The team-oriented 'bullpen' - an example of open plan in use.

A sea of cubicles, one type of open plan.

Open plan is the generic term used in architectural and interior design for any floor plan which makes use of large, open spaces and minimizes the use of small, enclosed rooms such as private offices. The term can also refer to landscaping of housing estates, business parks, etc, in which there are no defined property boundaries such as hedges, fences or walls.

‘Work environments that are more open create more opportunities for observing and learning from those with more experience and different skills.’
- from "Offices that Work" by Franklin Becker PhD and William Sims PhD: Cornell University: International Workplace Studies Program http://iwsp.human.cornell.edu

Popular variants[link]

These are just a few popular types of open plan workplaces in use around the world today:
Team-oriented ‘bullpen’ – employees can see and hear each other freely, but desks are grouped into teams
High-panelled cubicles – employees can’t see other employees when seated
Low-panelled cubicles – employees can see over the panels when seated
Clusters or ‘pods’ – a group of low-panelled work stations, separated by high panels from other pods.
Virtual office - a la carte work spaces, offices and communication services.
Executive suite - subleased office space, even open, in a large professional environment or office building.

History[link]

Open plan offices have existed for a long time. However, prior to the 1950s, these mostly consisted of large regular rows of desks or benches where clerks, typists, or technicians performed repetitive tasks ^[1]. Such designs were rooted in the work of industrial engineers or efficiency experts such as Frederick Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford. In the 1950s, a German team named Quickborner developed office landscape which used conventional furniture, curved screens, large potted plants, and organic geometry to create work groups on large, open floors. Office landscape was quickly supplanted by office furniture companies which developed cubicles based on panel-hung or systems furniture. Many different terms (mostly derisive) have been used over time for offices using the old-style, large arrays of open cubicles including 'sea of cubicles' and 'cube farms'. Frank Lloyd Wright was the first architect to use the 'open plan' design in houses.

20th v. 21st Century[link]

An increase in knowledge work and the emergence of mobile technology during the late 20th Century has led to an evolution in open plan offices ^{[2] [3]}. Many different companies are experimenting with designs which provide a mix of cubicles, open workstations, private offices, and group workstations. In some cases, these are not assigned to one particular individual, but are available to any employee of the company on either a reservable or "drop-in" (first come, first served) basis. Terms for this strategy include office hotelling and alternative officing^[4].

Disadvantages[link]

A systematic survey of research upon the effects of open plan offices found frequent negative effects in some traditional workplaces: high levels of noise, stress, conflict, high blood pressure and a high staff turnover.^[5][6] The noise level greatly reduces the productivity, which drops to one third relative to what it would be in quiet rooms.^[7] Open plan offices have frequently been found to reduce the confidential or private conversations employee engage in, reduce job satisfaction, concentration and performance, whilst increasing auditory and visual distractions ^{[3] [8]}.

Which is best, open plan or otherwise?[link]

Neither open or closed plan offices are perfect for any one situation or individual. The ‘right balance’ is required. Any office design is likely to involve trade-offs for the workers, with some positives and negatives ^[8].

Frank Duffy (architect) developed a taxonomy to classify the form of office space that would suit different types of workers ^[1]. How much interaction individuals require, the work design (i.e., the amount of job autonomy), together with the Information Technology available, predict the office design that may best suit the worker.

In general:

• Age profiles are essential to determining the suitability of open plan offices. Generally, the older the employee, the more privacy they prefer.
• Most people prefer closed offices
• Flexibility is increased when the office is open plan – as the company grows and changes, seating can grow to suit
• Open plan costs less per capita

The correct balance is most likely to be found by employees having an open setting with part-time access to a quiet workspace. While there is a dearth of studies confirming positive impacts on productivity from open plan office designs, a recent study by the Queensland University of Technology, Australia has confirmed the adverse effects. Tom de Marco and Timothy Lister, established this as early as 1987 in their work. 'Peopleware' It remains puzzling that, typically, the degree of enclosure for a given office space is proportionate to the rank of the person occupying it, which can only partially be explained with the need of higher ranking staff to discuss confidential matters in a more private environment. Any worker expected to focus and use their brain for longer periods (immersed) would have a case for a work environment more conducive to this task than what an open plan office can provide.

References[link]

Look up open, opened, or overt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Open may refer to:

Philosophy[link]

• Openness, term being used to define the basis of how various groups and organizations operate

Mathematics[link]

• Open problem, a well-defined problem with no known solution in science and mathematics
• Open set, set in topology and related fields of mathematics
• Opening (morphology), an operator in mathematical morphology
• Open map, a function that is open

Music and media[link]

• Open (Shaznay Lewis album), 2004 album by Shaznay Lewis
• Open (Blues Image album), Blues Image's second album
• Open (Cowboy Junkies album), an album by the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies, released in 2001
• Open (Gotthard album), the fourth studio album by the hard rock band Gotthard
• Open (YFriday album), the second studio album from the Christian band YFriday, released in 2001
• Open, 1967 album by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity
• Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
• "Open", a song by The Cure on their album Wish
• Open Season (film), a 2006 movie made in Sony Animation
• Open...., the original interactive television service on BSkyBs Sky Digital platform
• Open (Jon Anderson album), a 2011 album released through Digital Download

Language and literature[link]

• Open vowel, vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages
• Open (magazine), a lifestyle Mexican publication
• OPEN (Indian magazine), an Indian weekly English language magazine featuring current affairs
• Open: An Autobiography, by Andre Agassi (2010)

Electronics and computer science[link]

• open (process), Nextstep & Mac OS X command line application that opens its argument(s) in the GUI as if the user had double clicked
• Open-circuit voltage, in electronics, the absence of a load through which electric current would flow
• Open-source software, computer software modifiable by all, where users are treated as co-developers
• Open system (computing), computer systems that provide interoperability
• Open (system call), standardized system call for opening files

Other fields[link]

• Open (sport), type of competition in tennis, golf and other sports where entry is open to all qualifiers regardless of age or ability
• Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America, inclusive, not-for-profit organization
• Open surgery as opposed to minimally invasive surgery
• Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act, or OPEN Act, a bill in the United States Congress to prohibit internet censorship.

See also[link]

• Open-ended (disambiguation)
• Open mind (disambiguation)
• Open system (disambiguation)
• Open education
• Opening (disambiguation)
• Close (disambiguation)

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.

A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective. See also strategy. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. For spatial or planar topologic or topographic sets see map.

Plans can be formal or informal:

• Structured and formal plans, used by multiple people, are more likely to occur in projects, diplomacy, careers, economic development, military campaigns, combat, or in the conduct of other business. In most cases, the absence of a well-laid plan can have adverse effects: for example, a non-robust project plan can cost the organization time and money.^[1][2]
• Informal or ad-hoc plans are created by individuals in all of their pursuits.

The most popular ways to describe plans are by their breadth, time frame, and specificity; however, these planning classifications are not independent of one another. For instance, there is a close relationship between the short- and long-term categories and the strategic and operational categories.

It is common for less formal plans to be created as abstract ideas, and remain in that form as they are maintained and put to use. More formal plans as used for business and military purposes, while initially created with and as an abstract thought, are likely to be written down, drawn up or otherwise stored in a form that is accessible to multiple people across time and space. This allows more reliable collaboration in the execution of the plan.

Plan topics[link]

Planning[link]

The term planning implies the working out of sub-components in some degree of elaborate detail. Broader-brush enunciations of objectives may qualify as metaphorical roadmaps. Planning literally just means the creation of a plan; it can be as simple as making a list. It has acquired a technical meaning, however, to cover the area of government legislation and regulations related to the use of resources.

Planning can refer to the planned use of any and all resources, as in the succession of Five-Year Plans through which the government of the Soviet Union sought to develop the country. However, the term is most frequently used in relation to planning for the use of land and related resources, for example in urban planning, transportation planning, etc.

Thus, in a governmental context, "planning" without any qualification is most likely to mean the regulation of land use. See also zoning.

Methodology[link]

The discipline of planning has occupied great minds and theoreticians. Concepts such as top-down planning (as opposed to bottom-up planning) reveal similarities with the systems thinking behind the top-down model.

The subject touches such broad fields as psychology, game theory, communications and information theory, which inform the planning methods that people seek to use and refine; as well as logic and science (i.e. methodological naturalism) which serve as a means of testing different parts of a plan for reliability or consistency.

The specific methods used to create and refine plans depends on who is to make it, who is to put it to use, and what resources are available for the task. The methods used by an individual in their mind or personal organizer, may be very different from the collection of planning techniques found in a corporate board-room, and the planning done by a project manager has different priorities and uses different tools to the planning done by an engineer or industrial designer.

Examples of plans[link]

• Architectural plan
• Business plan
• Fragplan
• Health plan
• Marketing plan
• Project plan
• Plan de Ayala
• Plan de Casa Mata
• Plan de Córdoba
• Plan de Iguala
• Plan de San Luis Potosí
• Site plan
• The Schlieffen Plan
• The Five-Year Plan system in the former Soviet Union
• The Marshall Plan
• U.S. plan to invade Iraq

• A very basic example of a plan: Perhaps you want to go see a movie at a specific time, that is the plan. The procedure to accomplish the plan would define the steps to be taken in order. First, you would look on a Web site for listings of movies in your area, then you would decide which one looks good (if any). Then you would secure transportation thereto, optionally but almost certainly also inviting one or more acquaintances to join you. You may have to adjust your time to when the movie actually starts. A plan defines what you are going to do. A procedure defines how you are going to do it.

Quotations[link]

Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential – Winston Churchill

Plans are nothing; planning is everything. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. – George S. Patton

See also[link]

• Automated planning
• Critical path method
• PDCA
• PERT
• Planned unit development
• Roadmap
• Strategy
• Tactics

External links[link]

• Plan App for iPhone. It's a great tool for a multitude of people who need to see all built-in calendar events in Task List view (therefore Google Calendar, MobileMe, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo!, AOL, etc

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

Jason Thomas Mraz
Jason Mraz in March 2011
Background information
Birth name	Jason Thomas Mraz
Born	(1977-06-23) June 23, 1977 (age 35) Mechanicsville, Virginia, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock, blue-eyed soul, alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin, mandola, banjo, ukulele, baritone ukulele
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Elektra Records (2002–2005) Atlantic Records (2005–present)
Associated acts	Tristan Prettyman, Bushwalla, Jack Johnson, Colbie Calliat
Website	jasonmraz.com
Notable instruments
Taylor Guitars

Jason Mraz ( /məˈræz/;^[1] born June 23, 1977 in Mechanicsville, Virginia) is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, Mr. A-Z, in 2005, that Mraz achieved major commercial success. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold over 100,000 copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.

Mraz's international breakthrough came with the release of the single "I'm Yours" from the album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was on the Hot 100 for 76 weeks, beating the previous record of 69 weeks held by LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live". The song was a huge commercial success in the US, receiving a 5x platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over five million.^[2] The song was successful internationally, topping the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.

Early life[link]

Jason Mraz was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia.^[3] He is of Czech descent through his grandfather, who moved to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1915.^[4] His surname is Czech for "frost"^[4] (Czech: mráz). His parents, Tom (Tomáš) Mraz and June, divorced when he was four years old, but he asserts that he had an idyllic childhood, saying, "My hometown of Mechanicsville was very American. There were white picket fences, a church on every street corner, low crime and virtually no drug use. It was a good place to grow up."^[5] He went to Lee Davis High School^[6]

Music career[link]

[edit] Live at Java Joe's (2001)

In 2001, Mraz released a live acoustic album, Live at Java Joe's, a coffee-house type place in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego where Jewel also made her debut. Here, Mraz performed with percussionist Noel "Toca" Rivera and bassist Ian Sheridan and felt at home singing and scatting through jazzy-pop songs. He would deliver rapidfire lyrics full of verbal mischief, and he would riff off the crowd like a stand-up comic.^[7] The album featured Mraz's free-lancing vocal style and songs he later re-released, including "1000 Things", "You and I Both", and "Halfway Home."

The album was made available to download on iTunes on March 11, 2008, under the title Jason Mraz: Live & Acoustic 2001.

[edit] Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002–2003)

In 2002, Mraz signed a recording contract with Elektra Records. He recorded his first album with the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer producer John Alagía, and Virginia-based roots rock band the Agents Of Good Root.^[8] Mraz then released his first major-label debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come. The album was a relative commercial success, peaking at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 200 and at number two on the Top Heatseekers Chart. The lead single from the album, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" was co-written by music production team The Matrix and it was Mraz's first top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 15.

Mraz's friend and former roommate Billy "Bushwalla" Galewood collaborated on the album, co-writing "Curbside Prophet" and the album's third single, and "I'll Do Anything".

[edit] Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004)

In 2004, while touring, Mraz released a live album and accompanying DVD^[9], Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom, a special two-disc set including an audio CD of his concert from Milwaukee's Eagles Ballroom^[10] , plus a video DVD of the concert plus tons of backstage footage. Mraz performed with his touring band including drummer Adam King, percussionist Noel "Toca" Rivera and bassist Ian Sheridan and keyboardist Eric Hinojosa along with a guest appearance from Blues Traveler lead John Popper. The Eagles Ballroom (part of The Rave complex) has a capacity of only about 3,200^[11] making it possible for Mraz to have significant interaction with the audience, bridging his earlier coffeeshop performances to his later much larger venue concerts.

[edit] Touring and Mr. A–Z (2003–2008)

Mraz opened for Tracy Chapman in March 2003 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In July 2005, Mraz opened for Alanis Morissette during her Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour. On July 26, 2005, he released his second major-label album, Mr. A–Z, for Atlantic Records. It entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number 5.^[12] In December, the album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while its producer, the prolific Steve Lillywhite, received a nomination for Producer of the Year.^[13] In 2006 "Life is Wonderful" the first track of the album was featured in the Hilton Journeys Hotel commercial"

Mraz began his long-running tour in support of Mr. A–Z at the San Diego Music Awards on September 12. The tour featured several opening acts, including Bushwalla and Tristan Prettyman, with whom he had co-written the duet "Shy That Way" in 2002.^[14] Mraz and Prettyman dated, ending their relationship in 2006. They also co-wrote the song "All I Want For Christmas is Us".^{[citation needed]} In November 2005, Mraz opened for the Rolling Stones on five dates during their 2005–2006 world tour. Also in 2005, Mraz was one of many singers featured in the fall advertisement campaign for The Gap entitled "Favorites". The music-themed campaign also featured other singers including Tristan Prettyman, Michelle Branch, Joss Stone, Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Brandon Boyd, and Michelle Williams.^[15] In December 2005, Mraz released the first part of his ongoing podcast.

Jason Mraz performs at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut on May 17, 2006.

Jason Mraz at Gröna Lund In Stockholm, Sweden 2008

In March 2006, Mraz also performed for the first time at a sold-out performance in Singapore with Noel "Toca" Rivera as part of the annual Mosaic Music Festival.^{[citation needed]} In May 2006, Mraz toured mostly small venues and music festivals in the U.S., along with a few shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The tour included a May 6, 2006 acoustic show with P.O.D., Better Than Ezra, Live, and The Presidents of the United States of America. Mraz was featured as a headlining guest of St. Louis's annual Fair St. Louis and performed a free concert at the base of the Arch on July 1, 2006. During this time, Mraz was also the opening act at several dates for Rob Thomas' Something to Be Tour.

In December 2006, Selections for Friends, the live, online-only album recorded during the Songs for Friends Tour, was released. Selections for Friends features Jason's favorite songs from the Schubas Tavern and Villa Montalvo shows he played in July 2006. Jason Mraz began 2007 by debuting his new single "The Beauty in Ugly", an earlier track penned by Mraz entitled "Plain Jane" that he rewrote for the ABC television program Ugly Betty. The song was featured as a part of ABC's "Be Ugly in '07" campaign.^[16] He has since released a song in Spanish entitled "La Nueva Belleza (The New Beauty)".^[17]

In 2007, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson performed "Geek in the Pink", which subsequently garnered the song mass recognition and increased downloads at the American iTunes Store. "Geek in the Pink" peaked at No. 22 on the U.S. iTunes Store on March 10, 2007, but it was ineligible for the site's Hot 100.^{[citation needed]} The tape-recording of bootlegs during Mraz's shows is explicitly supported by him and his management.^[18] In 2007, he also provided background vocals on Mandy Moore's song "Slummin' in Paradise", of her studio album Wild Hope.

[edit] We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008–2009)

Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. on May 13, 2008, following the April 2008 "Music, Magic, Make Peace" Tour with Bushwalla, The Makepeace Brothers, and magician Justin Willman. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 200, giving Mraz his highest charting album to date. Following the success of its lead single, "I'm Yours", the album broke into the top ten of many international music charts and charted in the top three in Australia and the US.^[19]

The first single, "I'm Yours", reached No. 1 on AAA radio charts in the US. The single was a B-side to Mr A-Z, and was made famous by recordings from his live shows. In September 2008, the song became Mraz's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #6. As of October 14, 2008, the album has been certified Gold by the RIAA, selling in excess of 500,000 copies in the US. The song was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of multiple European charts and topping the charts in New Zealand for six weeks.^[20] In 2008, Mraz launched his single "I'm Yours" at the music industry-only event titled Sunset Sessions. Exactly one year later, Jason was nominated for a Grammy on the single.

Mraz and his song "I'm Yours" were nominated for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 51st Grammy Awards. The album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 2009. On January 31, 2009, Mraz was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "I'm Yours" and "Lucky", the latter with Colbie Caillat. "Lucky" peaked on the Hot 100 at 48.

With "Make It Mine" and "Lucky", Mraz won two awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, respectively, at the 2010 52nd Grammy Awards.

On June 20, 2009, Mraz was awarded the Hal David Starlight award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.^[21]

[edit] Love Is a Four Letter Word (2009–present)

In early 2009, a song titled "Try Try Try" was leaked out into the Internet. The song was later released in 2010 by Michael Squire. New songs have been performed in his recent concerts, some of which have been uploaded onto YouTube. Earlier this year, Jason Mraz spent time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil working with Milton Nascimento. Mraz also recently met and worked with Willie Nelson, whose 'style' is fondly referenced in one of Mraz's early hits "Curbside Prophet."

In November 2009, Mraz posted on his MySpace page plans for a new album to be recorded starting in December, stating "In 2 weeks time I will enter the studio and begin recording the next album. Only a handful of songs are written and slated but the momentum of love is with me. Every day new verses get added on. The songs are coming together piece by piece. The process is unlike any of the other records before this. It's like I'm being gifted the album without having to do the work. I'm creating that in 6 months the project will be complete and then we'll hit the road again with new sounds and new musicians."^[22]

In 2010 Mraz spent time in London, England, where he worked on songs for his new album with producer Martin Terefe and wrote with British singer-songwriter Dido.^[23]

Mraz contributed vocals for The Grooveline Horns' eponymous EP on the track "Fun", a cover of the Con Funk Shun song, released March 2, 2010.^[24]

In August 2010, Mraz had a Q&A interview with Spin magazine. In the interview, he stated the current possible titles for his fourth album are Peace Canoe or The Love Album.^[25]

On September 13, 2010, Mraz was featured on the single "Love, Love, Love" by Hope.^[26]

On September 28, 2010, Mraz announced the upcoming release of the new "Life Is Good" EP consisting of recordings from his concerts from Maine to the Life is Good Festival in Canton, Massachusetts which will include live recordings of "Coyotes" and multiple new songs, "San Disco Reggaefornia", "Up", "What Mama Say", and "The Freedom Song". The EP was released on October 5, 2010.^[27] On the same tour, Mraz also showcased other new songs, such as "Thinking About You", "Love Looks Like" and "In Your Hands".

From December 26, 2010, the official website was updated with a series of images, the first seemingly a sequence of blocks separated by points to indicate a date, and the second image containing a rectangle, circle, triangle and a square, which appear to spell out the word "love." This image was also trademarked. Popular belief was that the "love" image was the beginning of a marketing campaign for a new record.

Appearing on VH1 Top 20 Countdown on March 5, 2011, Jason Mraz noted that he had 12 songs ready to go for the album but then decided they weren't good enough. In July 2011, his team's Twitter feed (@theRKOP) confirmed that his album will be released in early 2012.^[28]

JasonMraz.com relaunched in July 2011 with a new design and a message informing fans that a special announcement was imminent. A few days later, it was announced that Mraz would embark on a mini-global tour in September to November 2011, with occasional full band shows, but mostly as an acoustic duo with long time performing partner and friend, Noel "Toca" Rivera. The special shows marked the ten-year anniversary of the independently released Live at Java Joe's album. Mraz played in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Berlin and Prague, and was due to make a festival appearance in Hossegor, France before the festival was cancelled.

On September 19, 2011, Jason Mraz announced via his Facebook page the release of a new single titled "The World as I See It", which is intended to be the theme of the "In Search of Incredible" campaign, accompanied by the song being embedded via YouTube.^[29] On September 20, 2011, the single was released on the iTunes music store.^[30]

During the fall/winter tour, many songs old and new were showcased. Towards the end of the tour, Mraz announced that 'I Never Knew You' would not be featuring on the new album, suggesting that the final tracklist has been decided on and that the album is on course for release around February 2012.

On December 8, 2011, Mraz told Jeff Benjamin of Billboard that the "album is finished" except for one track he was attempting to re-work as an acoustic version. He described the album as, "It's not a departure in the sound of the genre in any way, it's just different tones, different textures. Musically, I think people are going to like it. It's personal. It's melodic. And it's mellow. There's a couple of up-tempo tunes, but mostly the rhythm of the heartbeat kind of takes precedence on this record. Medium-tempo tunes; which I love. It feels more like the pace of life. At least, based on my life and what I've been doing."^[31]

On January 20, 2012, during a performance streamed live from the Bing Bar at the Sundance Film Festival, Mraz told the audience that the album's title is Love Is a Four Letter Word. Mraz released a new single from the album, called "I Won't Give Up", and the single has peaked at No. 1 on iTunes.^[when?]

During January 2012, the Dutch online retailer bol.com accidentally released a tracklisting for the forthcoming album, which has been dismissed as being incorrect. On February 28, 2012, Jason released an EP entitled Live Is A Four Letter World. The EP was recorded live in San Diego and contains four tracks (one of which had already been released).^[32]

The new album was set to be released on May 8, 2012,^[33] however on February 14 it was stated that the new album is set to be released in stores and at all digital retailers on April 17, 2012.^[34]

Personal life[link]

Mraz was engaged to singer/songwriter and long-time close friend Tristan Prettyman.^[35] On June 7, 2011, Mraz said in an interview with the Daily Beast that he and Prettyman were no longer engaged.^[36]

Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and enjoys eating mostly raw vegan foods.^[37] He owns an avocado farm in Bonsall in Northern San Diego County. Recently, he acquired the Garden Patch Farms&Orchard in Homer Glen, for its organic strawberries.^[38] Mraz is an active supporter of several charities including VH1's Save The Music Foundation, MusiCares, Free the Children, Life Rolls On, SPARC and the Human Rights Campaign.^[39] He has been named the 2010 SIMA Humanitarian of the Year. He also received the Clean Water Award in 2010 from the Surfrider Foundation.^[40] The same year, he also teamed up with The Nature Conservancy^[41] and created a PSA using his song I'm Yours to raise awareness about the non-profit organization's efforts to protect the earth.^[42] Jason performed at Farm Aid 2011 on August 13 in Kansas City. He has also advocated LGBT rights.^[43]

In 2011, Mraz appeared in the Visit California promotional film^[44] aimed at boosting tourism from the UK.

Discography[link]

• Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002)
• Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004) + accompanying DVD
• Mr. A-Z (2005)
• We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008)
• Love is a Four Letter Word (2012)

Awards[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jason Mraz

• Official website
• Jason Mraz at the Internet Movie Database
• Jason Mraz at Allmusic
• Jason Mraz's channel on YouTube
• Jason Mraz collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Playlist: Jason Mraz – Nightline 07/17/09 – Reggae to rock, Mraz reveals his musical influences.
• Concert Photos: Jason Mraz – 09/17/2010, 09/18/2010 – Jason Mraz opens for Dave Matthews Band for two sold out shows at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Sean Paul
Sean Paul at the International Reggae and World Music Awards.
Background information
Birth name	Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques
Born	(1973-01-09) January 9, 1973 (age 39) Kingston, Jamaica
Genres	Dancehall, reggae, R&B, ragga
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter, producer, actor
Years active	1996–present
Labels	VP, Atlantic
Website	allseanpaul.com

Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques^[1] (born January 9, 1973),^[1][2] who performs under stage name Sean Paul, is a Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist.

Life and career[link]

1973–96: Early life[link]

Sean Paul was born in Kingston and spent his early years in Upper Andrew Parish, a few miles north of Kingston.^[2] His parents, Garth and Frances, were both talented athletes, and his mother is a well-known painter.^[3] His paternal grandfather was a Sephardic Jew whose family emigrated from Portugal, and his paternal grandmother was Afro-Caribbean; his mother is of English and Chinese Jamaican descent.^[4][5] Sean Paul was raised as a Catholic.^[6] Many members of his family are swimmers. His grandfather was on the first Jamaican men's national water polo team. His father also played water polo for the team in the 1960s, and competed in long-distance swimming, while Sean Paul's mother was a backstroke swimmer. Sean Paul played for the national water polo team from the age of thirteen to twenty-one, when he gave up the sport in order to launch his musical career. He attended the Wolmers High School for Boys, Belair School, Hillel Academy High School, and the College of Arts, Science, and Technology, now known as the University of Technology, where he was trained in commerce with a view to pursuing an occupation in hotel management.

[edit] 1998–2000: Stage One

Sean Paul's manager and producer Jeremy Harding first heard about the singer when his brother told him about seeing someone at a small open mic event in Kingston who sounded a lot like the popular dancehall DJ and toaster Super Cat.^[7] Harding eventually met the singer when Sean Paul came by his studio to ask for some advice. During the meeting Paul recorded a vocal over Harding's rhythm track and in the process created the song "Baby Girl".^[7] Sean Paul began hanging out at the studio every day, and the pair collaborated on several more tracks. When they recorded "Infiltrate" they decided they had something good enough to get on the radio. As Sean Paul started to attract local attention, Harding began looking after his affairs. He later told HitQuarters that his support of Paul's fledgling career initially led him assuming the roles of "DJ, manager, road manager and security guard."^[7] Sean Paul made a quick cameo appearance in the 1998 film Belly on stage performing. He made a very successful collaboration with DMX & Mr. Vegas (Top Shotter) as a soundtrack of the film. In 2000, Sean Paul released his debut album, Stage One with VP Records.

[edit] 2001–02: Dutty Rock

In 2002, he began working extensively with a team of producers and choreographers from Toronto, namely Jae Blaze and Blaze Entertainment and announced the release of his second album, Dutty Rock. Pushed by the success of the singles "Gimme the Light" and the Billboard Hot 100 topper, "Get Busy", the album was a worldwide success, eventually selling over six million copies. Simultaneously, Sean Paul was heard on Beyoncé's U.S. #1 single "Baby Boy" and Blu Cantrell's "Breathe", a chart hit in Europe. Both helped to push his reputation further still in the United States. He appeared on Punk'd, 106 & Park, Sean Paul Respect, Making the Video ("Get Busy", "Gimme the Light", and "Like Glue") and his music videos have been broadcast on MTV and BET. Paul's biggest hits included "Get Busy", "Like Glue", "Gimme the Light", "Baby Boy", and "I'm Still in Love with You".

[edit] 2003–05: The Trinity

Sean Paul in September 2005.

Sean Paul's third album The Trinity was released in on September 27, 2005. The album produced five big hits, "We Be Burnin'", "Ever Blazin'", "Give It Up to Me", "Never Gonna Be The Same" and the U.S. chart-topping smash hit "Temperature". The video of "Give It Up to Me" (featuring Keyshia Cole) was also featured in the movie Step Up in 2006. He was nominated for four awards at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including male artist of the year, rap artist of the year, hot 100 single of the year, and pop single of the year for his hit "Temperature".^[8] He also won an American Music Award for "(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me" beating Kanye West and Nick Lachey who were also nominated for the award. His song "Send It On" from "The Trinity" featured on the 2005 Vauxhall Corsa advert. Sean Paul often contributes his songs to various Riddim Driven albums (by VP Records). In March 2007, he returned to his native Jamaica to perform at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremony. Sean Paul appears on the game Def Jam: Fight for NY as part of Snoop Dogg's crew and again in the game's sequel, Def Jam Icon.

[edit] 2006–10: Imperial Blaze

The newest Sean Paul album entitled "Imperial Blaze" was released on August 18, 2009. The lead single, “So Fine”, which was produced by Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor, premiered on Sean Paul's official website on April 26, 2009.^{[9][dead link][10]} Speaking to Pete Lewis of 'Blues & Soul' magazine in August 2009, Sean Paul stated that 'Imperial Blaze' "Actually signifies 'The King's Fire'. It's that thing inside of you that gives you the desire to do whatever you do, and be the best in the world at it."^[11] The new album consists of 20 tracks including "So Fine", "Press it Up", "She Want Me", "Private Party" which are party tracks and also love songs such as "Hold My Hand" (feat Keri Hilson), "Lately", "Now That I've Got Your Love" among others. Producers on the album include Don Corleone, Jeremy Harding, and Sean's brother Jason 'Jigzagula' Henriques.^[11] All the full songs of the album have been added to Sean Paul's Myspace page^[12] on the day of release of the album.

Up until now there have been eight music videos: "Always On My Mind (with Da'Ville)", "Give It To You (with Eve)", "Watch Them Roll", "Back It Up" (with Left Side/Mr. Evil), "(I Wanna See You) Push It Baby" (with Pretty Ricky), "Hit 'Em" (with Fahrenheit and his brother Jason "Jigzagula" Henriques), "Come Over" with Estelle,^[13] and also the video of his first single, "So Fine" from the new album. He has recently been featured in Shaggy's video, "Save A Life", which also includes appearances from Elephant Man and Da'Ville, among others. In an effort to raise money for a children's hospital, Shaggy, Sean Paul and others will be having a benefit concert. All proceeds will go towards getting new equipment and technology 'For Aid to the Bustamante Hospital for Children'. In an interview in 2009 he says he is planning to release a new album in 2011. During the premiere for MNET's Big Brother Africa 5: All-Stars on July 18, 2010, he performed his songs "Temperature", "Hold My Hand", and "So Fine".

[edit] 2011–present: Tomahawk Technique

The first single Got 2 Luv U features vocals from American singer Alexis Jordan. It was released on the July 19, 2011 by Atlantic Records. The song was written by Sean Paul, Ryan Tedder and Stargate, and it was produced by Stargate.^[14][15][16]

She Doesn't Mind is the second single from the album. It was written by Sean Paul, Shellback and Benny Blanco and was produced by Shellback and Benny Blanco. It was released on the September 29, 2011 on NRJ & Skyrock (French radios), and to iTunes on October 31.^[17] Like its proceeder, "Got 2 Luv U", featuring Alexis Jordan, it topped the charts in Switzerland, but it debuted at that spot. Sean appeared on the Never Mind the Buzzcocks episode which aired on November 21, 2011.

Sean Paul is featured in the music video for the Simple Plan song Summer Paradise.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Stage One (2000)
• Dutty Rock (2002)
• The Trinity (2005)
• Imperial Blaze (2009)
• Tomahawk Technique (2012)

Mixtapes

• The Odyssey Mixtape (2009)

Filmography[link]