Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 highest-ranking music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its "number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week.

The chart is based mostly on sales (both at retail and digitally) of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday (to coincide with the Global Release Date of the music industry) and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday with an issue post-dated to the Saturday of the following week. The chart's streaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday.

New product is released to the American market on Fridays. Digital downloads of albums are also included in Billboard 200 tabulation. Albums that are not licensed for retail sale in the United States (yet purchased in the U.S. as imports) are not eligible to chart. A long-standing policy which made titles that are sold exclusively by specific retail outlets (such as Walmart and Starbucks) ineligible for charting, was reversed on November 7, 2007, and took effect in the issue dated November 17.

Steven Wilson

Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician and record producer, most associated with the progressive rock genre. Currently a successful solo artist, he became known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands. He has also worked with artists such as Opeth, King Crimson, Pendulum, Jethro Tull, XTC, Yes, Marillion, Orphaned Land and Anathema.

Wilson is a self-taught producer, audio engineer, guitar and keyboard player, playing other instruments as needed, including bass guitar, autoharp, hammered dulcimer and flute. He currently lives in Hemel Hempstead, the town he grew up in, but has also spent time living in London and Tel Aviv, Israel, although he does not hold a residence in Tel Aviv anymore.

His music has received wide acclaim. He has been four times nominated for the Grammy Awards, twice with Porcupine Tree, with his collaborative band Storm Corrosion and as a soloist on one occasion. In 2015, he received three awards at the London Progressive Music Awards for his services to the world of progressive rock music and crowned "the king of prog rock".

Album

Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at 33 ¹⁄₃ rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century albums sales have mostly focused on compact disc (CD) and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used in the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl.

An album may be recorded in a recording studio (fixed or mobile), in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to several years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or "mixed" together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation, so as to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", allow for reverberation, which creates a "live" sound. The majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones; with each part recorded as a separate track.

Billboard

A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers. Typically showing large, ostensibly witty slogans, and distinctive visuals, billboards are highly visible in the top designated market areas.

The largest standard-size billboards, known as Bulletins, are located primarily on major highways, expressways or principal arterials, and command high-density consumer exposure (mostly to vehicular traffic). Bulletins afford greatest visibility due not only to their size, but because they allow creative "customizing" through extensions and embellishments.

Posters are the other common form of billboard advertising, located mostly along primary and secondary arterial roads. Posters are a smaller format than bulletins and are viewed principally by residents and commuter traffic, with some pedestrian exposure.

Hannah Montana

Hannah Montana, also known as Hannah Montana Forever for the fourth and final season, is an American musical comedy series created by Michael Poryes, Rich Correll, and Barry O'Brien which focused on Miley Stewart (portrayed by Miley Cyrus), a teenager living a double life as an average schoolgirl by day and a famous recording artist Hannah Montana by night. It follows the day-to-day life of Miley, her brother and friends while also starring Cyrus' country singer father Billy Ray Cyrus as her dad.

The series, produced by It's a Laugh Productions and Michael Poryes Productions, premiered on Disney Channel on March 24, 2006 and concluded on January 16, 2011 after airing four seasons and ninety-eight episodes. The soundtrack albums Hannah Montana (2006), Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), Hannah Montana 3 (2009), and Hannah Montana Forever (2010) were released to coincide with their respective seasons. In 2007, the series' success led to the Best of Both Worlds Tour, which visited North America. The following year, it was adapted into the 3D film Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert and its accompanying soundtrack. In 2009, the series' first feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie was released to commercial success, and was additionally promoted through its accompanying soundtrack. The show has additionally distributed all seasons to DVD.