Official cover is a term used in espionage to refer to operatives who assume positions in organizations with diplomatic ties to the government for which they work.

Official cover operatives are granted a set of governmental protections, and if caught in the act of espionage, they can request diplomatic protection from their government. In other words, official cover operatives are agents officially recognized by their country. In contrast, non-official cover (NOC) refers to operatives who assume positions with no ties to their government, and whose actions are officially disavowed by that government.

References[link]

• How the CIA Works - HowStuffWorks article on the Central Intelligence Agency explaining this term.

Gavin DeGraw
DeGraw in March 2012
Background information
Birth name	Gavin Shane DeGraw
Born	(1977-02-04) February 4, 1977 (age 35) South Fallsburg, New York, United States
Genres	Blue-eyed soul, pop rock, rock
Occupations	Musician and singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active	2000–Present
Labels	RCA Records
Website	gavindegraw.com

Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" (which has been featured as the theme song for the television drama series, One Tree Hill since 2003), "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".

Early life[link]

DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg, New York.^[1] His mother, Lynne (Krieger), was a detox specialist, and his father, Wayne DeGraw, was a prison guard;^[2] he referenced his father's occupation in the song "I Don't Want to Be".^[3] His father is of Irish descent and his mother's family was of Russian ancestry.^[4] DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight. He also has two siblings, both older, named Neeka and Joey (born August 1973). It was at his brother's advice that he began writing his own songs.^[5] Joey DeGraw is a musician as well, currently touring to promote his own music.^[6]

Career[link]

DeGraw rose to fame in 2003 when "I Don't Want to Be" was chosen as the theme song for teen drama One Tree Hill.^[7] The song has also been performed on American Idol^[8] and Idol Sweden^[9] by various contestants during different seasons.

DeGraw released his debut album, Chariot on July 22, 2003 under J Records.^[10] Chariot was recorded at Los Angeles' music studios, Sunset Sound and produced by Mark Endert.^[1] Chariot sold over a million copies and earned platinum certification.^[11] The album also featured three of DeGraw's singles: "I Don’t Want To Be", "Follow Through" and "Chariot".^[11] He then went on to release an acoustic version of the album called Chariot Stripped in 2004. Chariot Stripped contains a cover version of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come".^[12]

DeGraw performing in Georgia, 2005

DeGraw's second album, self-titled Gavin DeGraw was released on May 6, 2008.^[10] The first single, "In Love with a Girl" was released on February 12, 2008. The second U.S. single "Cheated On Me" was released in the US on September 30, 2008. This was followed by the Live From Soho album, released on Nov 7 2008, featuring mostly tracks from Gavin DeGraw.^[13] Gavin DeGraw debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and ranked at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 album chart.^[11]

Gavin Degraw's third album, Free was released March 31, 2009.^[14] DeGraw made Free in less than two weeks at the Brooklyn studio of his producer Camus Celli. DeGraw included some songs on the album that he wrote very early in his career and that have evolved over time, songs such as "Dancing Shoes" and "Glass".^[1] The debut single from the album, "Stay", was released on March 11, 2009.^[15] FREE has been described as "recorded versions of his live favourites".^[11]

DeGraw's fourth, and most recent album, Sweeter was set to release on August 9, 2011 but got pushed back to September 20, 2011.^[16] The album features many tracks co-written with other artists. The first single "Not Over You" was released on iTunes in June.^[17] The track was co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder and was said to be inspired by Kyle Craig. "Not Over You" is his first song to reach the top spot on the Adult Pop Songs.^[18] Sweeter contains collaborations from producers including Butch Walker, Eric Rosse, and Ron Aniello; alongside another co-written title track, "Sweeter" with Andrew Frampton. The album was recorded in many locations including Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Walker’s Space in Venice and the Henson Recording Studios.^[11]

Sweeter is DeGraw's first album released under RCA Records, all three of his previous albums were released under J Records. DeGraw went on to release an acoustic album based mostly on songs from Sweeter. The iTunes Session album features seven tracks and a 30 minute interview.^[19]

Appearances[link]

Alongside DeGraw's musical career he has also performed on multiple TV shows and his songs can be heard across TV and film.

TV appearances[link]

DeGraw made his first TV appearance on Real Magic TV. He then went on to appear on: The Sharon Osbourne Show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, American Dreams, Total Request Live and Rove Live. During Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2004, DeGraw is credited as a performer. After this, he was seen on What I Like About You alongside Dutch TV shows Barend & Van Dorp and Clement Behrendt Kjersgaard. DeGraw performed "I Don't Want to Be" during the 2005 Radio Music Awards. He was also a musical guest on The VIP, Jensen!, New York 360º and Entertainment Tonight. DeGraw has appeared on multiple episodes of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live! with Kelly, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Last Call with Carson Daly, performing tracks from whichever album he was promoting. DeGraw is credited as a presenter for the 2011 American Music Awards and can mostly be seen presenting footage from backstage. Recently he appeared during an episode of Conan; the episode was aired on January 9, 2012.^[6] On April 4, 2012 DeGraw performed on the final episode of One Tree Hill following his heavy connection with the show throughout its nine seasons. ^[20]

DeGraw was a contestant on ABC's season 14 of Dancing With the Stars which premiered on Monday March 19, 2012. DeGraw and his partner Karina Smirnoff were eliminated from the competition during week 5, following a Dance Duel with cast-mate Jaleel White and his partner Kym Johnson. ^[21]

Soundtrack credits[link]

DeGraw's songs have been played on twelve different titles across both TV and film.

"Follow Through" was part of the soundtrack for 2004 film Laws of Attraction and an episode of Scrubs called My Self-Examination, aired on 27 April 2004. The song has also been featured on One Tree Hill and on British and Italian TV advertisements for Carte D'or.^[6]

"Chariot" features as an uncredited part of the soundtrack for the American-Canadian TV series Dead Like Me. The song features in a 2004 episode called Always and is portrayed by DeGraw. DeGraw plays a non-recurring small role as street singer, Pete Anderson. The song also features on the TV series Boston Legal in a 2006 episode named Helping Hands, it is played during Denise and Daniel's dinner. The song can also be heard during a 2007 episode of Cold Case called Knuckle Up.^[6]

His song "We Belong Together" was also featured in the 2006 film Tristan and Isolde.^[22]

DeGraw has performed a cover of Smokey Robinson's love ballad, "The Tracks of My Tears", which is played during Chaos Theory, an episode of The Cleaner aired on August 5 2008.^[6]

During a Christmas special of TV series House called "Joy to the World", a cover of The Christmas Song performed by DeGraw was played.^[6]

TV dance competition and reality show So You Think You Can Dance utilised three of DeGraw's tracks across four shows and also features a cover performed by DeGraw. "Belief", "More Then Anyone" and "We Belong Together" are used as background tracks across the 2006, 2008 and 2009 series respectively. During the first part of the 2007 finale, a cover of "We Are the Champions", performed by DeGraw, is used.^[6]

DeGraw's songs are contained in the soundtracks of eleven episodes of One Tree Hill. Throughout he is uncredited. However, tracks such as "Belief", "More Than Anyone", "Chariot", "We Belong Together" and "Jealous Guy" all feature in the show. During the second season of the show, an unreleased live version of "Chariot" is played during the episode "Something I Can Never Have".^[6]

During a special of the TV show The Bachelor called The Bachelor: Jason & Molly's Wedding, DeGraw's song "Follow Through" is played.^[6]

Acting credits[link]

He has appeared in an on-screen role in three One Tree Hill episodes. His first appearance was in 2004, during You Gotta Go There to Come Back; he was seen singing "I Don't Want to Be" and "Chariot" at Karen's Cafe. His second appearance was at the beginning of 2008 episode, What Comes After the Blues where he was seen singing "I Don't Want to Be" with Jackson Brundage and performs in the series final episode.^[6]

Other[link]

DeGraw has released a number of music videos as well, including "I Don't Want to Be", "Follow Through" and "Chariot". The latter was directed by Zach Braff, who also directed music videos for Joshua Radin.^[6]

DeGraw's song "More Than Anyone" was selected by fans of One Tree Hill through a Cingular Wireless contest as the first wedding dance song for Nathan & Haley in the 3rd season finale "The Show Must Go On."^[23]

At the Des Moines Arts Festival on 27 June 2009

He and his brother opened The National Underground in December 2007, a New York City music venue that is a roots rock Americana music bar located in Manhattan's Lower East Side, at 159 East Houston Street between Allen Street and Eldridge Street.^[24] The venue offers music, food, and drink.^[25][26][27] The idea for the venue came about because the brothers wanted a place where they could hang out on a regular basis, and where other musicians could come in and listen and learn.^[28] "We were picky about the quality of musicians that played there," Gavin DeGraw says. "We wanted a place where the players were so good, other musicians were like, 'Wow! I really respect what they're doing.'"^[29]

Personal life[link]

On August 8, 2011, DeGraw was hospitalized after being assaulted by several people in New York City. Police said a group of men attacked DeGraw early Sunday morning at 6th Street and First Avenue in the East Village, near The National Underground. He suffered a broken nose, a concussion, two black eyes and lacerations to his face. Only minutes after the attack, DeGraw was then struck by a taxi. He was admitted to Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center for treatment. He had to cancel his scheduled August 9 performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, located in Saratoga, New York.^[30]

DeGraw has said that his ultimate goal is "to leave this world a better person, and for me to not be the only one who knows it."^[6]

Band members[link]

Current[link]

Billy Norris – guitar, background vocals (since 2009) Ian O'Neill – drums, background vocals (since 2011) Ben Mars- Bass (Started on summer tour of 2012) Jimmy Wallace – keyboards, acoustic guitar, vocals (2007–2008, since 2011)

Previous[link]

Johnny "Tsunami" Andrews – guitar, background vocals Joey DeGraw – guitar, background vocals Brian Dennis – guitar, background vocals Matt Flynn – drums Jose Barrera – Guitar and musical composition Joey "Coach" Hanna – drums, background vocals

Rodney Howard – drums Whynot Jansveld – bass, background vocals Alvin Moody – bass, background vocals Casey Twist – bass, background vocals Tony Tino - Bass

Discography[link]

Studio[link]

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions[31][32]									Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US	CAN	DEN	NED	FIN	ITA	SWI	SWE	NOR
Chariot	Release date: July 22, 2003 Label: J	56	—	1	6	23	43	48	21	2	US: Platinum[33]
Gavin DeGraw	Release date: May 6, 2008 Label: J	7	21	3	8	36	44	23	13	35
Free	Release date: March 31, 2009 Label: J	19	—	29	76	—	—	96	—	—
Sweeter	Release date: September 20, 2011 Label: RCA	8	41	6	6	—	—	19	29	25

EPs[link]

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions[34]
		US
iTunes: Live from Soho	Release date: 2008	167

Other albums[link]

• 2001: Gavin Live

Singles[link]

Year	Title	Chart positions[31][32]												Certifications (sales thresholds)	Album
		US	US Adult	US Pop	CAN	UK	IRE	AUS	NZ	NED	ITA	NOR	SWE
2004	"I Don't Want to Be"	10	9	1	—	27	25	19	30	13	—	6	15	US: Platinum[35]	Chariot
2005	"Chariot"	30	5	17	—	—	—	—	—	12	27	19	—	US: Gold[35]
	"Follow Through"	111	22	33	—	—	—	—	—	13	—	12	—	US: Gold[33]
2006	"Just Friends"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	26	—	—	—
	"We Belong Together"	26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	US: Gold[33]	Gavin DeGraw
2008	"In Love with a Girl"	24	5	10	32	—	—	—	—	22	—	—	73
	"She Holds a Key"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	29	—	—	—
	"Cheated on Me"	—	30	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	"I Have You to Thank"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Stay"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Free
	"Dancing Shoes"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	"Not Over You"	18	1	9	23	—	—	37	8	13	—	—	—	US: Platinum[33] NZ: Gold[36] AUS: Platinum[37]	Sweeter
	"Soldier"	—	—	—	—	59	—	—	—	14	—	—	—
	"Sweeter"	—	17	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	—	—	—

Awards and nominations[link]

Year	Award
2005	Billboard Music Award nomination for Top Soundtrack Single of the Year ("I Don't Want to Be")
2005	Radio Music Award nomination for Song of the Year/Mainstream Top 40 Radio ("I Don't Want to Be")

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Music portal

List of Berklee College of Music alumni List of Ithaca College alumni

List of people from New York List of singer-songwriters

References[link]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "Gavin DeGraw Biography". Gavin DeGraw US. http://gavindegraw.us/biography.html. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
2. ↑ "More Than a Memory - The Official Gavin DeGraw fan site: Articles & Interviews". Gavindegraw.us. 2005-04-29. http://gavindegraw.us/articles/timesheraldrecord05april29.html. Retrieved 2012-05-09. 
3. ↑ "I Don't Want To Be Lyrics". Lyrics On Demand. http://www.lyricsondemand.com/g/gavindegrawlyrics/idontwanttobelyrics.html. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
4. ↑ Staff (February 3, 2005). "Gavin DeGraw Speaks Out on Life and Music – His 'I Don’t Want To Be' Is the Theme Song for the Teen Soap 'One Tree Hill'. Associated Press (via MSNBC). Retrieved August 8, 2011.
5. ↑ "Gavin DeGraw". Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. http://www.bonnaroo.com/artists/gavin-degraw.aspx. 
6. ↑ ^{6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11} "Gavin DeGraw IMDB page". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1501113/. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
7. ↑ "One Tree Hill IMDB page". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368530/. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
8. ↑ "'American Idol' Needs To Retire 'I Don't Want To Be,' Whitney Houston And Heart". MTV Website. MTV. http://newsroom.mtv.com/2010/03/03/american-idol-i-dont-want-to-be/. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
9. ↑ "YouTube Video: Guy singing I Don't Want To Be in Idol 2009". YouTube. Google. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e43QQdO_OJY. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "Amazon: Chariot Gavin DeGraw | Format: Audio CD". Amazon Retail. http://www.amazon.com/Chariot-Gavin-Degraw/dp/B00009V8Z9. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4} "Gavin DeGraw Official Bio". Gavin DeGraw Official Website. http://www.gavindegraw.com/bio. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
12. ↑ "Amazon: Chariot Stripped (Bonus CD) Gavin DeGraw | Format: Audio CD". Amazon Retail. http://www.amazon.com/Chariot-Stripped-Bonus-Gavin-Degraw/dp/B0002IQJUK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1327522439&sr=1-1. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
13. ↑ "Gavin DeGraw Discography". Gavin DeGraw Website. http://www.gavindegraw.us/discography.html. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
14. ↑ "Amazon: FREE Gavin DeGraw | Format: Audio CD". Amazon Retail. http://www.amazon.co.uk/FREE-Gavin-DeGraw/dp/B001T4MT64. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
15. ↑ "iTunes Single - Stay". iTunes. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stay-single/id308873888. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
16. ↑ "Gavin DeGraw Blog". Gavin DeGraw Blog. Gavin DeGraw. http://www.gavindegraw.us/. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
17. ↑ "Gavin DeGraw Website - Not Over You Release". Gavin DeGraw Website. http://www.gavindegraw.com/music/not-over-you-single. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
18. ↑ Trust, Gary (26 January 2012). "Weekly Chart Notes: Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Gavin DeGraw". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/weekly-chart-notes-adele-kelly-clarkson-1005994562.story#/column/chartbeat/weekly-chart-notes-adele-kelly-clarkson-1005994562.story?page=2. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
19. ↑ "iTunes Session Gavin DeGraw". iTunes. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/itunes-session/id480772033?ign-mpt=uo%3D4. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
20. ↑ "ABC.com - Dancing with the Stars - Dancing with the Stars 2012 Cast Announcement - Season 14". Abc.go.com. http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/cast-announcement. Retrieved 2012-05-09. 
21. ↑ 04/18/2012 (2012-04-18). "'Dancing with the Stars' ('DWTS') 2012: Gavin DeGraw Booted After Showdown | Video - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/dancing-stars-dwts-2012-gavin-degraw-booted-showdown-16161893. Retrieved 2012-05-09. 
22. ↑ "Gavin Degraw Discography". Gavin DeGraw. http://gavindegraw.us/discography.html. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
23. ↑ "Tree Hill Memories: 322 THE SHOW MUST GO ON". Tree Hill Memories. http://www.freewebs.com/treehillmemories/s322.html. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
24. ↑ "About Us". The National Underground Official website. Accessed October 5, 2010. http://www.thenationalunderground.com/aboutus.html. 
25. ↑ Carlson, Erin (May 8, 2008). "Gavin DeGraw Doesn't Wanna Be Another Singer-Songwriter". The Decatur Daily. http://www.decaturdaily.com/stories/Gavin-DeGraw-doesnt-want-to-be-another-singer-songwriter,11132. 
26. ↑ Friedman, Roger (March 6, 2008). "Patrick Swayze Slammed by National Enquirer". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335432,00.html. 
27. ↑ "Soul of the City: New York City". Glide Magazine. August 29, 2008. http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/soul-of-the-city-new-york-city/. 
28. ↑ Adams, Patty (July 27, 2008). "Six Seconds with: Gavin DeGraw". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/pagesixmag/issues/20080727/Six+Seconds+Gavin+DeGraw. 
29. ↑ Tomcho, Sandy (August 15, 2008). "Gavin DeGraw Performs at Monticello Gaming & Raceway". Times Herald-Record. http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080815/ENTERTAIN/808150350. 
30. ↑ "Gavin DeGraw released from hospital after attack, doesn’t remember much". The Washington Post. 10 August 2011. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/gavin-degraw-released-from-hospital-after-attack-doesnt-remember-much/2011/08/10/gIQAICCP6I_blog.html. Retrieved 21 September 2011. 
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1} Gavin DeGraw. Billboard
32. ↑ ^{32.0 32.1} "Gavin Degraw – Music Charts". Acharts.us. http://acharts.us/performer/gavin_degraw. Retrieved 2011-11-02. 
33. ↑ ^{33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3} "Gavin Degraw RIAA album certifications". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Gavin%20DeGraw%&format=album&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2010&sort=CertificationDate&perPage=50. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 
34. ↑ "iTunes Live from Soho – Gavin DeGraw". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/itunes-live-from-soho-r1462791/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-11-02. 
35. ↑ ^{35.0 35.1} "Gavin DeGraw: Timeline". Rock On The Net. http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-d/gavindegraw.htm. 
36. ↑ "RIANZ". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart_facts.asp. Retrieved 2010-08-07. 
37. ↑ "http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.auSINGLEaccreds2011.htm". Aria.com.au. 2011-12-31. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.auSINGLEaccreds2011.htm. Retrieved 2012-05-09. 

• Billboard Artist Chart History – retrieved March 15, 2009.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gavin DeGraw

• gavindegraw.com, DeGraw's official website
• Gavin DeGraw at the Internet Movie Database
• Gavin DeGraw collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Music videos at AOL Video
• Exclusive Gavin DeGraw Interviews at OurStage.com

v t e Gavin DeGraw Albums Chariot Gavin DeGraw Free Sweeter Singles "I Don't Want to Be" "Chariot" "Follow Through" "In Love with a Girl" "Cheated on Me" "Not Over You" "Soldier" "Sweeter" Related articles RCA Records

v t e Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 14) Donald Driver Katherine Jenkins William Levy Maria Menounos Melissa Gilbert Roshon Fegan Jaleel White Gladys Knight Gavin DeGraw Sherri Shepherd Jack Wagner Martina Navratilova

Persondata
Name	Degraw, Gavin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 4, 1977
Place of birth	South Fallsburg, New York, United States
Date of death
Place of death

Marina and the Diamonds
Marina and the Diamonds performing in Edinburgh on 2 November 2010
Background information
Birth name	Marina Lambrini Diamandis
Born	(1985-10-10) 10 October 1985 (age 26) Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales
Genres	indie pop, pop, New Wave, electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician poet,
Instruments	Vocals, keyboard, piano, glockenspiel, casio VL-tone, organ
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Neon Gold, 679, Chop Shop
Website	marinaandthediamonds.com

Marina Lambrini Diamandis^[1] (Greek: Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη, pronounced [ðʝaˈmadi];^[2] born 10 October 1985), better known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds (sometimes stylised as Marina & the Diamonds), is a Welsh singer-songwriter.^[3][4] She rose to fame after reaching number two on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list, coming second to Ellie Goulding. After releasing one private EP, Diamandis released her second extended play, The Crown Jewels EP, with help from Neon Gold Records, in 2009.^[5] Now signed to 679 Recordings, she released her debut full length studio album, The Family Jewels, followed by her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, in 2010. In 2011, Diamandis announced that she was working on her second album, Electra Heart, which was released in April 2012 and went to #1 in the UK and Ireland.

Her stage name, "Marina and the Diamonds", consists of Diamandis' first name and the translation of her surname which means "Diamonds" in Greek. Although "The Diamonds" is often mistakenly believed to refer to her backing band,^[6] it in fact refers to Diamandis' fans: she explains this on her Myspace page by saying "I'm Marina. You are the diamonds."^[7]

Diamandis' musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo New Wave-style songs with full band backing.^[4] She has cited a wide-range of influences such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Britney Spears, Yann Tiersen, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton and Madonna.^[8][9]

Background[link]

Diamandis was born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. Her father is Greek and her mother is Welsh,^[10] and brought up in the village of Pandy with her parents and her older sister.^[11] She attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, of which she said "I sort of found my talent there... I was the one who always skived off choir, but I had an incredible music teacher who managed to convince me I could do anything."^[12] When her parents separated, Diamandis moved to Greece when she was sixteen years old to live with her father but returned to Wales two years later.^[11]

Diamandis moved to London at the age of eighteen where she attended dance school for only two months.^[6] Following this, in 2005 she took a one year singing course at Tech Music Schools.^{[citation needed]} Diamandis enrolled in a music degree at the University of East London, transferring in her second year of studies to Middlesex University, but later dropped out.^[13] She went for many auditions including the West End musical, The Lion King.^[14] Diamandis admitted that she auditioned for a reggae boy band, held by Virgin Records, in 2005 to try to make it into the music business. She said she was "delusional with drive" and ultimately decided to dress up in male attire to try to amuse the record label to sign her, but she was unsuccessful. However, she was called back by the record label a week later.^[15][16]

Diamandis has a synaesthetic condition that involves seeing musical notes and days of the week in different colours.^[17]

Musical career[link]

2005–2008: Early career[link]

Diamandis live at the NME Radar Tour

In 2005, Diamandis created the name "Marina and the Diamonds".^[18] When describing the origin of the name, she said:

I never envisaged a character, pop project, band or solo artist. I saw a simple group made up of many people who had the same hearts. A space for people with similar ideals who could not fit in to life's pre-made mould. I was terribly awkward for a long time! I really craved to be part of one thing because I never felt too connected to anybody and now I feel I have that all around me.^[18]

Early demos of Marina and the Diamonds' songs were self composed and produced on the Apple software application Garageband.^[14] Through Gumtree she found someone to produce a few tracks, for which she paid £500.^[19] These ended up on her debut extended play Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP which was released on 23 November 2007. The record was created on hand-made CD-Rs by Diamandis and sold through her MySpace page. An estimated seventy copies were sold overall.^[20]

In January 2008, Diamandis was first discovered by music scouter Derek Davies of Neon Gold Records. Davies booked Diamandis to open for Belgian-Australian singer Gotye later that year where Warner Music Group first saw her and ended up signing her in October 2008 to 679 Recordings.^[19]

Marina and the Diamonds performing at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York.

Diamandis' debut single was a double a-side consisting of "Obsessions" and "Mowgli's Road" which was issued on Neon Gold Records in the United States on 19 November 2008, followed by her second extended play The Crown Jewels EP on 1 June 2009 featuring her second single "I Am Not a Robot".^[21] Her first major label single, a re-recording of "Mowgli's Road", was released on 13 November 2009 under 679 Recordings in the UK and through Atlantic Records in the USA. On 7 December 2009 she was listed on the longlist for the BBC Sound of 2010 poll,^[22] and on 7 January 2010 it was announced that she had taken second place.^[23]

[edit] 2009–2010: The Family Jewels

Marina and the Diamonds' debut album, The Family Jewels, was released in February 2010. It peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver in the United Kingdom days before its release.^[24] A re-release of "Mowgli's Road" was released as the album's lead single in November 2009.^[25] However, the song "Hollywood" was released as the first major single from the album in February 2010.^[26] A re-release of "I Am Not a Robot" in April 2010 became the album's third single; Diamandis said she decided to re-release the song because "people seem to empathize and relate with the song, regardless of gender or age."^[27] "Oh No!" became the album's fourth single in August 2010,^[28] and "Shampain" became the fifth single in October 2010.^[29] She embarked on her first headlining tour on 14 February 2010, consisting of seventy dates around the United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada.^[30]

Also during 2010, Diamandis collaborated with producer Benny Blanco and guitarist Dave Sitek in Los Angeles on new material which she described as "a really great opportunity for me as a songwriter. [We are] such a weird threesome—a combination of super pop and really indie".^[6]

In March 2010, Atlantic Records signed Marina and the Diamonds to Chop Shop Records in the United States.^[31][32] Before the album's American release in May 2010,^[33] Diamandis released her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, digitally and exclusively for the United States in March 2010.^[31][32] Diamandis made her North American debut on 14 March 2010 through a series of performances.^[34]

Marina and the Diamonds was nominated for Critics' Choice at the 2010 BRIT Awards^[35] and came fifth in SHREDnews' "Ten Artists To Watch in 2010" list in March 2010.^[36] She also won the award for Best UK & Ireland Act at the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards.^[37]

[edit] 2011–present: Electra Heart

In a January 2011 interview, Diamandis announced that her second album would mainly be about female sexuality and feminism.^{[citation needed]} The same month, Diamandis was announced as a support act for the U.S. leg of Katy Perry's California Dreams Tour.^[38] Three early demos were leaked in early 2011, called "Sex, Yeah", "Living Dead" and "Jealousy", each showing a more pop sound.^[39] Diamandis recorded material with producers Cirkut, Guy Sigsworth, Labrinth, Greg Kurstin, Diplo, Dr. Luke, Stargate and Liam Howe.

In August 2011, Diamandis uploaded a video to her YouTube page titled "Part 1: Fear and Loathing". In an interview with Popjustice, she explained the concept of the album, titled Electra Heart after a character of her creation; she said the guise "epitomises and embodies the lies, illusions and death of American ideologies involved in the corruption of self [...] Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that’s the corruption of yourself. My worst fear—that’s anyone’s worst fear—is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you’re very ambitious."^[40] The campaign's first single, "Radioactive" produced by Stargate, was released in October 2011 (reaching number twenty-five in the UK),^[41] followed by a demo of the song "Starring Role" in November^[42] and a video titled ♡ PART 3: "THE ARCHETYPES" ♡ in December.^[43] A track titled "Homewrecker" was issued as a free download to her mailing list subscribers.^[44]

Electra Heart was released in April 2012,^[45] preceded by the single "Primadonna" produced by Dr Luke, Diplo and Cirkut.^[46][47] "Primadonna" debuted at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Diamandis' highest peaking single to date. "Power and Control" has been announced officially as the next single from the album.^[48]

Artistry[link]

Music style and influences[link]

Marina and the Diamonds performing on The Gem Tour in Birmingham, UK.

Marina and the Diamonds has been influenced by a wide-range of musicians from PJ Harvey to Britney Spears.^[8] Diamandis has also noted Daniel Johnston as one of her major influences saying:

He really opened me up to a whole new world of music and a whole new perception of what an artist is. For me, he really encouraged me because if you think of someone who has been spoon-fed pop, up until twenty-one years old, and you hear someone like Daniel Johnston you're like "God, this is terrible, but I love it." It sounds like a child has made it, like, the production is so all over the place. He's obviously got something very captivating here yet he doesn't fit the normal mould and people still love him. I thought "if he can do it then [so can I]," that's when I started to produce things myself and play live, even though I wasn't even great on the piano. It's all about emotion and if you have heart, people connect to that.^[49]

Diamandis calls herself a "DIY musician"^[49] and describes her sound as an alternative to mainstream pop music.^[8] In an interview with ClashMusic Diamandis said that she does not come from a musical background and explained "I probably have a bit of a different sound because I don’t really know what I’m doing".^[50] Lyrically, she says her music analyzes people and that if she wasn't a musician, she would be a psychologist.^[51]

Critics usually catalogue Marina and the Diamonds as a New Wave pop artist. In an interview with The Guardian she said, "I suppose I'm an indie artist with pop goals".^[9] Although Diamandis has asserted that she never tries to sound like any other artist or copy a genre of music, she has been compared to a variety of artists such as Kate Bush^[50] and most commonly Florence and the Machine.^[52] PopMatters commented on her vocal delivery and attitude saying it "has a tendency to overshadow the music, which is often melodically inventive, but we are rarely given the chance to realise this."^[53] The Guardian's Paul Lester wrote that "her songs are hard to fathom. They veer between simple keyboards-based ballads and more upbeat and catchy, quirky new wave-inflected numbers enhanced by percussion, guitar and drums."^[4]

Public image[link]

As well as her music, Marina and the Diamonds is also notable for her unique attire.^[54] When asked in an interview to describe her fashion style in three words, Diamandis said "vintage, cheerleader and cartoon".^[55] You can see an element of this style in the video for 'Oh No!' which was released in June 2010. She has praised model/DJ Leigh Lezark's fashion style and called Gwen Stefani her definitive style icon describing her image as "cartoonized but in a very fresh way".^[55] Diamandis has mentioned that she sometimes makes her own outfits with clothes she buys from charity shops.^[56] She also collects vintage cheer jackets.^[55] She has often been seen wearing clothes by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac,^[57] Laura Mackness,^[58] Beyond Retro,^[59] Motel Rocks,^[60] Jervoise Jackets^[61] amongst others. Diamandis has admitted that she would "like to do something in fashion, not designing, not one of those skanky celebrity lines, but being involved behind the scenes".^[11]

As part of Selfridges' "Sound of Music", Diamandis designed her own window display for the London Oxford Street branch in May 2010.^[62] She also appeared as a "live mannequin" for the display.^[63] Diamandis was featured on Vogue UK's official website throughout November 2010 for a popular sartorial section called "Today I'm Wearing", where she blogged her daily style choices for the fashion website.^[64] In December 2010, Diamandis announced on her Twitter that she would be the new face of the Max Factor make-up range Max Colour Effects.

Discography[link]

• 2010: The Family Jewels
• 2012: Electra Heart

Filmography[link]

• 2013: Homewrecker (Set to be released in Summer 2013)

Touring[link]

Marina and the Diamonds at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ

In 2009, Marina and the Diamonds played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon early in May 2009,^[3] Glastonbury Festival in June 2009,^[65] and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2009.^[66]

In promotion for her album and "Hollywood", Diamandis performed at Brand New: 10 for 10 at London's Dingwalls,^[67] had an eleven minute 4Music special - 4Play: Marina and the Diamonds - on Channel 4,^[68] performed at T4's Outside-In Festival,^[69] New to Q Sessions^[70] in January 2010, was a musical guest on GMTV, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, The Review Show in February 2010^[71] and Later... with Jools Holland and T4's Frock Me! in April 2010. She performed at the Isle of Wight Festival 2010 and Glastonbury Festival 2010 in June 2010 and is planned to appear at other music festivals across the United Kingdom, mainland Europe and North America.

Diamandis had already sold out the first leg of her first headlining tour, The Family Jewels Tour before the release of her debut album. Her entire tour currently consists of seventy dates across six legs around the United Kingdom, North America, Ireland and mainland Europe.^[30][72][73] Diamandis was accompanied by support acts Clock Opera and Alan Pownall for the first leg of her tour and Spark on The Gem Tour.^[74]

Headlining

• The Family Jewels Tour (2010 - 2011)
• Lonely Hearts Club Tour (2012)

Supporting

• California Dreams Tour (2011)
• Mylo Xyloto Tour (2011 - 2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marina and the Diamonds

• Official website
• Marina and the Diamonds on BBC Wales
• Today I'm Wearing at Vogue UK

Nicki Minaj
Minaj at 2010 MTV Music Awards
Background information
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Born	(1982-12-08) December 8, 1982 (age 29)[1] Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	South Jamaica, Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, R&B, pop
Occupations	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Universal Republic Records, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money
Website	mypinkfriday.com

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), known by her stage name Nicki Minaj ( /mɪˈnɑːʒ/), is a Trinidadian-born American rapper and singer-songwriter. She was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and when she was 5 years of age she moved to the New York City borough of Queens, where she grew up.

After releasing three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 and being signed to Young Money Entertainment in August 2009, Minaj released her debut album, Pink Friday, in November 2010. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) a month after its release.^[2][3] She became the first female solo artist to have seven singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.^[4] Her second single, "Your Love", reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.^[5] She also became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List.^[6] Minaj was named the 2011 Rising Star by Billboard.^[7] Her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was released on April 3, 2012.

Early life[link]

Maraj was born in 1982^{[1][note 1]} in Saint James, a suburb of Trinidad and Tobago's capital city Port of Spain.^[8][9][10] Her parents are of mixed Indian and Afro-Trinidadian ancestry^[11][12] and she lived in Saint James with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens.^[13] According to Minaj, her father drank heavily, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.^[14]

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet.^[13] She graduated from LaGuardia High School.^[15][16] At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.^[15] She had initially planned to sing at LaGuardia but lost her voice on the day of the audition.^[15]

Career[link]

2007–09: Mixtapes and Young Money[link]

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007 after releasing Playtime Is Over with Dirty Money Records. She released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine.^[17] She won the Female Artist of the Year award at the 2008 Underground Music Awards.^[18] Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 under the label of Trapaholics Records; it received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.^[19][20]

In August 2009, Minaj signed a record deal with Young Money Entertainment, with distribution from Universal Motown Records, after fellow American rapper Lil Wayne discovered her and secured the record deal.^[17][21] She then had a solo rap verse in their single "BedRock," which became a commercial success, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Minaj also appeared on "Roger That", which charted at number 56. The song, and in particular Minaj, received positive reviews from critics.^[22] Both songs were included in Young Money Entertainment's debut collaborative studio album We Are Young Money, which was released in December 2009. The album charted in the top ten on the Billboard 200, reaching number 9 and later receiving a Gold Certification by the RIAA. She was then chosen by Mariah Carey to be featured on her single and music video for "Up Out My Face". Critics praised her collaboration for helping to maintain Carey's feminine image and providing a polite track for the female R&B singer.^[23]

[edit] 2010–11: Pink Friday

Britney Spears and Minaj performing the Femme Fatale Remix of "Till the World Ends" in the Femme Fatale Tour.

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released from a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing.^[24] In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday.^[25] Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.^[26] On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel that the album's name would be Pink Friday, in reference to Black Friday.^[27]

Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe versions.^[28][29] A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April.^[30] In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List^[6] and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002.^[31] In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously.^[4] Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minaj's most successful single to date in Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010; the music video was released in late October. "Moment 4 Life" was released as the fourth single. The track featured Canadian rapper Drake and was released on December 7, 2010, becoming a success on the Billboard Hot 100. The single peaked at number 5 on the Hot Rap Songs.^[32] The album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release.^[3]

On January 29, 2011, Minaj appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest, performing "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life". On February 9, 2011, it was announced that Pink Friday had reached number one on the Billboard 200 in its eleventh week on the chart.^[33] It was hinted by Simon Cowell that Minaj would join the judging panel of the American version of the The X Factor.^[34] Starting in June 2011, Minaj will be supporting Pink Friday by serving as an opening act along with Jessie and the Toy Boys and Nervo on Britney Spears' sixth concert tour, the Femme Fatale Tour, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale.^[35] She also was featured on the official remix of Spears' track "Till the World Ends" along with Spears and singer Kesha, which charted at number 3 in the US in April 2011.^[36] "Super Bass" was released from Pink Friday in May 2011, the single charted within the top 10 in many countries including; United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and more.^[37] The song gained positive reviews from critics.^[38][39] Minaj will voice a character in the 3D animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, as an unknown character.^[40][41] Minaj is also featured on French DJ David Guetta's 2011 album, Nothing but the Beat on "Where Them Girls At" and "Turn Me On".

[edit] 2011–present: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Minaj's second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, was first announced through Twitter in November 2011 and was released on April 2, 2012 in the United Kingdom and April 3, 2012 in the United States. The album features collaborations with producers Hit-Boy, Dr. Luke, Rico Beats, Kenoe, RedOne and Oak. Cash Money A&R Joshua Berkman told HitQuarters that Minaj was extremely particular about the beats and music she used saying: "She wouldn't just rap or sing on anything – I could give her a thousand tracks and she may only like one or two."^[42] Preceding the album's release, three promotional singles were released: Roman in Moscow (which didn't make the final cut of the album), "Stupid Hoe," and "Roman Reloaded." The album's first single, "Starships", was released on February 14.^[43] "Starships" became Minaj's best-peaking single in the United Kingdom, when it reached a peak of 2. It has also peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it her second top 10 arrival following, "Super Bass" in 2011. The music video was released on April 26th, 2012.^[44]

On February 12, 2012, Minaj debuted her song "Roman Holiday" at the 54th Grammy Awards. It was the first song ever performed on the Grammy stage by a solo female rapper.^[45] The exorcism-themed performance drew a mixed response online.^[46][47]

She was featured on Madonna's twelfth studio album, titled MDNA, alongside M.I.A. on its lead single "Give Me All Your Luvin'", for which a music video has been directed by Megaforce.^[48] The trio performed the song for the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.^[49] She was also featured on a song called "I Don't Give A", another track from the album.

She released her second single, "Right by My Side", which features Chris Brown, on March 27, 2012, after premiering on Minaj's website on March 20, 2012.^[50] Following the album's release, it peaked at number 24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart. It also peaked in the lower regions of the UK singles chart, at position #101. The third single, "Beez in the Trap", which features 2 Chainz was released to U.S. Urban radio on April 24, 2012. It was premiered on DJ Flex's radio show at Hot 97 on March 20, 2012. It has peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Rap Songs Chart.^[51] The video was premiered on April 6, 2012 on Minaj's official VEVO account.^[52]

Artistry[link]

Minaj in 2011 during Femme Fatale Tour

Image[link]

Minaj has been noted by the media for her curvaceous figure.^{[53][54][55][56]} In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing."^[57] In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”^[58] Minaj has a tattoo in Chinese characters that reads "上帝與你常在" (shàngdì yǔ nǐ cháng zài)^[59] on her left arm, meaning, "God is always with you."^[60]

Alter egos[link]

While growing up, Minaj's home life was often chaotic, with her parents constantly fighting.^[61] As a means of escape, she would create characters and live her life through them.^[61] In an interview with New York she stated, "To get away from all their fighting, I would imagine being a new person. 'Cookie' was my first identity – that stayed with me for a while. I went on to 'Harajuku Barbie,' then 'Nicki Minaj'. Fantasy was my reality."^[61]

On November 18, 2010, Minaj assumed a different alter-ego named "Nicki Teresa".^[62] Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City.^[62] Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).^[63]

In April 2012, Minaj was asked if Roman, Martha and Rosa come out in the bedroom saying “No, they don’t come out in the bedroom, but other people come out in the bedroom,” she told Big Boy during his “Backstage Breakfast,” adding, “And there’s only one person that would know who that personality is". Minaj did not name her alter-ego.^[64]

For her debut album, Minaj created another alter-ego named "Roman Zolanski".^[65] She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Minaj rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin brother". She claims that he was born inside her, out of rage, and becomes him when she is angry. She has also said 'He is a demon inside her'. Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos.^[66] On the collaboration, she said "The new album is going to have a lot of Roman on it ... And if you're not familiar with Roman, then you will be familiar with him very soon. He’s the boy that lives inside of me. He's a lunatic and he's gay and he'll be on there a lot."^[67] Roman also has a "mother" called "Martha Zolanski",^[68] who also appeared on the song "Roman's Revenge", with a British accent,^[69] and on "Roman Holiday", singing for the first time.^[70][71] Martha appears in the video for "Moment 4 Life" where she appears to be Minaj's magical Godmother. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Minaj rapping.^[65] Minaj stated that on her debut album, fans will get to "meet" Nicki, Roman and Onika.^[65]

Influences[link]

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.^[72][73] She was also inspired by Janet Jackson,^[74] Madonna, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones,^[75] M.I.A. and Cyndi Lauper.^[76][77][78]

Product and endorsements[link]

During her career, Minaj has signed contracts with a variety of corporate interests. Companies she contracted with include soft drink manufacturer Pepsi;^[79] Mattel, which produced a custom a Nicki Minaj-themed Barbie;^[80] and MAC Cosmetics, as part of an AIDS-awareness campaign in Latin America.^[81]

Personal life[link]

Minaj is a Christian, and on Christmas Day in 2011, she indicated her faith in Jesus by tweeting John 3:16.^[82][83] In addition, she states that after her father went to rehab and started attending church, "he got saved and started changing his life."^[84] Minaj states that her heroes are "God. And my mother."^[85][86]

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual,^[87][88] she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women,^[15] but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either."^[89] In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined."^[90] She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with Out, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."^[89]

During an interview in the May 2010 issue of Details, Minaj was asked if she felt hip-hop was becoming more gay-friendly. She responded, "I think the world is getting more gay-friendly, so hip-hop is too. But it's harder to imagine an openly gay male rapper being embraced, people view gay men as having no street credibility. But I think we'll see one in my lifetime."^[88]

In July 2011, Minaj's cousin Nicholas Telemaque was murdered near his home in Brooklyn, New York City.^[91] Telemaque was referenced in Minaj's song "Champion" in her second studio album.^[92]

Discography[link]

• Pink Friday (2010)
• Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)

Touring[link]

• Pink Friday Tour (2012)

See also[link]

Nicki Minaj portal

• List of awards and nominations received by Nicki Minaj

References[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Nicki Minaj
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official website
• Nicki Minaj at the Internet Movie Database
• Media related to Nicki Minaj at Wikimedia Commons

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2010)

Enter Shikari
Live at Heaven Nightclub, London in 2009.
Background information
Also known as	Hybryd (1999–2003)
Origin	St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Electronicore Post-hardcore,[1] trancecore,[2] metalcore[3]
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Ambush Reality, Tiny Evil, PIAS Recordings, Hopeless
Website	www.entershikari.com
Members
Rou Reynolds Rory Clewlow Chris Batten Rob Rolfe

Enter Shikari are a British rock/hardcore group that combine post-hardcore and various heavy metal sub-genres such as metalcore and alternative metal with elements of various electronic genres such as electronica, dubstep, trance and occasionally drum and bass creating a very strong electronicore sound, formed in 2003 in St Albans, Hertfordshire.^[4][5] The band is named after a boat belonging to Roughton "Rou" Reynolds' uncle, and a character in a play which he wrote before forming the band, both of which are named Shikari.^[6] Shikari also means 'Hunter' in Marathi, Persian, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali.^[7] Their debut album, Take to the Skies was released on 19 March 2007 and reached #4 in the Official UK Album Chart. Their second album, titled Common Dreads, was released on 15 June 2009 and debuted on the UK Albums Chart at 16.^[8] Their third studio album, A Flash Flood of Colour was released on 16 January 2012 and was positioned at the top of the UK Album Chart for almost its entire week of release, however it eventually debuted on the chart at 4. The band are currently embarking on the A Flash Flood of Colour World Tour.

Biography[link]

[edit] Beginnings and Take to the Skies (1999–2008)

In 1999 a band named Hybryd formed consisting of Rou on guitar, Chris on bass and Rob on drums. They released an EP under the name 'Commit No Nuisance' and featured the tracks 'Perfect Pygmalion' and 'Fake'. In 2003, Hybryd became Enter Shikari. They revolutionised their sound by recruiting Rory to play Guitar so that Rou could concentrate on electronics. Enter Shikari formed in St Albans, England in 2004. The band features Roughton "Rou" (/raʊ/) Reynolds on vocals and electronics, Liam 'Rory' Clewlow on guitar, Chris Batten on bass guitar and Rob Rolfe on drums. All four members are from St Albans, Hertfordshire.^[4]

During 2003 and 2004, the band released three demo EPs that were available from their gigs and their website. They had another demo EP planned for release in 2005, (although no such EP materialized only recordings surfaced online) for this the first versions of Return To Energiser and Labyrinth were recorded, early versions of Ok Time For Plan B and We Can Breathe In Space were also recorded around this time but it's unclear if these were destined for the EP. In August 2006 they released a video of, the (only 100 copies) single "Mothership" which became the single of the week on the iTunes store. Their first physical single featured re-recorded versions of "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B", which had previously been featured on one of the demo EPs. It was released on 30 October 2006. It was limited to 1000 copies of each format and sold out within the first week of release. In mid January 2007, Enter Shikari's first single, "Mothership", entered the UK singles chart for one week at number 151, on Downloads only (despite its physical formats not being eligible for charts [at the band's request]). This was followed a week later by "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B", which charted at number 182 on the singles chart (despite its physical formats being ineligible for charts [at the band's request]) and number 146 in the Download Chart. In addition "Sorry You're Not a Winner/OK Time for Plan B" featured on EA Sports video game title NHL 08 and also Madden 08. Enter Shikari secured a spot on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. They have also had interviews with popular music press such as Kerrang! and Rock Sound. On 4 November 2006, they became only the second unsigned band to ever sell out London Astoria (the first being The Darkness).

They also made the NME's "New Noise 2007", a list of the bands it considers most likely to achieve success in the coming year (previous years lists have included the likes of Arcade Fire, Hot Chip and Bloc Party).

The next single released was "Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour", on 5 March 2007. This was the band's second single to be released from their forthcoming debut album. It contained a re-recorded version of the song "Anything Can Happen in the Next Half Hour". It reached 27 in the Official UK chart. The band's debut album, Take to the Skies, was released on 19 March 2007 and on 25 March it reached number 4 in the UK Official Album Charts. It contained re-recordings of many of the songs that had featured on the demo EPs and singles that were released prior to the release of the album.

During the month of March 2007 it was announced they would be playing at Download Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Give it a Name, Glastonbury Festival, Oxegen festival in Ireland and Rock am Ring in Germany. On 30 March 2007, Enter Shikari announced that their next single would be "Jonny Sniper"^[9] and would be released on 18 June. The song's video was premiered on 21 May. The single received bad reviews from NME.^[10]

On 6 June 2007 they performed a live show on BBC Radio 1 for Zane Lowe at BBC Radio Theatre.

They played an eleven date headline tour in October/November 2007 including their biggest ever headline gig in the 4,921 capacity Brixton Academy. The band released a compilation EP titled The Zone on 12 November.

Enter Shikari have performed over 500 gigs as of 2007 and played on the Gibson/MySpace stage at 2006's Download Festival. On 14 May 2007, Enter Shikari started their first North America tour. This followed into three more North American tours.

In January 2008, Enter Shikari performed in Australia and New Zealand for the first time as part of the Big Day Out Festival. The band also did a number of side-shows in Australia, including two sold out shows at the Hi-Fi Bar in Melbourne.

They played at Projekt Revolution in Milton Keynes on 29 June 2007, alongside Linkin Park, Jay-Z, N.E.R.D, The Bravery, InnerPartySystem and Pendulum.

On 13 May 2008, the band released the first in a series of videos called "Enter Shikari: In the 'Low". The videos, posted on the band's YouTube page, showcased the band as they recorded their new single, "We Can Breathe In Space, They Just Don't Want Us To Escape", and demoed new material. One of the new songs set to feature on the album was 'Step Up', which was first performed at Milton Keynes Pitz on 28 June 2008, the warm up show to Projekt Revolution the following day.

On 8 August 2008, it was announced that "We Can Breathe In Space, They Just Don't Want Us To Escape" would be released as a single. It was said to be a drastic re-working of the song originally demoed by the band back in 2005, but was not to be included in the band's second album.

They completed a tour of the UK and Ireland which took place over the course of 6 weeks; from 30 September to 4 November 2008; and consisted of 28 shows. A DVD compilation of live footage filmed by band / crew along with some TV footage was to be released to coincide with the tour according to a Kerrang! interview with the band, but has not been released as of yet.

[edit] Common Dreads (2009–2010)

It was confirmed by NME that Enter Shikari had finished working on their second album, Common Dreads, in March 2009 and announced that they would tour the UK and Europe during 2009. They also made available a free download of a new song, Antwerpen from their website.^[11] On 15 April 2009 Juggernauts was played on Radio 1 as Zane Lowe's "Hottest Track in the World" and was released as a single on 1 June 2009. The B-side of the single is "All Eyes On The Saint". The band also had help from musician Danny Sneddon who helped with the recording of Juggernauts.^[12] On 1 May Kerrang featured their track-by-track of the album. Metal Hammer were the first to review the album online with a track-by-track.^[13] Since it was announced in an interview with Andy Copping on Scuzz on their "The Digital Darkside: Download Special" that there would be 2 secret bands playing at Download Festival 2009, it has been heavily speculated that Enter Shikari would play one of these slots. They were confirmed to be one of the secret bands on 9 June 2009.^[14] Enter Shikari also featured at Reading and Leeds Festivals on 29 and 30 August 2009, playing songs from Common Dreads, as well as acoustic variations of 'Juggernauts', 'No Sleep Tonight' and 'Adieu' from Take To The Skies.

Common Dreads was released through Ambush Reality on 15 June 2009 and debuted at #16 on the UK top 40 album chart. The second single that has been released from Common Dreads was No Sleep Tonight.^[15] The 7-inch vinyl, CD single and MP3 download was released on 17 August 2009. A slightly modified version of the song "Wall" was released as a radio single, and a video for the song "Zzzonked" made of clips of a live show which was played at Norwich UEA, was also released.

A 2-disc version of Common Dreads was due to be released in January 2010.^[16] Frontman Rou Reynolds announced that "We’ve got a different artist for each single from Hospital Records to do drum ‘n’ bass remixes so we’ll be releasing that as a 12". Then we're doing the same thing with (dubstep label) True Tiger who've done a dubstep remix of each single." however it was later said in a Radio 1 interview that in fact they were only having their main singles remixed.

The new single "Thumper"^[17] was released on 19 January 2010, on BBC Radio One, As well the new single "Tribalism", which was first played on Radio 1, 16 February 2010. These songs come off the new B-sides and remixes album Tribalism, which was released on 22 February 2010.

Since March 2009, drummer Rob Rolfe has not been able to perform at United States shows due to a denial of a visa. Rob has chosen Fellsilent drummer, Christopher Mansbridge to fill in for these dates.^[18] Although, on 9 July 2010 Rob stated in a Twitter post that he had obtained a visa. On 30 September 2010 Rob passed through customs at an airport in Houston for Enter Shikari's North American tour in October/November, and confirmed this in a Twitter post stating simply "America, I'm back".

Throughout February–March 2010, Enter Shikari joined the Australian summer festival Soundwave along with other bands such as A Day to Remember and Architects, playing shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The band then continued to tour Japan with A Day to Remember and Escape the Fate and in April–May 2010, they served as a support act, along with August Burns Red and Silverstein on A Day to Remember's Toursick.

[edit] Live From Planet Earth and A Flash Flood of Colour (2010–present)

On 14 June 2010, Enter Shikari announced that they had returned to the studio to do a "one off new track" called "Destabilise" which was released as a download on 26 October 2010, and a limited edition coloured 7-inch vinyl on 29 November 2010.

During June and July 2010, the band took part in the Warped Tour in USA and afterwards, they played a few festivals such as headlining Redfest and supporting The Prodigy at Milton Keynes Bowl. Following this, they performed an exclusive show at the venue Underworld situated in Camden which was filmed and recorded and features on the live DVD, 'Live From planet Earth'.

In August 2010, Enter Shikari returned to Australian shores for a headlining national tour, playing sold out shows in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne and near-sellout shows in Perth and Brisbane. On 2 October 2010, the band went on their headlining "Destabilise" Tour in North America with Haste the Day, Sleeping With Sirens, MSWHITE, and LightsGoBlue.^{[citation needed]} The band then supported 30 Seconds to Mars on their Into The Wild Tour leg of UK arenas in November and December 2010.^[19]

Also, at the end of 2010, the band collaborated with UK drum and bass band The Qemists on their single Take it Back which was released on 28 March 2011.

On 21 March 2011, it was confirmed that Enter Shikari will be playing at the Reading and Leeds festivals in late August and on 26 April 2011, the band confirmed a mainland European tour starting in Kiev, Ukraine on 7 September, and ending in Tilburg, Holland on 3 October 2011. Also, on 14 June 2011, the band confirmed a UK and Ireland tour which will take part during the month of October. Support for these two tours will be provided from Your Demise and letlive.

In May 2011, the band traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to record their third studio album. Recording began on 8 May 2011, and finished on 14 June 2011. On 19 May 2011, they released the single; "Quelle Surprise". It was originally planned to be the first single released from the new album however, Rou Reynolds has since confirmed that it won't feature, and instead will be a stand alone single much like Destabilise.^[20]

In June 2011, the band signed to Hopeless Records in the US, and embarked on the Vans Warped Tour for the second year in a row.^[21]

On 11 July 2011, the band released their third live album and first DVD, bundled together as Live From Planet Earth. Distribution of the non limited edition version of Live From Planet Earth and other Enter Shikari stock has been affected however following a fire at the PIAS distribution warehouse in London, after it was set on fire by rioters following the 2011 England riots. This was announced via the bands' Facebook after many fans discovered that the fire had affected the bands' label Ambush Reality, and Rou confirmed a majority of the stock had indeed gone up in flames in an interview with Rocksound.^[22]

In the fall and winter of 2011, Enter Shikari will embark on a US tour called "The Dead Throne Tour" with The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, and For Today.

On 8 September 2011, the band announced that the first single from their 'as yet untitled' third album will be called "Sssnakepit." The single was announced for release on 20 September 2011 along with a video recorded for the track at Dingwalls Club in Camden Town, London. ^[23] A video of the first live performance of the song posted on the band's Facebook shows the rap hardcore influences in the song, as well as the title suggests a further political theme. The band had also been playing another new song live titled "Arguing with Thermometers", during their European fall tour. The debut performance of this song took place on 12 September in Warsaw, Poland.

During the band's show in St.Petersburg, Russia, on 8 September 2011, bassist Chris Batten revealed that the band's third album was set for release in January 2012.

On 19 September 2011, Sssnakepit was played twice in a row on Zane Lowes show as his 'Hottest Track In The World'. The music video (produced by Stand Your Ground Media) for Sssnakepit was released the same week. 'Arguing with Thermometers' was announced to be on the new album on Lowe's show, when a live studio session was played. ^[24]

A leak from UK Magazine Rock Sound revealed that Enter Shikari's third studio album will be titled "A Flash Flood of Colour" and will be released on 9 January 2012, however, due to shipping issues the band has since moved the release date back a week to 16 January. It was also revealed in the leak that the band are planning a March 2012 UK tour.

On 4 December 2011, the band posted this on their Facebook page: "we've kept this news under our hats for now, BUT, who's interested in hearing another new track?? WELL... if you keep your eyes peeled on our wall tomorrow, we'll give you the details. tease tease." Sure enough, the next day "Gandhi Mate, Gandhi" was released on the band's YouTube page and iTunes. It was also broadcast on the Zane Lowe show on BBC Radio 1.^[25]

On 5 January 2012 the band released the studio version of "Arguing With Thermometers" on their YouTube page. It was also played on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show in the morning as his "Hottest Track In The World". The official video for the song was uploaded to the band's YouTube page on 17 January 2012. A few days prior to the song's release the band showcased a still shot of the video, seeing Rou dressed as a news reporter called "Phillis McCleavland".

The band released their new album on 16 January 2012, and played three album release shows. The first was for HMV in London at the Borderline. People who had pre-ordered the album via HMV were automatically entered into a prize draw to gain access to the release show as no tickets were sold. The second show was in Kingston upon Thames, at the Hippodrome. This was for Banquet Records and tickets were sold with special offers available if the ticket was bought with an album. The final show was played in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

At the end of the first week of the album being released, the album reached number four in the U.K charts.

The band began their first tour of "A Flash Flood Of Colour" on 10 March 2012 at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, Holland; with two weeks worth of dates across mainland Europe and the United Kingdom, ending with a sold out show at Hammersmith Apollo in London on 23 March 2012. Support came from Young Guns, The James Cleaver Quintet (Europe only) and Tek-One (UK only).^[26]

Soon after, that band took the "A Flash Flood of Colour World Tour" to America for a 7 week stint, with support from letlive. and At The Skylines.^[27]

The bands Summer 2012 plans feature festivals across Europe, including festivals such as Radio 1's Big Weekend, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Pukkelpop, FM4 Frequency Festival, Sonisphere in Spain, T in the Park, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, and many more, ranging from the end of May to the end of August.^[28]

Band members[link]

• Roughton "Rou" Reynolds — lead vocals, programming, keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic guitar
• Liam "Rory" Clewlow — guitars, backing vocals
• Chris Batten — bass, backing vocals
• Rob Rolfe — drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography[link]

• Take to the Skies (2007)
• Common Dreads (2009)
• A Flash Flood of Colour (2012)

Ambush Reality[link]

Ambush Reality is an independent record label that only releases music by Enter Shikari. Formed in July 2006, it is co-owned and run by the members of the band and their friends.^[29] The band has decided that, in order to tour in the United States, they will have to sign with a major record label in America.^[30] On 28 August 2007, Ambush Reality said that Take to the Skies came out in North America in October 2007, with Ambush Reality joining Interscope Records imprint Tiny Evil. Ambush Reality signed a distribution deal with Warner Music in order to make the album Common Dreads and future releases more accessible outside the UK and also more widely advertised and promoted.^[31] As of 8 December 2010 Enter Shikari / Ambush Reality have left distribution through Warner and will distribute throughout UK/Europe/Japan/Australia via PIAS Entertainment Group. As of 21 June 2011, Enter Shikari's releases in North America and Canada will be via independent record label Hopeless Records.^[32]

Side projects[link]

Reynolds has produced music as part of a side project with the name "Rout"[3], which he sometimes performs in small venues and before shows. He previously used the names "Shark & Blitz" and "Routron 5000".^[33] The music develops on his penchant for electronics, resulting in a drum and bass/jungle/dubstep sound. Some songs feature samples of Rou and friends fooling around as well as iconic lines from movies or songs.

Frontman Rou Reynolds has also set up his own clothing company Step Up Clothing [4].

Drummer Rob Rolfe also performs as a DJ under the alias "Sgt. Rolfy" specialising in freeform hardcore music.

Enter Shikari promoted the film Zeitgeist: Moving Forward through their website, encouraging their fans to join the Zeitgeist Movement, stating: "Single-handedly the biggest influence on all that is Enter Shikari!".

Reynolds was also involved in hardcore side project JBM along with his friend Matt Pendell.

Accolades and Readers Poll Results[link]