Coordinates: 30°57′45″N 46°06′11″E / 30.9625°N 46.10306°E / 30.9625; 46.10306 Ur (Sumerian: Urim;Sumerian Cuneiform: 𒋀𒀕𒆠 URIM₂^KI or 𒋀𒀊𒆠 URIM₅^KI;Akkadian: Uru) was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland, south of the Euphrates on its right bank, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Nasiriyah.

The city's patron deity was Nanna, the Sumerian moon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name, URIM₂^KI being the classical Sumerian spelling of LAK-32.UNUG^KI, literally "the abode (UNUG) of Nanna (LAK-32)".

The site is marked by the ruins of the Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, excavated in the 1930s. The temple was built in the 21st century BC (short chronology), during the reign of Ur-Nammu and was reconstructed in the 6th century BC by Nabonidus. The ruins cover an area of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) northwest to southeast by 800 metres (2,600 ft) northeast to southwest and rise up to about 20 metres (66 ft) above the present plain level.

Jonathan Smith (born January 27, 1971), better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and international DJ who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004. He then went solo and released a new album in 2010 called Crunk Rock.

Lil' Jon was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Frederick Douglass High School.

After working as a DJ for Atlanta night clubs, he started working for So So Def Recordings between 1993 and 2000. The group signed to the Atlanta-based Mirror Image Records and were distributed by Ichiban Records. In 1997, Lil' Jon & the East Side Boyz debuted with Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album. It included singles "Who U Wit?" and "Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin'", the latter of which came out in 1998. Both singles charted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at No. 70 and No. 62 respectively. In 2000 Jon took part in starting up his own label BME Recordings and signed a distribution agreement with Norcross, Georgia based Southern Music Distribution. There he released his break through album titled We Still Crunk. Among the tracks on that project was the hit single "I Like Dem Girlz", which reached No. 55 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional film actor.

He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1983, a group known for its eclectic influences and musical styles. Before that, he had fronted the group The Birthday Party in the early 1980s, a band renowned for its highly gothic, challenging lyrics and violent sound influenced by free jazz, blues, and post-punk. In 2006, he formed the garage rock band Grinderman that released its debut the following year. Cave's music is generally characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences and lyrical obsessions with religion, death, love and violence.

Upon Cave's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, ARIA Awards committee chairman Ed St John said, “Nick Cave has enjoyed—and continues to enjoy—one of the most extraordinary careers in the annals of popular music. He is an Australian artist like Sidney Nolan is an Australian artist—beyond comparison, beyond genre, beyond dispute."

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum for her 2002 album Under Construction. Elliott is known for a series of hits and diverse music videos, including "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Hot Boyz", "Get Ur Freak On", "One Minute Man", "4 My People", "Work It", "Pass That Dutch", and "Lose Control". In addition, she has worked extensively as a songwriter and producer for other artists, both alone and with her fellow producer and childhood friend Timbaland, with whom she received her first production credit on R&B singer Ginuwine's 1996's album Ginuwine...the Bachelor.

Elliott was born on July 1, 1971, in Portsmouth, Virginia. She is the only child of mother Patricia, a power-company coordinator, and father Ronnie, a Marine. At the age of four in 1975, she wanted to be a performer, though she knew no one took her seriously, as she was always the class clown. While her father was a Marine, the family lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in a mobile home. Elliott enjoyed school for the friendships she formed and had little interest in school work, though an IQ test classified her above average and she was able to jump two years ahead of her class. This made her feel increasingly isolated, so she purposely failed all her classes, eventually returning to her age-appropriate class. When her father returned from the Marines, they moved back to Virginia, where they lived in a vermin-infested shack.

Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English recording artist. Lloyd rose to fame when she finished fourth in the seventh series of The X Factor. Shortly afterwards, Lloyd was signed by Simon Cowell to Sony Music subsidiary Syco Music.

Cher Lloyd's debut single "Swagger Jagger" was released in June 2011. Despite receiving negative reviews, the single entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the Irish Singles Chart. Her second single "With Ur Love" was released on 31 October, featuring Mike Posner, and peaked at number four in the UK, and number five in Ireland, preceding her debut album Sticks + Stones, which peaked at number four in the UK Albums Chart and number seven on the Irish Albums Chart.

Cher Lloyd used to live in Malvern with her parents Darren and Dina, and three younger siblings brother Josh, and sisters Sophie and Rosie. Lloyd attended Dyson Perrins CE Sports College, where she studied performing arts. She also attended theatre arts school Stagecoach.

Lloyd had previously auditioned for The X Factor twice before (when the minimum age was lower) singing ballads, but did not make it through. Lloyd has previously performed at holiday camps and said she gets a mixed reaction to her music, but was a big hit with x-factor judge at the time Cheryl Cole. She remarked on their similarity and Cheryl went on to support her throughout the show. She auditioned singing the Keri Hilson version of "Turn My Swag On". At bootcamp she sang a rap version of "Viva La Vida" adding lyrics she claimed to have written herself, but this was disputed and reports claimed she took them from a song by rapper Swizz Beatz. At the judges' houses she performed "Cooler Than Me" but suffered from tonsillitis and was unable to complete her song. She was given a second chance, but broke down sobbing and could not complete the song. Despite this, she was still picked as one of the final three girls by mentor Cheryl Cole.