Look up fine in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Fine may be:

• An adjective meaning attractive, of high quality, etc.

Legal[link]

• Fine (penalty), financial punishment
• Fine (of lands), or final concord (agreement), an obsolete type of land conveyance (transfer) to a new owner
• Fine on alienation, money paid to the lord by a tenant when he had occasion to make over his land to another

People[link]

• Alan Fine
• Anne Fine (b. 1947), British author
• Arthur Fine, philosopher of science
• Benjamin Fine
• Bernie Fine, assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University
• Fran Fine
• Gary Alan Fine
• Irving Fine (1914-1962), American composer
• Jeanna Fine (b. 1964), American erotic actress and dancer
• John Christopher Fine, American author, attorney, marine biologist, photojournalist
• John S. Fine
• Kit Fine
• Larry Fine (actor) (1902-1975), American
• Larry Fine (pianos), American technician and author
• Lou Fine
• Nathan Fine, mathematician
• Reuben Fine (1914-1993), American chess player
• Sidney Fine (historian)
• Sylvia Fine (1913-1991), American songwriter
• Tommy Fine (1914-2005), American baseball pitcher
• Vivian Fine
• Micheala is Fine

Fictional character[link]

• Fran Fine, title character of The Nanny

In the media[link]

• F.I.N.E.*, an Aerosmith song from their 1989 album Pump
• Fine (album), by Snailhouse
• "Fine" (song), by Whitney Houston
• FINE is an acronym used in The Italian Job (2003 film) which means "Freaked Out Insecure Neurotic & Emotional"

Other[link]

• Fine topology (see Comparison of topologies), in mathematics, a topology that recognizes more open sets (and thus admits more continuous functions)
• Fine, New York, a town in the United States
• FINE, the informal umbrella association of the four main Fair Trade networks (FLO, IFAT, NEWS, EFTA)
• FINE Brand, brand of hygienic paper products in Jordan
• Fine, point in a music transcription where its performance ends in accord with the position of a da capo al fine notation
• Fine, attribute of certain cricket fielding positions
• Fine (drink), French variety of brandy
• FINE (printing), Print head technology used in Canon printers. FINE means "Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering".

See also[link]

Look up fineness in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Fein (disambiguation), including its variations and derivatives in surnames
• Fiennes, prominent English family or French commune
• Fineness, purity of a precious metal
• Finings, wine-, beer-, and juice-clarifying agents

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.

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

Devendra Banhart
Banhart in 2007
Background information
Born	(1981-05-30) May 30, 1981 (age 31) Houston, Texas United States
Genres	Freak folk, Psych folk, Folk rock, New Weird America, Latin, lo-fi
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	2002–present
Labels	XL Young God hinah Reprise
Associated acts	Vetiver, Michael Gira, Megapuss, Beck, CocoRosie, Antony Hegarty, Little Joy, Joanna Newsom, Noah Georgeson , MGMT
Website	devendrabanhart.com

Devendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Banhart released his debut album in 2002, continuing to record his material on the Young God and XL labels, as well as other work on compilations and collaborations.

Early life and career[link]

Banhart was born May 30, 1981 in Houston, Texas to a Venezuelan mother and an American father.^[1] His given name is a synonym for Indra, the Hindu god of rain and thunder, which was suggested by Prem Rawat, an Indian religious leader whom Banhart's parents followed.^[2] Banhart's middle name Obi was modeled after the Star Wars character.^[3] Banhart's parents divorced two years after his birth and he moved with his mother to Caracas, Venezuela.^[4] His mother later remarried and Banhart's stepfather moved the family to Los Angeles, California,^[4] when Banhart was 14 years old.^[5]

In 1998, Banhart began studying at the San Francisco Art Institute on a scholarship^[4] while living in The Castro, San Francisco's gay neighborhood.^[6] He began to busk instead of attending classes and played his first show in a church at a gay wedding, performing Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" and the classic hymn "How Great Thou Art."^[5] Banhart dropped out of art school in 2000^[4] and left San Francisco after the dot-com bust worsened the city's economy.^[5] He moved to Paris, France, over the summer and opened shows for indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth.^[4] Banhart returned to the United States in the fall of 2000 and played music in San Francisco and Los Angeles, until he was discovered by Michael Gira, owner of Young God Records,^[4] after Siobhan Duffy, Gira's wife, bought a copy of Banhart's demo CD The Charles C. Leary and gave it to Gira.^[2]

Banhart and Gira compiled an album from Banhart's recordings,^[2] and in 2002, Oh Me Oh My, which was made up of short fragments,^[7] was published by Young God Records and received favorable reviews.^[8] He recorded two other albums and an EP for the label: Rejoicing in the Hands, Niño Rojo, and The Black Babies;^[8] the releases had a simple acoustic sound.^[6] Banhart changed to XL Recordings in 2005^[8] and released Cripple Crow, which was recorded in Bearsville Studios, New York and had a more elaborate sound.^[6] He recorded his second album for XL Records, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, at his home studio in Topanga, California.^[8] The album charted on the Billboard 200 at number 115.^[9] The album's song "Lover" was featured in the soundtrack of the movie Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which included a cameo appearance by Banhart.^[10]

Banhart performs at the 2009 Coachella Festival.

Banhart performs with the band Vetiver^[1] and has performed in Carnegie Hall^[11] and Hollywood Bowl opening for Gilberto Gil,^[12] as well as at Bonnaroo and Coachella music festivals.^[5] He founded a record label, Gnomonsong, with Andy Cabic of Vetiver, in 2005.^[1][13] In 2007, he signed with Neil Young's manager Elliot Roberts, who also contributed vocals to Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon.^[2][14] In 2008, Banhart released the album Surfing in a collaborative project with multi-instrumentalist Greg Rogove named Megapuss.^[15] In 2009, he signed to Warner/Reprise and plans to release a new album, What Will We Be.^[16] He has, at the band's request, produced a remix of Oasis' "(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady".^[17] Along with "Neighbors", Devendra remixed the Phoenix song "Rome" from their 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.^[18]

On September 4, 2009, Beck announced his second Record Club covers album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Banhart will contribute, alongside MGMT, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy.^[19]

He is a collector of music artifacts.^[5] Banhart wrote the foreword for and appears in his friend Lauren Dukoff's book Family: Photographs by Lauren Dukoff.^[20][21] He has also written the introduction to a selection of poems by Kenneth Patchen.

On October 27, 2009, Banhart released What Will We Be, his first record on Warner/Reprise. Banhart and Jon Beasley, who were credited as art directors for the album's artwork and packaging, were nominated for a Grammy in 2011 for Best Recording Package.^[22]

The film Life During Wartime, directed by Todd Solondz, features a musical collaboration between Banhart and Beck. The song plays over the film's end credits. Banhart sings lead vocals while Beck adds backing vocals and also recorded the track. The lyrics were written by Solondz and the music by composer Marc Shaiman.^[23]

Banhart is an avid skateboarder, and in March 2010 broke a bone in his right leg while skating, only hours before a concert in Phoenix, resulting in the cancelation of future shows in Utah and Colorado.

In 2011, he collaborated with Marisa Monte and Rodrigo Amarante on a version of the song "Nú Com a Minha Música" for the Red Hot Organization's most recent charitable album "Red Hot+Rio 2." The album is a follow-up to the 1996 "Red Hot + Rio." Proceeds from the sales will be donated to raise awareness and money to fight AIDS/HIV and related health and social issues.

In April 2012 Banhart took place in artist Doug Aitken's audiovisual project "Song 1" at the Hirshorn Museum in Washington D.C. Banhart joined Beck and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem in performing "I Only Have Eyes For You" for the project that uses eleven high-definition video projectors working in tandem to blanket the museum’s entire surface with a video of the performance.^[24]

Visual Art[link]

Drawings by Banhart were featured in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and in the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels.^[25][26]

Banhart's drawings have also been featured in the Art Basel Contemporary Art Fair in Miami, FL, the Mazzoli Gallery in Modena, Italy, Spain's ARCOmadrid. and the Andrew Roth Gallery gallery in New York.^[27]

Banhart's drawings were previously featured in MOCA's exhibit: "The Artist's Museum" which showcases the works of influential Los Angeles based artists from the last 30 years. As part of the exhibit Banhart collaborated with artist Doug Aitken and musicians Beck and Caetano Veloso for a musical and visual performance piece.

Style[link]

Banhart's music is often associated with the New Weird America genre, along with Vetiver and Joanna Newsom.^[28] The New York Times has called his songs "free associative work"^[7] and SPIN magazine has written that "Banhart's albums offer ashram-appropriate guitar strums, trippy-hippie tone poetry."^[29] Various publications have described his style as psych folk,^[30] avant-folk, freak folk,^[7] Lo-Fi, hipster folk revival,^[31] and alternative folk.^[8]

Many notable reviewers, including AllMusic, The Times, and Mojo, have pointed out similarities between Banhart's songs and production with that of the early 1970s band Tyrannosaurus Rex (an early version of Mark Bolan's T. Rex).^{[32][33][34][35][36]} In a May 2004 interview with Arthur magazine, Banhart claimed that he was unaware of the music of Tyrannosaurus Rex until after he began writing and recording songs.^[37] Devendra Banhart has played down Bolan's influence on his music, and instead prefers to credit Vashti Bunyan, Karen Dalton, Caetano Veloso, Simon Diaz, Fred Neil, Nico, Donovan, Six Organs of Admittance and certain albums such as David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name among his main influences.^{[34][35][37][38]}

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles and EPs[link]

• The Black Babies (2003)
• Sight To Behold/Be Kind (2004)
• Little Yellow Spider (2004)
• At The Hop (2004)
• I Feel Just Like A Child (2005)
• Heard Somebody Say (2005)
• Xiu Xiu/Devendra Banhart split 7-inch (2005)
• Carmensita (2007)
• Lover (2007)
• Baby (2009)
• Foolin' (2010)

Collaborations and compilations[link]

• The Golden Apples of the Sun (2004)
• Jana Hunter / Devendra Banhart (with Jana Hunter, 2005)
• Love Above All (2007)
• Xiu Xiu's Remixed & Covered (2007)
• Surfing (as Megapuss with Gregory Rogove, 2008)
• Lover
• Songs of Leonard Cohen – Beck's Record Club (2009)^[19]

Equipment[link]

• Aria classical (used on The Charles C. Leary and Oh Me Oh My)
• Gibson LG-3 (natural, with Martin Marquis light-gauged strings)
• Gibson Country & Western
• Gibson ES-355 Lucille (actually Michael Gira's, used during joint tour with the Angels of Light)
• Gibson ES-125 (sunburst)
• Gibson Les Paul Custom (cherryburst)
• Fender Stratocaster (sunburst, used with Megapuss)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Devendra Banhart

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Devendra Banhart

• "Devendra Banhart". Official website. http://devendrabanhart.com/. 
• "Devendra Banhart". XL Recordings. http://xlrecordings.com/devendrabanhart. 
• "Devendra Banhart". Young God Records. http://younggodrecords.com/Artists/?C=16. 
• "Devendra Banhart". hinah. http://www.hinah.com/catalog/?l=en&ref=hinah010. 
• Devendra Banhart at Allmusic
• Devendra Banhart on Myspace
• Devendra Banhart at the Internet Movie Database

Tiziano Ferro
Background information
Born	(1980-02-21) February 21, 1980 (age 32) Latina, Italy
Genres	pop, r&b, latin pop, soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	1997–present
Website	tizianoferro.com

Tiziano Ferro (born February 21, 1980 in Latina) is an Italian pop singer. He achieved fame in 2001 and during his career he has also sung in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

Biography[link]

Childhood and early beginnings[link]

Ferro's interest in music was born when he received a toy keyboard as a present, which was used to compose his first songs when he was seven.^[1] He later started taking guitar and piano classes at a local conservatory of music. When he was 16 years-old, he joined a gospel choir^[2] and during the same years, he started performing in piano bars and karaoke contests.^[3]

In 1997, Ferro participated in the "Accademia della Canzone di Sanremo", a music contest created with the purpose to choose the contestants of the Sanremo Music Festival, but was eliminated during the first stage of the competition. The following year, Ferro participated again in the same contest, and despite being chosen as one of the 12 finalists, he did not make it to win the competition.^[1] However, during the selections, Ferro met music producers Alberto Salerno and Mara Maionchi, and started to collaborate with them.^[1][3]

In 1999 Ferro also toured throughout Italy as a back vocalist with the Italian hip hop band Sottotono.^[4][5]

Career breakthrough[link]

In 2001, Ferro signed a contract with EMI Music Italy. On 22 June 2001, he released his first single, "Xdono".^[6][7] During the first months, the song received a poor reception, but it later became a hit and, after topping the Italian Singles Chart in September 2001,^[8] it was certified double platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for sales exceeding 100,000 copies.^[9]

The song was included in Ferro's debut album, Rosso relativo, released on 26 October 2001.^[10][11] Following the commercial success obtained in Italy, in 2002 the album was released in several European countries. A Spanish-language version of the record, titled Rojo relativo, was also released in Spain and Latin America.^[12] Rosso relativo obtained success in different markets and has sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide, according to EMI Music,^[13] allowing Ferro to receive a nomination for Best New Artist at the Latin Grammy Awards of 2003.^[14]

[edit] Second studio album, 111

In November 2003, Ferro released his second studio album, 111, recorded both in Italian and Spanish, produced by Alberto Salerno, Mara Maionchi and Michele Canova.^[15] The album was preceded by the release of "Perverso",^[16] and also spawned the singles "Sere nere" / "Tardes negras",^[17] "Non me lo so spiegare" / "No me lo puedo explicar"^[18] and "Ti voglio bene" / "Desde mañana no lo se".^[19] 111 has sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide,^[20] topping the Mexican Albums Chart^[21] and being certified four times platinum in Italy^[3] for domestic sales exceeding 450,000 copies.^[18] Following the success of the album Ferro won Best Italian Artist at the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome.^[22]

In July 2004, Ferro also released in Europe his first English-language single, "Universal Prayer", a duet with British R&B singer Jamelia recorded to promote the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.^[23]

[edit] Nessuno è solo / Nadie está solo, the third studio album

Ferro's third studio album, Nessuno è solo / Nadie está solo, was released in June 2006,^[24] following the lead single "Stop! Dimentica", which became a number-one hit in Italy and Austria.^[25] The album, described by music critics as more intimate and melancholic,^[26] obtained in Italy a success even bigger than his previous ones, reaching the Diamond certification for its domestic sales.^[27][28] The third single from the album, "Ti scatterò una foto", was also included in the soundtrack of the movie Ho voglia di te, directed by Luis Prieto and based on the book with the same title by Federico Moccia.^[29]

Nessuno è solo also features a duet with Italian pop singer-songwriter Biagio Antonacci,^[30] while the Spanish-language version of the album includes "Mi credo", a song recorded with Pepe Aguilar.^[31]

[edit] Alla mia età / A mi edad

In June 2008 Ferro co-wrote with Roberto Casalino the single "Non ti scordar mai di me" for X Factor's first edition's runner-up Giusy Ferreri.^[32] The song became a huge success in Italy, topping the Italian Singles Chart for 12 non-consecutive weeks.^[33] Ferro also produced Giusy Ferreri's debut album, Gaetana, containing 6 songs penned by him,^[34] including "L'amore e basta!", a duet between Ferro and Ferreri.^[35]

On 7 November 2008 Ferro released his fourth studio album, Alla mia età, preceded by the single with the same title.^[36] Alla mia età debuted at number one on the Italian Albums Chart^[37] and became the best-selling album of 2009 in Italy.^[38] The Spanish-language version of the album is title A mi edad.

In November 2009, Ferro released his first video album, Alla mia età - Live in Rome, recorded during his concerts at the Stadio Olimpico on 24 and 25 June 2009.^[39] A few months later, Ferro was chosen to record the Italian version of Mary J Blige's single "Each Tear", included in her album Stronger with Each Tear^[40] The song reached the spot in the Italian Singles Chart.^[41]

[edit] L'amore è una cosa semplice / El amor es una cosa sencilla

On 14 October 2011 Ferro released in Italy "La differenza tra me e te",^[42] the first single from his fifth studio album, titled L'amore è una cosa semplice and released on 28 November 2011 by EMI Music.^[43]

The album contains a duet with John Legend, "Karma".

Discography[link]

• Rosso relativo (2001)
• 111 Centoundici (2003)
• Nessuno è solo (2006)
• Alla mia età (2008)
• L'amore è una cosa semplice (2011)

Personal life[link]

On October 5, 2010, Ferro told the Italian magazine Vanity Fair that after a long period of denial, he finally accepted himself as gay.^[44][45]

Awards and nominations[link]

2002

• Italian Music Awards - Nomination for "Best Male Artist"^[46]
• Italian Music Awards - Nomination for "Best Album" for Rosso relativo^[46]
• Italian Music Awards - Nomination for "Best Single" for "Rosso relativo"^[46]
• Premio Italiano della Musica - "Revelation of the Year"^[47]
• Premio Italiano della Musica - Nomination for "Song of the Year" for "Xdono"^[48]
• Festival di San Marino - "Best Male Artist"^[49]
• Festival di San Marino - "Best Album" for Rosso relativo^[49]
• Festivalbar - "Revelation of the Year"^[50]

2003

• Latin Grammy Awards - Nomination for the "Best New Artist"^[14]
• NRJ Music Awards - Nomination for "International Male Artist of the Year"^[51]
• NRJ Music Awards - Nomination for "International Album of the Year" for Rosso relativo^[51]

2004

• MTV Europe Music Awards - "Best Italian Act"^[22]
• Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica - Nomination for "Best Solo Artist"^[52]
• Premios Oye! - "Latin Pop Male"^[53][54]

2005

• Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica - Nomination for "Best Male Artist"^[55]
• Billboard Latin Music Awards - "Latin Pop Airplay Track Of The Year, New Artist" for "Alucinado"^[56]

2006

• Europe Music Awards - Nomination for "Best Italian Act"^[57]
• Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica - Nomination for "Best Solo Artist"^[58]

2009

• Europe Music Awards - Nomination for "Best Italian Act"^[59]

2010

• World Music Awards - "Italian Best-Selling Male Artist of the Year 2009"^[60][61]

References[link]