1.
Stockholm
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The city is spread across 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago and the Baltic Sea. The area has settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC. It is also the capital of Stockholm County, Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden. The Stockholm region alone accounts for over a third of the countrys GDP and it is an important global city, and the main centre for corporate headquarters in the Nordic region. The city is home to some of Europes top ranking universities, such as the Stockholm School of Economics, Karolinska Institute and it hosts the annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquet at the Stockholm Concert Hall and Stockholm City Hall. One of the citys most prized museums, the Vasa Museum, is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is known for its decoration of the stations. Swedens national football arena is located north of the city centre, Ericsson Globe, the national indoor arena, is in the southern part of the city. The city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics, and hosted the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics otherwise held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Stockholm is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies, including the highest courts in the judiciary, and the official residencies of the Swedish monarch and the Prime Minister. The government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the Riksdag is seated in the Parliament House, and the Prime Ministers residence is adjacent at the Sager House. After the Ice Age, around 8,000 BCE, there were already a number of people living in the present-day Stockholm area. Thousands of years later, as the ground thawed, the climate became tolerable, at the intersection of the Baltic Sea and lake Mälaren is an archipelago site where the Old Town of Stockholm was first built from about 1000 CE by Vikings. They had a positive impact on the area because of the trade routes they created. Stockholms location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit, and in Heimskringla in connection with the legendary king Agne, the earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word meaning fortification, the second part of the name means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. Stockholms core, the present Old Town was built on the island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid 13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League, Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval, and Riga during this time
Stockholm
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Aerial view of the
Old Town,
Skeppsbron,
Stockholm City Hall,
Hötorget buildings,
Ericsson Globe and
Stockholm Palace.
Stockholm
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Detail of engraving of Stockholm from
Suecia antiqua et hodierna by
Erik Dahlberg and
Willem Swidde, printed in 1693.
Stockholm
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Panorama over Stockholm around 1868 as seen from a
hot air balloon
Stockholm
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Kungsträdgården in Stockholm around 1890–1900
2.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
Sweden
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A
Vendel-era helmet, at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities.
Sweden
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Flag
Sweden
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A
romantic nationalist interpretation of
Valdemar IV taking control over
Gotland. The final battle outside the walls of Visby in 1361 ended with a massacre of 1,800 defenders of the city.
Sweden
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Stockholm in mid-17th century
3.
Pop music
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Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid 1950s. The terms popular music and pop music are used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular. Pop and rock were synonymous terms until the late 1960s, when they were used in opposition from each other. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music. Pop music is eclectic, and often borrows elements from other such as urban, dance, rock, Latin. Identifying factors include generally short to medium-length songs written in a format, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes. David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop music as a body of music which is distinguishable from popular, jazz, according to Pete Seeger, pop music is professional music which draws upon both folk music and fine arts music. Although pop music is seen as just the singles charts, it is not the sum of all chart music, the music charts contain songs from a variety of sources, including classical, jazz, rock, and novelty songs. Pop music, as a genre, is seen as existing and developing separately, pop music continuously evolves along with the terms definition. The term pop song was first recorded as being used in 1926, Hatch and Millward indicate that many events in the history of recording in the 1920s can be seen as the birth of the modern pop music industry, including in country, blues and hillbilly music. The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that while pops earlier meaning meant concerts appealing to a wide audience. Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the meaning of non-classical mus, usually in the form of songs, performed by such artists as the Beatles. Grove Music Online also states that, in the early 1960s pop music competed terminologically with beat music, while in the USA its coverage overlapped with that of rock and roll. From about 1967, the term was used in opposition to the term rock music. Whereas rock aspired to authenticity and an expansion of the possibilities of music, pop was more commercial, ephemeral. It is not driven by any significant ambition except profit and commercial reward, and, in musical terms, it is essentially conservative. It is, provided from on high rather than being made from below, pop is not a do-it-yourself music but is professionally produced and packaged. The beat and the melodies tend to be simple, with limited harmonic accompaniment, the lyrics of modern pop songs typically focus on simple themes – often love and romantic relationships – although there are notable exceptions
Pop music
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The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that the term "pop" refers to music performed by such artists as
the Rolling Stones (pictured here in a 2006 performance)
Pop music
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According to several sources,
MTV helped give rise to
pop stars such as
Michael Jackson and
Madonna; and Jackson and Madonna helped make MTV.
Pop music
4.
Rock music
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It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock music
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Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2006, showing a quartet lineup for a rock band (from left to right: bassist, lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist).
Rock music
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Elvis Presley in a promotion shot for
Jailhouse Rock in 1957
Rock music
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Chubby Checker in 2005
Rock music
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The Beach Boys performing in 1964
5.
Jive Records
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Jive Records was an American record label under the RCA Music Group formed in 1981 by Zomba Records. Formerly headquartered in New York City, the label was best known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and also in teen pop and boy bands during the 1990s, jIVEs best-selling artists worldwide were the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears. Today, the Jive brand is being used under the Sony Music France division under the name JIVE Epic France. In 1971, South African musicians Clive Calder and Ralph Simon began a publishing and it was named Zomba Records and relocated to London, England, four years later, their first client was a young Robert Mutt Lange. Zomba originally wanted to record labels, choosing instead to focus on their songwriters and producers while allowing other established labels to release the material. Later that decade, the opened offices in the US. In 1981, Zomba formed JIVE Records, whose operations began with the release of British dance and pop music such as Q-Feel, A Flock of Seagulls and its name was inspired by township JIVE, a type of music that originated in South Africa. Davis had hoped that Zombas connection with Mutt Lange would help alleviate the difficulties Arista was having finding potentially successful rock acts. By 1982, Calder was introduced to Barry Weiss, a college graduate who took Calder out to hip-hop clubs in New York City for his job interview with Zomba. He was immediately impressed, Together, they began grooming musicians for what would eventually become Whodini, after two days, the group created and recorded its hit single Magics Wand. While the group would eventually leave JIVE, the success allowed the label to focus on hip-hop artists throughout the 1980s. In 1987, JIVE cut distribution ties with Arista, effectively separating them from Daviss authority, who eschewed hip-hop. As the 1980s drew to a close, the label entered a deal with RCA Records, by the late 1990s, JIVE began signing pop acts Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Britney Spears. All three achieved massive success as the 2000s dawned, becoming the three best-selling acts in the labels history, in 1991, Barry Weiss became CEO and president of JIVE Records. After two decades, he left JIVE in March 2011 for Universal Music Group, the company was later reorganized with some artists moving to a restructured Epic Records, while others stayed with JIVE as it moved under the RCA Music Group. In April 2011, it was reported that Jay-Z had outbid executives at JIVE to acquire independent record label Block Starz Music. On October 7,2011, it was announced that JIVE, along with Arista and J Records would be shut down to refresh, all artists on those labels were moved to RCA Records. JIVE Records remains active in France as JIVE Epic, serving as the label for international pop
Jive Records
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Primary businesses
Jive Records
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Jive Records
6.
RCA Records
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RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, Inc. It is one of SMEs three flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, blues, jazz, the companys name is derived from the initials of the labels former parent company, the Radio Corporation of America. It is the second oldest recording company in US history, after sister label Columbia Records, RCAs Canadian unit is Sonys oldest label in Canada. It was one of only two Canadian record companies to survive the Great Depression, kelly, Enrique Iglesias, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, Kesha, Miley Cyrus, Giorgio Moroder, Jennifer Hudson, DAngelo, Pink, Tinashe, G-Eazy, Pitbull, Zayn and Wizkid. In 1929, the Radio Corporation of America purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the worlds largest manufacturer of phonographs and phonograph records. The company then became RCA Victor but retained use of the Victor Records name on their labels until the beginning of 1946 when the labels were finally switched over to RCA Victor. With Victor, RCA acquired New World rights to the famous Nipper His Masters Voice trademark, in Shanghai, China, in 1931, RCA Victors British affiliate the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI. This gave RCA head David Sarnoff a seat on the EMI board, in September 1931, RCA Victor introduced the first 33⅓ rpm records sold to the public, calling them Program Transcriptions. In the depths of the Great Depression, the format was a commercial failure, during the early part of the depression, RCA made a number of attempts to produce a successful cheap label to compete with the dime store labels. The first was the short-lived Timely Tunes label in 1931 sold at Montgomery Ward, in 1932, Bluebird Records was created as a sub-label of RCA Victor. It was originally an 8-inch record with a blue label. In 1933, RCA reintroduced Bluebird and Electradisk as a standard 10-inch label, another cheap label, Sunrise, was produced. The same musical couplings were issued on all three labels and Bluebird Records still survives eight decades after Electradisk and Sunrise were discontinued, RCA also produced records for Montgomery Ward label during the 1930s. Besides manufacturing records for themselves, RCA Victor operated RCA Custom which was the leading record manufacturer for independent record labels, RCA Custom also pressed record compilations for The Readers Digest Association. RCA sold its interest in EMI in 1935, but EMI continued to distribute RCA recordings in the UK, RCA also manufactured and distributed HMV classical recordings on the RCA and HMV labels in North America. During World War II, ties between RCA and its Japanese affiliate JVC were severed, the Japanese record company is today called Victor Entertainment and is still a JVC subsidiary. From 1942 to 1944, RCA Victor was seriously impacted by the American Federation of Musicians recording ban, virtually all union musicians could not make recordings during that period
RCA Records
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Label of an RCA Victor 78 RPM record from the 1950s; RCA manufactured 78s alongside the 45 until 1958.
RCA Records
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Label of an RCA Victor 45 RPM record from the 1950s; RCA used this label for its 45 RPM records from 1954 to at least 1964.
RCA Records
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RCA used this label for its American 45 RPM records during the Dynagroove era.
RCA Records
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RCA's LP label during the Dynagroove era was also used for 45 RPM records of the mid-to-late 1960s in countries such as Argentina, where this single was pressed.
7.
Capitol Records
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Capitol Records, LLC is an American record label which operates as a division of the Capitol Music Group. The label was founded as the first West Coast-based record label in the United States in 1942 by three industry insiders named Johnny Mercer, Buddy DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs, in 1955, the label was acquired by the British music conglomerate EMI as its North American subsidiary. EMI was later acquired by Universal Music Group in 2012 and was merged with the company in 2013, making Capitol Records, Capitol Records circular headquarter building located in Los Angeles is a recognized landmark of California. Mercer first raised the idea of starting a company while golfing with Harold Arlen. By 1941, Mercer was a songwriter and a singer with multiple successful releases. Mercer next suggested the idea to Wallichs while visiting his record store, Wallichs expressed interest in the idea and the pair negotiated an agreement whereby Mercer would run the company and identify their artists, while Wallichs managed the business side. On February 2,1942, Mercer and Wallichs met with DeSylva at a Hollywood restaurant to inquire about the possibility of investment of the company from Paramount Pictures, while DeSylva declined the proposal, he handed the pair a check worth $15,000. On March 27,1942, the three men incorporated as Liberty Records, in May 1942, the application was amended to change the companys name to Capitol Records. On April 6,1942, Mercer supervised Capitols first recording session where Martha Tilton recorded the song Moon Dreams, on May 5, Bobby Sherwood and his orchestra recorded two tracks in the studio. On May 21, Freddie Slack and his orchestra recorded three tracks in the studio, one with the orchestra, one with Ella Mae Morse called Cow-Cow Boogie, on June 4,1942, Capitol opened its first office in a second-floor room south of Sunset Boulevard. On that same day, Wallichs presented the companys first free record to Los Angeles disc jockey Peter Potter, on June 5,1942, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra recorded four songs at the studio. On June 12, the recorded five more songs in the studio. On June 11, Tex Ritter recorded Jingle Jangle Jingle and Goodbye My Little Cherokee for his first Capitol recording session, and the songs formed Capitols 110th produced record. 133 - Get On Board Little Chillun - July 31,1942 - is a Freddie Slack/Ella Mae Morse/Mellowaires recording that might be the first rock n roll record and she has sometimes been called the first rock n roll singer. A good example is her 1942 recording of song which, with strong gospel, blues, boogie. Bone Walker recorded Mean Old World a pioneering example of the use of electric guitar. The earliest recording artists included co-owner Mercer, Whiteman, Tilton, Morse, Margaret Whiting, Jo Stafford, the Pied Pipers, Johnnie Johnston, Tex Ritter, Capitols first gold single was Morses Cow Cow Boogie in 1942. Capitols first album was Capitol Presents Songs By Johnny Mercer, a three 78-rpm disc set with recordings by Mercer, Stafford and the Pied Pipers, all with Westons Orchestra
Capitol Records
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Center of image: 1950s LP on Capitol
Capitol Records
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Capitol Records
Capitol Records
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45rpm Beatles single on Capitol
Capitol Records
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Capitol logo from 1969 to 1977
8.
LaFace Records
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LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achieved its greatest commercial success during the 1990s and it was originally distributed by its co-creator Arista Records from 1989 through 2001, after which it was shuttered and absorbed into Arista. In 2004, the label was rebooted, and it began operating through Jive Records until both were absorbed into RCA Records in 2011, today, the labels back catalog and reissues are managed by Legacy Recordings. LaFace was formed in 1989 as a joint venture between the producing duo Antonio L. A. Reid & Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, and Arista Records, the combined nicknames of the duos successful production company inspired the name of the label. Towards the end of the decade LaFace produced fewer artists, while Babyface began to more on his own music career. The label was acquired completely by Arista and BMG in 1999, in 2001, L. A. Reid was appointed Chairman/CEO of Arista. As a result of Reids promotion, LaFace was dissolved as most of its prominent acts moved up to the main Arista label to continue to work under Reid. In 2004, after the restructuring of the BMG labels. Most of its roster had moved on to Arista returned to the company upon its reactivation. In 2011, LaFace was again shuttered, this time being absorbed into RCA Records, the following is a list of artists who have recorded for LaFace Records. L. A. Reid Babyface Daryl Simmons Kayo Dallas Austin Organized Noize List of record labels Rosa Parks v. LaFace Records
LaFace Records
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Primary businesses
LaFace Records
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LaFace Records
9.
Island Records
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Island Records is a major record label that operates as a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. It was founded by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong in Jamaica in 1959, Blackwell sold the label to PolyGram in 1989. Three Island labels exist in the world, Island UK, Island US, and Island Australia, current key people of Island Records include Island president Darcus Beese, OBE and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to the labels significant legacy, Island remains one of UMGs pre-eminent record labels, Island Records was founded in Jamaica on 4 July 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong, and partially financed by Stanley Borden from RKO. Its name was inspired by the Harry Belafonte song Island in the Sun. Blackwell explained in 2009, “I loved music so much, I just wanted to get into it, or be as close to it as I could. ”Tom Hayes, the labels sales manager between 1965 and 1967, referred to the early period of the label in the UK as “organized chaos”. “My Boy Lollipop”, sung by Millie Small, was the labels first success in the UK, Blackwell explained in a 50-year-anniversary documentary that he was only interested in building long-term careers at that stage in time, rather than short-term projects. Suzette Newman has been a colleague of Chris Blackwells since working together in the early days of Island Records. Suzette Newman and Chris Salewicz were the editors for the book “The Story of Island Records, Blackwell relocated to England in May 1962 to garner greater levels of attention after the local Jamaican sound systems proved to be overwhelmingly successful. The vast majority of the artists who had signed to Blackwells fledgling label while he was in Jamaica agreed to allow the entrepreneur to release their music in the UK. While in England, Blackwell travelled throughout the city carrying his stock with him and he did not provide any copies to radio stations, as they would not play any of the Island music, the music was also not reviewed by the press. Meanwhile, Goodall left to start the Doctor Bird record label in 1965, Blackwell signed the Spencer Davis Group to the label. The group became popular and Island started their own independent series to spotlight UK rock talent. They signed artists like John Martyn, Fairport Convention, Free, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, they were a major label in England with artists like Roxy Music, King Crimson, Traffic, The Wailers, and many others. Blackwell had signed Bob Marley, and now Toots and the Maytals, in November 2016, Jackie Jackson described the formation of the group in a radio interview for Kool 97 FM Jamaica. Accompanied by Paul Douglas and Radcliffe Dougie Bryan in studio, Jackson explained, Were all original members of Toots, first it was Toots and the Maytals, three guys, Toots, Raleigh, and Jerry. …And then they were signed to Island Records, Chris Blackwell, and we were their recording band. One day we were summoned to Chris house, and he says, Alright gentleman, I think its time
Island Records
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Island Records
10.
Bertelsmann Music Group
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Bertelsmann Music Group was a division of German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japans Sony Corporation of America on October 1,2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music activities of Bertelsmann. The joint venture with Sony Music was set up in August 2004 and it reduced the Big Five record companies to the Big Four record companies. At that time, the company had a 21. 5% share in the music market. Sony Music and BMG remained separate in Japan, although BMG Music Japan was wholly owned by Sony BMG. Bertelsmann sold its 50% share of Sony BMG to Sony Corporation of America for a total of $1.5 billion, and it is focused mainly in BMGs European stronghold markets. The basis of the company was formed through BMGs decision to withhold selected European music catalogues from the former Sony BMG joint venture, also kept separate from the acquisition by Sony Corporation of America was Sony BMGs wholly owned and operated BMG Japan. Sony Music Japan remained independent from the Sony BMG joint venture, therefore BMG, during Sony BMGs buyout, BMG Japan was instead picked up by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It briefly continued to operate as an entity until a reorganization in early 2009 folded the company into Sony Music Japan. Barry Weiss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Zomba Label Group CEO Now part of Sony Music Entertainment after the buyout of Bertelsmann AGs 50% stake in Sony BMG. BMG Music Publishing, which was not part of the Sony BMG merger, was a business of the Bertelsmann Music Group until it was sold to Universal Music Group for €1.63 billion in 2007. Universal then folded the company into Universal Music Publishing Group, the company was headquartered at 245 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10016 and had operations in 36 offices in 25 countries. BMG Music publishing controlled over one million copyrights, BMG Music Publishing was the global leader in Classical music and was number one in Contemporary Christian music. Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing is BMG Music Publishings Christian publisher and owns over 60,000 copyrights, BMG Music Publishing and its assets have now been completely absorbed and folded into Universal Music Publishing Group. After Sony bought out Bertelsmanns share in Sony BMG, Bertelsmann was allowed to keep the rights to recordings from the former joint venture. These songs served as the foundation to BMG Rights Management, BMG Rights Management now serves as a division within Bertelsmann and as a replacement to the defunct Bertelsmann Music Group. A settlement in 2002 included the publishers and distributors, Sony Music, Warner Music, Bertelsmann Music Group, EMI Music. In restitution for price fixing they agreed to pay a $67.4 million fine and distribute $75.7 million in CDs to public and non-profit groups and it is estimated customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album
Bertelsmann Music Group
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Primary businesses
Bertelsmann Music Group
11.
Atlantic Records
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Atlantic Recording Corporation is an American major record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegün and Herb Abramson. In 2004, Atlantic Records and its sister label Elektra Records merged into Atlantic Records Group, craig Kallman is currently the chairman of Atlantic Records. Ahmet Ertegün served as founding chairman until his death on December 14,2006, the brothers had become ardent fans of jazz and rhythm & blues music, amassing a collection of over 15,00078 RPM records. He convinced the family dentist, Dr Vahdi Sabit, to invest $10,000 and recruited Herb Abramson, Abramson had worked as a part-time A&R manager/producer for the jazz label National Records, signing Big Joe Turner and Billy Eckstine. He founded Jubilee Records in 1946, but had no interest in its most successful artists, so, in September 1947, he sold his share in Jubilee to his partner, Jerry Blaine, and invested $2500 in the new Atlantic label. When interviewed in 2009 she attributed her reputation to the companys chronic cash-flow shortage, most of the problems we had with artists were that they wanted advances, and that was very difficult for us. We were undercapitalized for a long time, the labels original office in the Ritz Hotel, Manhattan proved too expensive so they relocated to an $85 per month room in the Hotel Jefferson. In its early years Atlantic focused principally on modern jazz although it released some country and western and spoken word recordings. The union action forced Atlantic to use almost all its capital to cut and stockpile enough recordings to last through the ban, Ertegun and Abramson spent much of the late 1940s and early 1950s scouring nightclubs in search of talent. Ertegun composed many songs under the alias A, in early 1949 a New Orleans distributor phoned Ertegun trying to obtain Stick McGhees Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, which was unavailable due to the closure of McGhees previous label. Ertegun knew Sticks younger brother Brownie McGhee, with whom Stick happened to be staying, so he contacted the McGhee brothers, Ertegun asked about artists royalties, which he paid, which surprised Columbia executives, who did not, which scuttled the deal. On the recommendation of broadcaster Willis Conover, Ertegun and Abramson went to see Ruth Brown at the Crystal Caverns club in Washington and she was badly injured in a car accident en route to New York but Atlantic supported her for nine months and then signed her. Her first release for the label So Long, cut at her second Atlantic session on May 25,1949 with the Eddie Condon band, was a major hit, reaching #6 on the R&B chart. Brown went on to more than eighty songs for the label, becoming the most prolific. So significant was Browns success to Atlantics fortunes that the label became known colloquially as The House That Ruth Built. The Clovers Dont You Know I Love You became the labels first R&B #1 in September 1951 and she hit #1 again in March–April 1952 with 5-10-15 Hours. After she left the label in 1961 Browns fortunes declined rapidly - within a few years was reduced to working as a cleaner and bus-driver to support her children. Brown eventually received a payment of $20,000 and founded a charity
Atlantic Records
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"Weird Al" Yankovic edits the Atlantic Records' Wikipedia page to read "YOU SUCK!" in the music video for the song "
White & Nerdy "
Atlantic Records
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Atlantic Records logo as of 2015.
12.
Lana Del Rey
–
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, better known by her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer, songwriter, and model. Her music has been noted for its style, its preoccupation with themes of tragic romance and melancholia. Del Rey received further recognition after her major-label debut Born to Die peaked at two on the United States charts and was the fifth best-selling album of 2012. Three of the EPs tracks were featured in her short film Tropico, in 2014, Del Rey released her third studio album, Ultraviolence, which received positive critical and commercial reception, it became her first number-one record in the United States. In 2015, following a North American tour with Courtney Love and Grimes, Del Rey released her studio album. It also received critical and commercial response, the album had the fourth highest first week sales by a female artist in 2015. Del Rey is set to release her studio album, titled Lust for Life. She has one sister, Caroline Grant, and one brother. Her paternal grandfather, Robert England Grant, Sr. was a Kidder, Peabody & Co. investment banker, a president for Plough, Inc and Textron. Del Rey grew up in rural Lake Placid, New York, and attended a Catholic elementary school and for one year and she began singing in her church choir when she was a child, where she was the cantor. At age fifteen, she was sent to Kent School by her parents to deal with her rampant alcohol abuse, her uncle, before becoming a singer, Del Rey wanted to be a poet. As a child, her father wrote country songs for personal enjoyment, while her mother was interested in singing, during this time, Del Reys uncle taught her how to play guitar, and she realized could probably write a million songs with those six chords. Shortly after, she began writing songs and performing in nightclubs around the city under various names such as Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and Lizzy Grant, I was always singing, but didnt plan on pursuing it seriously, Del Rey said. The following fall, she enrolled at Fordham University where she majored in philosophy, Del Rey said she chose to study the subject because it bridged the gap between God and science. I was interested in God and how technology could bring us closer to finding out where we came from, according to Del Rey, she had trouble making friends in boarding school and college, and said, that was when my musical experience began. I kind of people for myself. After college, she moved to Brooklyn, where she resided for four years. On April 25,2005, a compact disc was registered under Elizabeth Woolridge Grant with the United States Copyright Office
Lana Del Rey
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Del Rey performing during the Planeta Terra Music Festival in Brazil, 2013
Lana Del Rey
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Del Rey performing at
Coachella in 2014
Lana Del Rey
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Del Rey performing at the
Bowery Ballroom in 2011
Lana Del Rey
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Del Rey at a fan meet promoting Born to Die in
Seattle, Washington, 2012
13.
Backstreet Boys
–
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The group consists of AJ McLean, Howie D, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell. The group rose to fame with their international album, Backstreet Boys. In the following year released their second international album Backstreets Back. They rose to superstardom with their studio album Millennium and its follow-up album. After a two-year hiatus, they regrouped and released a comeback album Never Gone, after the conclusion of the Never Gone Tour in 2006, Richardson left the group to pursue other interests. The group then released two albums as a quartet, Unbreakable and This Is Us, in 2012, the group announced that Richardson had rejoined them permanently. In the following year they celebrated their 20th anniversary and released their first independent album, the group also released their first documentary movie, titled Backstreet Boys, Show Em What Youre Made Of in January 2015. The Backstreet Boys have sold over 130 million records worldwide, making them the boy band in history. They are the first group since Sade to have their first nine albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and they also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 22,2013. Howie Dorough and AJ McLean were natives of Orlando, Florida, the three, realizing that they could harmonize together, decided to form a trio. Cousins Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, both from Lexington, Kentucky, sang in church choirs and festivals when they were children. Richardson moved to Orlando in 1990, where he worked at Walt Disney World, eventually, he met Dorough, Carter, and McLean through a co-worker, and the four decided to form a group. In the course of all this, Lou Pearlman in 1992 placed an ad in the Orlando Sentinel to compose a vocal group, McLean, who was the first to audition for Pearlman in his living room, became the groups first member. In January 1993, Pearlman held a casting call and hundreds of young performers auditioned at his blimp hangar in Kissimmee. Eventually, Carter, Dorough, and Richardson were selected after meeting Pearlmans expectations, Littrell flew from Kentucky to Orlando to formally join the group on April 20,1993, a day after receiving a phone call from Richardson about it. Thus, April 20 became their anniversary date, Pearlman decided to call them Backstreet Boys, after Orlandos Backstreet Market, an outdoor flea market near International Drive which was also a teen hangout. The Backstreet Boys had their very first performance at SeaWorld Orlando on May 8,1993, the group then continued to perform in various venues during summer 1993, from shopping malls, restaurants, to a high-profile charity gala in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Backstreet Boys
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Backstreet Boys, September 14, 2012. L to R: Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean
Backstreet Boys
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Backstreet Boys at KISS FM Jingle Bell Bash 8.
Backstreet Boys
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Backstreet Boys performing without Richardson on Unbreakable Tour.
14.
Britney Spears
–
Britney Jean Spears is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, she performed acting roles in stage productions, Spearss first and second studio albums. Baby One More Time and Oops. I Did It Again, became international successes, with the former becoming the album by a teenage solo artist. Title tracks. Baby One More Time and Oops, I Did It Again broke international sales records. In 2001, Spears released her third studio album, Britney. She assumed creative control of her studio album, In the Zone. In 2007, Spearss much-publicized personal issues sent her career into hiatus and her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released later that year, and spawned singles such as Gimme More and Piece of Me. Her erratic behavior and hospitalizations continued through the year, at which point she was placed under a still ongoing conservatorship. Spearss sixth studio album, Circus, included the international chart-topping single Womanizer and her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale, became her first to yield three top-ten singles in the United States. She released her studio album Britney Jean in 2013. Later that year, Spears began the four-year residency show, Britney, Piece of Me, in 2016, Spears released her ninth studio album, Glory. In 2017, she announced that her show would develop into a world tour, Britney. Spears is regarded as a pop icon and credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and she became the best-selling teenage artist of all time and garnered honorific titles including the Princess of Pop. In 2009, Billboard ranked her as the 8th overall Artist of the Decade, the Recording Industry Association of America lists Spears as the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 34 million certified albums. She has sold 100 million albums and over 100 million singles worldwide making her one of the music artists of all time. According to Billboard Spears has sold about 22.38 million singles in digital downloads in US and is the fourth best-selling female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began. Forbes reported that Spears was the highest paid musician of 2012, with earnings of $58 million. Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, the child of Lynne Irene Bridges and James Parnell Spears
Britney Spears
–
Spears at the
102.7 KIIS FM Wango Tango concert in
Carson, California, May 2013
Britney Spears
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Spears performing at the NFL Kickoff Live, September 2003
Britney Spears
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Spears performing during
The Onyx Hotel Tour on April 2004
Britney Spears
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Spears performing "Freakshow" at
The Circus Starring Britney Spears, May 2009
15.
Kelly Clarkson
–
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the first season of American Idol, Clarksons debut single, A Moment Like This, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling single of 2002 in the U. S. It was followed with her studio album, Thankful, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her own image, Clarkson decided to part ways with American Idol management and developed a pop sound for her second album. It sold over 15 million copies worldwide and earned Clarkson two Grammy Awards and she took further creative control for her third album, My December, by becoming the executive producer and co-writing the entire material. However, it caused feud with her label, that was dissatisfied with her darker, less commercial rock music, Clarkson returned to the top of the charts with her more mainstream-oriented fourth album, All I Ever Wanted. Its lead single, My Life Would Suck Without You, holds the record for the biggest jump to one on the Billboard Hot 100. She scored another Hot 100 number-one single with Stronger from her studio album. Clarkson also became the first act to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album twice. Her sixth studio album and first Christmas record, Wrapped in Red, ended up as the holiday album of the year. Her seventh and final album under RCA, Piece by Piece, was her album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Its title track became her eleventh single on the Hot 100. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016 and has prepared a soul-influenced album for a 2017 release, Clarkson has sold over 70 million records worldwide and scored a total of 100 number ones on the Billboard charts. Her accolades include three Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, four American Music Awards, and two Academy of Country Music Awards. Often called one of the best vocalists in the industry, Clarkson is known for her powerhouse voice and she became the first artist in history to top each of Billboards pop, adult contemporary, country and dance charts. She was ranked nineteenth on VH1s list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, Clarkson has also ventured into television and film, as well as writing childrens book. Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann, a first-grade English teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson and she is the youngest of three children with a brother named Jason and a sister named Alyssa. Clarkson also has two half brothers from her fathers second marriage
Kelly Clarkson
–
Clarkson at the
57th Presidential Inauguration, January 21, 2013
Kelly Clarkson
–
Clarkson performed at the
Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2002, following her win on American Idol
Kelly Clarkson
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Clarkson performing during her Hazel Eyes concert tour on November 15, 2005,
Canberra, Australia
Kelly Clarkson
–
Clarkson and
Reba McEntire performing during the
2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour
16.
P!nk
–
Alecia Beth Moore, known professionally as Pink, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. She was signed to her first record label with original R&B girl group Choice in 1995, the label, LaFace Records saw potential in only Pink, offering her a solo deal. Pink rose as an artist with her solo album, Cant Take Me Home. It was certified double-platinum in the United States and spawned two Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hits, There You Go and Most Girls and she gained further recognition with the Moulin Rouge. Soundtrack Lady Marmalade, which gave Pink her first Grammy Award as well as her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, Pink took control in early 2001 insisting she wanted to work with her childhood hero, Linda Perry. Pink took more control and pursued a pop direction for her second album. It sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and yielded three United States top-ten singles, Get the Party Started, Dont Let Me Get Me, Pinks third album, Try This, generated considerably lower sales, but earned her the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Pink revived her popularity with her fourth and fifth albums, Im Not Dead and Funhouse, with the latter containing her second United States number-one hit. Pink concluded the first decade of her career with the compilation album Greatest Hits, so Far. which featured Fuckin Perfect and the chart-topping single Raise Your Glass. In 2014 Pink recorded an album, Rose Ave. with Canadian musician Dallas Green under a folk music duo named You+Me. Recognized for her signature vocals and acrobatic performances, Pink has sold over 60 million albums worldwide. Her career accolades include three Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, a Daytime Emmy Award and six MTV Video Music Awards, in 2009, Billboard named Pink the Pop Songs Artist of the Decade. Pink was also the second most-played female solo artist in the United Kingdom during the 2000s decade, vH1 ranked her number 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music, while Billboard awarded her the Woman of the Year award in 2013. At the 63rd annual BMI Pop Awards, she received the BMI Presidents Award for her achievement in songwriting and global impact on pop culture. Alecia Beth Moore was born on September 8,1979, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to nurse Judy and insurance salesman Jim Moore and she has described her background as Irish-German-Lithuanian-Jew. Although a healthy baby at birth, she developed asthma that plagued her through her early years. Pink attended Central Bucks High School West, when Moore was a toddler, her parents began having marital problems, and before she was 10 her parents had divorced. Pink developed her voice early in life, in high school, Pink joined her first band, Middleground, but it disbanded upon losing a battle of the bands competition
P!nk
–
Pink performing live during
Truth About Love Tour in April 2013
P!nk
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Pink in 2004
P!nk
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Pink at a secret London performance to promote the Funhouse album, on November 4, 2008
P!nk
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Pink performing "
Just Give Me a Reason " featuring
Nate Ruess.
17.
Katy Perry
–
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer and songwriter. After singing in church during her childhood, she pursued a career in music as a teenager. Perry signed with Red Hill Records and released her studio album Katy Hudson under her birth name in 2001. She moved to Los Angeles the following year to venture into music after Red Hill ceased operations and she subsequently began working with producers Glen Ballard, Dr. Luke. After adopting the stage name Katy Perry and being dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group and Columbia Records, the album became the first by a female artist to produce five number-one songs in the U. S. and the second overall after Michael Jacksons album Bad. In March 2012, she re-issued the album as Teenage Dream, The Complete Confection and her fourth album, Prism, was released in 2013, and is influenced by pop and dance. She became the first artist with multiple videos to one billion views on Vevo with the videos for its songs Roar. Perry has received awards, including four Guinness World Records, a Brit Award, and a Juno Award. Her estimated net worth as of 2016 is $125 million and she is one of the best-selling musical artists of all time, having sold 100 million records globally throughout her career. In film, she released a documentary titled Katy Perry, Part of Me in 2012. Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born in Santa Barbara, California, to Pentecostal pastors Mary Christine and her parents are born again Christians, each having turned to religion after a wild youth. Perry has English, German, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry, through her mother, she is a niece of film director Frank Perry. She has a brother named David, who is a singer. From ages 3 to 11, Perry often moved across the country as her parents set up churches before settling again in Santa Barbara. Growing up, she attended schools and camps, including Paradise Valley Christian School in Arizona. Her family struggled financially, sometimes using food stamps and eating from the bank intended to feed the congregation at her parents church. Growing up, Perry and her siblings were not allowed to eat Lucky Charms as the term luck reminded their mother of Lucifer, Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as secular music was generally discouraged in the familys home. She discovered popular music through CDs she sneaked from her friends, while not strictly identifying as religious, Perry has stated, I pray all the time – for self-control, for humility
Katy Perry
–
Perry at the
2014 ARIA Music Awards
Katy Perry
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Perry was part of the 2008 Warped Tour lineup
Katy Perry
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Perry's California Dreams Tour grossed over $59 million
Katy Perry
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Perry performing during The Prismatic World Tour in July 2014
18.
Adam Lambert
–
Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter and stage actor. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide, Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his album, For Your Entertainment. The album spawned hit singles, including Whataya Want from Me. In 2012, Lambert released his studio album, Trespassing. The album premiered at one on the U. S. Billboard 200. In 2015, Lambert released his album, The Original High. Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, culminating in a successful world-wide tour from 2014 to 2016. Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29,1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist, and father Eber Lambert and his father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish. Lambert was raised in his mothers religion and he has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network from the age of nine. There, he became involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the schools jazz band. He also appeared in professional productions such as Hello, Dolly. Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at such as The Starlight, The Lyceum. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want, at 19, Lambert landed his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair and he finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman
Adam Lambert
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Lambert performing at Queen + Adam Lambert concert 2014
Adam Lambert
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Lambert singing the
national anthem during his visit to
MCAS Miramar (2009)
Adam Lambert
–
Lambert at the
16th Screen Actors Guild Awards (2010)
Adam Lambert
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Lambert performing on tour in Kiev, Ukraine March 2013
19.
Dr. Luke
–
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, known professionally as Dr. Luke, is an American record producer and songwriter. He came into prominence in 2004 for producing Kelly Clarksons single Since U Been Gone with Swedish record producer Max Martin. While continuing to produce for Perry, Lavigne, and Pink, Gottwald has also worked with artists, including Taio Cruz, B. o. B, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna. Flo Rida, Miley Cyrus, Jessie J, Juicy J, Ne-Yo, Shakira, Dr. Luke is also noted for signing recording artists such as Kesha and Sabi and playing a vital part in their careers. In October 2014, Kesha initiated a series of lawsuits, alleging assault and abuse by Gottwald. Dr. Lukes work has been recognized with various industry awards. Music publication Billboard named him as one of the top performing producers of the 2000s, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers awarded him Producer and Songwriter of the Year honors from 2009 to 2011. At the 53rd Grammy Awards, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, lukasz Sebastain Gottwald was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His father, Janusz Jerzy Gottwald, was an architect who was born in Łask, Gottwald spent many of his formative years in New York City. He had originally wanted to be a drummer, but his parents refused to allow a drum kit in the house, at 13, he picked up his older sisters guitar and taught himself how to play. As a teenager, Gottwald would listen to bad music over and over, if there was a guitar part admired, Gottwald attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years. He joined the Saturday Night Live Band as the lead guitarist in 1997 until the 2006–2007 season and he produced tracks and remixes for various artists including Arrested Development and Nappy Roots. He released the 12 single Wet Lapse, under the name Kasz, for Rawkus Records, while deejaying at a house party, Dr. Luke met producer Max Martin and subsequently gave Martin a tour of New York clubs when Martin arrived in the city. Dr. Luke owns two publishing companies, Kasz Money Publishing, for his own songs, and Prescription Songs, as of January 2011, he has garnered 21 Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 singles, becoming the producer with the third most such hits since the charts were created. He co-wrote and co-produced the Kelly Clarkson Hot 100 number two song, Since U Been Gone with Max Martin and provided the singer another hit in Behind These Hazel Eyes, subsequent songs by Pink, Who Knew and U + Ur Hand reached the Hot 100 top ten. He would go on to co-produce a number one for Avril Lavigne with the song Girlfriend as well as seven songs on the Lavigne album. He also achieved a UK number one with the song About You Now for the Sugababes, Dr. Luke contributed two songs to Katy Perrys second album, One of the Boys. Hot 100 number one, I Kissed a Girl and Hot n Cold and he also co-produced the US number one song Right Round by Flo Rida
Dr. Luke
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Dr. Luke at the ASCAP awards in Los Angeles
20.
Taylor Swift
–
Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. One of the most popular contemporary female recording artists, she is known for songs about her personal life. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at age 14 to pursue a career in country music and she signed with the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest artist ever signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. Her eponymous debut album in 2006 peaked at five on Billboard 200. The albums third single, Our Song, made her the youngest person to single-handedly write, Swifts second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the pop success of the singles Love Story and You Belong with Me. The album won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest Album of the Year winner, Swift was the sole writer of her 2010 album, Speak Now. It debuted at one in the United States and the single Mean won two Grammy Awards. Her fourth album, Red, yielded the successful singles We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, with her fifth album, the pop-focused 1989, she became the first act to have three albums sell a million copies within one week in the United States. Its singles Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood reached number one in the US, Australia, the album received three Grammy Awards, and Swift became the first woman and fifth act overall to win Album of the Year twice. The 2015 eponymous concert tour for 1989 became one of highest-grossing of the decade, as a songwriter, Swift has received awards from the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Swift is one of the artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums—including 27.1 million in the US—and 130 million single downloads. She has appeared in Times 100 most influential people in the world, Forbes top-earning women in music, Forbes 100 most powerful women and she was the youngest woman to be included in the third of these and ranked first in Celebrity 100. Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13,1989, in Reading and her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, was a financial advisor, and her mother, Andrea Gardner Swift, was a homemaker who worked previously as a mutual fund marketing executive. She has a brother named Austin. Swift spent the years of her life on a Christmas tree farm in Cumru Township. She attended preschool and kindergarten at the Alvernia Montessori School, run by Franciscan nuns, the family then moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where she attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School. At the age of nine, Swift became interested in musical theater and she also traveled regularly to New York City for vocal and acting lessons
Taylor Swift
–
Swift performing at
Ford Field in
Detroit during
The 1989 World Tour in May 2015
Taylor Swift
–
Swift performing at
Yahoo! headquarters in
Sunnyvale, California in 2007
Taylor Swift
–
Swift performing in the
Prudential Center in
New Jersey during the
Fearless Tour in 2010
Taylor Swift
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Swift performing in
Los Angeles during the Fearless Tour in 2010
21.
Ariana Grande
–
Ariana Grande-Butera, known as Ariana Grande, is an American singer and actress. She began her career in the Broadway musical 13, before landing the role of Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009, the show ended after four seasons, and Grande starred on the spinoff, Sam & Cat, which ended in 2014. She has also appeared in theatre, television and film roles. Grandes music career began with the soundtrack Music from Victorious and she signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her debut studio album, Yours Truly in 2013, which debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200. The albums lead single, The Way, debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, Grandes second studio album, My Everything, debuted at No.1 in the US and charted in the top 10 in various other countries. In 2015, Grande promoted My Everything with her first world tour, The Honeymoon Tour, and guest-starred in the Fox comedy horror television series, Scream Queens. She also released the single Focus, which debuted at No.7 in the US, and a holiday EP album, Christmas & Chill, in 2016, she released her third studio album, Dangerous Woman, as well as several songs from the album. The title track debuted at No.10 on the Billboard Hot 100, the album debuted at No.2 on the Billboard 200. As of January 2017, Grandes music videos had been viewed a total of more than 7 billion times online, All three of her albums have been certified platinum or better by the RIAA. In 2016, Time named Grande one of the 100 most influential people in the world on the annual Time 100 list, Grande has a large following on social media, including the 2nd most followed Instagram account. In 2017, Grande is touring in North America and then Europe and her name was originally inspired by Princess Oriana from Felix the Cat. She has an older half-brother, Frankie Grande, who is an actor, dancer and producer, Grandes family moved from New York to Florida when her mother was pregnant with Grande, and her parents separated when she was around 8 or 9 years old. As a child, Grande performed with the Fort Lauderdale Childrens Theater, playing her first role as Annie, as well as performing in the musicals The Wizard of Oz and Beauty and she attended Pine Crest School and North Broward Preparatory School. By age 13, she became serious about pursuing a music career, who is going to buy a 14-year-olds R&B album. In 2008, Grande was cast in the role of cheerleader Charlotte in the musical 13 on Broadway. When she joined the musical, Grande left her school, North Broward Preparatory School. The school sent materials to her so she could study with tutors and she also sang various times at the New York City jazz club, Birdland. Grande auditioned for the Nickelodeon television show Victorious in New York along with 13 co-star Elizabeth Gillies in 2009, in this sitcom set in a performing arts high school, Grande was cast as Cat Valentine
Ariana Grande
–
Grande performing at the
Amalie Arena in December 2013
Ariana Grande
–
Grande performing with the
Victorious cast, May 2011
Ariana Grande
–
Grande in July 2011
Ariana Grande
–
Grande at the
Worldwide Day of Play in 2013
22.
Hilary Duff
–
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress and singer. Duff began her career at a young age, and quickly became labeled a teen idol as the title character of the Disney Channel comedy series Lizzie McGuire. The series proved to be a hit, leading to an adaptation of the series to be released. Duff began working on projects with the Disney Channel, including the film Cadet Kelly. She later began work on an album, releasing the Christmas themed Santa Claus Lane through Walt Disney Records, upon signing with Hollywood Records, Duff began working on her second studio album, Metamorphosis. The album achieved critical and commercial success, topping the Billboard 200, the album also found success in both Canada and Japan. Duffs success in acting and music led to her becoming a household name, with merchandise such as dolls, clothing. Duff began to expand her career into theatrical films, with leading roles in such as Agent Cody Banks, Cheaper by the Dozen, A Cinderella Story. She continued to have success in music, with her albums Hilary Duff, following the release of her fourth studio album, Dignity, Duff released a greatest hits album and parted ways with Hollywood Records. During this time, she began appearing in independent films such as War and she later released the novel Elixir, which became a New York Times best seller. The book was followed by the sequels Devoted and True and she currently stars in the comedy-drama series Younger as Kelsey Peters. She returned to music in 2014, and signed with RCA Records for her studio album Breathe In. Duff has worked with charities and organizations throughout her career. Duff has received media attention since the beginning of her career, most notably for her romantic relationships, friendships. Her romances with Aaron Carter and Joel Madden were often reported in the media, in 2010, she married former professional hockey player Mike Comrie, with whom she has a son. The two of them finalized their divorce six years later and she has been described by later Disney actresses as an inspiration, with artists such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez claiming they looked up to Duff and emulated her career. Duff has sold an estimated 15 million records since her debut in 2002, Duff was born on September 28,1987, in Houston, Texas. Her parents are Robert Erhard Duff, a partner in a chain of stores, and Susan Colleen
Hilary Duff
–
Duff at
The Heart Truth 's Red Dress Collection fashion show in 2009
Hilary Duff
–
Duff (right) pictured with her older sister
Haylie (left) in 2008
Hilary Duff
–
Duff attending the 2008
Tribeca Film Festival.
Hilary Duff
–
Duff at a signing for Elixer in 2010
23.
Justin Timberlake
–
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American singer-songwriter, actor and record producer. Born and raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search, in the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. With his first two albums exceeding sales of 10 million copies worldwide, he was established as one of the most commercially successful singers of the decade, furthermore, he produced records and collaborated with other artists. For his live performances, including the concert tour for the albums, he began performing with his band The Tennessee Kids, composed by instrumentalists. Timberlake voiced the character in DreamWorks Animations Trolls, which soundtrack includes his fifth Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single. Among numerous awards and accolades, Timberlake has won ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and 2013. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Lynn Harless and Charles Randall Timberlake, a Baptist church choir director. Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a community between Memphis and Millington. He has two half-brothers, Jonathan and Stephen, from Charles second marriage to Lisa Perry and his half-sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth on May 12,1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album NSYNC as My Angel in Heaven. He was inspired to become a performer by Janet Jackson, saying She didnt just stand there and sing her song, fascinated by her energy, at the age of 11, Timberlake appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country music songs as Justin Randall. Timberlake then recruited Chasez to be in a singing group, organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman. The boy band NSYNC formed in 1995, and began their career in 1996 in Europe, Timberlake and Chasez served as its two lead singers. In 1998, the rose to prominence in the United States with the release of their self-titled debut studio album. Their second album No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies in the first week, nSYNCs third album Celebrity was also financially successful. Upon the completion of the Celebrity Tour, the group went into hiatus in 2002, in late 1999, Timberlake appeared in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model and it was released on March 12,2000. The rise of his own stardom and the decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of NSYNC. Band member Lance Bass was openly critical of Timberlakes actions in his memoir Out of Sync and his debut solo studio album Justified was released in November and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 439,000 copies, fewer than previous N Sync releases
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake at the
Cannes Film Festival, May 2013
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake in London on his
Justified World Tour, December 2003
Justin Timberlake
–
Timberlake performing at a concert in
St. Paul, Minnesota in January 2007 during the
FutureSex/LoveShow
Justin Timberlake
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Timberlake (left) with
Andrew Garfield (right) at an event for
The Social Network in Madrid, October 2010
24.
The Weeknd
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Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer. In late 2010, Tesfaye anonymously uploaded several songs to YouTube under the name The Weeknd and he released three nine-track mixtapes throughout 2011, House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, which were critically acclaimed. In 2012, he released a compilation album Trilogy, thirty tracks consisting of the remastered mixtapes and it was released under Republic Records and his own label XO. In 2013, he released his studio album Kiss Land. The songs have held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, making him the first artist in history to achieve this. The Weeknd has won two Grammy Awards and nine Juno Awards, in September 2016, the release of the third album Starboy was announced along with the release of the title track single Starboy, which subsequently reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on 16 February 1990, in Scarborough, Ontario and he is the only child of Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye, who were Ethiopian migrants to Canada in the 1980s. He was raised in Scarborough, a neighborhood within the city. During his youth, his mother would work several jobs to support the family, often as a nurse and caterer, while also attending night school. His father later abandoned the family, prompting his grandmother to take care for him and his paternal cousin Issam Nazar. This allowed him to become fluent in Amharic, with the Semitic language acting as his first language and she would also take him to services at an Ethiopian Orthodox church. He started smoking marijuana at age 11, and later moved on to hard drugs, describing his teenage years as KIDS without the AIDS, he would shoplift from the local supermarket with his cousin Issam, and began using MDMA, Xanax, cocaine, psilocybin and ketamine. He attended West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute, the spelling was modified to avoid trademark issues with the Canadian band The Weekend. Tesfaye met producer Jeremy Rose, who had an idea for a dark R&B musical project called The Weeknd. After trying to pitch the idea to musician Curtis Santiago, Rose played one of his instrumentals for Tesfaye, who freestyled over it, and they began working on an album. He produced three songs – What You Need, Loft Music, and The Morning – and others that Tesfaye rapped on, Rose let Tesfaye keep the tracks he had produced under the condition that he would ultimately be credited for them. However, in December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded What You Need, Loft Music and The Morning to YouTube under the name The Weeknd, though his identity was initially unknown. The songs drew attention online through word of mouth, including a blog featuring the songs posted by rapper Drake and they subsequently received coverage from outlets such as Pitchfork Media and The New York Times
The Weeknd
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The Weeknd performing at
Bumbershoot 2015
The Weeknd
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The Weeknd at the 2011 Annual OVO Fest.
The Weeknd
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The Weeknd performing at
Massey Hall a downtown Toronto theatre on October 17, 2013
The Weeknd
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The Weeknd at Bumbershoot 2015
25.
NSYNC
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NSYNC was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. NSYNC consisted of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, and Lance Bass.42 million copies in one week, blige, country music supergroup Alabama, and Gloria Estefan. Although NSYNC announced the start of a hiatus in early 2002. In 2007, Lance Bass confirmed that the group had broken up. They have sold over 70 million albums during their career, becoming the eighth-best-selling boy band in history, rolling Stone recognized their instant success as one of the Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments of all time. Chris Kirkpatrick, who had missed the cut for the Backstreet Boys, Pearlman said that he would finance the group if Kirkpatrick would find other young male singers. This prompted Kirkpatrick to call Joey Fatone, a friend he had met while working at Universal Studios, then, Fatone and Kirkpatrick approached Lou Pearlman for more suggestions. Pearlman looked through some tapes they had, and one of Justin Timberlake from The Mickey Mouse Club caught his eye, Timberlake soon joined the group and recommended his friend JC Chasez, who also was a cast member on Disney Channels Mickey Mouse Club. Soon, they decided to out their sound by recruiting Jason Galasso as their bass singer. NSYNC received its name after Justin Timberlakes mother commented on how in sync the groups singing voices were, the groups name is also a play on the last letter of each of the original members names, JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, JasoN, and JC. After several weeks of rehearsals, the set up a showcase. However, at the last minute, Galasso dropped out and he was not fond of the groups musical direction, claiming that being a teen idol was never a goal of his. In need of a bass, the group auditioned several people without success, Timberlake soon called his vocal coach, who suggested a 16-year-old from Mississippi named Lance Bass. Bass flew to Orlando to audition and was accepted into the group. He was nicknamed Lansten so they could keep the name NSYNC, Pearlman hired Johnny Wright, manager of the Backstreet Boys, to manage the group. NSYNC sent him a two-song demo-tape including Ill Be Back for More and We Can Work It Out, the group performed for him and a group of BMG executives. Although the record company had concerns with the bands name and Basss dancing abilities. After being signed to BMG Ariola Munich, the group was sent to Sweden to begin working on their album with the help of producers such as Denniz Pop, Max Martin
NSYNC
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NSYNC
26.
I Want It That Way
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I Want It That Way is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. It was released on April 12,1999 as the single from their third studio album, Millennium. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, while Martin, the pop ballad talks about a relationship strained by matters of emotional or physical distance. Critically, the song was met with positive reception, with most critics commending its catchiness and loveliness, the song was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song and Record of the Year, and has been included in lists by Blender, MTV, Rolling Stone and VH1. In the United States, the peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for eight non-consecutive weeks, while it topped the Adult. The original music video received four VMA nominations, winning Viewers Choice, after the success of their first two albums, Backstreet Boys and Backstreets Back, the band recorded their third studio album, during 1998 and 1999. Upon leaving Sweden on November 16, vocals for the song had been completed in two days, originally, Larger Than Life was intended to be the lead single, following the similar formula of their first two albums, having an upbeat lead single. However, after hearing the final version of I Want It That Way, zomba Recording executives had to be convinced to approve of the song as the first single, due to them citing that the group could alienate fans with a mid-tempo song that had vague lyrical meaning. In the end, press information in the form of snippets was authorized for release to radio stations in March 1999, to precede the songs release to radio in April. On August 19,2011, Chinas Ministry of Culture released a list of 100 songs including the then twelve-year-old I Want it That Way that were required to be removed from the Internet, media sites were given until September 15 to delete the named songs or face unspecified penalties. The Chinese government claims that such measures are necessary for security purposes. I Want It That Way was written by Andreas Carlsson and Max Martin, while Martin, the midtempo ballad finds the guys gushing expressions of romantic affection. The song is written in the key of A major, an alternate version of the song with different lyrics was written and recorded by the band in January 1999. The version was included in some early presses of the album. In the alternate version, the song has the opposite message, the alternative lyrics were written by Martin and Carlsson in collaboration with Mutt Lange. The alternate version was leaked on the internet via Napster and other methods in the early 2000s, in an interview with HitQuarters, Andreas Carlsson confessed that the song was a play with words. According to him, When Max came up with the idea for the song, it already had the line you are my fire. We tried a million different variations on the verse, and finally we had to go back to what was sounding so great, you are my fire
I Want It That Way
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"I Want It That Way"
I Want It That Way
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Screaming Fans in the music video
27.
...Baby One More Time (song)
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. Baby One More Time is the debut single by American singer Britney Spears. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami, and released in 1998 and it is one of the best-selling singles of all time, with over 15 million copies sold. The music video was referenced in the music video of If U Seek Amy. In 2010, the video for. Baby One More Time was voted the third most influential video in the history of pop music. In 2011. Baby One More Time was voted the best music video of the 1990s and it has been featured on all of her greatest hits and other compilation albums. Spears has performed. Baby One More Time in a number of live appearances and it was the encore of the. Baby One More Time Tour and Dream Within a Dream Tour, Spears also performed remixed versions of the song during the Oops. It has been noted for redefining the sound of late 1990s music, Spears has named. Baby One More Time as one of her favorite songs from her career. It was also the song to be played on the BBCs music programme Top of the Pops in the 1990s. In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense, lynne Spears asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo and he sent Spears an unused song from Toni Braxton, she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met executives from four labels. Two weeks later, executives from JIVE Records returned calls to Rudolph, senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spearss audition that Its very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. For any artist, the eye of the tiger— is extremely important. They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, after hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others. Spears later claimed that she felt excited when she heard it, Spears recorded her vocals for the song on May 2nd and 3rd of 1998 at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The singer revealed that she didn’t do well at all the first day in the studio, so I went out that night and had some fun. The next day I was completely relaxed and nailed it and you gotta be relaxed singing ‘… Baby One More Time’
...Baby One More Time (song)
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Spears and some of her dancers performing "...Baby One More Time" during
The Circus Starring Britney Spears, 2009.
...Baby One More Time (song)
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"...Baby One More Time"
...Baby One More Time (song)
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The encore performance of "...Baby One More Time" during the
Dream Within a Dream Tour, with Spears standing in the water screen, 2001.
...Baby One More Time (song)
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Spears wearing the schoolgirl outfit in the "...Baby One More Time" music video.
28.
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales, radio play and online streaming, the weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday, when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but was changed to Friday to Thursday in July 2015. Radio airplay, which, unlike sales figures and streaming data, is available on a real-time basis. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Tuesdays, as of the issue for the week ending on April 15,2017, the Hot 100 has had 1,061 different number one hits. The current number one song is Shape of You by Ed Sheeran, prior to 1955, Billboard did not have a unified, all-encompassing popularity chart, instead measuring songs by individual metrics. At the start of the era in 1955, three such charts existed, Best Sellers in Stores was the first Billboard chart, established in 1936. This chart ranked the biggest selling singles in retail stores, as reported by merchants surveyed throughout the country, Most Played by Jockeys was Billboards original airplay chart. It ranked the most played songs on United States radio stations, as reported by radio disc jockeys, Most Played in Jukeboxes ranked the most played songs in jukeboxes across the United States. On the week ending November 12,1955, Billboard published The Top 100 for the first time, the Top 100 combined all aspects of a singles performance, based on a point system that typically gave sales more weight than radio airplay. The Best Sellers In Stores, Most Played by Jockeys and Most Played in Jukeboxes charts continued to be published concurrently with the new Top 100 chart. The week ending July 28,1958 was the publication of the Most Played By Jockeys and Top 100 charts. On August 4,1958, Billboard premiered one main all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100 quickly became the industry standard and Billboard discontinued the Best Sellers In Stores chart on October 13,1958. The Billboard Hot 100 is still the standard by which a songs popularity is measured in the United States, the Hot 100 is ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS, sales data compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and streaming activity provided by online music sources. There are several component charts that contribute to the calculation of the Hot 100. Charts are ranked by number of gross audience impressions, computed by cross-referencing exact times of radio airplay with Arbitron listener data. Hot Singles Sales, the top selling singles compiled from a sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled. The chart is released weekly and measures sales of commercial singles. With the decline in sales of singles in the US
Billboard Hot 100
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The Billboard logo
29.
I Kissed a Girl
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I Kissed a Girl is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry for her second studio album, One of the Boys. It was released on April 28,2008, by Capitol Records as the single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with its producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco, with additional songwriting provided by Max Martin, I Kissed a Girl is a pop rock song with elements of new wave. Perry stated its lyrics are about the beauty of a woman. The song sparked controversy for its homosexual themes, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the 1, 000th number-one song of the rock era. The single has sold over 4.7 million digital copies in the US alone. I Kissed a Girl is one of eight songs by Perry to sell over 4 million digital copies in the US, teenage Dream, Roar and Dark Horse. The song is one of the singles worldwide. The accompanying music video for the song was released on May 16,2008, the video, directed by Kinga Burza, features Perry in a setting inspired by burlesque and Moulin Rouge styles. It features appearances from Perrys friends, including actress Shannon Woodward, the song is recognized as the 10th best-selling single in the 21st century. I Kissed a Girl was performed and a nominee at the 51st Grammy Awards and it was also nominated for Favorite Song at the 2009 Kids Choice Awards. The song was included in Perrys performance in Super Bowl XLIXs Pepsi Halftime Show in 2015. According to Perry, the chorus actually popped into my head when I woke up and it was one of those moments where you hear artists talking about songs they get in dreams or in the middle of the night. I was like wow, what an interesting subject matter to kind of pop into the head, then all of a sudden at the very, very end of making my album, I literally had two days left in the recording studio with my producer, Dr Luke. We just said, were gonna finish it—its so catchy because it wont get out of our heads, Capitol A&R Chris Anokute told HitQuarters that the song and its controversial theme met with strong resistance at the label. People said, This is never going to get played on the radio, hows this going to be played in the Bible Belt. Anokute said that they needed the support of one of the labels radio promoters to convince people to believe in the record, Dennis Reese, Capitols senior vice president of promotions, saw the vision and helped push the single on national radio. The first station to pick it up and take a chance was 107.5 The River in Nashville, rich Davis, then PD, was played the song by Joe Rainey of Capitol Records outside his favorite sushi spot in Nashville and immediately put it on the air
I Kissed a Girl
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Perry performing "I Kissed a Girl" at her
Hello Katy Tour in March 2009
I Kissed a Girl
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"I Kissed a Girl"
30.
Maroon 5
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Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band that originated in Los Angeles, California. The band, which self-released an album called We Like Digging, then signed to Reprise Records and released the album The Fourth World in 1997. After the album garnered a tepid response, the band parted ways with the record label, in 2001, the band changed its image by adding guitarist James Valentine and pursuing a different direction under the name Maroon 5. At this point, Carmichael switched to playing keyboards, which has become his main instrument in the band. After these changes, Maroon 5 signed with a subsidiary of J Records, Octone Records, the albums lead single, Harder to Breathe, received heavy airplay, which helped the album to debut at number six on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2004, the album went platinum and has dubbed the sleeper hit of the millennium. The band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2005, for the next few years, Maroon 5 toured extensively worldwide in support of Songs About Jane and produced two live recordings, 2004s 1.22.03. Acoustic and 2005s Live – Friday the 13th. In 2006, Dusick officially left Maroon 5 after suffering from serious wrist, the band then recorded their second album, It Wont Be Soon Before Long and released it in May 2007. The album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, in September 2010, Maroon 5 released their third studio album Hands All Over, which was re-released in 2011 to include the single Moves like Jagger featuring Christina Aguilera. While the original version of the album received mixed reviews, Moves like Jagger reached the one position on the Billboard Hot 100. The band released their album, Overexposed, on June 26,2012. All four singles of the album were successful on the Billboard Hot 100, including second single One More Night. Keyboardist PJ Morton became a member of the band in 2012. The addition of PJ Morton meant that for the first time, in 2014, the band signed with Interscope Records and released their fifth studio album, V. Maroon 5 has sold more than 20 million albums and 70 million singles worldwide, Adam Levine was introduced to Ryan Dusick by a mutual friend and guitarist, Adam Salzman. Levine was 15 years old and Dusick was 16, three of the five members of the band started playing together at age 12. The four original members of the band met while attending Brentwood EMH School in Los Angeles, while attending Brentwood EMH School, Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael joined up with Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick to form Karas Flowers, a rock band. The name was taken from a girl went to their high school that the band had a collective crush on
Maroon 5
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Maroon 5 in 2011 (from left to right:
Mickey Madden,
Adam Levine,
James Valentine,
Jesse Carmichael,
PJ Morton, and
Matt Flynn).
Maroon 5
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Maroon 5 in concert in 2004
Maroon 5
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Maroon 5 in Madison Square Garden in 2007
