A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or live recording made at a performance venue. A studio album is usually planned and scheduled in advance, and may take anywhere from a few days to more than a year to complete. Some studio albums may include one or more covers, occasionally as live tracks within the studio album. Studio albums may also feature guest performers or session musicians that would not usually perform live with the artist. A studio album may also be released or rereleased years after it has been recorded, or even posthumously, containing material recorded before the death of the artist.

With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones; with each part recorded as a separate track. With a theoretically infinite number of tracks available with many modern computer and hard disk based recording systems (the only limit being processing power and size of the recording medium), one song can consist of hundreds of recorded tracks, employing dozens of overdubs and complex layering of instruments. This allows studio albums to be considerably more complex than live albums, and can potentially be compiled of 'perfect' takes of the same part.

Janelle Monáe (born Janelle Monáe Robinson; December 1, 1985) is an American R&B/soul musician signed to Bad Boy Records and Atlantic Records.

Monáe debuted with a conceptual EP, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase). The EP failed to make much of a commercial impact, peaking at No. 115 on the Billboard charts in the United States.

In 2010, Janelle Monáe released her debut studio album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), a concept album sequel to her first EP; it was released by Bad Boy Records. This album received acclaim from critics and gained a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The song "Tightrope" was also nominated for "Best Urban/Alternative Performance"; this album was also more successful commercially officially reaching the No. 17 spot on the Billboard Charts.

In March 2012, "We Are Young", the song by the band Fun on which Monáe makes a guest appearance, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her first appearance in the US Top 10.

Monáe was born Janelle Monáe Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas, where she spent her early life; Monáe has stated that the fictional character of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz has been one of her musical influences. She has told reporters that she has dreamed of being a singer and a performer since she was very young. Monáe moved from Kansas City, Kansas to New York to study drama at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Winston Rodney, OD (born 1 March 1945), also known as Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer and musician. Burning Spear is known for his Rastafari movement messages.

Rodney was born in Saint Ann's Bay, Saint Ann, Jamaica, as were reggae singer Bob Marley and political activist Marcus Garvey who both had a great influence on Rodney's life: Garvey in his philosophy, which Burning Spear greatly took to, and Marley in directly helping Burning Spear get started in the music industry (by some accounts) by introducing him to Clement Dodd. Rodney met Marley at the latter's farm in 1969, and having told him that he wanted to get into the music business, Marley advised him to start at Dodd's Studio One label.Reggae singer Larry Marshall claimed that it was he, while visiting St. Ann's Bay with Jackie Mittoo, who was approached by Rodney, and gave him this advice, and arranged the introduction.

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949), nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter-performer who records and tours with the E Street Band. Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey.

Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 21 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He is widely regarded by many as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time.

Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and spent his childhood and high school years in Freehold Borough. He lived on South Street in Freehold Borough and attended Freehold Borough High School. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, was of Dutch and Irish ancestry and worked, among other vocations, as a bus driver, although he was frequently unemployed; his surname is Dutch for jump stone. His mother, Adele Ann (née Zerilli), was a legal secretary and was of Italian ancestry. His maternal grandfather was born in Vico Equense, a city near Naples. He has two younger sisters, Virginia and Pamela. Pamela had a brief film career, but left acting to pursue still photography full time; she took photos for the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums.

Malinda Gayle "Mindy" McCready (born November 30, 1975) is an American country music singer. Active since 1996, she has recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA Records and was certified 2× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA, while 1997's If I Don't Stay the Night was certified Gold. 1999's I'm Not So Tough, her final album for BNA, was less successful, and she left the label. A self-titled fourth album followed in 2002 on Capitol Records.

Overall, McCready's four studio albums have accounted for 12 singles on the Billboard country singles charts. This figure includes the Number One hit "Guys Do It All the Time", as well as the Top Ten hits "Ten Thousand Angels" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What a Girl's Gotta Do)." Although she has not charted a single since 2002, McCready has received significant media coverage regarding personal events in her life. McCready's critically acclaimed fifth studio album, I'm Still Here, was released in March 2010 on Iconic Records and is available on Amazon & iTunes. McCready has sold over 3 million albums according to the RIAA.