Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1981. Founded when drummer Lars Ulrich posted an advertisement in a local newspaper, Metallica's line-up has primarily consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, while going through a number of bassists. Currently, the spot is held by Robert Trujillo.

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the "big four" of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax during the genre's development into a popular style. The band earned a growing fan base in the underground music community and critical acclaim, with the 1986 release Master of Puppets described as one of the most influential and "heavy" thrash metal albums. The band achieved substantial commercial success withMetallica (1991), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With this release the band expanded its musical direction resulting in an album that appealed to a more mainstream audience.

In 2000, Metallica was among several artists who filed a lawsuit against Napster for sharing the band's copyright-protected material for free without the band members' consent. A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the Billboard 200, the release ofSt. Anger alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled Some Kind of Monster documented the recording process of St. Anger.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, twenty-four music videos, and forty-five singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making Metallica the only band, other than the Dave Matthews Band, to do so. The band's 1991 album, Metallica, has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 22 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-highest-selling album in the country. The band has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album, Death Magnetic. As of September 2008, Metallica is the fourth highest-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 51,136,000 albums in the United States alone.

Legacy and influence

Metallica has become one of the most influential heavy metal bands, and is credited as one of the "big four" of thrash metal, along with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth. The band has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, including 57 million in the United States, which makes Metallica the most commercially successful thrash metal band. The writers of The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll felt Metallica gave heavy metal "a much-needed charge". Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Greg Prato of Allmusic said Metallica, "expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions", calling the band "easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth."

Jonathan Davis of Korn respects Metallica as his favorite band and comments, "I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever." Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin said Metallica has been the biggest influence on the band stating, "they really changed my life when I was 16 years old - I?d never heard anything that heavy." Vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn of Machine Head said that when creating the band's 2007 album, The Blackening, "What we mean is an album that has the power, influence and epic grandeur of that album ? and the staying power - a timeless record like that". Trivium guitarists Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy said that when they heard Metallica they wanted to start playing guitar. M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold stated touring with Metallica was the band's career highlight, and said "Selling tons of records and playing huge shows will never compare to meeting your idols ." God Forbid guitarists Doc and Dallas Coyle grew up with Metallica as an inspiration, and the band's bassist John Outcalt admires Burton as a "rocker". Ill Ni?o drummer Dave Chavarri finds early Metallica releases as "heavy, raw, rebellious. It said, 'fuck you'", and Adema drummer Kris Kohls says the band is influenced by Metallica.

Kerrang! released a tribute album with the April 8, 2006, edition of the magazine, titled Master of Puppets: Remastered, which celebrated the 20-year anniversary of Master of Puppets. The album featured cover versions of Metallica songs by the bands Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine, Chimaira, Mastodon, Mendeed, and Trivium, all who are influenced by Metallica. Over 15 Metallica tribute albums have been released. On September 10, 2006, Metallica guest starred on The Simpsons eighteenth season premiere "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", and Hammett's and Hetfield's voices were used in three episodes of the animated television series Metalocalypse.

Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica released a tribute album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, which featured eight Metallica songs recorded with cellos. A parody band named Beatallica plays music using a combination of The Beatles and Metallica songs. Beatallica faced legal troubles when the Sony Corporation, who own The Beatles' catalogue, ordered a cease-and-desist claiming "substantial and irreparable injury"?ordering the group to pay damages. A fan of Beatallica, Ulrich asked Metallica lawyer Peter Paterno to help settle the legal case.

Metallica was ranked by MTV as the third "Greatest Heavy Metal Band in History", was listed fifth on VH1's100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and was number one on VH1's 20 Greatest Metal Bands list. Master of Puppets was ranked number 167 on Rolling Stones "500 Great Albums of all time", and Metallica was number 252. Master of Puppets was named in Q Magazine's "50 Heaviest Albums Of All Time", ranked number one on IGN's "Top 25 Metal Albums", and number one on the Metal-rules.com "Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums" list. The song "Enter Sandman" was ranked number 399 on Rolling Stones "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

On March 7, 1999, Metallica was inducted into the San Francisco Walk of Fame. The mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, proclaimed the day "Official Metallica Day". Metallica was awarded the MTV Icon award in 2003, and a concert was held paying tribute to the band with artists performing Metallica songs. Performances included Sum 41 with a medley of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Enter Sandman", and "Master of Puppets". Staind covered "Nothing Else Matters", Avril Lavigne played "Fuel", hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg performed "Sad But True", Korn played "One", and Limp Bizkit performed a rendition of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)".

The popular Guitar Hero series added many of Metallica's songs into their games. The first instance wasGuitar Hero III when "One" was a track in the game. In the sequel, Guitar Hero: World Tour, the song "Trapped Under Ice" was used. Eventually in 2009, Metallica collaborated to make Guitar Hero: Metallica, in which several of Metallica's songs were included. Harmonix's Rock Band series included "Enter Sandman," with "Ride the Lightning," "Blackened," and "...And Justice For All" released as downloadable songs. Later in the sequel game, Rock Band 2, Metallica's song "Battery" was used.

Awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Metallica

Grammy Awards:

1990: Best Metal Performance ? "One"
1991: Best Metal Performance ? "Stone Cold Crazy"
1992: Best Metal Performance ? Metallica
1999: Best Metal Performance ? "Better than You"
2000: Best Hard Rock Performance ? "Whiskey in the Jar"
2001: Best Rock Instrumental Performance ? "The Call of Ktulu" with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony
2004: Best Metal Performance ? "St. Anger"
2009: Best Metal Performance ? "My Apocalypse"
2009: Best Recording Package - Death Magnetic

MTV Video Music Awards:

1992: Best Metal Video ? "Enter Sandman"
1996: Best Metal Video ? "Until It Sleeps"

American Music Awards:

1996: Favorite Artist: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock: Metallica ? Load
1996: Favorite Metal/Hard Rock Song ? "Until It Sleeps"

Billboard Music Awards:

1997: Billboard Rock and Roll Artist of the Year ? Metallica (RIAA Diamond Award)
1999: Catalogue Artist of the Year ? Metallica
1999: Catalogue Album of the Year ? Metallica

Kerrang! Awards:

2003: Hall of Fame ? Metallica

Band members

Current members
James Hetfield ? rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1981?present)
Kirk Hammett ? lead guitar, backing vocals (1983?present)
Robert Trujillo ? bass, backing vocals (2003?present)
Lars Ulrich ? drums, percussion (1981?present)
Former members
Jason Newsted ? bass, backing vocals (1986?2001)
Cliff Burton ? bass, backing vocals (1982?1986)
Dave Mustaine ? lead guitar, backing vocals (1982?1983)
Ron McGovney ? bass (1982)

http://www.lyricsfreak.com

System Of A Down

System Of A Down

System of a Down (sometimes simply referred to as SOAD or System) is an Armenian-American rock band from Glendale, California, formed in 1994. System of a Down consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals and keyboards and rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (vocals and lead guitar), Shavo Odadjian (bass), John Dolmayan (drums).

The band has released five studio albums and have sold over 20 million records worldwide . They have been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which they have won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance. The group went on indefinite hiatus August 13, 2006.

History

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Soil (1992?1994)

Daron Malakian met Serj Tankian in 1992, while they both shared the same rehearsal studio in different bands. They formed a jam band called Soil (Serj on vocals/keyboards and Daron on guitar; not to be confused with the Chicago band Soil) with Domingo Laranio (drums) and Dave Hakopyan (bass). Around this time, they also met Shavo Odadjian. After about a year, with one supposed jam session recording and one live show, Dave and Domingo left, thinking the band wasn't going anywhere (Hakopyan would later co-found the band The Apex Theory which, in 2007, changed their name to Mt. Helium).

In the beginning (1994?1997)

The band later broke up and Tankian and Malakian formed a new band "System of a Down," adapting the name from a poem Daron wrote entitled "Victims of the Down". Shavo Odadjian thought that the word System appealed to a much broader audience than "Victims," and they wanted their albums to be stored near the band Slayer. Odadjian was the band's original manager and promoter, but joined as the bassist, and managerial duties were taken over by the Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and founder David "Beno" Benveniste.

System of a Down quickly made what is known as their early Untitled 1995 Demo Tape, which had very early recordings of "Mr. Jack" (called "PIG"), along with a song called "Flake," and an early recording of "The Metro," a cover of the Berlin song of the same name. It is rumored that there are other tapes made, which contain early recordings of "Friik," "36" (called ".36"), and "Roulette." Two other songs, "X" (called "Multiply") and "Honey" were live demos at the time and were played at very early shows. After this, the band recorded three public demos, which have been numbered as Demo Tape 1 to 3, as the early 1995 demo was not discovered until much later. Many of the songs featured on the demos would eventually make their way onto the band's debut album. In mid 1997, Khachaturian left the band due to a hand injury (he subsequently co-founded The Apex Theory, which included former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan). Soon after playing at the Whisky-A-Go-Go and Viper Room with new drummer John Dolmayan, the band caught the attention of producer Rick Rubin, who asked them to keep in touch with him. Showing great interest, they recorded yet another demo near the end of that year. This demo, however, was made only to be sent to record companies. The tape was not released to the public until years later when it was leaked onto the Internet. After Rick helped them get signed onto American/Columbia Records, System of a Down began to record in his studio. In 1997, the group won the Best Signed Band award from the Rock City Awards.

Debut album (1998?2000)
Shavo Odadjian

In the summer of 1998 (June 1998), System of a Down released their debut album, System of a Down.They enjoyed moderate success with their first single "Sugar" becoming a radio favorite, followed by the single "Spiders." After the release of the album, the band toured extensively, opening for Slayer and Metallica before making their way to the second stage of Ozzfest. Following Ozzfest, they toured with Fear Factory and Incubus before headlining the Sno-Core Tour with Puya, Mr. Bungle, The Cat and Incubus providing support. In 2000, the band contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song "Snowblind" to the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black 2.

Breakthrough and success (2001?2003)

The group's big break arrived when their second album Toxicity debuted at #1 on the American and Canadian charts, eventually achieving multi-platinum certification. The album has since sold 7 million copies worldwide and is the only album of System of a Down that doesn't have a parental guidance sticker on the cover. It was the top album in America on the week of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the political environment caused by the attacks added to the controversy surrounding their hit single "Chop Suey!" causing it to be taken off the radio as it contained politically sensitive lyrics at the time such as "(I don't think you) trust in my self-righteous suicide." Regardless, the video gained constant play on MTV as did the second single, "Toxicity." Even with the controversy surrounding "Chop Suey!", which earned a Grammy nomination, System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with "Toxicity" and "Aerials" which also earned a Grammy nomination in 2003. In May 2006, VH1 listed Toxicity in the #14 slot in the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.

In 2001, the band went on tour with Slipknot in the United States. After seeing the success of the tour, System and Slipknot went on a Pledge of Allegiance Tour with Rammstein, Mudvayne, and No One in 2002. In late 2001, a few unreleased tracks made their way onto the Internet. The group released a statement that the tracks were unfinished material. Soon after, the band released the final versions of the songs, which were recorded at the same time, but hadn't been used for Toxicity. The result was Steal This Album!, released in November 2002. The album did not feature a booklet, and its disc resembled a CD-R that was marked with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 special copies of the album with different CD designs were also released, each designed by a different member of the band. The name of the album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book, Steal This Book and as a message to those who stole the songs and released them on the Internet. The song "Innervision" was released as a promo single and received constant airplay on alternative radio. A video for "Boom!" was filmed with director Michael Moore as a protest against the War in Iraq.

Mezmerize and Hypnotize (2004?2006)
Serj Tankian

From 2004 to 2005, the group produced a double album, with the two parts released six months apart. The first album, Mezmerize, was released on May 17, 2005, to favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at #1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and all around the world, making it System of a Down's second #1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning single "B.Y.O.B.," which questions the integrity of military recruiting in America, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, "Question!" was released with Shavo Odadjian co-directing the music video. Following the release of Mezmerize, the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip supporting.

The second part of the double album, Hypnotize, was released on November 22, 2005. Like Mezmerize, it debuted at #1 in the US, making System of a Down, along with The Beatles, Guns 'N Roses, and rappers 2Pac and DMX, the only artists to ever have two studio albums debut at #1 in the same year. In February 2006, System of a Down won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "B.Y.O.B.," beating out other established artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Robert Plant. Their second single off the Hypnotize album, "Lonely Day" was released in March in the United States. System of a Down released "Kill Rock 'N Roll" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" as their next promo singles. The band headlined Ozzfest 2006 in cities where tour founder Ozzy Osbourne opted not to appear or wasn't playing on the main stage.

System of a Down's songs were used in the 2006 film Screamers, directed by Carla Garapedian. They appeared in the movie, in an interview talking about the importance of helping create awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Screamers debuted in theaters in large city markets such as New York City, Detroit, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Fresno, Providence, and Boston. An earlier engagement started exclusively in Los Angeles on December 8, 2006. Also, Lonely Day appeared on the soundtrack for the 2006 movie Disturbia.

System of a Down was honored at the USC v. Cal game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA in 2006. The Trojan Marching Band, along with Dolmayan and Odadjian, performed three System of a Down songs: Toxicity, Sugar, and Hypnotize. System of a Down's song Lonely Day was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007, but lost to Woman by Wolfmother.

Hiatus and future of the band (2006?present)

In May 2006, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Malakian has confirmed the break will probably last a few years, which Odadjian specified as a minimum of three years in an interview with Guitarmagazine. He told MTV, "We're not breaking up. If that was the case, we wouldn't be doing this Ozzfest. We're going to take a very long break after Ozzfest and do our own things. We've done System for over ten years, and I think it's healthy to take a rest."

During their performance in Houston, Texas, Malakian also took a moment to say, "There's been a lot of rumors about us breaking up. Well, don't listen to them. Us four right here, we will always be System of a Down!" However, Malakian announced he was forming a band called Scars on Broadway, which was joined by Dolmayan. Their debut self-titled album was released on July 29, 2008. Odadjian will be working on a project with RZA of Wu-Tang Clan named AcHoZeN as well as his urSESSION website/record label. Tankian plans to keep recording as a solo artist/producer. Empty Walls is his first single off his debut solo album Elect the Dead, which was released on October 23, 2007. Dolmayan, as well working with Scars on Broadway, planned to open a comic book store online by November 2007.

System of a Down's final performance before their hiatus took place on August 13, 2006 in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Tonight will be the last show we play for a long time together," Malakian told the crowd during Sunday's last performance. "We'll be back. We just don't know when."

Shavo Odadjian recently told Launch Radio Networks that System of a Down is "alive and well", but just aren't working together.

In an April 2008 interview with Kerrang magazine, guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan gave their takes on the band's future. When told that many people are going to wonder what the future of the band is, Malakian responded by stating that "We'll all know when the time is right." Dolmayan added, "It'll just happen." Malakian went on to say:

Yeah. It'll feel good and happy. I can respect this situation more than I can respect the situation where two people are like, 'The lead singer fucked my girlfriend!' and that kind of bullshit. Nah, man. The lead singer is a special person to me and I am to him. And that's how we ended off. Same with Shavo, same with John. And it will always be. It was a big part of my life. We were onstage together for a long time, man. We went through shit as a band and friends -- we slept in RV's together!

In an interview with Tankian about Big Day Out 2009, a show involving playing his Elect the Dead album live with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, and his upcoming second studio album. "Every few months I am honored to hear interesting rumors about whether the band is going to tour or break up permanently. I find them all to be very entertaining."

Style and influences

The stylistic variety and level of experimentation in System of a Down's music has made it difficult to describe. Though they have evolved their sound with each album, System of a Down has, for the most part, maintained a single style throughout their body of work. This style has variously been termed alternative metal, alternative rock, art rock, experimental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, nu metal, progressive metal and progressive rock. Malakian has stated that "We don't belong to any one scene" and that "I don't like the nu-metal drop-A 7-string guitar sound; it is not my thing, at least not yet". According to Tankian, "As far as arrangement and everything, is pretty much pop. To me, System of a Down isn't a progressive band. But it's not a typical pop project, obviously. We definitely pay attention to the music to make sure that it's not something someone's heard before."

The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars and twelve string guitars. According to Malakian, he would often write songs in E? tuning, which would later be changed to drop C tuning in order to be performed by the band. Malakian states that "For me, the drop-C tuning is right down the center. It has enough of the clarity and the crisp sound?most of our riffy stuff is done on the top two strings, anyway?but it's also thicker and ballsier."

The band's influences include Middle Eastern music, The Beatles, Frank Zappa and Slayer. The band's musical style has often been compared to that of Zappa. Malakian has stated that "I'm a fan of music. I'm not necessarily a fan of any one band." Dolmayan stated "I dont think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down." Odadjian stated "You can compare us to whoever you want. I don't care. Comparisons and labels have no effect on this band. Fact is fact: We are who we are and they are who they are."

http://www.songonlyrics.com

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly

"Grace Kelly plays with intelligence, wit and feeling. She has a great amount of natural ability and the ability to adapt that is the hallmark of a first-class jazz musician." 

Wynton Marsalis

When it comes to saxophonist /vocalist /composer /lyricist /arranger Grace Kelly, people seem to be divided into two groups: those who marvel at her proficiency, creativity and ever-accelerating growth, and those who have yet to encounter the 17-year-old wunderkind.

The ranks of the former category are growing by the day. Trumpeter and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis was so impressed with Kelly’s three-night stand as guest of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in November that he has invited her to join the ensemble at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater in Washington, D.C. for an Martin Luther King, Jr. Day/Inauguration Eve concert on January 19th. Harry Connick, Jr. heard Kelly in a master class on a December afternoon and brought her on stage to sit in with his band that night. This capped an already exceptional end of 2008 in which Kelly’s appearance on NPR’s Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland was syndicated nationally, The Boston Music Awards declared her the city’s Outstanding Jazz Act, and local ABC affiliate WCVB-TV named her one of five Bostonians to Watch in 2009. The 2009 57th Downbeat Critics Poll added to her list naming her one of the "Alto Saxophone Rising Stars”, the youngest ever to be named so. She has numerous other awards to her credit.

To this astonishing list of kudos and credits, Kelly now adds Mood Changes, the fifth release on her PAZZ label. The album mixes six standards with four Kelly originals and features her working quintet (Jason Palmer, trumpet; Doug Johnson, piano; John Lockwood, basses; Jordan Perlson or Terri Lyne Carrington, drums), with guest appearances by guitarist Adam Rogers on two tracks and trombonist Hal Crook on one.

"I’m just trying to listen to as much music as possible, which makes it hard for me to put together a CD about just one thing,” Kelly says in explaining her inspiration for Mood Changes. "A year before the session, I wrote `Tender Madness,’ which is slow and sad, and around the same time, when I was in a good mood, I wrote `Happy Theme Song.’ At that point, I realized that a concept for my next album was taking shape. Two more originals, `101’ and `But Life Goes On,’ extended the idea, as did the six standards.”

The album is a showcase for Kelly’s multi-faceted talent. Alto saxophone, her primary instrument, is heard on seven of the tracks, but she also overdubs soprano sax behind her vocal on "Comes Love” and makes her debut on tenor on the original ballad "Tender Madness” and "It Might as Well Be Spring,” where she also sings. "I started playing the sax because of Stan Getz,” she explains, "and the tenor adds to my goal of creating different colors and moods.” A third vocal track, "But Life Goes On,” indicates Kelly’s incredible maturity as both composer and lyricist. "I’m a melody-first person, and usually find it a lot harder to write words, but as deeply philosophical as this piece is, it was written relatively quickly,” she reports. An instrumental original, "101” (originally titled "Parenting 101” and meant to depict "parenting from a kid’s point of view”) has already received an ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composers Award (her second such citation) and a Down Beat Student Music Award for extended composition (one of four DB awards she garnered in 2008). Kelly’s arrangements of two pop hits, Bill Withers’ "Aint No Sunshine” and the Beatles’ "Here, There and Everywhere,” incorporate the distinctive concept of guest guitarist Adam Rogers; and her unique scoring of "I Want to Be Happy” in 7/4, including Hal Crook’s trombone, finds her writing for three horns for the first time. The disc is completed by a quintet jam on "I’ll Remember April.”

Kelly is particularly excited about the strides that Mood Changes reveals in her band leading skills. "There’s nothing like playing my own music with my own band,” she acknowledges. "Everyone is so comfortable, yet I feel as if I’m getting pushed in every performance. At the same time, I realize more of what I want over the years, and more direction goes into the music. Every time we play is a complete adventure.”

Adventure has been the watchword for the teenaged phenom, who was born Grace Chung on May 15, 1992. (She became Grace Kelly after her mother divorced and remarried and her stepfather, Bob Kelly, legally adopted Grace and her sister Christina.) The strong classical music background of her mother’s family led Grace to begin piano lessons at age six, and she still does much of her composing at the piano as she sings wordlessly. Singing, dancing, writing songs and theater were also early passions, soon joined by a fascination with the recordings of Stan Getz and other jazz saxophonists that her parents played during Sunday brunches. She began to study the clarinet at her elementary school in the fourth grade, and began private saxophone lessons a few months later. Further inspiration was provided by Ann Hampton Callaway, who detected "the boundless spirit and imagination of a natural artist” when she met Kelly in 2002. Another early champion, middle school music teacher Ken Berman, was so inspired by the pre-teen’s playing and writing that he insisted, "you have to record.” What followed was her first disc, Dreaming. "The CD release took place on March 17, 2004, when I was 12,” she recalls, "and as soon as I walked on stage, I realized that performing was my favorite thing to do.”

A growing list of triumphs and testimonials to Kelly’s brilliance followed. Times Too (2005), a two-disc set, found her expanding her musical pallet while interpreting such classics as "Isfahan” and "`Round Midnight” with the gravitas of a veteran. The title track of her next disc, Every Road I Walked (2006), garnered the first of her ASCAP Foundation awards and an invitation to perform with the Boston Pops. When conductor Keith Lockhart asked her to play the composition at the concert with just a rhythm section, Kelly countered by suggesting that she write an arrangement for the full orchestra. "That experience taught me that anything is possible,” she says.

Now a teenager, Kelly continued to garner accolades from artists she revered, sitting in with the likes of Dave Brubeck, the late Frank Morgan and Phil Woods. ("I gave her my hat, that’s how good she sounded,” Woods enthused. "She’s the first alto player to get one.”) Perhaps her most intensive connection has been with Lee Konitz, who Kelly has studied with for the past three years. "The biggest lesson that Lee taught me has been spontaneity, from day one,” she emphasizes, while Konitz has referred to Kelly as "all ears and all heart.” Kelly asked Konitz to guest on two tracks for her fourth album, an invitation that led to the joint composition "GRACEfulLEE” and an entire disc of the same name. GRACEfulLEE, with the all-star support of guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Matt Wilson, garnered a rare **** ½ review in Down Beat, and has been widely acclaimed as one of the best jazz recordings of 2008.

Currently, Kelly is entering her second semester at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. "I loved playing with the other kids in high school,” she explains, "but many of my friends in the band were graduating seniors. So after I auditioned for Berklee and received a full scholarship, I got my GED and started college at 16. It’s been great, playing all the time and just living music all day. I’m learning so much, like chromatic solfège, which has really changed my ears, and I’m playing all kinds of music.

Without hesitation, Grace Kelly will tell you that her goal is "to stay in jazz but also do different things, bigger arrangements, like Stevie Wonder and George Benson.” Her ambition has yet to outstrip her talent, and Mood Changes suggests that such a turn of events is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

source : http://jazztimes.com

R. Kelly

R. Kelly

R. Kelly was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and attended Kenwood Academy High School, where his music teacher-mentor Lena McLin inspired him to become a singer. He used to sing on street corners. He started off his career with a group by the name of Public Announcement. R. Kelly a master producer, composer, and performer and is often associated with music that can be described as spiritually inspirational and extremely sexual. R. Kelly won acclaim with his production of the late Aaliyah's debut album, "Age Ain't Nothin but a Number." Aaliyah, then 15, soon found herself with a hit album and fending off rumors of an alleged nuptial to Kelly who was then in his mid-20s. Their marriage was annulled shortly afterward, and all ties between Aaliyah and Kelly were severed. Kelly went on to produce several more smash hit albums and songs for soundtracks, such as "I Believe I Can Fly" from Space Jam (1996); "World's Greatest" for the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia; and a duet with French-Canadian pop diva Céline Dion, which catapulted him to more success. Kelly soon married Andrea Lee, who was a former back-up dancer, and had two daughters and one son.

R. Kelly, at the pinnacle of his success, decided to team up with another music industry leader, the hip-hop MC Jay-Z, after great commercial successes on other collaborations with tracks such as Jay-Z's "Not Guilty" and Kelly's "Fiesta Remix." In 2001 to do an entire album together. Slated to be a guaranteed success, "The Best of Both Worlds" was the most highest anticipated album for 2002. Shortly after that year began began, and right before the release of "Best of Both Worlds," an alleged videotape of Kelly with a 14-year-old girl surfaced on the Internet and the streets of major cities.

Allegedly, Kelly was involved in sexual intercourse with a minor on the tape submitted to Chicago Police by former protégé, R&B singer Sparkle. Sparkle claimed the girl was her niece and the God-daughter of R. Kelly's wife. This opened up an avenue of backlash from radio stations and fans across the USA, who refused to continue to play, buy, or support R. Kelly's music. "Best of Both Worlds" was a commercial failure in comparison to its previous rumors of certain success. Jay-Z refused to comment or release a video for their record, and he also thought it would be better for Kelly to take time to sort out his problems. In a May 2002 BET News interview with Ed Gordon, R. Kelly denied the allegations vehemently, stating he would not watch the videotape; he declined to comment on his relationship with Aaliyah. He also stated that he had been receiving help for his "problem" from the Chicago reverend James Meeks, and he wasn't the monster that the public was making him out to be.

On June 5th, 2002, rumors surfaced that Kelly would be indicted on 21 counts of child pornography. After an alleged agreement between Kelly's attorneys and the Chicago Police for Kelly to be able to turn himself in, a fugitive warrant was issued for his arrest in Florida, and R. Kelly was arrested and was extradited to Chicago. Even though the attorney for the four women who were suing R. Kelly--one a former back-up dancer who also appeared on the scandalous videotape (who was an adult during the making of the tape)--stated that she thought that due to the weak legal system, Kelly would not be convicted but did hope he got some help. Kelly could have faced up to 15 years in prison and be forced to pay a fine of US$100.000, register as a sexual offender, and pay millions more in damages. Kelly reportedly stated that he had faith in the justice system and was happy to finally get a chance to defend himself in court. Kelly was eventually acquitted.

In 2003, Kelly released the song "Snake," from the successful album "Chocolate Factory," which became the basis for the reggae riddim called "Baghdad." 2004, Kelly once again teamed up with Jay-Z for the album "Unfinished Business." Like their previous album recorded together, this one also flopped. In 2005, however, Kelly released the album "TP.3," which included the first five chapters of an extended song called Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 1-12 (2005) (V). A strange, bold, and daring experiment in a sort-of R&B aria-meets-soap-opera, an unintended homage to and heavily influenced by The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), the entire saga, which has no end in sight but currently has twelve released chapters--and supposedly as many as 34 chapters have been recorded, might be one of the most unusual experiments in pop music of the decade, further testament to Kelly's undeniable talent.

source : www.imdb.com

Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry was born October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. After having three record deals fall apart, she signed with Capitol in 2007. Later that year, she released her first single, "Ur So Gay." Still, her career did not fully take off until the release of her next single, "I Kissed a Girl". Her album Teenage Dreams was released in August 2010.

Conservative Upbringing

Singer, songwriter, and musician. Born Katheryn Hudson on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. Known for her over-the-top fashions, quirky stage props, and catchy songs, Katy Perry has become a pop music sensation. 

Fans might be surprised to learn that the singer who writes about sexual exploration in "I Kissed a Girl" grew up in a very conservative family. Both of her parents are pastors, and they refused to let her listen to any rock or popular music. "The only things I was allowed to listen to were the Sister Act 1 and 2soundtracks," Perry toldEntertainment Weekly. She and her two siblings were also not permitted to watch such cable channels as MTV and VH1. 

Perry started taking singing lessons around the age of 9 and learned to play guitar when she was 13. Around this time, she began rebelling against her strict upbringing by piercing her own nose. She soon became interested in pursuing a career in music. With her mother, Perry made several trips to Nashville to record a gospel album, Katy Hudson, which was released in 2001. "It reached literally maybe 100 people, and then the label went bankrupt," Perry explained to Entertainment Weekly. 

Early Musical Influences

As a teenager, Perry was exposed to other musical influences. One friend introduced her to the music of Queen, which remains one of her favorite groups. "I'm very inspired by Freddie Mercury and how flamboyant and theatrical he was," she told fashion magazine WWD. In high school, she strove to be her own person, choosing not to limit herself to one social group. "I was a hop-around. I hung out with the rockabilly crew, the guys who were trying to be rappers, the funny kids," she told Seventeen magazine.

Focused on her music, Perry got her GED and moved to Los Angeles to work with producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, who had worked with such artists as Christina Aguilera and Alanis Morissette. She was only 17 years old at time, and being on her own proved tough. "It was five years of living in L.A. with no money, writing bad checks, selling my clothes to make rent, [and] borrowing money," she told Seventeen magazine. Perry also experienced a string of disappointments before getting her big break. She and Ballard were unable to find a record company willing to take them on, and her 2004 collaboration with music producers-turned-performers The Matrix was scrapped shortly before the project was to be released. After having three record deals fall apart, Perry finally signed with Capitol in 2007. 

Breakout Songs

Later that year, Perry released her first single, "Ur So Gay." Pop superstar Madonna became a fan of the song, calling it one of her favorites of the moment. The song drew comparisons to the likes ofLily Allen, another singer known for her quirky, cheeky lyrics. Perry said the single was inspired by the emo scene, and the "guys with guy-liner who use flatirons." Still, her career did not fully take off until the release of her next single, "I Kissed a Girl," which reached the top of the charts during the summer of 2008. With that song's success, her debut album, One of the Boys, made it into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also earned Perry a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. 

Katy Perry also became famous for her theatricality. On the Warped Tour, she performed "I Kissed a Girl" with a giant tube of lip balm, referencing a line in the song. Perry has also jumped into a larger-than-life cake and appeared in a number of wild outfits while onstage. She has described her style as "Lucille Ball meets Bob Mackie. It's about innuendo. I want everybody to get the joke, but I want them to think about it for a minute," she explained to Esquire magazine. 

Continued Success

In 2009, Perry appeared in her own acoustic special on MTV. The soundtrack from the show, Katy Perry: MTV Unplugged, was released around the same time. That same year, Perry made tabloid headlines for her relationship with British comedian Russell Brand. The couple became engaged over the New Year's holiday while on a trip to India. On October 23, 2010, the couple married in India in a traditional Hindu ceremony. According to The Times of India, the wedding featured a procession of camels, elephants and horses, plus fire jugglers, snake charmers, dancers and musicians. Perry had previously dated Travis McCoy from the band Gym Class Heroes. 

The young pop star has great ambitions for her future. "Ultimately I want Katy Perry to be as much of a household name as Madonna," she told Entertainment Weekly. Her album Teenage Dreams was released in August 2010. The single from the album, "California Gurls," quickly rose through the charts to #1 on the Billboard charts. With a signature perfume and film role opportunities heading her way, she may just make her dream come true. 

source : http://www.biography.com/people/katy-perry-562678

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne

Avril Ramona Lavigne (born 27 September 1984) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million. In 2002, when she was 17 years old, Lavigne broke onto the music scene with her debut album Let Go.

Let Go made Lavigne the youngest female soloist to reach No. 1 in the UK, and the album was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. By 2009, over 16 million copies had been sold worldwide. Her breakthrough single, "Complicated", peaked at No. 1 in many countries around the world, as did the album Let Go. Her second album, Under My Skin was released in 2004 and was her first album to peak at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, eventually selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. The Best Damn Thing, Lavigne’s third album, was released in 2007, becoming her third No. 1 album in the UK Albums Chart and featuring her first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, "Girlfriend". Lavigne has scored six number-one singles worldwide, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", "Nobody's Home", and "Girlfriend". With more than 30 million copies of her albums sold worldwide, Lavigne is one of the top-selling artists releasing albums in the U.S., with over 10.25 million copies certified by the RIAA. Her fourth studio album, Goodbye Lullaby, was released in March 2011. Goodbye Lullaby gave Lavigne her fourth top 10 album on the U.S. Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart and her third No. 1 album in both Japan and Australia. Three months after the release of Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne began work on her fifth album, which will be released on Epic Records following her departure from RCA Records.

Lavigne branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in feature film acting and designing clothes and perfumes. She voiced a character in the animated film, Over the Hedge, in 2006. That same year, she made her on-screen feature film debut in Fast Food Nation. In 2008, Lavigne introduced her clothing line, Abbey Dawn, and in 2009, she released her first perfume, Black Star, which was followed by her second perfume, Forbidden Rose, in 2010 and her third perfume, Wild Rose, in 2011. In July 2006, Lavigne married her boyfriend of two years, Deryck Whibley, lead singer and guitarist for Sum 41. The marriage lasted a little over three years, and in October 2009, Lavigne filed for divorce. Whibley and Lavigne continued to work together, with Whibley producing her fourth album, as well as Lavigne's single, "Alice", written for Tim Burton's film Alice in Wonderland.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avril_Lavigne

Muse

Muse 

A trio consisting of three high school friends named Matthew Bellamy (born on June 9, 1978 in Cambridge, England), Dominic James Howard (born on December 7, 1977 in Stockport, England), and Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born on December 2, 1978 in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England), Museactually resulted from the idea to overcome the boredom of their life in the sleepy town of Teignmouth, South Devon, England. The band's incarnation originally was materialized in the form of a duo called Gothic Plague established by Dom and Matt in January 1994, but it was later changed to Fixed Penalty when Chris joined in, then to Rocket Baby Dolls under which they enrolled in a local Battle of The Bands competition. Initially pessimistic of the chance of winning due to their different sounds with other contestants, the troupe surprisingly were named the winner, fueling the personnel to continue their pact in professional way. 

With Dom on drum, Chris handling the bass, and Matt taking the lead vocal, guitar, also keyboard, the threesome began to look for a better stage name and finally settled to call themselves Muse after their art teacher told of the muses from Greek mythology. They confidently commenced their journey through a number of performances at the local venue for some time. The band gradually were able to draw quite large audience, which led them to come into the attention of Dennis Smith, the owner of Sawmills studio and Dangerous Records label. Not only offering them a chance to record their materials, the man also willingly set up a few showcases in the U.S. to ultimately get them signed under Maverick Records in 1998, much to the group's delight. Other deals soon followed with Motors in Germany, Naive in France, and notably, Mushroom Records in England through which they happily saw their full-length debut album, "Showbiz", touching the U.K. market in 1999 after the releases of their two EPs entitled "Muse EP" and "Muscle Museum EP." 

Produced by John Leckie, who previously had been involved in the making of Radiohead's "The Bends", the LP had a more-than-satisfying outcome as it managed to enter the top 30 of U.K. albums chart while generating some modest hits like "Sunburn", "Unintended", "Cave", and "Uno". On the other hand, comparisons inevitably were drawn to Radiohead thereafter, leading to an accusation that Muse were mere copycat. Going unaffected, the band kept moving on their path to  hold tour around the world which ran successfully for one and half year before coming up with their sophomore effort, "Origin of Symmetry", in 2001. More expanded and experimental than its predecessor, the album received wonderful response, so positive that the album really did not encounter much difficulty to break worldwide sale above 1.3 million copies, thanks to its tracks like "Plug in Baby", "New Born", "Bliss", and "Hyper Music". 

Though already gaining considerable popularity in Europe, Muse were still unable to make a sound in the States, and realizing this fact, they joined forces with U.S. producer Rich Costey to work on their next album, "Absolution". The decision was delightfully proven right for the record, released by March 2004 in the country. The album amazingly made its way to the first rank of Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart besides spawning two top 10 Modern Rock Tracks hits namely "Hysteria (I Want It Now)" and "Time Is Running Out". In the meantime, greater accomplishment was scored in U.K when it topped the number one spot on the country's album chart to then direct the band to obtain a BRIT Award for Best Live Act category in the following year. Amidst the  superb attainment, the trio decidedly preferred to focus more on their live performances instead, and opted not to bring up new compositions until 2006 through singles "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Knights of Cydonia", which later were included in their next album launched by July 3 in U.K., "Black Holes & Revelations". In 2007, the band were named the Best British Band at the ShockWaves NME Awards and Best British Live Act at the BRIT Awards. 

With the title of amusing live act, Muse continued touring around the world, hitting big stadiums and festivals such as Wembley and V. In September 2008, Matt, Dom and Chris all received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Plymouth for their contributions to music. At the same time, the work of their fifth studio album was underway. "The Resistance" was released in September 2009 with singles such as "Uprising" and "Undisclosed Desires". Upon its release, "The Resistance" topped the album charts in 19 countries, becoming the band's third number one album in U.K. and reaching number three on the Billboard 200. Muse were later nominated for three awards at the 53rd Grammy Awards in February 2011 and won a Grammy Award for  Best Rock Album for "The Resistance". With the confidence, Muse headlined a lot of festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds as well as Lollapalooza. 

In 2011, they began recording their sixth album in London with the help of composer David Campbell, which would make the album "radically different" from the rest. First single "Survival" was released in June 2012 and became the official song of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. It was quickly followed by "Madness" and "Panic Station". Armed with new materials, the band toured around Europe while the album, titled "The 2nd Law", was awaiting its release on October 2, 2012 in the U.S.

source : http://www.aceshowbiz.com