Look up direct in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Direct may refer to:

• Direct current, a direct flow of electricity
• Direct examination, the in-trial questioning of a witness by the party who has called him or her to testify
• Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces
• Direct (Vangelis album), 1988 album by Vangelis
• Direct (EP), a 2002 EP by The 77s
• Direct (Tower of Power album), 1981
• DirectX, a proprietary dynamic media platform
• Mars Direct, a proposal for a manned mission to Mars
• DIRECT, a proposed space shuttle-derived launch vehicle

Computing[link]

• Direct access (disambiguation), a method of accessing data in a database
• Direct connect (disambiguation), various methods of telecommunications and computer networking
• Direct memory access, access to memory by hardware subsystems independently of the CPU

Mathematics[link]

• Directed set, in order theory
• Direct limit of (pre), sheaves

See also[link]

• Direction (disambiguation)
• Director (disambiguation)
• Indirect (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "Direct"
• All pages with titles containing "Direct"

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.

Florin Stoian (born 1979, Bucharest), better known under the stage name of Florin Salam and (previously) Florin Fermecătoru, is a Gypsy singer of manele from Romania. He is one of the best known and appreciated manele performers.

Stoian has been singing since he was a child; his first contact with music took place at age of four. His father and uncle were well-known lăutari. He debuted in 2002 with help from bandleader Dan Bursuc. His first hit single was "Ce gagică şmecherită" (Romanian: "Such a picky chick"). He played an important part when the smash hit "Of, viaţa mea" (Romanian: "Oh, my life") was released in 2000, sung by Adrian Minune and Costi Ioniţă. In 2002 Florin Stoian changed his stage name from Fermecătoru (Romanian: "The Glamorous") to Salam (Arabian: "peace", cf. Hebrew "shalom", and Romanian: "salami" ).

In 2008 he performed a song together with pop singer Paula Seling and the Bucharest Symphonic Orchestra. The show host described their performance as a reconciliation between manele and mainstream pop music; in the same respect, the song's lyrics raised the problem of ethnic intolerance.

Florin Stoian is the vice-president of Asociaţia Artiştilor, Muzicanţilor şi Lăutarilor Romi din România (Romanian: "The association of Romani artists, musicians and lăutari from Romania".) In December 2005 he was announced the best manele performer of the year. According to the daily paper Libertatea, politician Mădălin Voicu and footballer Marius Niculae count among his fans.

Florin's parents are Maria and Robert Stoian. In September 2007 he married Ştefania Victoria, his first wife according to the Romani law; the best man was manele singer Adrian Minune. The wedding took place in the Anatolia Resort (Turkey.) The couple gave birth to two children. On April 12, 2009, Ştefania (aged 27) died from hepatic cirrhosis.

References[link]

• Florin Salam at starmania.ro
• Florin Salam Bio
• Salam Fermecatorul at libertatea.ro

Brandon Flowers
Background information
Birth name	Brandon Richard Flowers
Born	(1981-06-21) June 21, 1981 (age 31)
Origin	Henderson, Nevada, United States
Genres	Indie rock, Alternative rock, Heartland rock, Post-punk revival
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, piano, bass, guitar
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Island, Vertigo, Marrakesh
Associated acts	The Killers
Website	brandonflowersmusic.com
Notable instruments
microKORG XL Nord Lead 2 Fender Jazz Bass

Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, best known as the frontman of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. He has also released a solo album titled Flamingo.

Early life[link]

Flowers, the youngest of six children, was born on June 21, 1981, in Henderson, Nevada, to Terry Flowers and Jean Flowers (née Barlow).^[1] His older siblings are his brother Shane and four sisters April, Shelly, Amy and Stephanie.^[1] His family lived in Henderson until Flowers was eight, when they moved to Payson, Utah, for two years before moving to Nephi, Utah, at which time he was in the 6th grade.^[2] Flowers lived in Nephi until his junior year at Juab High School. He moved to Las Vegas to live with his aunt and graduated from Chaparral High School in 1999.^[2][3][4]

Career[link]

The Killers (2001–present)[link]

Brandon Flowers responded to an ad that Dave Keuning had placed in the paper in late 2001 whereupon they became The Killers. After several short-lived bassists and drummers, Flowers and Keuning were joined by bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci and the line up became official in August 2002.^[4]

On July 4, 2010, The Killers were invited to headline the "Salute to the Military" USO Concert at the White House by President Obama. They performed 'God Bless America' and favorites from their catalogue.^[5]

Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright wrote a song about Flowers called "Tulsa" for his fifth album Release the Stars. Wainwright has stated in numerous interviews that it was inspired by their first meeting in a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Wainwright, Flowers was "very flattered and somewhat bashful" about this tribute.^[6]

Flowers has performed with Coldplay, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Pet Shop Boys, Lady Gaga, Fran Healy (of Travis), Andy Summers (of The Police), New Order, Bright Eyes, amongst others. Sir Elton John has listed Flowers as one of his top-five heroes while editing The Independent's World Aids Day special edition.^[7][8]

Flamingo (2010)[link]

Flamingo was released September 6 in the UK and Ireland and September 14 in the US and Canada.^[9] The first single from Flamingo, "Crossfire", was released on June 21 (Flowers' birthday). The video for "Crossfire" was released on July 8 and includes Charlize Theron. As of November 2011, the video has more than 10 million views on YouTube. The album made the Top 10 Albums of 2010 list on UpVenue.com.^[10]

Flamingo charted in the UK on September 12, 2010 at Number 1. It is Flowers' fourth consecutive album to reach No. 1 on the UK charts, including work by The Killers.

SPIN named Brandon Flowers one of "The 15 Best Shows of the Summer" in 2010 for his show at the Shimmer Showroom in Las Vegas.^[11] SPIN also listed him as one of "The 25 Best Fall Tours"/"Must-See Fall Tours".^[12] While on tour Flowers has had special guests including Stuart Price, Andy Summers, and Fran Healy.

Personal life[link]

Flowers married Tana Brooke Mundkowsky on August 2, 2005 on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii.^[13][14] They have three sons, Ammon (named after a Book of Mormon missionary), born July 14, 2007;^[15] Gunnar, born July 28, 2009; and Henry, born March 9, 2011.^[16]

Flowers's mother, Jean Flowers, died on February 11, 2010, after a two-year battle with brain cancer. She was 64.^[17]

Flowers is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[2][3][4] He is featured on the church's website.^[18]

Awards[link]

Flowers won NME Awards in 2005 for "Best Dressed" (also nominated in 2006, 2007, & 2009) and "Sexiest Man" as well as an award for "Most Stylish" in 2011.^[19] He won the award for "Most Stylish Man" at the 2008 GQ awards. He was also listed as one of "The 50 Most Stylish Musicians of the Last 50 Years" by Esquire in 2011.^[20] He was also interviewed by Q Magazine on behalf of The Killers as one of the "Artists of the Century" (November 2009 issue), a second cover photo that year.

In 2012, Flowers was named the #6 Greatest Frontman of All Time by Xfm. ^[21]

He was nominated for Q Awards 'Best Male Artist' in 2010.^[22] He was also nominated for "Best Video" ("Crossfire") at the Shockwaves NME 2011 Awards.^[23]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Tours[link]

• Flamingo Road Tour (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Brandon Flowers

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brandon Flowers

• Brandon Flowers Official site, from Island Records
• Brandon Flowers Official facebook page
• Brandon Flowers (Fansite)
• Brandon Flowers.com.br (Fansite)
• Brandon Flowers at the Internet Movie Database