Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres. If the second chart is a record chart, such as a "Hot 100" list, the work is not a crossover since the pop charts only track popularity and do not constitute a separate genre.
In some contexts the term "crossover" can have negative connotations, implying the watering-down of a music's distinctive qualities to accommodate to mass tastes. For example, in the early years of rock and roll, many songs originally recorded by African-American musicians were re-recorded by white artists such as Pat Boone in a more toned-down style, often with changed lyrics, that lacked the hard edge of the original versions. These covers were popular with a much broader audience.
In practice crossover frequently results from the appearance of the music in question in a film soundtrack. For instance, Sacred Harp music experienced a spurt of crossover popularity as a result of its appearance in the 2003 film Cold Mountain, and bluegrass music experienced a revival due to the reception of 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Even atonal music, which tends to be less popular among classical enthusiasts, has a kind of crossover niche, since it is widely used in filmmaking and television production scores "to depict an approaching menace", as noted by Charles Rosen.[citation needed]
Magnetic Man is an electronic music project consisting of dubstep producers and DJs, Benga, Skream and Artwork who has also recorded under his little known moniker "Having A Lovely Time". The trio first met in the late 1990s at the Big Apple Records store in Croydon, England. They perform using three computers, one playing drum samples, one playing basses and the third playing leads and samples. Artwork controls the master laptop, to which the other two are synchronised via MIDI.[citation needed] Their sets usually consist of a mix of original tracks produced together, and live remixes of Benga and Skream's tracks, accompanied by synchronised projected visuals by Novak Collective. They signed to Columbia Records in February 2010. Magnetic Man completed their first full length sellout tour on 5 November 2010. Their eponymous debut studio album, Magnetic Man was released through Sony by Columbia Records on 10 October 2010.
Kathleen Anne "Katy" Brien (born 8 May 1989 in Peckham, South London), better known as Katy B, is an English singer-songwriter and a graduate of the BRIT School. She is a dubstep, R&B, funky, house and UK garage singer and has also performed under the name Baby Katy. She released her first single with the label Rinse in 2010. The same year, she completed a degree in Popular Music at Goldsmiths, University of London. She was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize.
Katy was born in Peckham, South London in 1989, and attended Lyndhurst Primary school, Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College[citation needed] and the BRIT School.
Katy featured on many tracks before and during the release of her album, DJ NG's song "Tell Me", on which she featured as Baby Katy, was released on a white label and later signed to Ministry of Sound. Katy B has collaborated with Geeneus to cover the Kevin Saunderson produced "Good Life" and the track "As I". She also provides vocals on the track "Hold Me" for The Count & Sinden's debut album Mega Mega Mega and features on Magnetic Man's tracks "Perfect Stranger" and "Crossover".
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.
Kari Meredyth Kimmel is an American singer/songwriter whose style is generally classified as pop with rock, country and R&B influences. Many of her songs have been used in movies and TV shows.
A native of Boca Raton, Florida, Kimmel first sang in public at the age of 12, and wrote her first song at 13. She later moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the film and television industry.
Kimmel’s songs and/or voice have been used in more than 150 movies and TV shows, including Shall We Dance?, The Hills, White Chicks, Greek, The Gilmore Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, WALL-E, Nights In Rodanthe, The Young and the Restless, Ella Enchanted, Grey's Anatomy, Dreamgirls, The Bold & The Beautiful, Private Practice, Life Unexpected, Pretty Little Liars and Burn Notice.
Kimmel was once listed among the top 50 artists on VH1.com, has performed live on the Adam Corolla Show, the Danny Bonaduce Show, the Conway & Whitman Show, NBC Los Angeles and FOX Primeticket and has performed at Los Angeles Dodgers games, Lakers games, a benefit hosted by Prince Edward of Wales and the Greek Theater, where she closed the show for the 2010 AIDS/ HIV walk in Los Angeles.