Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993), known professionally as Ariana Grande (/ˌɑːriːˈɑːnə ˈɡrɑːndeɪ/), is an American singer and actress. She began her career in the Broadway musical 13, before landing the role of Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009. After four seasons, the show ended, and Grande starred on the spinoff, Sam & Cat, which ended in 2014. She has also appeared in other theatre, television and film roles and lent her voice to animated television and films.

Grande's music career began with the soundtrack Music from Victorious (2011). She signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her debut studio album Yours Truly in 2013, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "The Way", reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100, with critics comparing her wide vocal range to Mariah Carey's.

Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), also reached number one in the United States and charted well in various other countries. With the singles "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang" and "Love Me Harder" from that album, she spent 34 continuous weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and had the most top 10 singles of any artist in 2014. In 2015, Grande promoted My Everything with her first world tour, The Honeymoon Tour, and guest-starred in the Fox comedy-horror TV series Scream Queens. She also released the lead single "Focus" from her upcoming third album, released a holiday EP album, Christmas & Chill, and was heard on several collaborative projects.

The Chemical Brothers

The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music band composed of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons originating in Manchester in 1989. Along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. In the UK, they have had six number one albums and 13 top 20 singles, including two number ones.

History

Formation and early career (1984–95)

Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother and a father who were not around much when Simons was growing up. Simons' two main interests when he was young were aeroplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, he developed a fondness for rare groove and hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and three A-levels, he continued on to study history, especially late medieval history, at the University of Manchester.

Sean Paul

Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973), known simply as Sean Paul, is a Jamaican dancehall ragga hip hop recording artist, musician, producer and actor.

Life and career

1973–1996: Early life

Sean Paul was born in Kingston, Jamaica to parents Garth and Frances, both of whom were talented athletes. His mother is a well-known painter. His paternal grandfather had Sephardi Jewish ancestry, from a family that had emigrated from Portugal, and his paternal grandmother was Afro-Caribbean; his mother is of English and Chinese Jamaican descent. Sean Paul was raised as a Catholic, though aware that his grandfather came from an old respected Jamaican Jewish family. Many members of his family are swimmers. His grandfather was on the first Jamaican men's national water polo team. His father also played water polo for the team in the 1960s, and competed in long-distance swimming, while Sean Paul's mother was a backstroke swimmer. Sean Paul played for the national water polo team from the age of 13 to 21, when he gave up the sport in order to launch his musical career. He attended Wolmer's Boys' School and the College of Arts, Science, and Technology, now known as the University of Technology, where he was trained in commerce with an aim of pursuing an occupation in hotel management.