Piano

The piano (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjaːno]; an abbreviation of pianoforte [pjanoˈfɔrte]) is a musical instrument played using a keyboard. It is widely employed in classical, jazz, traditional and popular music for solo and ensemble performances, accompaniment, and for composing and rehearsal. Although the piano is not portable and often expensive, its versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the world's most familiar musical instruments.

An acoustic piano usually has a protective wooden case surrounding the soundboard and metal strings, and a row of 88 black and white keys (52 white, 36 black). The strings are sounded when the keys are pressed, and silenced when the keys are released. The note can be sustained, even when the keys are released, by the use of pedals.

Pressing a key on the piano's keyboard causes a padded (often with felt) hammer to strike strings. The hammer rebounds, and the strings continue to vibrate at their resonant frequency. These vibrations are transmitted through a bridge to a soundboard that amplifies by more efficiently coupling the acoustic energy to the air. When the key is released, a damper stops the strings' vibration, ending the sound. Although an acoustic piano has strings, it is usually classified as a percussion instrument because the strings are struck rather than plucked (as with a harpsichord or spinet); in the Hornbostel-Sachs system of instrument classification, pianos are considered chordophones. With technological advances, electric, electronic, and digital pianos have also been developed.

Nicki Minaj

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1982), professionally known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-born American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, New York, Minaj earned public attention after releasing three mixtapes between 2007–09. She signed a recording contract with Young Money Entertainment in 2009.

Minaj's debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and spawned the top-five single "Super Bass". During that time, Minaj became the first female solo artist to have seven singles simultaneously charting on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), also topped the chart and its lead single, the pop crossover "Starships", peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Minaj's third studio album, The Pinkprint (2014), was preceded by its second single, "Anaconda", which peaked at number two on the Hot 100 and is her highest-charting single in the United States to date. Minaj made her film debut in the 2012 animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift, and also had a supporting role in the 2014 film The Other Woman. In 2013, she was a judge on the twelfth season of American Idol.

The Sunday People

The Sunday People is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper, founded as The People on 16 October 1881.

It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group, and shares a website with the Mirror papers. In July 2011 it had an average Sunday circulation of 806,544. By January 2014 the circulation had shrunk to 374,820. Despite its tagline claim to be a "truly independent" newspaper, The People endorsed the Labour Party at the 2015 general election on the recommendation of polling data from its readers.

Notable columnists

Editors

References

External links

Jasmine Thompson

Jasmine Ying Thompson (born 8 November 2000), better known professionally as simply Jasmine Thompson, is an English singer and songwriter. Starting out releasing covers of songs in 2010, she achieved wider recognition after featuring on German deep house producer Robin Schulz's song "Sun Goes Down". This track charted within the top 10 in multiple countries including Australia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As of 2015, her YouTube channel has over 1.9 million subscribers and over 220 million views.

Her acoustic cover of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" reached number 32 on the UK Singles Chart after being featured in an advertisement by Sainsbury's. The cover from Thompson was remixed by DJ Felix Jaehn in 2015, and became a huge hit, peaking at number 2 in the UK, and charting in several other countries. The video has received over 100 million views online. Her voice has been described as "eerie". She is of half English and half Chinese ethnicity.

Career

2013: Bundle of Tantrums

The Pinkprint

The Pinkprint is the third studio album by Trinidadian-born American recording artist Nicki Minaj. It was released on December 12, 2014, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Minaj co-executive-produced the album alongside Birdman, Lil Wayne and Ronald Williams, also with the assistance of a variety of producers. Looking to depart from the dance-pop elements of her second studio album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012), Minaj wanted to make a follow-up record influenced by her traditional hip hop beginnings.

Upon its release, The Pinkprint received mostly favorable reviews from music critics for its overall production. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 244,000 units (198,000 in pure album sales). As of December 2015, the album has sold 682,000 copies in the US. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 22 on the UK Albums Chart. It is nominated for Best Rap Album at the upcoming 58th Grammy Awards.