Look up remedy or remediation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Remedy, Remedies, The Remedy or Remediation may refer to:

People[link]

• Remedy, Ross Filler, a member of the Wu-Tang Clan

Organizations[link]

• Remedy Corp, an American software company
• Remedy Entertainment, a Finnish computer game developer
• Remedy UK, a pressure (lobby) group representing junior doctors
• Remedy Records (UK), a record label
• Remedy Records (U.S.), a record label
• Remedy Records (Germany), a heavy metal label whose roster has included Soul Demise
• Remedy IT, a Dutch software development company specialized in middleware

Science, technology, and computers[link]

• Action Request System, or Remedy Action Request System, a software application development environment used for service management
• Environmental remediation, the removal of pollution or contaminants from the environment

Medicine[link]

• Cure, a medical treatment that ends an illness or condition
• Home remedy, a treatment that employs common items from the home
• Panacea (medicine), a medical cure-all or, metaphorically, a solution to all problems
• Pharmaceutical drug, any chemical substance intended for use in medical treatment
• Therapy, the attempted remediation of a health problem

Law, politics, and society[link]

• Education The act or process of correcting a fault or resolving a deficiency: i.e. - remediation of a learning disability.
• Legal remedy, an action by a court of law to impose its will
• Remediation (Marxist theory), a theory of media proposed by Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin

Television, film, and music[link]

• Remedy (film), a 2005 American crime drama
• Remedy (2009 film), a film featuring Eugene Lee

Albums[link]

• Remedy (Basement Jaxx album)
• Remedy (David Crowder Band album)
• Remedy (The Red One), an album by Remedy Drive
• Remedy: A Live Album, an album by Remedy Drive
• The Remedy (Boyz II Men album)
• The Remedy (Jagged Edge album)
• The Remedy (Kurt Rosenwinkel album)
• The Remedy, an unreleased album by Rell
• Remedies (The Herbaliser album)
• Remedies (Dr. John album)

Songs[link]

• "Remedy" (Professor Green song)
• "Remedy" (The Black Crowes song)
• "Remedy" (Little Boots song)
• "Remedy" (Seether song)
• "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)", a song by Jason Mraz
• "Remedy," a song by Cold from Year of the Spider
• "The Remedy," a song by Abandoned Pools from Humanistic
• "Remedy", a song by The Band from their album High on the Hog

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.

Professor Green
Green in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Stephen Paul Manderson
Born	27 November 1983 (1983-11-27) (age 28) Hackney, East London, England
Genres	Grime, Hip hop, Rap
Occupations	Rapper
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2004–present
Labels	The Beats (2006–08) Virgin (2010–present)
Associated acts	Orelsan, Plan B, Ed Drewett, Lily Allen,Maverick Sabre, Example, The Streets, Game, Labrinth, Emeli Sandé, Johnny Truant, Adam Deacon, Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, Devlin, Giggs, Chipmunk, The Saturdays, Fink, The ThundaCatz, Luciana
Website	professorgreen.co.uk

Stephen Paul Manderson (born on 27 November 1983), better known by his stage name Professor Green, is an English rapper. He was signed to The Beats, a record label run by Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem, until 12 February 2008, when the label terminated. He rose to success upon winning the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in July 2008. Following this in 2009, Manderson worked with Lily Allen on her 2009 concert tour.

In 2006 he released his first mixtape, Lecture #1. After his first record label, The Beats, went under he produced on his own an EP called The Green EP. After he toured with Lily Allen he was signed to Virgin Records and released "I Need You Tonight", based around INXS's "Need You Tonight" through the label.^[1] He also joined up with Lily Allen in "Just Be Good To Green" which is based around The SOS Band's "Just Be Good to Me".

Green released his debut album, Alive Till I'm Dead, on 19 July 2010, which features guest vocals from Lily Allen, Emeli Sandé, Fink, Labrinth and Example, as well as The Streets, who used to own The Beats.

Early and personal life[link]

Manderson was born in Hackney, East London on 27 November 1983.^[2] and was raised by his grandmother, Patricia, from the age of one on the Northwold Estate. His father, Peter, committed suicide in 2008 in Brentwood, Essex. Green has stated previously he feels his father's death has made him a better person, saying: "I'd had a turbulent relationship with my dad. He was always in and out of my life and I was raised by my grandmother Patricia. Mum, who had me at 16, was there for the most part but my grandmother was the most influential. I last saw my dad alive on my 18th birthday. He came over to see me but after that we just stopped talking. There was no real reason. He hanged himself and I had to go and identify the body in the morgue." Manderson also talked about his father's death in the song "Goodnight" from the album "Alive Till I'm Dead" and about the problems with his family in "Read All About It" from the album "At Your Inconvenience".

Manderson said he "fell in to rapping accidentally" as he was at a party at a friend's house, where everyone was freestyling, and he got put on the spot and he said it worked for him. Then, on seeing a flyer for a freestyle night called LyricPad, he decided to go. Despite having no experience freestyling, he won. After going to LyricPad again the next month, a scout from JumpOff spotted him. From there he battled and won every week, eventually becoming Champion. As of June 2011, he remains the only MC to win seven times in a row, a feat he accomplished twice. At JumpOff, Mike Skinner from The Streets saw and signed Manderson up to his record label, The Beats, although Manderson is never very complimentary when asked about his experiences there. Manderson gained the alias of 'Professor Green', the 'Green' part derives from the slang of cannabis, and he continued to sell cannabis until he was signed to The Beats. He gained the name Professor as he was very intelligent, although dropping out of school; despite having been offered a place at St. Paul's School in Barnes, he decided instead to go to a comprehensive in Tottenham.^[3]

On 23 May 2009 Manderson was attacked with the neck of a broken bottle in the Cargo nightclub in Shoreditch, East London. Ironically, the wound overlapped his tattoo of the word 'Lucky' located on the left of his neck. His assailant was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to eight years in prison.^[4]

It emerged in December 2011 that Manderson is dating Made in Chelsea's Millie Mackintosh.^[5]

Career history[link]

[edit] 2010–11: Alive Till I'm Dead

He confirmed his debut album's title was "Alive Till I'm Dead" on his official MySpace. The first single off the album was produced by The ThundaCatz and called "I Need You Tonight", which was released on 12 April 2010. It samples the 1987 hit from INXS 'Need You Tonight'. It peaked at #3 in the UK, and #15 in Ireland. The single was also certificated silver status in the United Kingdom.

He released his second single 'Just Be Good to Green', on 11 July 2010 in the UK. The single features British singer Lily Allen. It became a top 5 hit in the UK, a top 20 hit in Ireland and on the European Hot 100 Singles. It also peaked at #32 in New Zealand and #49 in Australia. The song samples 'Just Be Good To Me' by the SOS Band.

His album was released a week later, and peaked at #2 in the UK and #18 in Ireland. He released 'Monster' as the third single from the album. The track features UK rapper Example (Elliot Gleave). Released on 3 October 2010 the single became a top 30 hit on the UK Singles Chart. His album has been certificated Gold with sales of over 100,000 in the United Kingdom.

On 10 September 2010, Professor Green joined Lily Allen on stage at Wembley Stadium whilst supporting Muse, to perform her number one hit 'Smile', and 'Just Be Good To Green'.^[6]

On 19 October 2010 Manderson released the video for his next single 'Jungle' which features Maverick Sabre. It was released on 3 January 2011 and reached #33 in the UK Singles Chart.

On 8 December 2010, a feud erupted on social networking site Twitter between Green and fellow grime artist Wiley. The argument arose when Wiley said that Green would not exist if it were not for the success of American rapper Eminem, adding that he himself was a superior artist to Green. In retribution Green responded by saying '"I will always be a fan, but that's not to say I won't s**t all over you. It's not a problem for me." This then escalated into a larger argument before Green attempted to defuse the situation, to little avail.^[7]

Green appeared on Soccer AM where he was challenged to a rap battle by Tubes, after several starting spits, Green said "I'm the Professor, the one that you don't wanna test, Tubes is about as smart as the Soccerette". This got a big reaction from everyone in the studio.

Green is also UK Ambassador for SportLifestyle brand Puma, focusing on the fashion and lifestyle side of the brand.

[edit] 2011–2012: At Your Inconvenience

Professor Green's second album is titled At Your Inconvenience and was released on 31 October 2011.^[8] The title track "At Your Inconvenience" was played by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on 13 July 2011.^[9] That track was released as a promotional single only. The first official single "Read All About It" which features vocals from Emeli Sandé was released on 23 October 2011.On 30 October it reached number 1.^[10]. The second single from the album is set to be 'Never Be A Right Time' which has guest vocals from Ed Drewett. The third single released is 'Remedy' featuring Ruth-Anne Cunningham.

[edit] 2012–present: New Album

Professor Green has stated via Twitter he is already recording his third solo album. He has expressed interest to work with Lily Allen, Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sande once more, as well as Lana Del Rey exclusively being asked and agreeing to work on the album with Green. Possible producers so far for the album, includes Mike Skinner, Paul Wilson of Slipknot, Ishi, Pharrell Williams and Skrillex.^[11][12][13]

Discography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

• BT Digital Music Awards 2010
  • Breakthrough Artist of the Year – Won
  • Best Newcomer – Nominated
• MTV Europe Music Awards 2010
  • Best Push Act
• MOBO Awards 2010
  • Best Newcomer – Nominated
  • Best Song - I Need You Tonight - Nominated
  • Best Hip Hop/Grime Act - Won
• MP3 Awards 2010
  • Radio/ Charts/ Downloads - Just Be Good To Green – Nominated
• Urban Music Awards 2010
  • Best Newcomer – Nominated
  • Best Hip-Hop Act – Nominated
  • Best Song - I Need You Tonight – Nominated
• NME Awards 2011
  • Best Dancefloor Filler - Jungle – Won

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Professor Green on Myspace

Little Boots
Little Boots in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Victoria Christina Hesketh
Born	(1984-05-04) 4 May 1984 (age 28) Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Genres	Electropop, synthpop, nu-disco
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, Tenori-on, Stylophone
Years active	2005–present
Labels	IAMSOUND, 679, Atlantic, Elektra
Website	littlebootsmusic.co.uk

Victoria Christina Hesketh (born 4 May 1984),^[1] better known by her stage name Little Boots, is an English electropop singer-songwriter.^[2] Her stage name comes from a nickname given to her by a friend, a reference to her unusually small feet. As a musician, Boots sings and plays the piano, keyboards, synthesizer, Stylophone and a Japanese electronic instrument called Tenori-on.^[3][4] After a return to college to focus on her studies, Hesketh along with two of her fellow students formed the electropunk band Dead Disco. The band had limited releases of their four singles but due to increasingly different ideas about the band's musical direction Hesketh left to pursue a solo career.^[5] Hesketh has cited as influences The Human League, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears and Jean Michel Jarre.^[6]

Hesketh began writing her own songs and posting covers on social networking sites such as YouTube and Myspace. After appearing on several shows including Later... with Jools Holland and Last Call with Carson Daly, Hesketh entered production on her debut album Hands. With increasing media attention regarding her then-yet-to-be-released debut album, Hesketh topped the BBC Sound of 2009 poll and received a Critics' Choice nomination at the 2009 BRIT Awards.^[7] With the release of her debut, she was linked to a recent wave of breakthrough female artists in their twenties playing 1980s-influenced music, including Lady Gaga, Ladyhawke, Florence and the Machine and Elly Jackson of La Roux.^[8]

Her debut album, Hands, released on 8 June 2009, peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and at number twenty on the Irish Albums Chart. The first single off the album "New in Town" became a top twenty hit,^[9] while the next single "Remedy", produced by RedOne,^[10] reached the top ten. She has also released the EP Illuminations in the United States.^[11] Her second album is scheduled to be released in sometime during 2012.^[12]

Biography[link]

1984–2005: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Hesketh was born in Blackpool, Lancashire to English parents;^[13] her father has a car sales business and her mother is a writer. The eldest sibling with three brothers,^[1] she was raised in the area of Thornton, between Blackpool and Fleetwood, Lancashire.^[13]

From the age of five Hesketh played the piano and began lessons at six,^[14] later taking lessons from Arthur Lingings and eventually winning a music scholarship. During this time she was taught how to play the flute, was a member of the school choir and travelled regularly to Manchester to take lessons on her harp. Trained initially in classical singing by Janet Wunderley, by the age of thirteen Hesketh was writing her own songs.^[14]

Hesketh attended the Rossall School in Fleetwood,^[15] and then Blackpool Sixth Form College;^[16] it was around this time that she entered the ITV talent competition search Pop Idol aged sixteen. Reaching the third round, she was eliminated by the producers of the show and did not reach the panel of judges.^[17] She stated, "It gave me a thicker skin and it made me realise that it wasn't a short cut to getting where I wanted to be."^[18]

After singing with the Lancashire Youth Jazz Orchestra and performing with a jazz trio for some time Hesketh decided to prioritise her education and studied cultural studies at the University of Leeds, attaining a first-class honours degree.^[19] She subsidised her course by playing "awful, schmoozy lounge versions of Norah Jones songs" in hotels around the north-west. "It paid me loads of money, but it's not what I wanted to be doing" she said.^[20] It was during her time at Leeds University that Hesketh, along with two of her fellow students, formed the all girl band Dead Disco, Hesketh herself eventually becoming the lead singer.^[20]

2005–08: Dead Disco[link]

Dead Disco at the Leeds Festival in 2006

While studying at the University of Leeds, Hesketh answered an online advertisement posted by Lucy Catherwood and Marie France looking for a lead singer in order to start a band.^[21] Sharing an interest and love of The Killers, Ladytron, The Rapture and Siouxsie & the Banshees, they formed the electropunk band Dead Disco in August 2005,^[22] The band got their name through randomly picking words from a hat.^[23] With Dead Disco, Hesketh sang lead vocals and played synth, while Catherwood and Franceon played guitar and bass, respectively.^[24]

With only a few songs written, Dead Disco began playing gigs around the north of England; their live gig in the headline slot at the "In the City" event in Manchester gained them enough recognition to get a recording stint with James Ford. Working with Ford in his London attic studio, the band issued a limited release of their debut single "The Treatment" in April 2006 on the record label High Voltage.^[21] Their second release "City Place" was a digital-only release through Playlouder Records.

With the success of several sell out gigs and an appearance at the Leeds Festival, the band moved to Los Angeles to begin recording their debut album with Greg Kurstin. However, it was around this time that Hesketh herself began to write songs not in keeping with the band's "indie" style. Choosing a new musical direction, Hesketh left Dead Disco; they officially revealed their disbandment on their Myspace blog in December 2008.^[25] In an interview with The Times, Hesketh spoke about her gradual shift away from the band: "All the time I'd been hiding my own songs and finally I had to make the sort of music I actually wanted to listen to. [...] Before I used to always think, 'What would a jazz performer do?' or 'What would the band do?'—Now it's so easy because it's 'What would I do?' It's just me."^[26] In a later interview Hesketh noted that the bands' label was pressuring the group to have a certain style and that her fellow band mates lost confidence in her because she wanted to write "cheesy" songs.^[27]

[edit] 2008–10: Mainstream success, Hands and Illuminations

Little Boots performing at the Arvika Festival in 2009

With her departure from Dead Disco in August 2007, Hesketh decided to begin a new solo career in pop. She returned to her parents' house to begin recording various covers of pop songs by artists which included Girls Aloud, Kate Bush, MGMT, Hot Chip, Madonna, Blur, Estelle, Alphabeat, Wham! and Miley Cyrus and posted them on social networking websites YouTube and Myspace. Within a year she had narrowed down a list of her songs to create an album and by getting in touch with Greg Kurstin,^[28] with whom she had previously worked with Dead Disco, Hesketh started production on her debut album Hands. In early 2008 she began using the stage name Little Boots. Hands was recorded in Los Angeles with Greg Kurstin and Joe Goddard,^[29][30] and by January 2009 she had begun to compile the album's track listings. During this period Boots topped the BBC Sound of 2009 poll ahead of the likes of White Lies, Florence and the Machine and Empire of the Sun, leading to surge of media attention regarding her then-yet-to-be-released album.^[31]

Hands was released on 8 June 2009. A limited edition 12-inch vinyl of the album was also released on 10 June, which was limited to 1000 copies. The album peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and has produced the top twenty hit "New in Town" and top ten hit "Remedy". The album also did well in Europe and Japan.^[32]

Critical response to the album was generally favourable, generating a score of 70 on Metacritic.^[33] In a review for musicOMH, Michael Cragg called it "a well-crafted, glorious pop record."^[34] ClashMusic.com reviewer Joe Zadeh disagreed, writing that the album "falls victim to attempts to reach beyond more boundaries than necessary, and thus ironically loses the concentration of the more earnest listener."^[35] David Renshaw of Gigwise.com described Hands as "a big pop album" that "rival[s] Lady Gaga, Girls Aloud or Lily Allen."^[36] Ben Thompson of The Guardian wrote that the album's production was "diverse" and called the song "Symmetry", a duet with Philip Oakey, a "joyous cross-generational head-to-head."^[37] NME reviewer Emily Mackay wrote that "Little Boots gives us an inspiring story of self-realization" and called the album "brilliant."^[38] Pete Paphides of The Times named "Stuck on Repeat" the album's "best moment" due to its "exquisite vulnerability."^[39] Boots was also nominated for Critics' Choice at the 2009 BRIT Awards.^[7] She was included on Esquire magazine's list of sixty "Brilliant Brits 2009",^[40] and was named a 2009 artist to watch by American magazine Rolling Stone.^[6]

Boots collaborated with illustrator and artist Chrissie Abbott for the artwork of the album.^[41] The artwork for the album has been compared to Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon because of its geometric design and fairytale imagery.^[42] The album was released in the United States on 2 March 2010,^[43] debuting at number seven in the Top Heatseekers chart.^[44]

Little Boots at Studio B in 2009

On 9 June 2009, Boots released an EP entitled Illuminations in the United States and Canada. It includes "Stuck on Repeat", "New in Town", "Magical", "Love Kills" (a cover of Freddie Mercury's 1984 song) and "Not Now" (which is only available on the US edition).^[11][45] Designed to help relaunch Elektra Records, the EP peaked at number fourteen on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart on 27 June 2009.^[46]

2010–present: New material and second album[link]

In an interview with music website Artistdirect on 1 March 2010, Boots stated that her second album would be "rawer and a bit more down-to-earth. It'll still be magical, but quite dark and spooky at the same time." She added that she has drawn inspiration from the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.^[47] On 1 May 2011, she performed at China Music Valley Music Festival in Beijing, during which she performed a new song called "Crescendo".

In late September 2011, Boots performed several old and new songs acoustically at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles.^[48] One month later, on 24 October 2011, she released a mixtape called Shake Until Your Heart Breaks and announced that she would embark on an international DJ tour to promote her new material.^[49] She would later release the song "Shake" digitally and on a limited edition vinyl on 13 November 2011.^[12][50] Boots collaborated with English electronic producer Michael Woods on the song "I Wish", which premiered during Woods's set on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix on 10 December 2011.^[51]

Boots unveiled her third new mixtape, Into the Future, on 9 March 2012 via her official SoundCloud page. The mix includes re-workings of Azari & III's "Reckless with Your Love", Kylie Minogue's "Slow" and the title track a Tensnake remix of "Every Night I Say a Prayer" which she wrote with Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair.^[52] On 22 April 2012, "Every Night I Say a Prayer" was released as a free digital download and on limited 12" vinyl on 679 and Trax Records to coincide with Record Store Day.^[53] She supported the launch with a short live set at Rough Trade East in London on 21 April.^[54][55]

Touring and performances[link]

2009[link]

Little Boots' first televised appearance was on Later... with Jools Holland on 7 November 2008. She was invited to perform on the show after posting songs on MySpace.^[56] On 4 March 2009, Little Boots appeared on late night television show Last Call with Carson Daly in the United States where she was interviewed by Daly and several clips from a Los Angeles nightclub performance were shown.^[57] Little Boots performed "Stuck on Repeat" using the Tenori-on on the 11 May 2009 edition of BBC Breakfast.^[58] She returned to Later... with Jools Holland on 15 May 2009, becoming the only artist to perform on the show twice prior to having an album released.^[56] This was followed by an appearance on the BBC Radio 4 programme Woman's Hour on 27 May 2009.^[59] Also in 2009, the song "Meddle" was featured in an advertisement for Victoria's Secret.^[60] On 5 June 2009, she appeared on Bebo music show Beat, performing "New in Town" live in the studio.^[61]

On 3 July 2009 Little Boots closed out Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.^[62] A week later, she performed at Oxegen 2009 on the Hot Press New Bands Stage, her first performance in Ireland.^[63] The following weekend she performed at T4 on the Beach 2009 on both the T4 and 4Music Stages.^[64]

Little Boots performed "Remedy" and a cover version of JLS' "Beat Again" as part of the Live Lounge segment of BBC Radio 1's The Jo Whiley Show on 19 August 2009.^[65] Later in the month, Little Boots performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals on the Radio 1/NME Stage.^[66] Between those appearances, she also performed at Manchester Pride 2009, an LBGT pride event.^[67] In September 2009 she was scheduled to embark on a five-city North American tour to support the Illuminations EP.^[11] The following month she performed on the main stage at the Bestival 2009 in Downend, Isle of Wight.^[68]

Little Boots went on a five-city sold-out US tour in the autumn of 2009 in support of Illuminations.^[43] On 26 October 2009 Little Boots performed as the main act at 53 Degrees in Preston, Lancashire.^[69] Along with this, Little Boots revisited the Blackpool Sixth Form College to film a 360 Session for Channel 4. The college's media studies, music technology and college magazine all got to work with her and Sixth Sense, the college magazine, managed to get their second exclusive interview with Little Boots, which was published in January 2010.^[16] On 7 December Little Boots dueted with Gary Numan on the 6 Music Live Combos show, broadcast on 11 December.^[70]

2010[link]

Little Boots performing in Seattle in 2010

On 2 March 2010 Little Boots was scheduled to embark on a thirteen-date North American tour to coincide with the release of Hands there.^[43] She toured without her laser harp because she was not a certified laser operator (which is a legal requirement in the US for certain laser appliances) and therefore she was not allowed to travel with the instrument.^[71] However, on 17 March, seven of the planned concerts were cancelled; Little Boots cited this was due to "unforeseen circumstances and commitments in the UK".^[72]

The following month, Little Boots performed a set in the Gobi Tent at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. She told the audience that much of her crew and costumes had been stranded in the UK due to the Icelandic volcano—which had forced some UK artists, such as Gary Numan and Bad Lieutenant, to cancel their Coachella engagements entirely—and that aspects of her set had to be improvised at the last minute.^[73] Two months later, Little Boots performed on the NewNowNext Awards show on the United State LBGT cable channel Logo.^[74]

Other pursuits and appearances[link]

Little Boots in 2008

Many of Boots' songs have been used on television and film. "New in Town" has appeared numerous times, including in the 2009 American horror film Jennifer's Body^[75] "Remedy" was used in the Dollhouse episode entitled "Belle Chose".^[76] It was also used in a scene in the third series of Gavin & Stacey.^[77]

"Meddle" was featured in the ninth episode of the third series of the British teen drama Skins, titled "Katie and Emily" and broadcast 19 March 2009. It also appears in a Victoria's Secret commercial, along with appearing in the new Channel 4 comedy series, Friday Night Dinner. The Hands track "Click" was used in the twentieth episode of The Vampire Diaries, "Blood Brothers", and in the sixteenth episode of Melrose Place, "Santa Fe", which aired on 30 March 2010.

Boots has contributed to a documentary about the Stylophone.^[10] She has also collaborated with RjDj, and released a remix app for the iPhone entitled The Little Boots – Reactive Remixer, which allows users to remix "Remedy", "Meddle" and "New in Town" and share it over social networking sites.^[78]

Boots has joined the War on Want campaign, part of which supports protests against sweatshops in India.^[79]

Discography[link]

• Hands (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Little Boots

• Official website

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]