Nelly Furtado - Say It Right

Saturday 30 July 2011

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Portuguese-Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She has sold 20 million albums worldwide and 18 million singles, bringing her total sales to nearly 40 million records. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It produced two more international singles: the more successful "Turn off the Light", and "Shit on the Radio (Remember the Days)".

After giving birth to her daughter Nevis, her second studio album, Folklore, was released. It was less commercially successful in the US. It produced three international singles: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Try", and "Força" (the theme of the 2004 European Football Championship).

In summer 2006, she released her third studio album, Loose. It is her biggest success to date worldwide. It produced the number-one hits "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right" and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". After a three-year break, in September 2009, she released her first full-length Spanish album, Mi Plan, along with her first Spanish single "Manos al Aire", which topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs. This made Furtado the first North American singer to top the Billboard Hot Latin Chart with an original Spanish song. Further singles released were "Más" and "Bajo Otra Luz". For Mi Plan, Nelly received the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. On October 26, a remix album, Mi Plan Remixes, was released. Furtado released her first greatest hits album, The Best of Nelly Furtado, one month later on November 12, 2010.

"Say It Right" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from her third studio album, Loose (2006). Written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills, the song was inspired by, as Furtado described it, the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics, specifically their 1983 song titled, "Here Comes the Rain Again".

The song released as the album's third single in North America and Australia (see 2006 in music). The song served as the album's fourth single in certain European and Asian countries. It was released digitally in the United Kingdom in March 2007. It was the album's fifth single in Latin America.

"Say It Right" received positive reviews from critics praising its high quality production as well as commenting on the lyrical content and Furtado's vocal performance. The song attained worldwide success, topping the charts in more than fifteen countries, including the United States, Spain, France, New Zealand, Canada and many European countries.

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Rankin & Chris, portrays Furtado singing in various costumes and in various locations. The song has been performed on a number of live appearances by Furtado, including her third headlining Get Loose tour.

Giusy Ferreri - Non ti scordar mai di me

Saturday 30 July 2011

 

Giusy Ferreri (born Giuseppa Gaetana Ferreri on 18 April 1979 in Palermo, Italy) is an Italian singer-songwriter. In 2008 Giusy took part at the first Italian edition of the talent show X Factor, in which she came second. Her vocal qualities have been compared to Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, Amy Winehouse and Adele. Between 2008 and 2009, Ferreri sold 900,000 copies of her first EP and debut album.

Non ti scordar mai di me (Never Forget About Me) is a song written by Roberto Casalino and Tiziano Ferro and co-produced by Fabrizio Giannini.

The song was released as the singer's debut single on May 30, 2008 in Italy, and peaked at number one in Italy, where it became one of the best-selling and most-downloaded singles of all the time and also reached the #1 in Greece, the top 30 on the sales charts in Switzerland and the top 20 position on a composite European Singles Chart.

The music video for Non Ti Scordar Mai Di Me was directed by Cosimo Alemà and entered the planning of the thematic channels from June 30, 2008. It shows the singer to interpret the passage sat on the angle of a bed. To these sequences are alternated other, in which the principal history of the video is told.

In these sequences Giusy has shown in the meticulous preparations of a romantic dinner. On the screen sometimes is shown the schedule in which the action develops. At 19.35 Giusy chooses the suit to wear, at 20.18 it's everything ready but at 21.02 the guest is not introduced yet.

The video continues showing Giusy who becomes impatient, she waits up to midnight, then she eats greedily alone the prepared dinner, as long as 02.16 when the telephone rings. Nevertheless he's not the man, but a friend of her.

Melanie Fiona - Monday Morning

Saturday 30 July 2011

Melanie Fiona Hallim (born July 4, 1983) is a Canadian recording artist from Toronto, Ontario. She was born to Guyanese immigrant parents of African, Indian, and Portuguese descent and grew up in the inner city of Toronto.

Living in a music filled household, Fiona says she always knew music was her passion. Her father was a guitarist in a band and would allow her to sit on the stage when she was younger as he practiced, and remembers her mother playing music at home; everything from The Ronettes to Whitney Houston.

Fiona was featured on Reggae Gold 2008 with the Supa Dups-produced "Somebody Come Get Me". Her debut album The Bridge was released in the summer of 2009. She worked on the album with Future Cut, Vada Nobles, Stereotypes, J. Phoenix and Peter Wade Keusch.

The debut single "Give It to Me Right" was sent to radio stations on February 28, 2009, and peaked at number 20 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and number 41 on the UK Singles Chart.

The second single, "It Kills Me", became her breakout song on the Billboard Hot 100 where it cracked the Top 50, along with topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song earned Fiona a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The Bridge also earned her a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding New Artist.

"Monday Morning" is a song from her debut album, The Bridge (2009). The song was written by Peter Wade Keusch, Sidh Solanki, and Charlene Gilliam, and recorded at LaBronze Johnson Studios, NYC. It was released as the third single only for the United States, as the song is only getting airplay on adult top 40 radio stations.

Daniel Merriweather - Impossible

Daniel Merriweather (born 17 February 1982, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian R&B singer/songwriter. After several successful collaborations with artists such as Mark Ronson, he released his official debut album, Love & War, in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two.

Merriweather's first commercially released recording was a guest appearance on the track "All I Want" from Australian dance act Disco Montego's self-titled album in 2002. This was followed by a guest appearance on Mark Ronson's Here Comes the Fuzz album ("She's Got Me") in 2003.

His debut solo single "City Rules" (produced by Ronson and featuring raps from New York MC Saigon) followed in early 2004 with the aforementioned "She's Got Me" released as its follow-up. While neither song had any huge commercial success, both songs became favourites in Australian clubs and urban music circles; and won APRA and ARIA awards. with "City Rules" also getting some airplay on the major Australian commercial radio stations FOX FM (Melbourne)/2Day FM and B105.

In 2005 he co-wrote and co-produced much of Phrase's debut album Talk With Force; also lending vocals to three tracks including the single "Catch Phrase". A 2006/7 collaboration with Ronson (a version of The Smiths' "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"), had huge commercial success in the UK where it was released as the lead-off single for Ronson's album "Version" (reaching number two on the chart).

Merriweather's first commercially available album Love & War was released in June 2009, reaching #2 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was preceded by the singles "Change" and "Red", which both made the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

Merriweather cites Stevie Wonder, Prince, Jeff Buckley and Herbie Hancock as his major influences.

"Impossible" is the third single by Daniel Merriweather taken from his second album Love & War. The single was released on August 17, 2009.It was produced by Mark Ronson and released on the Columbia record label.

The song debuted in the on the UK Singles Chart at number sixty-seven, after the release of the digital single, becoming Merriweather's lowest charting single from Love & War.

Alesha Dixon - The Boy Does Nothing

Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model and television personality. She first found fame in the all-female R&B/garage trio Mis-Teeq, however, the trio separated in 2005 and Dixon continued pursuing her music career as a solo artist, signing to Polydor Records.

Dixon began recording her debut solo album, Fired Up in 2006, but due to poor record sales of her first two singles, "Lipstick" and "Knockdown", she was dropped from Polydor.

In 2007 Dixon became a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and eventually won. Her television exposure led to a successful comeback, which included her signing to Asylum Records, an offshoot of Warner Music Group. Dixon then released a second album, entitled The Alesha Show in 2008, which received platinum certification from BPI in the UK.

In 2010 Dixon returned for the eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing and released her third studio album, The Entertainer.

"The Boy Does Nothing" is the lead single from her second studio album, The Alesha Show. The song was written by Alesha along with the help of Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Carla-Marie Williams, and other members of Xenomania.The single was her first since 2006 after "Knockdown" was released in October of that year.

The song, described as being "the stand-out track" on The Alesha Show,received predominately good reviews and became a commercial success, charting within the top 10 on the majority charts it entered.

The video for "The Boy Does Nothing" is directed by the art director from the film Moulin Rouge!, Michael Gracey, and Pete Commins. The choreography for the music video was created by Ashley Wallen.The video, filmed in Tottenham Town Hall,takes place in a theatre style ballroom, where two children are spying from a balcony onto the stage below, with one worrying that they shouldn't be watching. Dixon is dancing on a stage with six other girls dressed in pink."The Boy Does Nothing" was nominated in the 'best video' category at the 2009 MOBO Awards.

"The Boy Does Nothing" debuted at #84 in the United Kingdom. The single became her first solo single to reach the top 10, following a 76 spot jump from #84 to #8 on downloads alone, selling 27,683 copies. On 16 November 2008, "The Boy Does Nothing" had advanced to #5 on the chart after the physical release of the single. The song spent 16 weeks in the Top 40 alone in Britain.

In the United States it has been released digitally via the iTunes site, it was released on 20 February 2009.

Robbie Williams - Somethin' Stupid

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams(born 13 February 1974) is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He was a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch his solo career. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That and that the group intended to release a new album in November 2010.

Williams has sold more than 57 million albums worldwide. He is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the United Kingdom. He has also been honoured with seventeen BRIT Awards—more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the "Greatest Artist of the 1990s."

The discography of Robbie Williams, an English singer-songwriter, contains eight studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, thirty-five singles, thirty-five music videos, eight video albums and a number of other appearances.

"Somethin' Stupid" is a song written by C. Carson Parks and originally recorded in 1966 by Parks and his wife Gail Foote, as "Carson and Gaile". It is best known in the hit version by Frank Sinatra and his daughter, Nancy Sinatra.

Robbie Williams recorded "Somethin' Stupid" as a duet in 2001 with Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman. The song appeared on Williams' 2001 album, Swing When You're Winning, and it topped the UK Singles Chart at the end of the year. The song became Williams' first Christmas Number-One single in the United Kingdom, and fifth as a featured artist.

The single sold 98,506 copies in its first week and 366,000 copies over all earning a Silver Certification by the BPI.The song was the 30th best selling single of 2001 in the UK. The song also became another number-one single for Williams in New Zealand, being certified Gold,and became, at the time, his best selling single in Europe charting inside the top ten in most countries. In Australia, it became Williams' fourth top ten single, earning a Gold certification for over 35,000 copies sold.

50 Cent — In Da Club

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003) and The Massacre (2005).

Get Rich or Die Tryin' has been certified eight times platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. His album The Massacre has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA and has sold 11 million copies worldwide.

Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000. After releasing his album Guess Who's Back? in 2002, Jackson was discovered by rapper Eminem and signed to Interscope Records.

With the help of Eminem and Dr. Dre, who produced his first major commercial successes, Jackson became one of the world's highest selling rappers. In 2003, he founded the record label G-Unit Records, which signed several successful rappers such as Young Buck, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo.
Jackson has engaged in feuds with other rappers including Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Cam'ron, Rick Ross, and former G-Unit members The Game and Young Buck.

He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in the semi-autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin' in 2005, the Iraq War film Home of the Brave in 2006, and Righteous Kill in 2008.

50 Cent was ranked as the sixth best artist of the 2000–2009 decade by Billboard magazine. The magazine also ranked him as the fourth top male artist and as the third top rapper behind Eminem and Nelly.

Billboard magazine also ranked him as the sixth best and most successful Hot 100 Artist of the 2000–2009 decade and as the number one rap artist of the 2000–2009 decade.

Billboard ranked his album Get Rich or Die Tryin' as the twelfth best album of the 2000–2009 decade and his album The Massacre as the 37th best album of the 2000–2009 decade.

He is currently working on his yet-to-be-titled fifth studio album, which is allegedly set to be released in November 2011.

"In Da Club" is a hip hop song from his commercial debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The song was produced by Dr. Dre with co-production from Mike Elizondo. 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Elizondo wrote the song. The track was released in January 2003 as the album's lead single and it was positively received by music critics.

"In Da Club" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming 50 Cent's first number one single. At the 46th Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song. The song's music video won Best Rap Video and Best New Artist at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2009, the single was listed at number 24 in Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.

It was listed at number 13 in Rolling Stone's "Best Songs of the Decade". In 2010, it was ranked 448th in the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

MIA - Paper Planes

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam better known by her stage name M.I.A., is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer of Sri Lankan Tamil descent.

Her compositions combine elements of hip-hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music.

M.I.A. began her career in 2000 as a visual artist and designer in West London. Since rising to prominence in early 2004 for her singles "Galang" and "Sunshowers", she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Grammy Awards and the Mercury Prize.

She released her debut album Arular in 2005 and second album Kala in 2007. Kala went gold in Canada and the United States and silver in the United Kingdom, and the singles "Boyz" and "Paper Planes" became North American top ten chart favourites in 2008.

M.I.A.'s third album Maya was released in 2010 soon after the song-film short "Born Free", and reached the top ten in numerous countries worldwide.
She has embarked on four global headlining tours and is the founder of her own multimedia label, N.E.E.T..

In 2008, M.I.A. was listed in Esquire magazine's list of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century and in 2009, Time magazine included M.I.A. in its annual Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.
A noted philanthropist and activist for many causes, her activism has been met with both appreciation and criticism. In 2002, she received an Alternative Turner Prize nomination for her art, and has been recognized for her work as a music video director, graphic and fashion designer.

"Paper Planes" is a song written and for her second studio album, Kala (2007). The song was co-produced by Diplo and Switch. Its backing track is a sample from the 1982 song "Straight to Hell" by The Clash.

It was released as the album's third single in early 2008, but achieved much commercial success in June 2008 after appearing in a high profile film trailer and TV spot for the film Pineapple Express. The song and a special remixed version of it featured in the film Slumdog Millionaire, as well as its soundtrack.

It peaked at #19 in the UK, making it M.I.A's first top 20 hit and highest charting single in the UK. The song charted in numerous other countries worldwide and is to date XL Recordings best selling single. "Paper Planes" also appeared in the trailer for Michael Moore's documentary Capitalism: A Love Story. It was sampled in rappers T.I. and Jay-Z's single "Swagga Like Us", which reached #4 on the Hot 100. On 3 December 2008, the song was nominated for the Record of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards.

Common - The Light

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is an American hip hop artist, and actor.

Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground artist following into the late 90s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians.

His first major label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success. His first Grammy award was in 2003 for Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah Badu.

Its popularity was matched by May 2005's Be, which was nominated in the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album Thisisme Then: The Best of Common was released on November 27, 2007.

Common has also initiated a burgeoning acting career, starring significant roles in such films as Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, and Just Wright.

"The Light" is the Grammy-nominated second single off Common's 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate. It is produced by Jay Dee and features keyboards performed by James Poyser. It samples "Open Your Eyes" as performed by Bobby Caldwell and the drums from "You're Getting a Little too Smart" by the The Detroit Emeralds. Framed as a love letter, it is a confession of Common's love for a woman whom many believe to have been his girlfriend at the time, Erykah Badu. Cythia Fuchs of PopMatters describes it as a "charming, tender, and undeniably soulful declaration of affection and respect." A music video directed by Nzingha Stewart features Common, Erykah Badu and "recognizable sensual delights" including "a homemade Minnie Ripperton cassette, a mango, a pink lava lamp and a deeply green water-beaded leaf
.
The song was listed at #268 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 500 songs of the 2000's".

Green Day - American Idiot

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool. Cool replaced former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990, prior to the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk, and has been a member of the band since.

Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases for the independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase. In 1994, its major label debut Dookie became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S.

Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring, Rancid, NOFX and Sublime, with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, though they were still successful, reaching double platinum and gold status respectively. Its rock opera American Idiot (2004) reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the United States. The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009.

Green Day has sold over 65 million records worldwide and 24.639 million in the US alone. The group has won five Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Best Rock Album for the second time for 21st Century Breakdown and Best Musical Show Album for American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording. In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical has been nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Scenic Design, and has received generally positive reviews.

"American Idiot" was released as the first single from their album of the same name.
Released in 2004, the single peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Green Day's first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry (excluding singles that charted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart), helping revive the band's career.

However, the appearance of "American Idiot" on the US singles charts occurred just prior to Billboard's inclusion of internet download purchases into their Billboard Hot 100 chart data, which would have made a significant difference in the song's peak had it benefited from the new chart tabulation system. This most recent form of sales assessment has resulted in the far greater successes of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

"American Idiot" became Green Day's first Top 5 single in the United Kingdom, reaching #3, and peaked at #7 in Australia. It debuted at #1 in Canada, holding onto the zenith position for five weeks. In Australia, the song was ranked #22 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004. Green Day performed this song at the 2005 Grammy Awards. The album won for Best Rock Album.

It was ranked the #13 Single of the Decade by Rolling Stone magazine in 2009. "American Idiot" has sold 1,371,000 copies as of July, 2010.
Rolling Stone ranked it #432 of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2010.

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The Strokes - Last Nite

The Strokes are an American rock band formed in 1998 in New York City. The band consists of Julian Casablancas (lead vocals), Nick Valensi (guitar), Albert Hammond, Jr. (guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass guitar) and Fabrizio Moretti (drums and percussion). The Strokes have been named one of the most prominent and influential rock bands to emerge in the 21st century.

Upon the release of their debut album Is This It in 2001, the group met much critical acclaim. Since then, the band has maintained a large fan base, mostly in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. A number of members have embarked on a variety of side projects, although a fourth album, entitled Angles, was released on March 22, 2011.

The band received several nominations in their debut year in 2002, including Best New Act from the MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Live Act from the Q Awards. They won several awards in the same year, including Best International Band from the BRIT Awards, and Band of the Year and Best New Act from the NME Awards. They have also been nominated for Best International Band at the NME Awards in 2003, 2006 (which they won), and 2007. Overall, The Strokes have received six awards from 13 nominations.

"Last Nite" is their second single from Is This It. A segment of the song was used by "Weird Al" Yankovic for his polka medley, "Angry White Boy Polka". The guitar riff that begins the song is similar to the intro of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' "American Girl". In a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone, Tom Petty said "The Strokes took 'American Girl' [for their song 'Last Nite'], and I saw an interview with them where they actually admitted it. That made me laugh out loud. I was like, 'OK, good for you.' It doesn't bother me." When performed live, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas will occasionally sing lines from "American Girl" in between his original lyrics. "Last Nite" was used in TV promos for the 2010 film Get Him to the Greek.

In March 2005, Q placed "Last Nite" at number 66 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In September 2006, NME placed "Last Nite" at number one on its list of the 50 Greatest Tracks of the Decade. In May 2007, NME magazine placed "Last Nite" at number nine in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. It was also placed at number 16 on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of the Decade and number 478 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

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Madonna - Hung Up

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983.

She followed it with a series of albums in which she found immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Throughout her career, many of her songs have hit number one on the record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes". Critics have praised Madonna for her diverse musical productions while at the same time serving as a lightning rod for religious controversy.

Her career was further enhanced by film appearances that began in 1979, despite mixed commentary. She won critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her role in Evita (1996), but has received harsh feedback for other film roles. Madonna's other ventures include being a fashion designer, children's book author, film director and producer. She has been acclaimed as a businesswoman, and in 2007, she signed an unprecedented US $120 million contract with Live Nation.

Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States, behind Barbra Streisand, with 64 million certified albums.

In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Madonna at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the Billboard chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. Considered to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" by Time for being an influential figure in contemporary music, Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry.

"Hung Up" is a song written and produced by Stuart Price, and released as the first single from her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Initially used in a number of television advertisements and serials, the song was released as the album's lead single on October 17, 2005. It has since also made an appearance on her 2009 greatest hits album, Celebration. It also became Madonna's first track to be released to iTunes.

"Hung Up" contains a sample of the pop group ABBA's hit single "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)," for which Madonna personally sought permission to use from ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Musically the song is influenced by 1980s pop, with a chugging groove and chorus and a background element of a ticking clock that suggests the fear of wasting time. Lyrically the song is written as a traditional dance number about a strong, independent woman who has relationship troubles.

"Hung Up" received critical praise from reviewers, who suggested that the track should restore the singer's popularity, which had diminished following the release of her 2003 album American Life. Critics suggested it was her best dance track to date and have compared it favorably to other Madonna tracks in the same genre. They also complimented the effective synchronization of the ABBA sample with the actual song.

"Hung Up" became a worldwide commercial success, peaking atop the charts of more than 45 countries and earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was Madonna's 36th top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Elvis Presley as the artist with most top ten hits. It also became the most successful dance song of the decade in the United States. "Hung Up" remains one of the best-selling singles of all time, with sales of over nine million copies worldwide.

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Alicia Keys - Fallin'

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began to play classical music on the piano. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16 as valedictorian. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.

Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.

Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. She released her fourth album, The Element of Freedom, in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Billboard magazine named her the top R&B artist of the 2000–2009 decade, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time. In 2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

"Fallin'" is a song recorded, written, and produced by American recording artist Alicia Keys for her debut album, Songs in A Minor. Released to radio and music video outlets in 2001, it is generally considered her signature song."Fallin'" became Keys' first number-one single in the United States and her first top five hit in several countries. It is also Keys' second biggest single to date after 2007's "No One". In 2009 the single was named the 29th most successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.

Rolling Stone ranked it number sixty-two on their Top 100 Songs of the 2000s decade. The song charted at 413 in Blender magazine's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born. "Fallin'" won three Grammy Awards in 2002, including Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and was also nominated for Record of the Year. The single stopped for 10 years to record music with the largest cumulative audience in the history of pop radio with 93 million, but was broken by pop singer Katy Perry, with a single E.T. in 2011.

The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Dandy Warhols are an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor, keyboardist Zia McCabe, guitarist Peter Holmström, and drummer Eric Hedford. Hedford left in 1998 and was later replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent De Boer. The band's name is a pun on the name of American pop artist Andy Warhol.

The Dandy Warhols are strongly influenced by The Velvet Underground, The Beach
Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Shadows, and The Rolling Stones. Front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor describes the band's beginning as a group of friends who "needed music to drink to."

"Bohemian Like You" is a song released in 2000 as a single from the band's third studio album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. On its original release, it failed to even reach the Top 40 in the UK, peaking at number #42. However, it was re-released in 2001 and after featuring in a popular Vodafone advertisement it peaked at a much more prominent #5.

The intro of the song is reminiscent of The Specials' "Little Bitch", and the song features riffs similar to The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar".

The Coral - Dreaming of You

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Coral are an English band formed in 1996 in England. The band's music is a mixture of 1960s-style psychedelia and folk-rock with old-fashioned country and modern alternative rock influences. The Coral have released 7 albums (The Coral, Magic and Medicine, Nightfreak and the Sons of Becker, The Invisible Invasion, Roots & Echoes, The Singles Collection/Magic & Mysteries, and Butterfly House). Their self-titled debut album was nominated for the 2002 Mercury Music Prize and later voted the fourth best album of the year by NME Magazine. It was announced on 9 January 2008 that Bill Ryder-Jones would be leaving, but the band would continue as a 5-piece.

"Dreaming of You" is a song featured on their debut album, The Coral. Released on 29 October 2002, it was the second single taken from the album and charted at #13.
Pete Doherty once claimed he wrote and then sold the song to James Skelly (lead singer/guitarist or The Coral) in a pub for £30, however this was denied by Skelly and it is widely believed he wrote it.

This day in music history

1959, Elvis Presley scored his fourth No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'A Fool Such As I / I Need Your Love Tonight.' His first ballad to hit No.1.

1961, Floyd Cramer was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'On The Rebound.' The US singers only UK No.1. The Nashville pianist played on many Elvis Presley hits.

1967, Paul McCartney met American photographer Linda Eastman for the first time, during a Georgie Fame concert at the Bag O'Nails nightclub in London, England. They married on March 12, 1969.

1971, Crosby Stills Nash & Young scored their second US No.1 album with '4 Way Street.'

1976, The Rolling Stones went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Black And Blue', the group's sixth US No.1 album.

1977, Procol Harum played their last ever concert when they appeared at New York's academy of music.

1982, Asia went to No.1 on the US album chart with their self-titled album. It spent a total of nine weeks at No.1.

1982, This years Eurovision Song Contest winner for Germany 'A Little Peace' by Nicole was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. Her only UK Top 40 hit.

1982, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney started a seven week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Ebony And Ivory'. The song gave McCartney his 24th US No.1 as a songwriter. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say "black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony folks!". It was later named as the tenth worst song of all time by Blender magazine and in 2007 was named the worst duet in history by BBC 6 Music listeners.

1992, Barbara Lee of the Chiffons died from a heart attack the day before her 45th birthday. Had the 1963 US No.1 single 'He's So Fine.'

1993, New Order went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'Republic', featuring the singles 'Regret' and 'World (The Price Of Love).

1994, Blur scored their first UK No.1 album with ‘Parklife’, which went on to spend over two years on the chart. The album featured four UK hit singles: 'Girls & Boys', 'End of a Century', 'Parklife' and 'To the End'.

1995, Supergrass released their debut studio album 'I Should Coco'. The album which peaked at No.1 on the UK chart featured their No.2 hit single 'Alright'. The album title is Cockney rhyming slang for "I should think so".

1997, Oasis became one of the first artists to attempt to exert censorship over the Internet. The group were working with Sony to put an end to unofficial websites carrying lyrics, sound files and photographs of the band.

1998, American singer and actor Frank Sinatra died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles aged 82, after suffering a heart attack. Sinatra had his first hit in 1940, working in the Swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. He went on to score over 25 Top 40 singles including the 1966 No.1 'Strangers In The Night'. His 1969 single 'My Way', re-entered the UK charts eight times and spent a total of 165 weeks on the UK chart.

2005, Nine Inch Nails were at No.1 on the US album chart with 'With Teeth', the bands fifth album and second US No.1 album.

2008, Neil Diamond reached the top of the US Billboard album chart for the first time in his career with ‘Home Before Dark’ the 67-year-old's 29th studio album. His previous highest chart position was in 1973 when the soundtrack to the film Jonathan Livingston Seagull peaked at No.2. At the age of 67, Diamond became the oldest artist to have a US number one, the record was previously held by Bob Dylan in 2006 with ‘Modern Times’ released when he was 65.

1937, Born on this day, Trini Lopez, singer, songwriter, (1963 US No.3 & UK No.4 single 'If I Had A Hammer').

1947, Born on this day, Graham Goble, Little River Band, Australian group, (1978 US No.3 single 'Reminiscing' plus 12 other US Top 40 singles).

1948, Born on this day, Brian Eno, synthesisers, Roxy Music, (1972 UK No.4 single 'Virginia Plain'). Member of The Winkies, produced U2, Talking Heads, David Bowie, John Cale and released solo albums.

1951, Born on this day, Dennis Fredericksen, vocals, Toto, (1983 US No.1 & UK No.3 single 'Africa').

1953, Born on this day, Mike Oldfield, UK composer, multi-instrumentalist, 'Tubular Bells' was the first album released on the Virgin record label in 1973 and went on to sell over 10 million copies world-wide. 1976 UK No. 3 single 'Portsmouth' plus 20 other UK Top 40 albums.

1959, Born on this day, Andrew Eldritch, vocals, The Sisters Of Mercy, (1992 UK No.3 single 'Temple Of Love').

1965, Born on this day, Mark Colwill, bass, Tindersticks, (1993 album 'Tindersticks').

For more musical feats & facts, you can visit thisdayinmusic.com

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

The White Stripes were an American alternative rock duo, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White (vocals, guitar, and keyboards) and drummer Meg White (drums and occasional vocals). Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced.

After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit music scene, the White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful albums White Blood Cells and Elephant drew them attention from a large variety of media outlets in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The White Stripes used a low-fidelity, do-it-yourself approach to writing and recording. Their music featured a melding of punk rock and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance.

The duo was also noted for their fashion and design aesthetic which featured a simple color scheme of red, white, and black. The band's discography consists of six studio albums, one live album, two extended plays (EP), one concert film, one tour documentary, twenty-six singles, and fourteen music videos. Their last three albums each won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album. After a long hiatus, The White Stripes formally announced their split on February 2, 2011.

"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003. Seven Nation Army reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004's Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

The song is known for its underlying riff, which plays throughout most of the song. Although it sounds like a bass guitar (an instrument the group had famously never previously used), the sound is actually created by running Jack White's semi-acoustic guitar (a 1950s style Kay Hollowbody) through a Digitech Whammy pedal set down an octave. The riff was composed at a sound check before a show at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, according to the set notes in the booklet which accompanied the Under Blackpool Lights DVD. This riff was inspired by the main theme of Anton Bruckner's Fifth symphony.

This song was number six on Rolling Stone's 2009 list of the 50 Best Songs of the Decade.In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Seven Nation Army" at number 8 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In September 2005, NME placed "Seven Nation Army" at number 5 in its list of the 50 Greatest Tracks Of The Decade. It was also called the 75th greatest hard rock song by VH1.

In May 2008, Rolling Stone placed this song at number 21 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. The song was also listed at #30 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s, and at number 2 in Observer Music Monthly's top
75 songs of the decade, behind Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love".

On Rolling Stone's updated version of their The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, "Seven Nation Army" was listed at number 286. It was also ranked #1 on Rhapsody's list of the Top 100 Tracks of the Decade.

" The above text is a mashup from Wikipedia."

Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To

Franz Ferdinand are a rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals) and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion, guitar and backing vocals).

The band first experienced chart success when their second single "Take Me Out" reached #3 in the UK Charts, followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand which debuted on the UK album chart at #3. The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act.
NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. From the album, three top-ten singles were released, "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée" and "This Fire".

The band's second album You Could Have It So Much Better (2005) was a platinum selling album in the United Kingdom and Gold selling in the United States. The album topped the UK Album Charts and made the top ten in the Billboard 200. The album produced the hit single "Do You Want To" amongst many other singles.
After the released of You Could Have It So Much Better, the band took time on recording their third album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, which was released internationally on 26 January 2009, and made the top ten in the United Kingdom and the United States. "Ulysses" was released as the lead single, although "No You Girls" was proven to be popular, being their second longest-charting single in the UK after only "Do You Want To" (2005).

The band have been nominated for several Grammy Awards, becoming one of few Scottish bands or artists to be nominated for a Grammy Award. They have also been nominated for several BRIT Awards in the UK, and have won awards such as an NME Award. With their three studio albums, the band had sold over 3-4 million albums worldwide in 2009.

"Do You Want To" is the lead single for Franz Ferdinand's second album, You Could Have It So Much Better. It was released 19 September 2005 and charted at number four in the UK Singles Chart (see 2005 in British music). The video, directed by Diane Martel, was released on August 23 and was played every hour on MTV2 on the day it debuted. In the U.S., the song had the most success on the Modern Rock chart, where it peaked at number nine, while reaching number 76 on the pop chart.

In February 2006, the single was certified Gold by the RIAA.
The song was written as somewhat of a joke after Alex Kapranos came home from a party one night where people were yelling the most ridiculous and profane things to each other. The lyrics are basically some things that he heard different women shouting at him over the noise of the party. The song is addressed to a person the band met at the party (apparently at an art gallery or some other artistic or highbrow venue), and essentially invites the addressee to hook up.

It was named the Sound Opinions single of 2005. It also came 10th in Triple J's hottest 100 for 2005. On Q's top 100 Indie Anthems Ever it was placed on #43, Q also named it the greatest single of 2005.
The song was listed as the 342nd best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.

" The above text is a mashup from Wikipedia."

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. Since their inception, the band has been composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase, who are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring member in 2009 and replaced Imaad Wasif who had previously held this role.

According to an interview that aired during the ABC network's Live from Central Park SummerStage series, the band's name was taken from modern New York City vernacular. The band has recorded three studio albums; the first, Fever to Tell, was released in 2003. The second, Show Your Bones, was released in 2006 and was named the second best album of the year by NME. Their third studio album, It's Blitz!, was released on March 31, 2009 in the USA and on April 6, 2009 in the rest of the world.

"Maps" is a single from their debut full-length album, Fever to Tell (2003). The song is about the relationship between Liars frontman Angus Andrew and Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead singer Karen O; the title is actually an acronym of the words "My Angus Please Stay". It was released on February 10, 2004, and the band performed the song at that year's MTV Movie Awards. It reached #9 on Billboard's hot modern rock chart and was included in the popular video game Rock Band.

"Maps" is widely regarded as one of the greatest songs of the 2000s: In 2009, it was voted the best alternative love song of all time by NME. The song was also listed at #6 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s. Rolling Stone ranked "Maps" as the 7th best song of the 2000s.

In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Maps" as 386th in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

" The above text is a mashup from Wikipedia."

Shakira - Objection , Whenever Wherever , Hips dont lie

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known professionally as Shakira is a Colombian singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and 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.

After commercial flops with local producers on her first two albums, and being 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 selling over 7 million copies worldwide.

In 2001, aided by the worldwide success of her first English single "Whenever, Wherever" that became the best selling single of 2002, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over 13 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 best selling song of the 2000s, "Hips Don't Lie".

In 1995, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. During her career, Shakira has performed at a large number of benefit concerts.

She has won two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Latin Music Awards and has been Golden Globe-nominated.

She is also the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, and the second most successful female Latin singer after Gloria Estefan, having sold over 50 million albums worldwide according to Sony Music Entertainment.Her U.S. album sales stand at 9.6 million.

In the fall of 2009, Shakira released her sixth album She Wolf worldwide.
Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", was chosen as the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The song has received generally positive critical reception, and has become a worldwide smash hit and the biggest selling World Cup song of all time. On YouTube, the English version of the music video is the 3rd most watched video of all time with over 300 million views.


Her seventh studio album, the bilingual Sale el Sol, was released October 2010 and has shipped over 4 million copies worldwide.

" The above text is a mashup from Wikipedia."