The Academy of Comic Book Arts is an American professional organization of the 1970s that was designed to be the comic book industry analog of such groups as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Founded in 1970 and hosting its first awards ceremony in 1971 for work published in 1970, the ACBA existed through at least 1977. Its award, the Shazam, was a statuette in the shape of a lightning bolt.

In addition to the creative awards, the ACBA also established the Academy of Comic Book Arts Hall of Fame award, inducting Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster as its initial honorees.

Composed of comic-book professionals, the ACBA was one of a string of largely unsuccessful comics-industry organizations that includes the Comic Book Creators Guild (1978–1979), the Comic Book Professionals Association (CBPA, 1992–1994), and Comic Artists, Retailers and Publishers (CARP, 1998). The long-running exception was the publishers' group the Comic Magazine Association of America (CMAA), founded in 1954 and lasting through 2011, as a response to public pressure and a Senate subcommitte on juvenile delinquency, and which created the self-censorship board the Comics Code Authority.

Foxy Shazam is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in 2004. The band is composed of lead vocalist Eric Sean Nally, guitarist Loren Turner, pianist Sky White, and bass player Daisy. Later, trumpeter and back-up vocalist Alex Nauth joined, and Aaron McVeigh became the band's permanent drummer. After forming, the band immediately recorded The Flamingo Trigger independently, then committed to an extensive national touring regimen. Shortly thereafter, Foxy signed with Ferret Records and recorded its second album, Introducing, which was produced by Casey Bates (Chiodos, Portugal. The Man). and released on January 22, 2008. The following year, the band recorded its first major label record with multi-platinum record producer John Feldmann. Foxy Shazam signed with Sire Records (a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records) and released its self-titled major label debut in 2010. The band's fourth studio album, The Church of Rock and Roll, was released in January 2012.

The band name originated from a slang phrase used by students at vocalist Eric Sean Nally's high school. "Foxy shazams" meant 'cool shoes'. (e.g. "Those are some foxy shazams!"). In a Rockline radio interview in March 2012, Eric stated that this was not the case by saying that the truth is not as interesting as real life. He had been lying about it for 5 years and it just stuck.

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Young Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.

Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B singles. His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. It also includes the singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" featuring T-Pain and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Chris Barton (born 21 March 1987, Liverpool, England) is an English actor and singer who featured in the BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do, and has subsequently gone on to appear in numerous musical theatre productions in the West End and across the UK.

Barton trained at The Hammond School, Chester, a specialist dance school where he was given a scholarship to attend for five years. It was full time and he also boarded at the school. He trained in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary dance, singing and drama. Barton furthered his training at the Liverpool Theatre School, where he graduated in 2007, gaining a National Diploma in Musical Theatre.

In Barton's third year of college, in 2007, he successfully auditioned for the BBC reality television talent show Any Dream Will Do, where he worked closely with Andrew Lloyd Webber. The show was hosted by Graham Norton, and was the second West End talent show to be produced by the BBC and Lloyd Webber. Barton was selected from thousands of auditionees and was invited to attend "Joseph School" where after surviving further auditions and elimination rounds, reached the final 12, singing live on television every Saturday night. Judge, Denise Van Outen commented at Barton's early audition, that when Barton performed, the "hairs on her arms stood on end". Judge Zoe Tyler's reaction to his audition was "Wow!".^{[citation needed]}