Al-Kūt (Arabic: الكوت‎; BGN: Al Kūt; also spelled Kut-Al-Imara or Kut El Amara, Kurdish: Kût) is a kurdish city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) south east of Baghdad. As of 2003^[update] the estimated population is about 374,000 people. It is the capital of the province long known as Al Kut, but since the 1960s renamed Wasit.

The old town of Kut is within a sharp "U" bend of the river, almost making it an island but for a narrow connection to the shore. For centuries Kut was a regional center of the carpet trade. The area around Kut is a fertile cereal grain growing region. The Kut Barrage was constructed in the city in the 1930s to provide irrigation water for the surrounding area. The Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility, looted following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is located near Kut.

The Kut Barrage is a barrage on the Tigris river, located in the modern town of Kut in Wasit Governorate, Iraq. It is 516 metres (1,693 ft) long, 10.5 metres (34 ft) high and consists of 56 gates, each 6 metres (20 ft) wide. The maximum discharge of the barrage is 6,000 cubic metres (7,800 cu yd), but actual discharge has not exceeded 2,000 cubic metres (2,600 cu yd) in the last 10 years. The barrage supports a road and includes a lock for boats passing up and down the Tigris. Its purpose is to maintain a sufficiently high water level in the Tigris to provide water for the Gharraf irrigation canal, which branches off the Tigris just upstream from the Kut Barrage. Before the construction of the Kut Barrage, the Gharraf canal only received water during periods of flood in the Tigris. The water level in the canal is maintained by the Gharraf Head Regulator, which was constructed at the same time as the Kut Barrage.

Burak Kut (born 27 August 1973 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish pop singer.

As a child, Burak attended Müziğe Çapa and played in the orchestra for many years. He continued playing in an orchestra until he entered high school at İstanbul Anadolu Güzel Sanatlar Lisesi, where he began to play flute and piano. Burak then attended Kabataş Erkek Lisesi, coming third to Kenan Doğulu in a school competition the first year, he won the competition three years running.

He released his first album Benimle Oynama/Çılgınım with Peker Music. His rise to fame rocketed, performing over 300 concerts soon after the album was released. He also won the European MTV "Local Hero Award" around this time. Burak did most of the work on his second album Nereden Geldim, Nerelere Gideceğim. His song Yaşandı Bitti gained airplay in New York, and his popularity now stretched out to the United States.

While working on an album, Burak did a duet with Sarah Brightman accompanied by an orchestra ensemble of 100 musicians. He also sang duets with Greek singer Sakis Rouvas in Cyprus at the Border Line (Yeşil Hat) to help the two nations come together. He self-produced his third album Küçük Prens. He also later signed on to Universal Records and they helped him release a fourth self-titled album in 2000. After 7 years he released "Komple", a cover of Daddy Yankee's Rompe with lyrics written by Sezen Aksu. Burak Kut is releasing his new album called "İlaç" on 11 December 2009, album with 12 songs.

Hayko Cepkin (born March 11, 1978 in Istanbul) is a Turkish musician of Armenian ethnicity who is mostly known for the unique music he constructs that ranges from alternative metal to melodic tunes. At the same time he is a Brutal and Scream vocalist.

After graduating from high school, Hayko Cepkin studied music at Mimar Sinan University for two years and took courses in solfège and harmony at the Timur Selçuk Modern Music Center. After one more year at İstanbul Academy, he started performing with several famous Turkish artists such as Ogün Sanlısoy, Aylin Aslım, Koray Candemir and Demir Demirkan and collaborated on albums of several artists. Picking up knowledge as being composer along the way, Hayko contributed to the works of the artists listed above in contributing to the albums such as Murathan Mungan's “Söz vermiş Şarkılar” which Aylin Aslım sang with Murathan as a duet.

In 2005, Hayko went on to form a band he named after himself Hayko Cepkin. The band members were Umut Töre (guitarist), Onur Şengül (bass) and Murat Cem Ergül (drummer) and Hayko as lead singer. Onur eventually left the band just before the release of second album because of his busy schedule and replaced by Sedat Oğuzsoy (bass).

Pedro Vargas Mata (San Miguel Allende, 29 April 1906 - Mexico City on 30 October 1989) was a Mexican singer and actor, from the golden age of Mexican cinema. He was known as the "Nightingale of the Americas".

Born into a family of modest means, Pedro Vargas sang in the church choir in his hometown from the age of seven. In 1920 he came to Mexico City and immediately began singing in the choirs of several churches and giving serenades. He met the composer and tenor Mario Talavera, his guide and mentor, who recommended him to Professor José Pierson. Vargas received voice training from Pierson, and soon after, the opportunity to participate in the opera "Cavalleria Rusticana" on January 22, 1928 at the Teatro Esperanza. He traveled to the United States with the Orquesta Tipica de Miguel Lerdo de Tejada. On his first visit to Buenos Aires he recorded two of his own compositions for the Victor label: "Porteñita mía" and "Me fui", with musical backing from pianist Agüero Pepe and the legendary violinist Elvino Vardaro. He was one of the best interpreters of the composer Agustín Lara, as well as many other composers from Latin America with great success, and enabled their music to traverse the most diverse countries in the continent, mainly Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. With a very extensive repertoire that included lyrical songs such as "Jinetes en el Cielo", ranchera songs like "Allá en el Rancho Grande", boleros such as "Obsesión" (sung as a duet with Beny Moré) and nostalgic songs like "Alfonsina y el mar", Pedro Vargas received the well-deserved title of "The Nightingale of the Americas" from the public.