AVRIL LAVIGNE – THE CANADIAN POP PUNK SINGER

Avril Lavigne (full name Avril Lavigne Whibley) was born on September 27, 1984 in Belleville, Ontar io, Canada. She is a Canadian pop punk singer/songwriter and actress who is well known for her “skater punk” persona. Her two albums to date, Let Go (2002) and Under My Skin (2004), have topped the charts in numerous countries. Although her name is of French origin, she herself does not speak French and her name is pronounced in an anglicized way, more or less as “La-veen”. Her first name, Avril, means “April” in French and is pronounced “Av-reel” (anglicized “Ahv-ril”).

Born in Belleville, Ontario to conservative Franco-Ontarian Christian parents John and Judy Lavigne, Avril Lavigne grew up in Napanee; having moved there at the age of five. It was in Napanee that she sang country music and in a church choir and taught herself to play guitar.

She was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Avril was spotted by Steve Medd, a local folksinger, who invited her to perform vocals on his song Touch The Sky for his 1999 album Quinte Spirit. Suitably impressed, he invited her back to perform vocals on Temple Of Life and Two Rivers for his followup album, My Window To You in 2000.

By the age of sixteen, Avril Lavigne was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited his boss, Arista head Antonio “L.A.” Reid, to hear her sing in a New York City studio. She then completed work on her first album. Apparently, early attempts to co-write songs for her failed to meet her approval; and Lavigne eventually moved to Los Angeles, California, and co-wrote her album with Clif Magness and the songwriting team The Matrix, whose previous work included songs for Sheena Easton and Christina Aguilera.

She described her first album, Let Go, as a pop album with “a couple of rock songs on it”, and has indicated a desire to write more rock-oriented songs in the future. It was released by Arista on June 4, 2002 in the United States, reaching number two there and number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom (making Lavigne the youngest female solo act ever at the time to have a number-one album in the UK).

It was certified four times platinum less than six months later by the RIAA, and had sold fifteen million copies worldwide as of December 2004. Four singles from the album were released, all of them hits. “Complicated” went to number one in Australia while reaching number two on the U.S. Hot 100, and was also one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. “Sk8er Boi” reached the top ten in the U.S. and Australia and number one in Canada, “I’m With You” reached the top five in the U.S., while “Losing Grip” reached number one in Canada, the top ten in Taiwan, and the top twenty in Chile.

The media have often compared Lavigne to Alanis Morissette (one of her favourite artists alongside Coldplay and The Goo Goo Dolls), who is also Canadian, as well as singer-songwriters such as Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, who emerged at about the same time and were popularly credited, with Lavigne, as part of a trend towards more genuine creativity in the teen pop-music market. She was named “Best New Artist” at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 (out of six nominations), a World Music Award for World’s Best-Selling Canadian Singer, and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards. 2004 “the present Lavigne’s second album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004 in the U.S. and went to number one in several countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia.

She wrote most of the album with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, though some tracks were co-written by Lavigne and Ben Moody (formerly of Evanescence), Butch Walker of Marvelous 3, and the rest with her former lead guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace Kreviazuk’s husband, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore. Lead single “Don’t Tell Me” went to number one in Argentina, top five in the U.K. and Canada, and top ten in Australia and Brasil. “My Happy Ending” reached the top ten in the U.S., and was her third biggest hit to date there, but third single “Nobody’s Home” did not make the top forty.

The final single from the album, “He Wasn’t”, reached number one in Canada, making the song her eighth number-one release since “Complicated”, but failed to make the UK top twenty and was not released in the U.S. Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for World’s Best Pop/Rock Artist and World’s Best Selling Canadian Artist. She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, picking up three including, Fan Choice Award, Artist of the Year and Pop Album of the Year. She also won the award for Favourite Female Singer at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. Lavigne co-wrote a song, “Breakaway”, which was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and was later included on Clarkson’s second album, Breakaway, being released as the album’s first single. It went on to peak at #6 in the US and provided Clarkson with a substantial hit. One source reports that Lavigne will release a new album some time in the spring of 2006.

In January 2006, Avril Lavigne signed a contract with Ford Models. Avril Lavigne is appearing on the February edition of Harpers Bazaar Fashion Magazine with a new look. Avril Lavigne will sing at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics (Turin, Italy) for the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion. Her third album is supposed to be released during the middle of 2006. It should include collaborations with Chantal Kreviazuk and her husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, who have also worked on 2004’s ‘Under My Skin’ Lavigne’s current band consists of the following: Devin Bronson (lead guitar), Craig Wood (rhythm guitar), Charlie Moniz (bass) and Matt Brann (drums).

Departed members from Lavigne’s band consist of the following: Evan Taubenfeld (lead guitar, 2002 2004), Mark Spicoluk (bass, 2002) and Jesse Colburn (rhythm guitar, 2002 2003). In 2003, it was reported that Lavigne was romantically involved with Colburn. Lavigne is engaged to be married to Deryck Whibley of the pop punk band Sum 41, and Mark Spicoluk was a former member of that band. She formerly traveled with a bag full of about thirty neck ties. Some of them she bought, and the rest of them she took from her father and some were sent to her by fanmail. Avril Lavigne stopped wearing neckties completely in 2003, as she was horrified at the constant media references to them overshadowing her music and that she was starting a fashion trend amongst her fans.

She has a star tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, applied at the same time as friend and musical associate Ben Moody’s identical tattoo. In late 2004, Avril Lavigne had a small pink heart-shaped tattoo featuring the letter ‘D’ applied to her right wrist ” thought to be a reference to fiance Deryck Whibley. Avril Lavigne has also bought a house with him in Beverly Hills. In March 2004, she became involved in a celebrity feud with Hilary Duff: Duff reportedly criticized Lavigne after she apparently got mad at her fans for dressing like her. Duff called her “mean-spirited” and said: “You should be happy that these people like you and look up to you.” During an interview for a Boston radio station, Avril Lavigne then said that Duff was a “mommy’s girl” and a “goody two-shoes”.

Avril Lavigne then said to Duff (who was not present during that interview), “You can go screw yourself”. Reportedly, Lavigne also said about Duff, “I’m sure she’s really nice and sweet. I’m sure she’s all smiles.” During that same interview, she spotted a picture of herself and ripped it up, allegedly saying, “I hate that fucking photo!” All this happened while on air. According to Lavigne, she had permission to take the picture down ” station personnel encouraged her to take it down. Avril Lavigne has admitted to Rollingstone.com that she got into some fights one night. “The other night, I got into three fights”, says Lavigne. “I was at a club and some girl was giving me attitude. Avril Lavigne pushed me and I got her down on the floor. Security came, and because I was on top, they threw me out.” A profile of Lavigne in The Washington Post found that, in the flesh, her personality did not reflect her marketing, and instead found her to be, if anything, something of a wide-eyed innocent, citing her intending to purchase her first Ramones CD. In another interview, she listed her current listening tastes as including blink-182, Sum 41, Green Day and System of a Down.

Avril Lavigne is a vegetarian. Some members of the old school, hardcore punk community have an intense dislike for Lavigne and her style of music, which they believe waters down what punk is really all about. Comments Avril Lavigne has made, showing a lack of knowledge/interest in the seventies punk movement and the luminaries of that movement (Avril Lavigne once admitted to not ever having heard of the Sex Pistols), has led some to label her a poser. However, Avril Lavigne has consistently stated that her music is not punk rock and that she does not believe she is punk. Although it’s constantly debated whether or not Avril Lavigne is punk, there have been several (and more recent) occasions where she has stated “I’m not punk, that’s a whole other world. If anything I’m more rock or pop.” Avril Lavigne has made it to the list of FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World for three consecutive years, from 2003 to 2005. She was also included in Maxim Hot 100 for 2003 and 2005 at 92nd and 36th spots respectively.

DISCOGRAPHY

• Let Go-2002
• Under My Skin-2004
• The Best Damn Thing-2007

AVRIL LAVIGNE DATES

• Jesse Colburn (2002 – 2003)
• Deryck Whibley (2004 – now)
  

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BRITNEY SPEARS – THE SEXY POP SINGER

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in Kentwood, Louisiana, USA. She is a famous American pop singer, dancer, actress, author and songwriter. One of the last teenage superstars of the millennium, Britney Spears enjoyed her breakthrough success at the end of 1998.

Britney Spears appeared in local dance revues and church choirs as a young girl, and at the age of eight auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. Although Britney Spears was too young to join the series, a producer on the show gave her an introduction to a New York agent. Britney Spears subsequently spent three summers at the Professional Performing Arts School Center.

She appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions as a child actor, including Ruthless (1991). She returned to the [ Walt ] Disney Channel for a spot on The Mickey Mouse Club, where she was featured for two years between the ages of 11 and 13. Britney Spears began to audition for pop bands in the New York area, her demo tapes eventually landing on the desk of Jive Records’ Jeff Fenster. ”Her vocal ability and commercial appeal caught me right away,” he recalls.

She was expensively groomed by Jive, who put her in the studio with Eric Foster White (producer and writer for Boyzone, Whitney Houston and others). They employed top R&B writer Max Martin (of Backstreet Boys fame) to produce her debut single, ”… Baby, One More Time”, and an album of the same title. They also set up a promotional free phone number where fans could listen to Spears’ music and interviews throughout the summer of 1998.

Britney Spears toured American venues for a series of concerts sponsored by US teen magazines, eventually joining ‘N Sync on tour. The careful planning paid off when her debut album and single went on to top the American charts at the start of 1999. The album and single enjoyed similar success in the UK and Europe. The ballad ”Sometimes” and the funky ”(You Drive Me) Crazy” were also substantial transatlantic hits. ”Born To Make You Happy” topped the UK charts in January 2000. The demand for new Spears material was satisfied when her sophomore set, Oops! … I Did It Again, was released in May. The album contained the expected quota of well-produced, expertly crafted pop songs alongside a risible cover version of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.

By January 2004, Spears appeared to be rebelling again—this time, against her intense work schedule. She married her childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas, but the union was annulled two days later. She then got involved with backup dancer Kevin Federline. At the time, Federline’s girlfriend Shar Jackson was pregnant with their second child. Spears’ relationship with Federline only intensified with the media’s scrutiny of her private life. Spears experienced some troubles in her professional life around this time. She had to undergo surgery to correct a knee injury, forcing her to cancel the last part of her tour. Her personal life, however, seemed to be flourishing. Spears and Federline married on September 18, 2004, in Studio City, California.

Despite her declining sales, Spears seemed contented. She and her husband announced that they were expecting their first child together in April 2005. “I find being pregnant empowering. I think it brings out a pure side of you,” Spears told People magazine. As fascinated as the media and the public had been about this young couple, few people tuned in to catch a glimpse of their 2005 reality show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, which told the story of their early relationship through personal videos. That September, the couple welcomed son Sean Preston.

DISCOGRAPHY

• 2009 The Singles Collection
• 2008 Circus
• 2007 Blackout
• 2005 Chaotic
• 2005 B in the Mix: The Remixes
• 2004 My Prerogative
• 2003 In the Zone
• 2001 Britney
• 2000 Oops!… I Did It Again
• 1999 Baby One More Time

MOVIES

• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• Crossroads (2002)

BRITNEY SPEARS DATES

• Reg Jones (1995 – 1997)
• Jason Geddert (1997 – 1998)
• Justin Timberlake (1998 – 2002)
• Wade J. Robson (2002)
• Marcus (2002)
• Fred Durst (2002)
• John Cusack (2003)
• Colin Farrell (2003)
• Phil Maloof (2003)
• Tom Witchey (2003)
• Jared Leto (2003)
• Columbus Short (2003)
• Jason Allen (2003-2004)
• Kevin Federline (2004-2006)
• J.R Rotem (2006-2007)
• Isaac Cohen (2007)
• Howie Day (2007)
• Shannon Funk (2007)
• Criss Angel (2007)

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MADONNA – THE SEXY ENTERTAINER

Madonna was born on 16 August 1958 in Michigan. Her full name was Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone. Madonna married Guy Ritchie, having divorced Sean Penn. However, in October 2008 Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced that were getting divorced. She has a huge IQ and reportedly enjoys chess. Madonna won a dance scholarship to Michigan University, but dropped out and went to New York. Madonna struggled for a while in various dance troupes and bands, and was briefly a backing vocalist/dancer to French disco star Patrick Hernandez.

Madonna’s debut album, titled Madonna, was released in 1983, and although it sold 3 million copies it was with her next album, Like a Virgin that she made most impact. Her music continued to be a critical and commercial success and in the past 20 years, Madonna has sold more than 250m records. Some people argue that Madonna lulled in the early part of the 2000s but there was no disputing that 2005 was a good year for Madonna (barring a horse-riding accident). Her Live 8 performance was highly regarded as was her album, Confessions on a Dancefloor, produced by Stuart Price, which contained the Number 1 single ‘Hung Up’. Madonna has been a hugely successful singer, but she is a woman of many talents. Her photo-book, Sex was a great commercial success although panned by many critics.

Madonna has also appeared in a variety of films including Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), In Bed with Madonna (1991) and Evita (1996). Up until recently Madonna ran the record company Maverick, which (after a dispute) she sold to Warner Music. Madonna has recently written several children’s stories. Pundits have frequently referred to her successful branding and dubbed her a chameleon. Some compliment her for this, and others criticise her. Madonna has two children: Lourdes, fathered by personal trainer Carlos Leon, and Rocco with Guy Ritchie. Madonna can nowadays also be referred to as Esther.

As Madonna puts it: “I don’t go by the name of Esther, but yes, that is my Hebrew name. I chose it.” In an interview with ABC’s 20/20 Madonna said: “I was named after my mother. My mother died when she was very young. I wanted to attach myself to another name. So I read about all the women in the old testament and I love the story of Queen Esther.” Madonna came 8th in the Forbes list of the most powerful celebrities 2005. In February 2008, Filth and Wisdom, which was the first film directed by Madonna, was released. Meanwhile Madonna’s music continued to prove popular. In May 2008, Madonna had her tenth number one album in the UK with Hard Candy.AWARDS2009

Grammy Awards
Best Dance Recording “Give It 2 Me” (Lost to Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger)
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical “4 Minutes (Junkie XL Remix)” (Lost to MGMT – Electric Feel (Justice Remix))

2008

Bravo Magazine Otto Awards (Hungary)
Best Video for “4 Minutes”

Grammy Awards
Best Long Form Music Video “The Confessions Tour”

World Music Awards
Best Selling American Artist

2007

Virgin.Net Awards
Best Solo Artist

The Sun Bizarre Readers Poll
Best Female
Best Live Act “The Confessions Tour”

Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
Most Creative Stage Production “The Confessions Tour”

The Ivor Novello Awards
International Hit Of The Year “Sorry”

International Dance Music Awards
Best Dance Music Video “Jump”
Best Dance Solo Artist

Grammy Awards
Best Electronic/Dance Album “Confessions on A Dance Floor”

Elle Magazine Awards
Style Icon Award

2006

World Music Awards
World’s Best Pop Artist

TRL Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award

NRJ Awards
Best International Female Artist

NME Awards
Sexiest Female

MVPA Awards
Best Make-Up “Hung Up” (Gina Brooke)

International Dance Music Awards
Best Pop Dance Track “Hung Up”
Best Dance Video “Hung Up”
Best Dance Artist Solo

Brit Awards
Best International Female

Billboard Touring Awards
Top Boxscore (for 8 London concerts – $22 million)
Top Manager Award (Guy Oseary and Angela Becker)

Amadeus Austrian Music Awards
Best international Hit Single (Hung Up)

2005

Meteor Ireland Music Awards
Best Live Performance – Visiting Act (“Re-Invention Tour”)

2004

UK Music Hall Of Fame
Founding Member

NRJ Music Awards
Lifetime Achievement Award

Dancestar Awards
Best Chart Act

Billboard Backstage Pass Awards
Top Tour “Re-Invention Tour”

Billboard Awards
Best Selling Dance Single “Me Against The Music” (with Britney Spears)

2003

Theatregoers’ Choice Theatre Awards
Theatre Event “Up For Grabs”

MVPA Awards
Soundtrack Video of the Year (“Die Another Day”)

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Actress “Swept Away”
Worst Supporting Actress (“Die Another Day”)
Worst Screen Couple “Swept Away”, with Adriano Giannini

Bulgarian MM Awards
Best International Video (Die Another Day)

American Music Awards
Michael Jackson Award

2002

International Dance Music Awards
Best Solo Dance Artist

DVD Awards
Best Music DVD “Drowned World Tour Live”

ASCAP Awards
Best Song “Don’t Tell Me”

AOL Viewers Choice Awards
Best TV Concert Of The Year “Drowned World Tour Live”

2001

NRJ Music Awards
Best International Album “Music”
Best International Female

MVPA Awards
Best Direction Of A Female Artist “Don’t Tell Me”

International Dance Music Awards
Best Dance Solo Artist
Best Pop Dance 12″ Record “Music”
Best Dance Video “Music”

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Actress “The Next Best Thing”

Grammy Awards
Best Video Of The Year “Music”
Best Recording Package “Music”

Edison Awards
Best International Female Artist

Danish Music Awards
Best International Album “Music”
Best International Hit “Music”

Capital FM Awards
Favorite International Solo Artist

Billboard Awards
Best Video Clip Of The Year “Music”

Brit Awards
Best International Female

2000

Rolling Stone Readers Picks
Best Albums (#1 “Music”)
Best Singles (#1 “Music”)

Rolling Stone Critics Picks
Best Albums (#3 “Music”)
Best Singles (#1 “Music”)

Premios Amigos Awards
Best International Female Singer

MVPA Awards
Panavision Award for Best Cinematography “Beautiful Stranger”

MTV Europe Music Awards
Best Female Artist
Best Dance

Grammy Awards
Best Song from a Motion Picture “Beautiful Stranger”

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Actress of the Century

ASCAP Awards
Most Performed Song From Motion Pictures “Beautiful Stranger”

1999Rolling Stone Critics Picks
Best Singles (#2 “Beautiful Stranger”)MVPA Awards
Pop Video Of The Year “Ray Of Light”
Best Special Effects in a Music Video “Frozen”

Music Week CAD Awards
Best Special Effects in a Video “Frozen”
Best Editing in a Video “Frozen”
Best Dance Video “Frozen”

MTV Video Music Awards
Best video From A Film “Beautiful Stranger”

Grammy Awards
Best Pop Album (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Video (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Dance Single (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Recording Package (“Ray Of Light”)

1998

Viva Comet Awards
Best International Artist

Rolling Stone Readers Picks
Best Singles (#2 “Ray Of Light”)

Rolling Stone Critics Picks
Best Singles (#3 “Ray Of Light”)

Much Music Awards
Best International Video (“Ray Of Light”)

VH-1 Fashion Awards
The Versace Award
Most Fashinable Artist
Most Stylish Music Artist

MTV Video Music Awards
Best Video Of The Year (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Female Video (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Direction In A Video (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Editing In A Video (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Choreography In A Video (“Ray Of Light”)
Best Special Effects In A Video (“Frozen”)

MTV Europe Music Awards
Best Female
Best Album (“Ray Of Light”)
Blockbuster Entertainment Award

1997

Golden Globe Awards
Best Original Song (“You Must Love Me”)
Best Performance By An Actress – Comedy/Musical (“Evita”)
Best Movie (“Evita”)

Billboard Awards
Artist Achievement Award

American Moviegoer’s Awards
Best Actress (“Evita”)
Best Direction (“Evita”)

Academy Awards
Best Original Song (“You Must Love Me”)

1996

MTV Latin Music Awards
Best Female Artist (“Veras”)
Best Video (“Veras”)

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Supporting Actress (“Four Rooms”)

Echo Awards
Best International Female Artist

ASCAP Awards
Best Song (“You’ll See”)

1995

VH-1 Fashion Awards
Most Fashionable Artist

MTV Video Music Awards
Best Female Video (“Take A Bow”)

1994

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Actress (“Body Of Evidence”)

1993

MTV Video Music Awards
Best Art Direction In A Video (“Rain”)
Best Cinematography In A Video (“Rain”)

ASCAP Awards
Most Performed Songs from Motion Picture (“This Used To Be My Playground”)

1992

Grammy Awards
Best Long-Form Video “Blond Ambition Tour Live”

1991

MTV Video Music Awards
Best bLong-Form Video (“The Immaculate Collection”)

Juno Awards
Best International Single (“Vogue”)

American Music Awards
Favorite Dance Single (“Vogue”)

Academy Awards
Best Original Song (“Sooner Or Later”)

1990

Rolling Stone Readers Picks
Best Singles (#1 “Vogue”)

MTV Video Music Awards
Best Direction In A Video
Best Editing In A Video (“Vogue”)
Best Cinematography In A Video (“Vogue”)

1989

Rolling Stone Readers Picks
Best Albums (#4 “Like A Prayer”)

MTV Video Music Awards
Best Direction In A Video
Best Art Direction In A Video
Best Editing In A Video
Best Cinematography In A Video

International Music Awards
Best International Female (“Like A Prayer”)

1988

ASCAP Awards
Most Performed Songs from Motion Picture (“Who’s That Girl”)

1987

MuchMusic Awards
Best Female Artist
Best Female Video (“La Isla Bonita”)

MTV Video Music Awards
Best Female Video (“Open Your Heart”)

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Actress (“Who’s That Girl”)

ASCAP Awards
Most Performed Songs from Motion Picture (“Live To Tell”)

American Music Awards
Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist

1986

People’s Choice Awards
Favorite Female Musical Performer

MTV Video Music Awards
Video Vanguard Award

Juno Awards
Best International Album (“True Blue”)

Golden Raspberry Awards
Worst Actress (“Shanghai Surprise”)

1985

American Music Awards
Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist

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KE$HA – THE TIC TOK GIRL

Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), known by the stylized stage name/mononym Ke$ha, is an American singer–songwriter. Although she began her music career in 2006, her breakthrough only came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida’s number one single, “Right Round.” Sebert’s debut single, “TiK ToK,” was later released in October, preceding the release of her debut album, Animal, in 2010.

Sebert was born in San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles to a single parent. Her mother, Pebe Sebert, also a singer-songwriter, was struggling to get by and support Kesha and her older brother at the time, she would often look after then infant Kesha onstage while performing. Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee in 1991 after securing a publishing deal, and Kesha spent the rest of her early years attending a music school in the neighboring countryside. Pebe often brought Kesha along to recording studios and encouraged her to sing, Kesha was exposed to the music of many country music artists while learning to write songs. The Sebert family was featured in an episode of The Simple Life, as the host family, which led to an incident later where Sebert vomited in Paris Hilton’s closet. At the age of seventeen she dropped out of Brentwood High School in Nashville to return to Los Angeles and pursue a music career.

She decided that she wanted Prince to produce her music, so she found and snuck into his Beverly Hills home. Once she was discovered, she was promptly thrown out, but not before she dropped off her demo, which was wrapped in a purple bow, with Prince himself. Sebert survived on low income and few gigs while pursuing her career at first, moonlighting as a waitress to make ends meet while furthering her music career in studios with different producers. It was then that she met Dr. Luke who had come across her demos and was so impressed that he contacted her with Max Martin and began a working relationship with her immediately.

Between 2006 and 2009, Sebert’s music appeared in a variety of media, her song “Former Overexposed Blonde” appeared in Degrassi: The Next Generation, while “Backstabber” and “Chain Reaction” were used in The Hills. During this time, she also co-wrote The Veronicas’ single, “This Love”, sang background vocals for Britney Spears’ song “Lace and Leather” and appeared in the video for Katy Perry’s single, “I Kissed a Girl” Her appearance in the video arose due to her being friends with Perry, they met frequently as aspiring pop singers in Los Angeles and shared many musical collaborators. Sebert currently lives in a shared mansion in Laurel Canyon.

She gained exposure in the mainstream media after being featured on Flo Rida’s single, “Right Round”. The collaboration came about when Flo Rida decided that the song needed a female voice, Sebert was then roped in for the part after being suggested by Dr. Luke, who was producing the song. Flo Rida liked the end result so much that he invited her to guest on another song, “Touch Me”, for his album. She turned down an offer to appear in the video for “Right Round”, because she wanted to strike out on her own. Soon after, it was announced that she had signed with RCA Records through Dr. Luke and was working on her debut album, which has now been completed and is due to be released in early 2010. Her first single, “TiK ToK”, was officially serviced to US radio on October 5, 2009. It features an uncredited cameo appearance by Diddy who is the inspiration for the song. In an interview with MTV Sweden for MTV Push, Sebert revealed that her debut album would be called Animal.

On March 27, 2009, she appeared onstage alongside 3OH!3 at one of their concerts at Avalon Hollywood to perform their duet, “My First Kiss”. She also performed at that year’s Lollapalooza as part of the BMI Stage. Sebert’s musical credits in 2009 include work for Teen Cribs, she had previously done background cues for My Super Sweet 16 as well, co-writing the title song for Miley Cyrus’ The Time of Our Lives EP and featured appearances on Pitbull and Taio Cruz’s albums. She also revealed in an interview with DigitalSpy that she had written a song for Rihanna. Sebert has also been a supporting act of Calvin Harris on tour in the UK and has performed with Mickey Avalon on multiple tour dates.

ALBUMS

• ANIMAL – 2010

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LADY GAGA – THE CRAZIEST DRESSING SINGER

Lady Gaga is a theatrical dance-pop performer whose debut single, the international chart-topping hit “Just Dance,” established her as an up-and-coming superstar upon its release in 2008. Born Stefani Germanotta on March 28, 1986, the New York native attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girl Catholic school in Manhattan, before proceeding to study music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts at age 17. Influenced by flamboyant glam rockers such as David Bowie and Freddie Mercury (she would later draw her stage name from the Queen song “Radio Ga-Ga”) as well as ’80s dance-poppers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, she began playing the piano at a young age and started writing original material as a teenager. In 2007, she began to make a name for herself on the downtown Manhattan club scene with a performance art show billed as Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue (co-featuring Lady Starlight; born Colleen Martin, a DJ and makeup professional), and music industry insiders began to take note. While Lady Gaga was initially signed to Def Jam in 2007, nothing came of that association, and ultimately it was pop-rap superstar Akon who took her under his wing, signing her to his vanity label Kon Live in association with Interscope Records.

In addition to working for Interscope as an in-house songwriter, Lady Gaga began preparing the launch of her solo career. Her debut single, “Just Dance,” was released to radio in April 2008, and her full-length album debut, The Fame, followed in August. Featuring fellow Akon affiliate Colby O’Donis, “Just Dance” slowly gathered momentum throughout 2008’s latter half. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in August, at which time it had already become a massive club hit, but it didn’t reach number one until January 2009. Internationally, the song proved similarly popular, reaching the Top Ten throughout much of Western Europe and beyond. In the wake of Lady Gaga’s international breakthrough success with “Just Dance,” the follow-up single “Poker Face” was an even larger hit, topping singles charts across the board with its combination of pop melodicism and club-worthy production. Two additional tracks — “LoveGame” and “Paparrazi” — also cracked the Top Ten, and The Fame was still enjoying a spot on the Billboard Top 40 when its follow-up, The Fame Monster, appeared in November 2009.

Although originally planned as a bonus disc (to be packaged alongside The Fame in a deluxe edition of Lady Gaga’s debut), The Fame Monster was quickly expanded to eight tracks, thus warranting its own release. Meanwhile, the leadoff single “Bad Romance” became Gaga’s fifth consecutive Top Ten single.

ALBUMS

• The Fame (2008)
• The Fame Monster (2009)

AWARDS

ASCAP AWARD

• “Just Dance” – Ascap Pop Music Award – Most Performed Songs
• “Paparazzi” – Ascap Pop Music Award – Most Performed Songs

BET Awards 2010

• Video Phone with Beyonce, Video of the Year

Billboard Award

• 2009 – Billboard Rising Star
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for Best Hot 100 Artist
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for Best Hot Digital Songs Artist
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for Best Hot Pop Songs Artist
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for Top Dance/Electronic Artist
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for Canadian Hot 100 Artist
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for European Hot 100 songs
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for Best Electronic/Dance album
• Billboard Year End Chart Awards for European Top 100 albums
• Latin Billboard Music Awards for Crossover Artist of the Year, Solo

BMI Awards

• “Poker Face” – BMI Pop Awards Award-Winning Songs
• “Just Dance” – BMI Pop Awards Award-Winning Songs
• “Love Game” – BMI Pop Awards Award-Winning Songs

Brit Awards

• The Fame – Best international Album
• International Female Solo Artist
• International Breakthrough Act

Echo Awards

• Best International Female Artist – 2010
• Best International Newcomer – 2010
• “Poker Face” – Best International/National Hit of the Year – 2010

ESKA Music Awards

• ESKA Award for Best New Artist – 2009

GLAAD Media Awards

• Outstanding Music Artist – 2010

Grammy Awards

• Best Dance Recording – Pokerface – 2010
• Best Electronic/Dance Album – The Fame – 2010

Japan Gold Disc Award

• Best New Artist International
• The three Best New Artist

Meteor Music Awards

• Best International Female – 2010

MP3 MUSIC Awards

• Love Game – The RCD Award – Radio / Charts / Downloads – 2010

MTV Music Awards

• Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica: Mejor Artista Nuevo Internacional
• Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica: Canción del Año
• MTV Europe Music Awards for Best New Act
• Best Dance Video – PokerFace – MTV Japan
• MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist – Pokerface
• MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects – Paparazzi
• MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction – Paparazzi

Much Music Awards

• MuchMusic Video Award for Best International Artist Video – Pokerface

NME Awards

• NME Award for Best Dressed
• NME Award for Worst Dressed

NRJ Music Awards

• International Revelation of the Year

People’s Choice Awards

• Favorite Pop Artist
• Favorite Breakout Artist

Premios Oye Awards

• The Fame – Premios Oye for English – Album of the Year
• The Fame – Premios Oye for English – Best New Artist
• Poker Face – Premios Oye for English – Record of the Year

Q Awards

• “Just Dance” – Q Awards for Best Video, 2009

Swiss Music Awards

• “Poker Face” – Swiss Music Award for International Best Song, 2009

Teen Choice Awards

• “Just Dance” – Teen Choice Award for Choice Music: Hook Up, 2009

The Record of the Year

• Poker Face – The Record Of The Year, 2009

TMF Awards

• TMF Award for Best Female Artist International
• TMF Award for Best Pop International
• TMF Award for Best New Artist International

UK Music Video Awards

• “Paparazzi” – UK Music Video Awards for Best International Video, 2009

Virgin Media Music Awards

• “The Fame” – Virgin Media Music Awards for Best Album
• Virgin Media Music Awards for Shameless Publicity Seeker

World Music Awards

• “Poker Face” – World Music Awards for Best Song of the Year
• “The Fame” – World Music Awards for Best Album of the Year
• World Music Awards for Best Pop/Rock Artist
• World Music Awards for Best New Artist
• World Music Awards for Best Selling Artist of America

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JUSTIN BIEBER – THE YOUNG CANADIAN POP STAR

Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop/R&B singer. He began his professional career on YouTube, where he was discovered by his future manager, Scooter Braun. Braun flew Bieber to Atlanta, Georgia, to consult with Usher and soon signed a record deal with Island.The first part of his two-part debut album My World was released on November 17, 2009. Four successful pre-album singles have been released: “One Time”, “One Less Lonely Girl”, “Love Me”, and “Favorite Girl”, which were Top 15 hits on the Canadian Hot 100 and Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. This accomplishment made Bieber the only solo artist in Billboard history to have four singles from a debut album chart in the Top 40 of the Hot 100 before the album’s release. The album received positive reviews from critics, and debuted at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 137,000 copies in its first week, which was the second best opening release for a new artist in 2009. It also debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart. As of the fifth week, the album has sold over 522,000 copies in the United States, and has been certified Platinum in Canada. Part II of My World is currently set for a March 2010 release.The craziest gift from a fan that he received was a rubber golf club. Bought a Macbook Pro with his own money and it was one of his biggest purchases. He likes the show “Smallville”. He started out by posting youtube videos in 2007. His debut album was “My World”. His mom, Pattie Mallette, travels with him all the time. He likes to play video games. He has a signature hair style. He met Celine Dion at a New York Knicks basketball game. She approached him and said my son loves your songs. He plays guitar at many of his concerts. He has performed with Rihanna at the Super Bowl Weekend concert in Miami. He likes to play hockey and basketball. He recorded a few songs with fellow singer Sean Kingston. He has one day a week where he just relaxes. He recorded “We Are The World” for Haiti. He got the opening verse which was previously sung by Lionel Richie. His dad still lives in Canada. He wrote the song “Down To Earth” about his parents’ divorce. The executive producer of his first record, My World was LA Reid. He has a twitter which he updates daily.He is good friends with Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.
Checkout the ASCII Art of Justin Bieber in the below link. Download the text file. Open it with Notepad. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.


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BEYONCE KNOWLES – SEXY SINGER/ACTRESS

American singer and actress. Born Beyoncé Giselle Knowles on September 4, 1981, in Houston, Texas, she began singing with the original members of the popular R&B group Destiny’s Child — LaToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland and  LaTavia Roberson — as a pre-teen.

The girls went through various incarnations, singing a mix of gospel, rhythm and blues, and hip hop, before they officially became Destiny’s Child in 1995. Knowles’ father, Mathew, served as manager of the group. After performing in the Houston area, the group appeared on Star Search, the popular television talent competition.

Although they did not win the competition, a contract with Columbia Records soon followed. Their first release, Destiny’s Child (1997), was a tremendous success in Europe. Upon the album’s release, the group kicked off a tour of sold-out shows there. Their second effort, The Writing’s on the Wall (1999), brought them wider acclaim back home. The album generated three top-ten hits on the Billboard R&B singles chart.

In 2000, despite internal conflicts that resulted in the departure of Luckett and Roberson from the group, Destiny’s Child continued to promote their sophomore effort, playing as a supporting act for Christina Aguilera’s summer tour. In 2001, still calling themselves Destiny’s Child, the group released their third album, Survivor.

In 2004, after launching a successful solo career with Dangerously in Love, Knowles won five Grammy Awards, tying a record for most wins by a female artist. Her second solo effort, B’Day, was released in September 2006 to coincide with the singer’s twenty-fifth birthday. In its first week, B’Day sold more than 540,000 copies in the U.S.

Beyoncé Knowles has also made a start in acting, making her debut in MTV’s Hip Hopera: Carmen in 2001 and co-starring as Foxxy Cleopatra in Mike Myers’ James Bond parody Goldmember in 2002. Other films include 2004’s The Fighting Temptations and 2006’s The Pink Panther.

Her starring role as Deena Jones, a Diana Ross-like character in the big-screen adaptation of the 1981 Broadway hit musical Dreamgirls earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2006. Beyoncé’s song “Listen” was nominated for an  Academy Award.

Knowles’ was romantically linked to hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, since September 2002. They performed together in music videos for two of her hit singles, Crazy in Love and Deja Vu. The couple married in April 2008. Among the guests sighted at the wedding were Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles, her father and manager  Mathew, her sister Solange, Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

ALBUMS

Studio albums

• 2003: Dangerously in Love
• 2006: B’Day
• 2008: I Am… Sasha Fierce

Movie soundtracks

• Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• The Fighting Temptations (2003)
• The Pink Panther (2006)
• Dreamgirls (2006)
• Cadillac Records (2008)

Video releases

• Live at Wembley (2004)
• BET Presents Beyoncé (2006)
• Beyoncé The Ultimate Performer (2006)
• B’Day Anthology Video Album (2007)
• The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007)
• I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas (2009)
• I Am… Live in London (2010)
• Beyoncé: Destined For Stardom (2010)

Filmography

• 2001 Carmen: A Hip Hopera
• 2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember
• 2003 The Fighting Temptations
• 2004 Fade to Black
• 2006 The Pink Panther
• 2006 Dreamgirls
• 2007 My Night at the Grammys
• 2008 Cadillac Records
• 2009 Obsessed
• 2009 Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

Check out the sexy ASCII Art of Beyonce in the below Link. Follow the given steps to see the ASCII Art clearly in the Notepad. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

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RAIN – THE KOREAN ENTERTAINER

Rain born as Jung Ji-Hoon on June 25, 1982, is a South Korean pop singer, dancer, model, actor, businessman, and designer. Rain’s musical career includes seven albums (six Korean, one Japanese), 19 singles and numerous concert tours around the world. His acting career began in 2003, when he won the KBS Best New Actor award for his role in the drama Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School. In 2004, Rain won the KBS Excellence in Acting award for his role in the drama Full House. After starring in A Love To Kill, he acted in his first Korean film, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006), which won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Rain has acted in the American films Speed Racer (2008) and Ninja Assassin (2009), the latter of which made him the first Korean to win an MTV award. In 2007, Rain left the management of JYP Entertainment and started his own company, J. Tune Entertainment.

EARLY LIFE

Rain spent most of his childhood living with his parents and younger brother, Jeong Hanna, near Yeon Se University. Despite being an introverted and shy child, he discovered he had a passion for dance when he performed in a talent show for Sungmoon Junior High School. Rain initially had a difficult time balancing dance and academics and received low grades during the beginning of junior high because of his frequent dance practices. He decided to follow his passion and attended Anyang High School of Arts in Anyang, Gyeonggi, where he received his first formal instruction in acting and was able to continue dancing as well. Rain again found he could not focus on both dance and his studies in acting; he was truant on several occasions.Rain lost his mother as she struggled with diabetes and died in 2000. Within that same year, Rain was recruited as a trainee for JYP Entertainment, led by recording artist and producer Park Jin-Young. In a CNN interview and also in a Discovery Channel documentary called Discovering Hip Korea, however, he recalled being repeatedly rejected because of his looks: “In fact, I was told after one audition that my singing and dancing was great but I didn’t make it because I didn’t have double eyelids.” During the early years of training, Rain was a backup dancer.In 2002, Jung debuted with the album Bad Guy where he was introduced to the media through his stage name, Rain. The album’s title was “Bad Guy” and was followed by “Handshake”. After his first album, in 2003, he made his television debut in the KBS drama, Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School. Following the success of his debut as a singer and actor, Rain released his second album, How to Avoid The Sun, and released the title song “Ways to Avoid the Sun.”RISE IN POPULARITY

In 2004, he starred in the popular drama called “Full House” with one of Korea’s most popular actresses, Song Hye Kyo. The drama had viewer ratings of over 30 percent for every episode. It was broadcasted in various other countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Israel and the United States. His performance in the drama won him the Best Actor Award at the KBS Acting Awards.

His third album, It’s Raining (2004), sold over 1 million copies in Asia. According to a report by Rain’s previous agency JYP Entertainment to the Korea Culture & Content Agency, It’s Raining topped the charts in all of the following countries as of December 29, 2005: Japan (100,000 copies), China (500,000 copies), Taiwan (70,000 copies), Thailand (150,000 copies), Indonesia (50,000 copies), and South Korea (154,000 copies), for a combined total of 1,074,000 units sold.

Rain then went on his Rainy Day 2005 Tour, starting in Seoul and followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong. The tickets sold out quickly.[6] the Rainy Day global tour in 2005 sold out over 150,000 seats in 8 cities in Korea, China and Japan. His first solo concert in Japan, entitled Rainy Day Japan held at the Tokyo International Forum had all the tickets sold out 30 seconds after going on sale.

EXPANSION OUTSIDE KOREA

Rain’s fourth album, Rain’s World, was released in Korea on October 14, 2006. He acted in his first film, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK, directed by Park Chan-wook. The film won the Alfred Bauer Award at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, and was selected as the opening film for the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Also, Rain was nominated for and won Best New Actor at the 43rd Baeksang Awards.

ASIA

The “Rain’s Coming” tour began on December 15, 2006 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul and was scheduled to continue through 2007 to the following countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, United States, and Canada. His tour incorporated the talents of producers and stage designers (such as Jamie King and Roy Bennett) who have been involved with the concert tours of other artists such as U2, Michael Jackson, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Britney Spears, and The Rolling Stones. Ticket sales were expected to be over US$100 million.

Rain released his first Japanese album, Eternal Rain on September 13, 2006. His concert at the Tokyo Dome on May 25, 2007 attracted nearly 40,000 people. Rain was the first Korean artist to perform at the Tokyo Dome, the largest auditorium in Japan.

UNITED STATES

In April 2006, Rain was mentioned in the Time magazine website article that named the “100 Most Influential People Who Shape Our World.” Rain stated that he was honored to be on the list, and also noted that it will be a great boost to his efforts to raise his public awareness in the United States. In 2007, Rain topped Time Magazine’s online user poll although he was not in the magazine’s actual list. He also made it into People’s 2007 list of the “Most Beautiful People” in the world.

His two-day concert in the United States, Rainy Day New York was marketed and promoted by the Asian concert production company Rainstone Live. Tickets were sold out within a matter of days and the concerts were held at Madison Square Garden. Rain performed two concert dates in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 23–24, 2006; the tickets to these concerts sold out within the first week of sales. These concerts were held at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

RAINISM & 2 AMERICAN FILMS

Rain at a signing event for Ninja Assassin in New York. In 2007, Rain was included on People’s Most Beautiful People in its “First-Time Beauties 2007” section. In a press release, Rain stated that he was honored to be on the list, and also noted that it will be a great boost to his efforts to raise his public awareness in the United States. Also in 2007, Rain topped Time’s open online poll: he defeated Stephen Colbert by 100,000 votes; Colbert jokingly retaliated by producing a parody of Rain’s music video for “Ways to Avoid the Sun” called “He’s Singin’ In Korean”. Stephen Colbert then challenged Rain to a dance-off “or a cuddle-off, or a spoon-off”. On May 5, 2008, Rain appeared in a surprise guest segment at the end of The Colbert Report, and proceeded to engage Colbert in a dance-off on a Dance Dance Revolution machine.

On October 16, 2008, Rain released his fifth Korean album, Rainism. Rain released “Love Story”, as the first single from the album, shortly followed by the single, “Rainism”. On November 24, 2008, The Commission of Youth Protection judged Rain’s album, Rainism, inappropriate for people under 19 years old because of the song “Rainism”.

In 2008, he acted in his first American film, the Wachowski Brothers-directed Speed Racer, where he played Racer Taejo Togokahn. He made his starring role debut in Ninja Assassin (2009), as the main character Raizo. Ninja Assassin was directed by James McTeigue, and produced by Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers. The project was inspired by the ninja scenes featured from Speed Racer, in which Rain had impressed the Wachowskis with his portrayal as a fighter. He won the Biggest Badass Award at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards because of his performance in Ninja Assassin.

Rain concluded The Legend of Rainism Tour at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 24–25, 2009. He performed most of the songs on his recent album, Rainism. The Legend of Rainism Tour had concerts in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Indonesia and Las Vegas.

RETURN TO KOREA

On April 6, 2010, Rain released a special mini-album titled Back to Basic including the singles “Love Song” and “Hip Song”. On April 30, 2010, The Korea Times published an article stating Rain will act in a new drama called Fugitive. He will be the male lead while Lee Na Young will be the female lead. The drama will start to be filming in June of 2010, and it is set to air in either late September or early October of 2010. Daniel Henney has also joined the cast of Fugitive, taking the role of an antagonist, complicating the relationship between the lead characters. It has been reported on gossip sites that two Japanese actors will also take part in Fugitive. Uehara Takako and Naoto Takanaka are the latest lineup to take part in this drama. Uehara Takako is reported to take the role of Rain’s character’s love interest, and thus competing against Lee Na Young’s character.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

SIX TO FIVE

“Six to Five” was Rain’s first clothing line, since it also was his dream to become a fashion designer. It was launched on December 23, 2008 and was followed by a “fashion show–launch party–mini-concert” to introduce “Six to Five”. Many stars came to support him, such as Lee Hyori, Kim Suna, Chae-Rim and Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun. He designs and models the clothing. The label “Six To Five” is described by Rain as the idea of having an extra sense (i.e. from five senses to six). This label name also is said to represent his birth date, 6/25.

J. TUNE ENTERTAINMENT

In November 2007, Rain told the Korean media that he has left JYP Entertainment and started his own entertainment company, J. Tune Entertainment (formerly known as Rainy Entertainment). He was scheduled to be CEO of the company, but told the media that he still kept in touch with his mentor and long-time trainer Park Jin Young. J. Tune debuted MBLAQ, an all-boy group, in October, 2009. Rain actively participates in MBLAQ’s music, either composing, writing, producing or choreographing dance routines.HUMANITARIAN WORK

Rain was involved with MTV EXIT, a campaign against human trafficking in Asia. He presented Traffic: An MTV EXIT Special, a documentary which gives insight into the realities of trafficking, addresses the part everyone can play in the issue, and gives information on how people can protect themselves as well as what people can do to help end exploitation and trafficking.

DISCOGRAPHY

Korean studio albums

• 2002: Bad Guy
• 2003: How to Avoid The Sun
• 2004: It’s Raining
• 2006: Rain’s World
• 2008: Rainism
• 2010: Back To The Basic

Japanese studio albums

• 2006: Eternal Rain
  

FILMOGRAPHY

Drama

• 2002: Orange as himself
• 2003: Sang Doo! Let’s Go To School as Cha Sang-doo
• 2004: Full House as Lee Young Jae
• 2005: Banjun Drama
• 2005: A Love To Kill as Kang Bok Gu
• 2010: Fugitive as Ji Woo
  

Movie

• 2006: I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK as Park Il Sun
• 2008: Speed Racer as Taejo Togokahn
• 2009: Ninja Assassin as Raizo
  

YEAR & AWARDS

2010

• MTV Movie Awards: Biggest Badass Star
• Korea Achievement Award given by the Korean Culture & Content Agency
• Green Growth Life Ambassador of South Korea (Lee Da Hae)
  Green Planet Movie Awards: Best International Entertainer (Asia)
• Asian Cultural Ambassador of The Year – One of The Top 10 Most Outstanding Asians in Hollywood

2009

• Goodwill Ambassador by the Korean Ministry of Agriculture
• Global Publicity Ambassador: City of Seoul
• KBS Hit Chart – Top Albums (Top 1) Rainism Recollection
• HITO Music Awards Tokyo: Best Asian Pop Song “Rainism”
• Asian Television Awards: Hip Korea Discovery Channel (Best Music Program, Best Infotainment Program, Best Cross-Platform Content)

2008

• Bonsang Golden Disk Award
• Style Icon of the Year
• SBS Mutizen Award (Top Song: Rainism)
• Korea Image Stepping Stone Award 2008 given by the Korea Image Communication Institute

2007

• MTV Asia’s ‘Artist of the Month’ (January)
• 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards: Best New Actor for (I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK)
• The 59th Berlin Film Festival: Alfred Bauer Prize (I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK)
• Berlin Red Carpet Festival: Best Dressed Artist in the Red Carpet
• 4th Netizen Entertainment Awards: Best Male Singer Award
  Hallyu Grand Award
• 44th DaeJong Film Awards: Overseas Popularity Award
• Best Asian Male Artist in Macau, China
• People’s Most Beautiful People list “First-Time Beauties 2007”
• Korean Entertainment Business Association: Star (Music) Award
• 2007 Mobile Entertainment Awards: Best Male Singer
• 1st Korean Film Awards: Best Actor Award

2006

• Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People Who Shape the World Award
• Mnet Male Artist Award
• Asia TV Awards: Best Movie Style (A Love To Kill)
• MKMF Mnet Awards: Best Male Artist Award
• SBS Gayo Daejun 2006: Bonsang
• RTHK International Pop Poll Award: Top New Actor & Most Sold Asian Albums
• IFPI Hong Kong Music Sale Awards: Korea and Japan Music Award
• HITO Pop Music Awards: HITO Asian Music Awards

2005

• MTV Asia Awards: Favorite Artist Korea
• MTV Korea B Awards: Best Single Award
• MTV China Awards: CCTV Mandarin Music Honors Award
• MTV Video Music Awards Japan: Best buzz Asia from Korea
• Channel [V] Best Single Award
• Channel [V] Music Video Awards: Popular Asian Artist
• Andre Kim Awards: Best Star – KBS Drama (A Love To Kill)
• KBS Netizen Award
• Korea Cultural Content Grand Prize – Music Section
• Virgin Radio Hits 40 Awards: Best Asian Artist Award
• Hong Kong Universal Records: Golden Record Award
• LA City Hall – Cultural Exchange between Korea and US Awards

2004

• KBS Artist of the Year
• KBS Best Actor Award
• KBS Excellence Award (Full House)
• KBS Drama Awards: Popularity Award
• MBC Top 10 Artist Award
• SBS Male Performer of the Year Award
• SBS Music Awards: Bonsang & Netizen’s Best Popularity Award
• SBS Seoul Gayo Award: Bonsang
• The Korean Music Awards 2004 – Best Artist of the Year Award
• Popularity Award of TV Part (The Baek Sang Arts Grand Award)
• KBS Best Couple Award (Song Hye Kyo)
• Mnet Music Video Festival: Artist of the Year Award
• Mnet Music Video Festival: Song of The Year Award (It’s Raining)
• Golden Disc Award: Bonsang
• Andre Kim Star Awards: Actor Section
• The 40th Baek Sang Arts Grand Awards: Popularity Award

2002

• MBC Top 10 Artist Award
• KBS Music Award: New Artist, Most popular Singer Award by producers
• SBS Music Award: New Artist
• SBS Seoul Gayo Award: New Artist
• Mnet Music Video Festival: New Artist
• KMTV Korea Music Award: New Artist
• Golden Disc Award: New Artist

Checkout the ASCII Art of Rain in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/i8ActfWp/Rainascii.html

HAN HAN – CHINA’S MOST WIDELY READ BLOGGER

Han Han born 23 September 1982 is a Chinese professional rally driver, best-selling author, singer, and China’s most popular blogger indeed, possibly the most popular blogger in the world. He is also involved in music production.

Han’s first essay, Unhappy Days, was published when he was attending junior middle school. He was admitted to Shanghai’s Song Jiang No. 2 High School based on his sporting achievements. During his first year of high school (1999), Han won first prize in China’s New Concept Writing Competition with his essay, Seeing Ourselves in a Cup, on the Chinese national character. Failing seven subjects at the year-end examination, Han was retained for a year in school. This incident was reported in the media and ignited a heated debate on China’s “quality education” policy, whether holistic or specialised learning should be implemented in schools, and other educational issues. Following another seven subject failure in the senior middle school second year examinations, Han quit school.After dropping out of school, Han worked on a series of essays – One Degree Below Freezing, Press Release 2003, And I Drift, and Miscellaneous Essays. His essays were accepted into various publications. Han’s first novel, Triple Door, on life as a third-year junior school student in Shanghai, raised his prominence in China outside Shanghai. With over two million copies printed, this novel is China’s bestselling literary work in the last 20 years. Other novels – Like a Speeding Youth, Riot in Chang’an City, A Fortress, Glory Days, His Kingdom were also published during this time.Fueled by his love of racing, Han became a professional rally driver and wrote less frequently. However, he continued to blog on current affairs, with some articles attracting a large number of readers and sparking intense debates. Han’s blog has registered well over 300 million hits, the largest online following of a personal blog in China. Han is also involved in music production. His debut album, R-18 restricted to 18 and above, was released in September 2006, with all lyrics self-composed.

On 19 April 2009, Han launched his online bookstore, Han Han’s Bookstore, on the Taobao online shopping marketplace. The bookstore site stated that it would sell only Han’s original autographed books. As the number of sales transactions on Han Han’s Bookstore was unusually large, the online system erroneously classified these as false transactions and attempts at credit fraud, leading Taobao to investigate the issue.

Due to certain publishing and circulation restrictions in China, Han’s magazine, which was originally planned for publication in August 2009, remained unpublished as of 20 September 2009. Despite this, Han promised not to disappoint his readers and expressed hope that the magazine could be published sometime around October 2009. As of February 2010 the magazine has not been published reportedly because of an article that details the blacklisting of actors.

After Han turned professional as a rally driver, there were rumours that he had encountered financial difficulties. Han himself admitted that writers and race car drivers in China earned less compared to those in other professions. Furthermore, his only income source was from book royalties as he was not involved in other revenue generating activities. However, he continued to race as it gave him a sense of achievement. Winning prizes also enabled him to prove to himself that he was an all-rounded learner.

The following highlights some of Han’s achievements in his racing career:

• 2003: Raced for Beijing Extreme Speed Racing Team in the China Rally. Achieved 6th in the Shanghai race, 8th in the Changchun race and 6th in the Beijing race, all in the Group N category.
• 2004: Group N 7th position for the Shanghai race, 4th position for the all-China race. 2004 June: Joined Yunnan Red River Racing Team.
• 2004: Took 1st position in the Formula BMW Asia Qualifying Race. Received scholarship money of USD 50,000.
• Entered the annual Formula BMW race, achieved 7th in the Bahrain race and 1st in the Rookie Cup.
• 8th in the Malaysia Race, 2nd in the Rookie Cup.
• 7th in the Shanghai race, 2nd in the Rookie Cup.
• 6th in the Japan race, 1st in the Rookie Cup.
• 2005: Joined Shanghai Volkswagen 333 Racing Team.
• 2005: Participated in the China Rally 1.6L Category. Achieved 4th in the Shanghai race, 4th in the Guizhou race, 4th in the Liupanshui race, and 4th in the Kunming race.
• 2005: Participated in the China Circuit Championship Production Car 1600cc Category. Took 1st position in the Zhuhai race, 2nd position in the Shanghai race, 3rd position in the Beijing race and 1st position in the Shaoguan race. Won overall 2nd prize for 2005.
• 2006: Raced for Shanghai Volkswagen 333 Racing Team. Won 3rd prize in the Shanghai race of the China Circuit Championship 1600cc Category, and 2nd prize in the China Rally.
• 2007: Raced for Shanghai Volkswagen 333 Racing Team, obtained 1st prize in the China Circuit Championship 1600cc Category.

In September 2009, Han travelled to Australia to participate in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Following this, he wrote a blog post entitled Report on supervision and guidance work in preparation for the WRC in Australia, using irony to express dissatisfaction with China’s standards of race management, economic conditions, political consciousness of the population, etc. in comparison with Australia.

Checkout the ASCII Art of Han Han in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/P8L7sFZV/Han_Han.html

MICHAEL JACKSON – THE KING OF POP

Michael Jackson was born on the 29th of August 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the 7th of nine children. (brothers: Sigmund “Jackie”, Toriano “Tito”, Jermaine, Marlon, Steven “Randy”, and sisters Rebbie, Janet and La-Toya Jackson.Michael began his musical career at the age of 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 who formed in 1964. In these early years the Jackson 5, Jackie, Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and lead singer Michael played local clubs and bars in Gary Indiana and moving further afield as there talents grew and they could compete in bigger competitions. From these early days Michael would be at the same clubs as big talented stars of there days, such as Jackie Wilson and would be learning from them even back then.

In 1968 the Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers discovered the Jackson five and from there they got an audition for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. The Jackson 5 signed for Motown and moved to California. Their first 4 singles, “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save”, and “I’ll Be There” all made US No1 hits. The Jackson 5 recorded 14 albums and Michael recorded 4 solo albums with Motown.

The Jackson 5 stayed with Motown until 1976, wanting more artistic freedom they felt they had to move on and signed up with Epic. The group name Jackson 5 had to be changed as it was owned by Motown, so they reverted to The Jacksons as they had be known in the early days. Brother Jermaine married Berry Gordy’s daughter and stayed with Motown. Youngest brother Randy joined in his place. The Jacksons had a number of hit records and in total made 6 albums between the years of 1976 and 1984.

In 1977 Michael made his first film debut when he starred in the musical ‘The Wiz’ playing Scarecrow with Diana Ross in the lead role of Dorothy. It was at this time Michael met Quincy Jones who was doing the score for the film. Michael teamed up with Quincey Jones as his producer for his first solo album with Epic Records. The album titled “Off The Wall” was a big success around the world and the first ever album to release a record breaking 4 No1 singles in the US.

In 1982 Michael Jackson released the world’s largest selling album of all time, ‘Thriller’. This album produced 7 hit singles, breaking yet again more records, and went on to sell over 50 million copies worldwide. Michael was keen to use music video or short films as he called them to promote his singles from the album. He worked with the best directors and producers, using the latest technology and special effects for the hit song ‘Billie Jean’ The short film ‘Thriller’ used the latest make-up artists technolgy combined with fantastic dancing and cherography, to produce a 14 minute video, with a start, a middle and an ending. So successful was this video that ‘The Making Of Michael Jackson’s Thriller’ became the world’s largest selling home video combined with soaring album sales. In 1983 Michael performed the now legendary moonwalk for the first time on the ‘Motown 25 years’ anniversary show. This performance alone set Michael undoubtable into the realm of a superstar.

In 1984 Michael won a record breaking 8 Grammy awards in one night. The awards were for his work on the ‘Thriller’ album and his work on the narrative for the ‘ET Storybook’. On December 9th 1984 at the last concert of the Jackson’s Victory Tour, Michael announced he was splitting from the group and going solo. In 1987 Michael released his much awaited third solo album, titled ‘Bad’, and lauched his record breaking first solo world tour. 1988, Michael wrote his first autobiography, Moonwalk, talking for the first time on his childhood and his career. At the end of the 1980s Michael was named ‘Artist Of The Decade’ for his success off of his ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ albums.

In 1991 Michael signed with Sony Music the largest ever recording contract and released his fourth solo album, ‘Dangerous’. He toured world again in 1992, taking his concerts to countries that had never before been visited by a pop/rock artist. Also Michael founded the ‘Heal the World Foundation’ to help improve the lives of children across the world. In 1994 Michael married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley. The marriage only lasted for 19 months, as they divorced in 1996. In 1995 Michael release a fifth solo album, ‘History’, which was a double album, first half new material and second half half greatest hits. Michael toured again over a legs covering a 2 year period. In between legs of the tour on November 14th 1996, Michael married for his second time to Debbie Rowe who was a nurse that Michael had met in the treatment of his skin pigment disorder. Together they had their first child Prince Michael Joseph Jackson jr born on February 13 1997 and a daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson born on April 3rd 1998.

During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.

In 1997 Michael released the remix album ‘Blood On The Dance Floor’ which also contained 5 new song linked with a 38min film “Ghosts”. This film Michael played 5 roles using the latest special effects and make-up artistry, combined with his dance and music. In September, 2001 Michael celebrated his 30th anniversary as a solo artist with two concerts to be held in New York, USA. Many artists such as Whitney Houston, Usher, Destinys Child, Shaggy and many more performed there own and Michael Jacksons past songs. Michael then reunited with all of his brothers and performed there biggest hits. Michael then went onto perform solo some of his biggest hits.

In October 2001 Michael released the album ‘Invincible’ releasing only 2 singles including the big hit “You Rock My World”. Shortly after the albums release there were rumours of a rift with Sony Music and a clear lack of promotion of the album. The second single “Cry” was released with a very poor music video which did not feature Michael and no other singles were released. In November 2003 a new single “One More Chance” was released as a single and was also a track on new compilaition album “Number Ones”.

In March 2009, Michael annouced a shock comeback tour at the O2 Arena in London to start in July 2009, intially for 10 dates but the total grew to a sold out 50 dates with over 750,000 tickets sold. All sold tickets sold out within minutes of being released. On June 25th 2009 Michael Jackson died suddenly of a reported cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old.

Checkout the ASCII Art of Michael Jackson in the below link. Please use Lucida Console font to view the art in Notepad. Before that in Notepad go to Format and Uncheck the Word Warp and then Go to Font and Reduce the Font Size to 3 to 4 pt. Use only Lucida Console Font.

http://www.4shared.com/document/IaIAU27M/Michael_Jackson.html

http://www.4shared.com/document/kSgbzFLX/_2__Michael_Jackson1.html