Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of pop music's best-selling music artists of all-time, with an estimated 170–200 million records sold worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American women artists who follow in her footsteps.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only woman to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Albums") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a woman in history.Rolling Stone named it the best album of 1986, and ranked it at number 254 on the magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a woman to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Miami Horror

Miami Horror are an Australian indietronica band from Melbourne, Victoria. Miami Horror was initially formed by its producer and DJ, Benjamin Plant who began it as a solo project. In addition to Plant, the band currently consists of Josh Moriarty (guitars/vocals), Aaron Shanahan (co-production, guitar/vocals), and Daniel Whitechurch (bass, keyboards, and guitars).

The band released their debut studio album, Illumination, in 2010. "Sometimes", Miami Horror's debut single from Illumination, was included as part of the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto V.

Biography

Miami Horror take influence from dance-pop artists of the 1970s and 1980s such as Prince, E.L.O., New Order and Michael Jackson, as well as progressive rock acts such as Todd Rundgren, Supertramp and Pink Floyd, combining it with modern production techniques from styles such as house music.

In 2007, Plant began releasing remixes under the moniker Miami Horror; their instantaneous blog success led him to leave film school and pursue a career in music. A series of both bootleg and official remixes included Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You" and Tegan and Sara's "Walking with a Ghost", along with contemporary Australian acts such as the Midnight Juggernauts, Faker, The Presets and Grafton Primary. According to Plant, the name Miami Horror "was just a visual thing. I thought both words were pretty bold in themselves, but also have quite a strong visual side. Miami represents the colorful and flamboyant side, while horror represents the darker." He also said that although he "didn't like it for the first two weeks", he "learnt to live with it".

R. Kelly

Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967), known professionally as R. Kelly, is an American recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and former professional basketball player. A native of Chicago, Illinois, often referred to as the King of R&B, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play. He is known for a collection of major hit singles including "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", "I Believe I Can Fly", "Gotham City", "Ignition (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip-hopera "Trapped in the Closet". In 1998, Kelly won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly". His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous hip hop and contemporary R&B artists. Kelly became the first music star to play professional basketball, when he got signed in 1997.

Kelly has written, produced, and remixed songs and albums for many artists, including Aaliyah's 1994 debut album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. In 1996, Kelly was nominated for a Grammy for writing Michael Jackson's song "You Are Not Alone". In 2002 and 2004, Kelly released collaboration albums with rapper Jay-Z and has been a guest vocalist for other hip hop artists like Nas, Sean Combs, and The Notorious B.I.G.