Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado /ˌfɜːrˈtɑːdoʊ/, ComIH (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold 20 million albums worldwide and more than 20 million singles, bringing her total sales to over 40 million records around the world. Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, which spawned two successful singles, "I'm Like a Bird" and "Turn Off the Light". "I'm Like A Bird" won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2003, Furtado released Folklore, which produced three international singles: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Try", and "Força".

Three years later, she released Loose, a worldwide commercial success with 10 million copies sold. The album spawned two number-one hits: "Promiscuous" and "Say It Right." After a three-year break, she released her first full-length Spanish album, Mi Plan, and Furtado received a Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. In 2012, Furtado's fourth English-language studio album, The Spirit Indestructible, was released.

Steel Panther

Steel Panther is an American comedy-glam hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personae that parody the stereotypical "glam metal" lifestyle in the 1980s.

History

Metal Skool (2000–2007)

The quartet began to gain popularity in the Sunset Strip during the early 2000s under the name Metal Shop (soon changed into Metal Skool, then into Steel Panther). Their lineup consists of vocalist Ralph Saenz ("Michael Starr"), drummer Darren Leader ("Stix Zadinia"), bassist Travis Haley ("Lexxi Foxx"), and guitarist Russ Parrish ("Satchel"). The band did weekly shows on Monday nights at the Viper Room, and subsequently the Key Club, playing covers of 1980s hair metal hits while parodying the bands that made the songs famous. Despite the name changes, and some members putting in time in a Van Halen tribute band, they finally managed to gain some success. In 2003 Steel Panther published Hole Patrol, their self-produced debut. The band appeared in a Discover Card advertisement as Danger Kitty and in the sitcom Drew Carey Show as themselves. Also in 2003, their song "Death to All But Metal" was included in a compilation CD called Hey, That's What I Call Sludge! Vol. 1 put out by the Metal Sludge web site. Their cover of the song "Fantasy" by Aldo Nova was used as the opening musical theme for the MTV program Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. On November 27, 2007 Metal Skool played original songs as well as covers of KISS songs at the Gene Simmons roast, they can be seen in the background of Gene Simmons' reality show Gene Simmons Family Jewels. That year, they also appeared as themselves on Las Vegas in the episode "The High Price of Gas".

Kanye West

Kanye Omari West (/ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American recording artist, record producer, fashion designer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label GOOD Music and creative content company DONDA. West is one of the most acclaimed musicians of the 21st century. He has attracted both praise and criticism for his work and his controversial, outspoken public persona.

Raised in Chicago, West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing hit singles for musical artists such as Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, before pursing a solo career as a rapper. In 2004, he released his debut album The College Dropout, to widespread commercial and critical success, and founded record label and management company GOOD Music. He went on to explore a variety of different musical styles on subsequent albums that included the baroque-inspired Late Registration (2005), the electronic-tinged Graduation (2007), and the starkly polarizing 808s & Heartbreak (2008). In 2010, he released his critically acclaimed fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He collaborated with Jay-Z on Watch the Throne (2011), and released his sixth album, Yeezus, to further critical praise in 2013. Following a series of recording delays and work on non-musical projects, West's seventh album, The Life of Pablo, was released in 2016.

Kid Cudi

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), better known by his stage name Kid Cudi (/ˈkɪd ˈkʌdi/ KID KUD-ee, often stylized KiD CuDi), is an American recording artist and actor from Cleveland, Ohio. Cudi first gained major recognition following the release of his first official full-length project, a mixtape titled A Kid Named Cudi (2008). The mixtape caught the attention of American rapper-producer Kanye West, who subsequently signed Cudi to his GOOD Music label imprint in late 2008. Cudi has since gone on to launch his own record label imprints, the now-dissolved Dream On and current independent label, Wicked Awesome Records. Initially a rapper, Cudi has since added singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist, music video director and film composer, to his repertoire.

As of 2015, Cudi has released five studio albums as a solo artist. In 2008, his debut single "Day 'n' Nite", led him to prominence, reaching the top five of the Billboard charts. Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2010, he released Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, which was preceded by "Erase Me" and "Mr. Rager". Later in 2010, Cudi formed a rock band, now known as WZRD, with his long-time collaborator Dot da Genius, releasing one eponymous debut album, in early 2012. The album debuted at number one on the Top Rock Albums chart. In April 2013, Cudi released Indicud, which became his highest-charting album on multiple charts. In February 2014, Cudi unexpectedly released his fourth album, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon, exclusively to digital retailers with no promotion.

Willie Nelson

Willie Hugh Nelson (/wɪli nɛlsən/; born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger (1975) and Stardust (1978), made Nelson one of the most recognized artists in country music. He was one of the main figures of outlaw country, a subgenre of country music that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restrictions of the Nashville sound. Nelson has acted in over 30 films, co-authored several books, and has been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalization of marijuana.