirmed yet though, if the band is recording their third yet-to-be-untitled with Hayley.

Paramore

Paramore was created in Franklin, Tennessee in 2004, with Hayley Williams (lead vocals/keyboards) alongside Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar) and Zac Farro (drums). Prior to forming Paramore, the other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as singer, but as they were good friends she began writing with them and eventually became a member. The band has released three studio albums, All We Know Is Falling, Riot!, and Brand New Eyes as well as two live albums and three EPs. In June 2009, the band welcomed Taylor York (rhythm guitar) as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007.

Personal life

Williams is currently dating New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert.

Discography

Featured singles

Featured appearances

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Category:Paramore members Category:2010s singers Category:2000s singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Pop punk singers Category:Female rock singers Category:American female pop singers Category:American pop rock singers Category:American punk rock singers Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American rock pianists Category:Musicians from Mississippi Category:People from Meridian, Mississippi Category:1988 births Category:Living people

Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tramar Dillard
Born	Carol City, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	rapper, singer
Genre	Hip hop, pop, urban pop, dance
Years active	2006–present
Label	Atlantic, Poe Boy
Associated acts	Brisco
Url

Tramar Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida, is an American rapper and singer. Later, he appeared in numerous rap mixtapes and studio albums, most notably in We the Best in 2006. Mail on Sunday was Flo Rida's solo debut album; its first single "Low", featuring T-Pain which was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from Mail on Sunday: "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album R.O.O.T.S. was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks. Since then, he has released a mini-album titled "Only One Flo (Part 1)", which will see a sequel titled "Only One Rida (Part 2)".

Early life

Tramar Dillard was born in the 187th Street projects of Carol City, Florida. His single mother raised him and his seven sisters, some of whom sang in a local gospel group. Dillard's brother-in-law was a hypeman for local rap group 2 Live Crew, and, while in Ninth Grade, Dillard formed his own amateur group with some friends called the Groundhoggz. His work with 2 Live Crew member Fresh Kid Ice attracted attention of DeVante Swing, a member of the band Jodeci. However, he was rejected by several of the major labels, so he sought many other jobs outside of music. He returned to Florida to continue pursuing his music career after receiving a phone call from a representative of the independent label Poe Boy Entertainment. Dillard signed with Poe Boy in 2006, and as Flo Rida he began affiliating with other artists, such as Rick Ross, Trina, T-Pain, and Trick Daddy. A promotional street single entitled "Birthday", featuring Rick Ross, was his first significant release. He made his debut guest appearance with the song "Bitch I'm from Dade County" on DJ Khaled's album We the Best, which featured Trick Daddy, Trina, Rick Ross, Brisco, C-Ride, and Dre.

Music career

Mail on Sunday (2007–08)

in Toronto.]] Flo Rida's first single was "Low", featuring T-Pain. It was his first official single from his debut album Mail On Sunday and the soundtrack to the movie Step Up 2 The Streets. "Low" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

After the success of Mail on Sunday, Flo Rida made guest performances on other R&B;, rap, and pop singles, including "Move Shake Drop" by DJ Laz, "We Break the Dawn" by Michelle Williams, the remix of "4 Minutes" by Madonna, "Running Back" by Australian R&B; singer Jessica Mauboy, "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, and the remix of "Speedin'" by Rick Ross. During the summer of 2008, he did live performances on the Fox dance competition program So You Think You Can Dance in the US and 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards in Canada. He appeared on the albums We Global by DJ Khaled, Gutta by Ace Hood, and starstruck by Lady Gaga, among others.

R.O.O.T.S. (2009)

According to, Billboard magazine, Flo Rida began recording his sophomore nine months after Mail On Sunday. The album is titled R.O.O.T.S. and was released on March 31, 2009. The first single "Right Round" featured Ke$ha and was released for airplay in January 2009. "Right Round" jumped from number 58 to the top spot in one week in late February. The song broke a record for the most digital one week sales in the U.S., with 636,000, beating the previous record he had set himself with "Low". "Right Round" sampled "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", a 1985 hit by Dead or Alive. The second official single was "Sugar", which featured R&B; singer Wynter Gordon. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles were "Jump" featuring Nelly Furtado, which reached #54 on the Hot 100 and was the promotional single for the animated film G-Force, and "Be On You" featuring Ne-Yo, which reached #19 on the Hot 100. In addition to singles from his own album, Flo Rida made guest performances on "Feel It" by DJ Felli Fel, "The Fame" by Lady Gaga, and "Feel It" by Three 6 Mafia. "Bad Boys", the first single by winner of British reality show The X Factor Alexandra Burke that featured Flo Rida, debuted at #1 on the UK Singles Chart in October.

Only One Flo (Part 1) (2010)

Flo Rida's third album Only One Flo (Part 1) was released on November 24, 2010. In March 2010, Flo Rida announced on Twitter that the album would be titled The Only One. Billboard reported that The Only One was to be a double album. The single "Zoosk Girl", featuring T-Pain was leaked online on March 28. J-Rock produced "Zoosk Girl". "Club Can't Handle Me", produced by David Guetta, was the first official single and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and #4 on the Canadian Hot 100. "Club Can't Handle Me" was also on the soundtrack for Step Up 3-D. Flo Rida also made guest appearances on "iYiYi", a song by Australian teen singer Cody Simpson, and on the song "Out My Video" by Bulgarian singer LiLana. On 31 August 2010, it was announced that Flo Rida had collaborated with English/Irish girl group The Saturdays, after he beat the group to the number one spot in the UK for the second time. It was later confirmed, by The Saturdays official website that Flo Rida had recorded a new version of the girl's ninth single, "Higher", in which Rida's vocals would be featured. It was also announced that the single would be released on the 29th of September 2010 Flo Rida recorded his parts of the music video separately. The video was completed on 29 August 2010.

In December 2010, the Associated Press reported that Flo Rida had created his own label, International Music Group, inspired by Nicki Minaj's signing with Lil Wayne's. He has signed an 18 year-old rapper, Brianna, to International.

Discography

; Studio albums

Mail on Sunday (2008)

R.O.O.T.S. (2009)

Only One Flo (Part 1) (2010)

Only One Rida (Part 2) (2011)

Awards and nominations

See also

List of Miami rappers

References

External links

Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American rappers Category:American dance musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Rappers from Miami, Florida Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Hip hop singers Category:University of Nevada, Las Vegas alumni