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A parody ( /ˈpærədi/; also called pastiche, spoof, send-up or lampoon), in current use, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation. As the literary theorist Linda Hutcheon puts it, "parody … is imitation, not always at the expense of the parodied text." Another critic, Simon Dentith, defines parody as "any cultural practice which provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice."^[1] Parody may be found in art or culture, including literature, music (although "parody" in music has an earlier, somewhat different meaning than for other art forms), animation, gaming and film.

The writer and critic John Gross observes in his Oxford Book of Parodies, that parody seems to flourish on territory somewhere between pastiche ("a composition in another artist's manner, without satirical intent") and burlesque (which "fools around with the material of high literature and adapts it to low ends").^[2]

Origins[link]

According to Aristotle (Poetics, ii. 5), Hegemon of Thasos was the inventor of a kind of parody; by slightly altering the wording in well-known poems he transformed the sublime into the ridiculous. In ancient Greek literature, a parodia was a narrative poem imitating the style and prosody of epics "but treating light, satirical or mock-heroic subjects".^[3] Indeed, the apparent Greek roots of the word are para- (which can mean beside, counter, or against) and -ode (song, as in an ode). Thus, the original Greek word parodia has sometimes been taken to mean counter-song, an imitation that is set against the original. The Oxford English Dictionary, for example, defines parody as imitation "turned as to produce a ridiculous effect".^[4] Because par- also has the non-antagonistic meaning of beside, "there is nothing in parodia to necessitate the inclusion of a concept of ridickule".^[5]

Roman writers explained parody as an imitation of one poet by another for humorous effect.^{[citation needed]} In French Neoclassical literature, parody was also a type of poem where one work imitates the style of another for humorous effect. Ancient Greece made satyr plays which parodied tragic plays. People that were in the plays dressed up like satyrs which were followers of most Olympian gods such as Dionysus and Hermes.

Music[link]

In classical music, as a technical term, parody refers to a reworking of one kind of composition into another (for example, a motet into a keyboard work as Girolamo Cavazzoni, Antonio de Cabezón, and Alonso Mudarra all did to Josquin des Prez motets).^[6] More commonly, a parody mass (missa parodia) or an oratorio used extensive quotation from other vocal works such as motets or cantatas; Victoria, Palestrina, Lassus, and other notable composers of the 16th century used this technique. The term is also sometimes applied to procedures common in the Baroque period, such as when Bach reworks music from cantatas in his Christmas Oratorio.

The musicological definition of the term parody has now generally been supplanted by a more general meaning of the word. In its more contemporary usage, musical parody usually has humorous, even satirical intent, in which familiar musical ideas or lyrics are lifted into a different, often incongruous, context.^[7] Musical parodies may imitate or refer to the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. For example, The Ritz Roll and Rock, a song and dance number performed by Fred Astaire in the movie Silk Stockings, parodies the Rock and Roll genre. Similarly, some YouTube parodies, such as those of The Key of Awesome or The Lonely Island, are based on an artist's style rather than any particular tune.

English term[link]

The first usage of the word parody in English cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is in Ben Jonson, in Every Man in His Humour in 1598: "A Parodie, a parodie! to make it absurder than it was." The next notable citation comes from John Dryden in 1693, who also appended an explanation, suggesting that the word was in common use, meaning to make fun of or re-create what you are doing. A parody (pronounced /ˈpærədiː/; also called send-up or spoof), in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation.

Modernist and post-modernist parody[link]

In the 20th century, parody has been heightened as the central and most representative artistic device, the catalysing agent of artistic creation and innovation.^[8][9] This most prominently happened in the second half of the century with postmodernism, but earlier modernism and Russian formalism had anticipated this perspective.^[8][10] For the Russian formalists, parody was a way of liberation from the background text that enables to produce new and autonomous artistic forms.^[11][12]

Jorge Luis Borges's (1939) short story "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote", is often regarded as predicting postmodernism and conceiving the ideal of the ultimate parody.^[13][14] In the broader sense of Greek parodia, parody can occur when whole elements of one work are lifted out of their context and reused, not necessarily to be ridiculed.^[15] Traditional definitions of parody usually only discuss parody in the stricter sense of something intended to ridicule the text it parodies. There is also a broader, extended sense of parody that may not include ridicule, and may be based on many other uses and intentions.^[16][15] The broader sense of parody, parody done with intent other than ridicule, has become prevalent in the modern parody of the 20th century.^[16] In the extended sense, the modern parody does not target the parodied text, but instead uses it as a weapon to target something else.^[17][18] The reason for the prevalence of the extended, recontextualizing type of parody in the 20th century is that artists have sought to connect with the past while registering differences brought by modernity.^{[19][page needed]} Major modernist examples of this recontextualizing parody include James Joyce's Ulysses, which incorporates elements of Homer's Odyssey in a 20th-century Irish context, and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land,^[17] which incorporates and recontextualizes elements of a vast range of prior texts, including Dante's The Inferno.^{[citation needed]} The work of Andy Warhol is another prominent example of the modern "recontextualizing" parody.^[17] According to French literary theorist Gérard Genette, the most rigorous and elegant form of parody is also the most economical, that is a minimal parody, the one that literally reprises a known text and gives it a new meaning.^[20][21]

Blank parody, in which an artist takes the skeletal form of an art work and places it in a new context without ridiculing it, is common.^{[citation needed]} Pastiche is a closely related genre, and parody can also occur when characters or settings belonging to one work are used in a humorous or ironic way in another, such as the transformation of minor characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Shakespeare's drama Hamlet into the principal characters in a comedic perspective on the same events in the play (and film) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.^{[citation needed]} In Flann O'Brien's novel At Swim-Two-Birds, for example, mad King Sweeney, Finn MacCool, a pookah, and an assortment of cowboys all assemble in an inn in Dublin: the mixture of mythic characters, characters from genre fiction, and a quotidian setting combine for a humor that is not directed at any of the characters or their authors. This combination of established and identifiable characters in a new setting is not the same as the post-modernist habit of using historical characters in fiction out of context to provide a metaphoric element.^{[citation needed]}

Reputation[link]

Sometimes the reputation of a parody outlasts the reputation of what is being parodied. For example, Don Quixote, which mocks the traditional knight errant tales, is much better known than the novel that inspired it, Amadis de Gaula (although Amadis is mentioned in the book). Another notable case is the novel Shamela by Henry Fielding (1742), which was a parody of the gloomy epistolary novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) by Samuel Richardson. Many of Lewis Carroll's parodies of Victorian didactic verse for children, such as "You Are Old, Father William", are much better known than the (largely forgotten) originals. Stella Gibbons's comic novel Cold Comfort Farm has eclipsed the pastoral novels of Mary Webb which largely inspired it.

In more recent times, the television sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! is perhaps better known than the drama Secret Army which it parodies.

Some artists carve out careers by making parodies. One of the best-known examples is that of "Weird Al" Yankovic. His career of parodying other musical acts and their songs has outlasted many of the artists or bands he has parodied. Yankovic is not required under law to get permission to parody; as a personal rule, however, he does seek permission to parody a person's song before recording it.

In the US legal system the point that in most cases a parody of a work constitutes fair use was upheld in the case of Rick Dees, who decided to use 29 seconds of the music from the song When Sonny Gets Blue to parody Johnny Mathis' singing style even after being refused permission. An appeals court upheld the trial court's decision that this type of parody represents fair use. Fisher v. Dees 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986)

Film parodies[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (May 2009)

Some genre theorists, following Bakhtin, see parody as a natural development in the life cycle of any genre; this idea has proven especially fruitful for genre film theorists. Such theorists note that Western movies, for example, after the classic stage defined the conventions of the genre, underwent a parody stage, in which those same conventions were ridiculed and critiqued. Because audiences had seen these classic Westerns, they had expectations for any new Westerns, and when these expectations were inverted, the audience laughed.

Perhaps the earliest parody was the 1922 Mud and Sand, a Stan Laurel film that made fun of Rudolph Valentino's film Blood and Sand. Laurel specialized in parodies in the mid-1920s, writing and acting in a number of them. Some were send-ups of popular films, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—parodied in the comic Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pryde (1926). Others were spoofs of Broadway plays, such as No, No, Nanette (1925), parodied as Yes, Yes, Nanette (1925). In 1940 Charlie Chaplin created a satirical comedy about Adolf Hitler with the film The Great Dictator, following the first-ever Hollywood parody of the Nazis, the Three Stooges' short subject You Nazty Spy!.

About 20 years later Mel Brooks started his career with a Hitler parody as well. After The Producers (1968), Brooks became one of the most famous film parodists and did spoofs on any kind of film genre. Blazing Saddles (1974) is a parody of western films and Spaceballs (1987) is a science fiction spoof.

The British comedy group Monty Python is also famous for its parodies, for example, the King Arthur spoof Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974), and the Jesus satire Life of Brian (1979). In the 1980s there came another team of parodists including David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker. Their most popular films are the Airplane!, Hot Shots! and Naked Gun series. There is a 1989 film parody from Spain of the TV series The A-Team called El equipo Aahhgg directed by José Truchado.

More recently, parodies have taken on whole film genres at once. One of the first was the Scary Movie franchise. Other recent genre parodies include Not Another Teen Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, Disaster Movie, and Vampires Suck, all of which have been critically panned.

Self-parody[link]

A subset of parody is self-parody in which artists parody their own work (as in Ricky Gervais's Extras) or notable distinctions of their work (such as Antonio Banderas's Puss in Boots in the Shrek sequels) or an artist or genre repeats elements of earlier works to the point that originality is lost.

Copyright issues[link]

The examples and perspective in this article or section might have an extensive bias or disproportional coverage towards one or more specific regions. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

United States[link]

Although a parody can be considered a derivative work under United States Copyright Law, it can be protected from claims by the copyright owner of the original work under the fair use doctrine, which is codified in 17 U.S.C. § 107. The Supreme Court of the United States stated that parody "is the use of some elements of a prior author's composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on that author's works". That commentary function provides some justification for use of the older work. See Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

In 2007, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a fair use defense in the Dr. Seuss Enterprises v. Penguin Books case. Citing the Campbell v. Acuff-Rose decision, they found that a satire of the O.J. Simpson murder trial and parody of The Cat in the Hat had infringed upon the children's book because it did not provide a commentary function upon that work.^[22][23]

In 2001, the United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, in Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin, upheld the right of Alice Randall to publish a parody of Gone with the Wind called The Wind Done Gone, which told the same story from the point of view of Scarlett O'Hara's slaves, who were glad to be rid of her.

Canada[link]

Under Canadian law, although there is protection for Fair Dealing, there is no explicit protection for parody and satire. In Canwest v. Horizon, the publisher of the Vancouver Sun launched a lawsuit against a group which had published a pro-Palestinian parody of the paper. Alan Donaldson, the judge in the case, ruled that parody is not a defence to a copyright claim.^[24]

United Kingdom[link]

Under existing copyright legislation (principally the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988), "There is currently no exception which covers the creation of parodies, caricatures or pastiches".^[25] Parodies of works protected by copyright require the consent or permission of the copyright owner, unless they fall under existing fair use/fair dealing exceptions:

• the part of the underlying work is not "substantial"
• the use of the underlying work falls within the fair dealing exception for "criticism, review and news reporting"
• enforcement of copyright is contrary to the public interest.^[25]

In 2006 the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property recommended that the UK should "create an exception to copyright for the purpose of caricature, parody or pastiche by 2008".^[26] Following the first stage of a two-part public consultation, the Intellectual Property Office reported that the information received "was not sufficient to persuade us that the advantages of a new parody exception were sufficient to override the disadvantages to the creators and owners of the underlying work. There is therefore no proposal to change the current approach to parody, caricature and pastiche in the UK."^[25]

Social and political uses[link]

Satirical political cartoon that appeared in Puck magazine, October 9, 1915. Caption "I did not raise my girl to be a voter" parodies the anti-World War I song "I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier". A chorus of disreputable men support a lone anti-suffrage woman.

Parody is a frequent ingredient in satire and is often used to make social and political points. Examples include Swift's "A Modest Proposal", which satirized English neglect of Ireland by parodying emotionally disengaged political tracts; and, recently, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which parody a news broadcast and a talk show to satirize political and social trends and events. Some events, such as a national tragedy, can be difficult to handle. Chet Clem, Editorial Manager of the news parody publication The Onion, told Wikinews in an interview the questions that are raised when addressing difficult topics:

Parody is by no means necessarily satirical, and may sometimes be done with respect and appreciation of the subject involved, while not being a heedless sarcastic attack.

Parody has also been used to facilitate dialogue between cultures or subcultures. Sociolinguist Mary Louise Pratt identifies parody as one of the "arts of the contact zone", through which marginalized or oppressed groups "selectively appropriate", or imitate and take over, aspects of more empowered cultures.^[28]

Shakespeare often uses a series of parodies to convey his meaning. In the social context of his era, an example can be seen in King Lear where the fool is introduced with his coxcomb to be a parody of the king.

Examples[link]

Historic examples[link]

• Sir Thopas in Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
• Beware the Cat by William Baldwin
• The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher
• Dragon of Wantley, an anonymous 17th century ballad
• Hudibras by Samuel Butler
• "MacFlecknoe", by John Dryden
• A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift
• The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope
• Namby Pamby by Henry Carey
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
• The Dunciad by Alexander Pope
• Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus by John Gay, Alexander Pope, John Arbuthnot, et al.
• The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia [sic] by Samuel Johnson
• Mozart's A Musical Joke (Ein musikalischer Spaß), K.522 (1787) - parody of incompetent contemporaries of Mozart, as assumed by some theorists
• Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle
• Ways and Means, or The aged, aged man, by Lewis Carroll. Much of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is parodic of Victorian schooling.
• Batrachomyomachia (battle between frogs and mice), an Iliad parody by an unknown ancient Greek author
• Britannia Sitting On An Egg a machine-printed illustrated envelope published by the stationer W.R. Hume of Leith, Scotland, parodying the machine-printed illustrated envelope (commissioned by Rowland Hill (postal reformer) and designed by the artist William Mulready) used to launch the British postal service reforms of 1840.

See also[link]

Look up parody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Parody

• Abridgement
• Détournement
• Internet meme
• Intertextuality
• Joke
• Literary technique
• Parody advertisement
• Parody music
• Parody religion
• Parody science
• Subvertising
• "Weird Al" Yankovic

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Dentith, Simon (2000). Parody (The New Critical Idiom). Routledge. ISBN 0-415-18221-2. 
• Elices Agudo, Juan Francisco (2004) Historical and theoretical approaches to English satire
• Hutcheon, Linda (1985). "3. The Pragmatic Range of Parody". A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of Twentieth-Century Art Forms. New York: Methuen. ISBN 0-252-06938-2. 
• Mary Louise Pratt (1991). "Arts of the Contact Zone" (pdf). Profession (New York: MLA) 91: 33–40. Archived from the original on 2008-10-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20081026203249/http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~stripp/2504/pratt.html. "archived at University of Idaho, English 506, Rhetoric and Composition: History, Theory, and Research" . From Ways of Reading, 5th edition, ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petroksky (New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999
• Sangsue, Daniel (2006) La parodia
• Sheinberg, Esti (2000) Irony, Satire, Parody and the Grotesque in the Music of Shostakovich
• Stavans, Ilan and Jesse H. Lytle, Jennifer A. Mattson (1997) Antiheroes: Mexico and its detective novel

Further reading[link]

• Bakhtin, Mikhail; Ed. Michael Holquist. Trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist (1981). The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays. Austin and London: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-71527-7. 
• Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. (1988). The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503463-5. 
• Petrosky, Anthony; ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petroksky (1999). Ways of Reading (5th ed.). New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s. ISBN 978-0-312-45413-5. "An anthology including Arts of the Contact Zone" 
• Rose, Margaret (1993). Parody: Ancient, Modern and Post-Modern. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-41860-7. 
• Caponi, Gena Dagel (1999). Signifyin(g), Sanctifyin', & Slam Dunking: A Reader in African American Expressive Culture. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1-55849-183-X. 
• Harries, Dan (2000). Film Parody. London: BFI. ISBN 0-85170-802-1. 
• Pueo, Juan Carlos (2002). Los reflejos en juego (Una teoría de la parodia). Valencia (Spain): Tirant lo Blanch. ISBN 84-8442-559-2. 
• Gray, Jonathan (2006). Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-36202-4. 
• John Gross, ed. (2010). The Oxford Book of Parodies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-954882-8. 

Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke (2012)
Background information
Birth name	Robin C. Thicke
Also known as	Thicke
Born	(1977-03-10) March 10, 1977 (age 35) Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, hip hop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor, musician
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar and saxophone
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Nu America, Star Trak, Interscope
Associated acts	Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne
Website	www.robinthicke.com

Robin Charles Thicke ( /ˈθɪk/; born March 10, 1977) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the name Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound.^[1][2] Thicke has written hits for popular artists such as Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Mary J. Blige and Raven-Symoné. Thicke has also been acknowledged for his work in popular albums such as Confessions and Tha Carter III.

Thicke is a judge on the ABC show Duets.^[3]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Before his days as a singer-songwriter, Thicke had written "Love Is On My Side" on Brandy's self-titled album and a number of songs for 3T's "Sexual Attention" and collaborated with Jordan Knight, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on several songs in Knight's 1999 album Jordan Knight. He also co-wrote the songs "When You Put Your Hands On Me" for Christina Aguilera's debut album and "No Tears on My Pillow" for Mýa's sophomore release, Fear of Flying. As an artist, he recorded and performed solely under his surname, Thicke. He would continue to do so until 2005.

2002–2004: Early commercial success[link]

In 2000, Thicke, who simply went by his last name, went to work on material for his debut album, initially titled Cherry Blue Skies. The album focused more on soul than his pop-offerings for other artists.

In 2002, Thicke released his debut single "When I Get You Alone". The track samples Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven", which itself is a disco rendition of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. The music video for the song received some rotation on MTV2 and BET's Rated Next and was spun moderately on pop and urban radio, peaking at #49 on Radio & Records Pop chart.^{[citation needed]} Globally, however, "When I Get You Alone" became a chart success when it peaked within the top 20 in Australia, Belgium, and Italy, and reached the top ten of the singles charts in New Zealand and the top three in the Netherlands.^{[citation needed]} The tune was featured for the soundtrack of Agent Cody Banks.^{[citation needed]}

The moderate success was enough to signal the release of the album, with its name changed to A Beautiful World. Despite the release of a second single, "Brand New Jones", the album received very little promotion, and debuted at a low number 152 on the US Billboard 200, eventually selling 63,000 copies.^[4]

Runner-up Blake Lewis performed "When I Get You Alone" during the 2007 season of American Idol when the top 3 chose a song to sing. Lewis has often put Robin Thicke in his list of musical influences in interviews and on the American Idol website. The song was also performed by Blaine Anderson (played by Darren Criss) on Glee during the season 2 episode "Silly Love Songs".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2005–2007: The Evolution of Robin Thicke

In 2005, Thicke performed as a guest on the remix of Will Smith's song, "Switch". After being signed to The Neptunes label, Star Trak, he began working on his second album entitled The Evolution of Robin Thicke. The first single, "Wanna Love U Girl", featured producer Pharrell and experienced chart success on urban radio in the United Kingdom. For the video, Thicke changed his appearance, cutting off his trademark long hair. In 2006, a remix version of the song was filmed with rapper Busta Rhymes. Nearly a year after the single was released, the album was released on October 3, 2006. To promote the album Thicke toured with India.Arie, and then opened for John Legend in late 2006.

His second single, the ballad "Lost Without U", began getting a lot of radio airplay in Urban & Rhythmic stations towards the end of 2006 and early 2007.^{[citation needed]} With the assistance of radio airplay, the song became his breakout hit, reaching as high as number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the first Caucasian male artist to top that chart since George Michael.^[5] With album sales over 1.5 million copies sold domestically after the re-release as a Deluxe Edition (with three new bonus tracks) on February 13, 2007, The Evolution of Robin Thicke became a commercial success in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart,^[4] garnering Thicke his first R&B number one album of his career. In early 2007 the single "Lost Without U" and album The Evolution of Robin Thicke simultaneously spent two consecutive weeks at number one on the R&B singles and albums charts respectively. On the March 3, 2007 issue of Billboard magazine, Thicke simultaneously topped four Billboard charts; Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and Hot Adult R&B Airplay.^{[citation needed]} In March 2007, The Evolution of Robin Thicke was certified Platinum by the RIAA.^{[citation needed]} Thicke and his record label Interscope soon considered potential tracks to be released as the album's next and third single. Thicke's preference was the track "Can U Believe", which peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and at number ninety-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[5][6] On October 2, 2007 the track "Got 2 Be Down" was released as the album's fourth official single. The single peaked at number sixty on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.^[5]

Late in 2007, Thicke finished promotion for the album as the featured opening act for the North American leg of Beyoncé's US tour, The Beyoncé Experience.^[7] Thicke also performed a one off UK concert in London's Koko Arena on September 24, 2007. As of February 10, 2009, the album was certified Double-Platinum by the RIAA.

[edit] 2008–10: Something Else and Sex Therapy

There's so many meanings behind that title. Number one, it reflects what we're going through as a nation here in America. I just felt, with Barack Obama and the new energy he's bringing, that it is time for some fresh hope and new attitudes. Then, in terms of me as an artist, because I'd been singing all these songs about self-reflection - like '2 The Sky' and 'Angels' - I just thought it was time for me to start singing about something ELSE! Also, I felt that - with my music being a little different from everything else you can get out there - the music IN ITSELF is also something different and something else!"

—Robin Thicke interview by Pete Lewis, Blues & Soul, November 2008.[8]

Thicke released his third solo album, entitled Something Else, on September 30, 2008.^{[citation needed]} It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 charts and sold nearly 140,000 records the first week.^{[citation needed]} The first single from the album was "Magic" a further expansion of the R&B sound that powered his 2006 breakthrough, The Evolution of Robin Thicke.^{[citation needed]} "Magic" went on to peak at number two on the Urban AC charts.^{[citation needed]} He followed this success with the second single, "The Sweetest Love", which also peaked at number two on the Urban AC charts and remained in the top five for twelve consecutive weeks.^{[citation needed]}

During an interview to promote his third album, Thicke explained:

Thicke appeared on an episode of ABC's The Bachelor to perform “Magic” and “The Sweetest Love” for the remaining female contestants. Thicke wrote and produced a track for the movie Precious in which his wife Paula Patton also starred.^[10] He co-headlined a U.S. tour with Jennifer Hudson, which began March 31, 2009 in Albany, New York, and wrapped up 25 shows later in Biloxi, Mississippi.^[11] At the start of the tour, Thicke released "You're My Baby" as the official third single from Something Else, despite filming and releasing a music video for the track "Dreamworld".^[11] As of April 2009, Something Else has shifted over 435,000 units in the U.S.

Seven months after the release of Something Else, Billboard.com announced that Thicke would release his fourth studio album in the fall of 2009, which would not be self-produced.^[11] The album, titled Sex Therapy, had its release date postponed to winter, on December 15, 2009. Jay-Z is featured on the track "Meiple (Me I Play)". The first single from the album was the self-titled track, produced by Polow Da Don and released in October 2009. In November 2009, Thicke premiered the second single to radio, "Shakin' It for Daddy", featuring rapper Nicki Minaj. It was also produced by Polow Da Don.

Speaking of the musical background to Sex Therapy, Thicke told Pete Lewis - Deputy Editor of Blues & Soul - "I'm always gonna have the influence of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Al Green in my music. But with this album I also wanted to show my HIP HOP side. I grew up listening to Run DMC and NWA and Biggie and Pac and Jay-Z... So I really wanted to make a record that represented how much that music has influenced me."^[12] Earlier in 2009, on October 14, Leighton Meester's debut single "Somebody to Love", featuring Thicke, was released. Thicke told MTV he was glad to have Lil Wayne on the album. He also pointed out that he was featured on Lil Wayne's last two albums, and Lil Wayne was on his last two albums. "We're kind of good luck charms for each other."^{[citation needed]}

Thicke appeared on ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve on January 1, 2010 and performed three songs in Las Vegas, in a pre-recorded segment. Also in 2010, it was confirmed that he, along with Melanie Fiona, would feature on The Freedom Tour with Alicia Keys. As of October 2011, the album has sold 269,000 copies in the United States.^[13]

[edit] 2011–present: Love After War

During 2011, Thicke was confirmed to go on tour with Jennifer Hudson, with whom he toured in 2009.^[14] Later that year, Robin Thicke released his fifth studio album, Love After War, on December 6, 2011.^[15] The album has produced two singles. There is the title track and lead single, "Love After War". The second single is "Pretty Lil' Heart", which features Lil Wayne. Robin Thicke appeared on ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2012 performing via remote feed from Los Angeles, California.^{[citation needed]}

Thicke is appearing as a judge on a new ABC television show called Duets which premiered May 24, 2012 and which also features John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, and Kelly Clarkson.^[3]

Artistry[link]

Songwriting and producing[link]

Thicke began his songwriting career by writing hits for popular artists. He co-wrote and produced the Color Me Badd hit "Sexual Capacity" in 1996. The Thicke original "When I Get You Alone" was performed by Guy Sebastian, the winner of the first Australian Idol 2003, during the competition and at the Idol grand finale. "When I Get You Alone" was a popular song choice for Sebastian; he put the live idol performance on his four-times platinum debut single "Angels Brought Me Here"; it was the fastest selling single in Australia debuting at #1 and immediately breaking an Aria record.^[16] In 2004, Thicke co-wrote "Out With My Baby" with Guy Sebastian, from Sebastian's second album, Beautiful Life. Thicke also produced this single for Sebastian.^[17] During this same year, he wrote a song with the singer and actress Raven-Symoné for the album This Is My Time, with the song "Set Me Free".

In April 2007, Thicke co-wrote a song with singer/songwriter Angela Via called "Wrong for You". In 2008, Thicke was enlisted by producer Polow da Don to play piano on the Usher track, "Love in This Club".^[18] At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Thicke was recognized for his work on Lil Wayne’s sixth studio album Tha Carter III, as well as Jennifer Hudson’s self titled debut album. Thicke wrote and produced the song "Tie My Hands" on Tha Carter III, which went on to win Best Rap Album. Thicke wrote and produced the song "Giving Myself" for the album Jennifer Hudson, which went on to win Best R&B Album.

Collaborations[link]

In 2007, Thicke appeared on 50 Cent's album Curtis, which was released on September 11, 2007, on a song called "Follow My Lead". The following year, he worked with Ashanti on her fourth studio album, The Declaration, which was released on June 3, 2008.^[6][7] Also that year, Thicke reunited with Lil Wayne and was featured on his album Tha Carter III on a track entitled "Tie My Hands", which Thicke also produced.

Discography[link]

• A Beautiful World (2003)
• The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006)
• Something Else (2008)
• Sex Therapy (2009)
• Love After War (2011)
• 6th Studio Album (2012)

Personal life[link]

Thicke's mother is Days of Our Lives actress and singer Gloria Loring and his father is Canadian actor Alan Thicke. They divorced when he was seven.^{[citation needed]}

Thicke began dating actress Paula Patton at the age of 16.^[19] They were married in 2005 and had a son, Julian Fuego Thicke, on April 6, 2010.^[20] In the Fall of 2010, Robin Thicke spent several weeks in New York City recording and living in a rented SoHo apartment which he had converted into a makeshift professional studio.^[21] Thicke has said he does not like his music being described as "blue-eyed soul", calling the label "small-minded and stereotypical."^[22]

Tours[link]

• The Beyoncé Experience – as an opening act for the North American leg
• Jennifer Hudson and Robin Thicke – co-headline tour
• The Freedom Tour – as an opening act for the tour along with Melanie Fiona
• Robin Thicke with special guest Miguel in Houston, Texas
• Love After War – 3 week promotional tour in November 2011

Awards and nominations[link]

Recording artist[link]

Songwriting and production[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Robin Thicke at the Internet Movie Database
• Robin Thicke on Myspace

Taylor Swift
Swift performing during the Australian leg of her Speak Now Tour in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Taylor Alison Swift
Born	(1989-12-13) December 13, 1989 (age 22) Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Country-pop, pop, country, alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, banjo, ukulele, piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Big Machine
Website	TaylorSwift.com

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.

Swift's work has earned her numerous accolades, including six Grammy Awards, ten AMAs, seven CMAs, six ACMs and 13 BMI Awards. She has sold over 22 million albums and 50 million song downloads worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Swift has endorsement deals with Target, CoverGirl, Sony, Elizabeth Arden, Walmart and American Greetings. As a philanthropist, Swift has placed particular emphasis on arts education, children's literacy and natural disaster relief funds. In addition to her music career, Swift has appeared as an actress in the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2009), the romantic comedy Valentine's Day (2010) and the animated film The Lorax (2012).

Early life[link]

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania.^[1] She is the daughter of Scott Swift, a Merrill Lynch financial adviser,^[2][3] and Andrea (née Gardner), a homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive.^[1][4] Swift was named after singer James Taylor; her mother believed a gender-neutral name would help her forge a successful business career.^[5][6] She has a younger brother, Austin, who attends Vanderbilt University.^[7] She spent the early years of her life on an eleven-acre Christmas tree farm in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and was educated at the fee-paying Wyndcroft School.^[8] When Swift was nine years old, the family moved to Wyomissing, Pennsylvania,^[9][10] where she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School.^[11] Swift spent her summers at her parent's vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey^[12] and has described it as the place "where most of my childhood memories were formed".^[10]