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Shakira

2009-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known professionally as Shakira (pronounced /ʃəˈkɪərə/, Spanish: [tʃaˈkiɾa] or [ʃaˈkiɾa], Portuguese: [ʃaˈkiɾə]; Arabic: شكيرة‎ ), is a Colombian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who emerged as a musical prodigy in the music scene of Latin America in the early 1990s. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira revealed many of her talents in school as a live performer, demonstrating her vocal ability with rock and roll, Latin and Middle Eastern influences with her own original twist on belly dancing. Shakira is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Portuguese and Italian

After commercial flops with local producers on her first two albums, and little-known outside Colombia, Shakira decided to produce her own brand of music. In 1995 she released Pies Descalzos, which brought her great fame in Latin America and Spain, and her 1998 album ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? was a critical success. Since then she has gained many fans in non-Spanish-speaking countries, especially in the United States. In 2001, and aided by heavy promotion of the music video, "Whenever, Wherever", she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over thirteen million copies worldwide.Four years later, Shakira released two album projects called Fijación Oral Vol. 1 and Oral Fixation Vol. 2. Both reinforced her success, particularly with the most successful song in the twenty-first century to date, "Hips Don't Lie" Currently, Shakira is working on final touches of her upcoming album She Wolf, that will be released in October of 2009

Michael Jackson

2009-10-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009), known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time. His unique contributions to music and dance, along with a highly publicized personal life, made him a prominent figure in popular culture for four decades.

Alongside his brothers, he made his debut in 1964 as lead singer and youngest member of The Jackson 5, and began a successful solo career in 1971. His 1982 album Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, with Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995) among the best selling. He is widely credited with having transformed the music video from a promotional tool into an art form, with videos for his songs "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Thriller" making him the first African American artist to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound, vocal style and choreography has inspired numerous artists ranging in style from Pop, Contemporary R&B, Rock and Hip Hop music, while also breaking down cultural, racial and generational barriers.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements feature multiple Guinness World Records—including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards (20 only as a solo artist, including one for "artist of the century"), 17 number one singles (including the four as a member of the Jackson 5), and estimated sales between 350 million and 750 million records worldwide.He was also a notable philanthropist and humanitarian who donated and raised millions of dollars through support of 39 charities and his own Heal the World Foundation.

Jackson's personal life generated controversy for years. His changing appearance was noticed from the late 1970s onwards, with changes to his nose and to the color of his skin drawing media publicity. He was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993 though no charges were brought, and in 2005 he was tried and acquitted of further allegations. He married twice, first in 1994 and again in 1996, and brought up three children, one born to a surrogate mother. While preparing for the This Is It concert tour in 2009, Jackson died at the age of 50 after suffering from cardiac arrest. He reportedly had been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam, and his death was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner. His death triggered an outpouring of grief from around the world with his globally live broadcast memorial service attracting an audience of up to one billion people.

Evanescence

2009-10-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording two private EPs and a demo CD named Origin, with the help of Bigwig Enterprises in 2000, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and helped the band win two Grammy Awards. A year later, Evanescence released their first live album, Anywhere but Home, which sold more than one million copies worldwide. In 2006, the band released their second studio album, The Open Door, which sold more than five million copies.

The band has suffered several line-up changes, including co-founder Moody leaving mid-tour in 2003, bassist Will Boyd in mid-2006, followed by guitarist John LeCompt and drummer Rocky Gray in 2007. The latter two of the changes ultimately led the band to be on hiatus with only temporary replacements sought in order for the band to finish touring. In June 2009, Amy Lee posted on the official Evanescence website that the band had been working on new material for a proposed 2010 album.

Singles

"Bring Me to Life" · "Going Under" · "My Immortal" · "Everybody's Fool" · "Imaginary" · "Missing" · "Call Me When You're Sober" · "Lithium" · "Sweet Sacrifice" · "Good Enough" · "Weight of the World"

Madonna

2009-10-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone on August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album Madonna in 1983 on Sire Records.

A series of hit singles from her studio albums Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a pop icon for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation, a joint venture between herself and Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book Sex, and starring in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.

In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film Evita, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Madonna's seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998) became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. During the 2000s, Madonna released five studio albums, all of which reached top position on the Billboard 200. Departing from Warner Bros. Records, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million dollar contract with Live Nation in 2008.

Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with 63 million RIAA-certified albums; she has sold over 200 million albums worldwide.In 2007, Guinness World Records listed her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year.Considered to be one of the most influential women in contemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing her music and image and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry; she is recognized as an influence among numerous music artists