- published: 24 Feb 2016
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Robert Alan "Bob" Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with artists Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. As of 2010, Ezrin's career in music has spanned four decades and is production work has continued into the 21st century with acts such as Deftones and 30 Seconds to Mars. After co-founding interactive media company, 7th Level, in 1993, Ezrin has branched out into philanthropy and activism, with music also underpinning projects such as Music Rising and Young Artists for Haiti.
Ezrin is the winner of a JUNO Award and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in April 2004.
Ezrin was born in Toronto, Ontario and presently lives with his wife and two dogs in Nashville, Tennessee. He works as a music producer, mix engineer, arranger and writer, in addition to being involved with a variety of live, film, television and theatrical productions.
Ezrin also engages in community-based projects and, on a local level, is a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Symphony. He is Vice President (VP) of The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, a member of MusiCounts (the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) music education charity) and, along with U2's The Edge and Henry Juszkiewicz (CEO of Gibson Guitar Corporation), a co-founder of the Music Rising instrument replacement response to the 2005 gulf coast hurricane. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Los Angeles Mentoring Partnership and also a past Trustee and Governor of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS).
Kanye Omari West ( /ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music.
West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time. All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. 1 album in the U.S. upon release. West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with "Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, "Stronger" selling 4,402,000, "Heartless" selling 3,742,000, "E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and "Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. He has sold over 30 million digital songs in the United States making him one of the best-selling digital artists of all-time.
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.