1.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s
2.
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
3.
Beauty Behind the Madness
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Beauty Behind the Madness is the second studio album by Canadian singer The Weeknd. It was released on August 28,2015, by XO, the album was supported by five singles, Often, The Hills, Cant Feel My Face, In the Night and Acquainted. The Hills and Cant Feel My Face both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Beauty Behind the Madness also includes the Academy Award-nominated song Earned It, which was released as a single from the soundtrack to Fifty Shades of Grey. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, it became the tenth best-selling album of 2015, to date, the album has sold over two million units in the United States. On September 10,2013, The Weeknd released his debut album Kiss Land and it was promoted by three singles, Kiss Land, Belong to the World, Live For featuring Drake, and The Weeknds The Fall tour beginning during September 2013. Kiss Land received generally positive reviews from critics, Kiss Land debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 96,000 copies, just two thousand copies short of Keith Urbans Fuse, which took the number one spot on the week. In 2013, in an interview with MTV, following the release of his album, The Weeknd spoke of his compilation album Trilogy, as the first chapter of his life. On June 26,2014, The Weeknd announced that he would be headlining the King of the Fall tour, schoolboy Q and Jhené Aiko were confirmed as support acts. The announcement came on the day after The Weeknd released his new song Often on SoundCloud, on December 23,2014, Earned It was released as a single from the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades of Grey. The song peaked at three on the Billboard Hot 100. On July 5,2015, Ed Sheeran revealed on Beats 1 that he had worked with The Weeknd on his forthcoming album, Sheeran also said that Kanye West would feature in this collaboration on the album. On July 9,2015, The Weeknd announced that his studio album would be titled Beauty Behind the Madness. The first single, Often was released on July 31,2014, the song peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 69 on the Canadian Hot 100. The albums second single, The Hills was released on May 27,2015, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 20 for the chart dated on June 13,2015, it was the weeks highest debut. On the following week, the single declined by one position, as of January 2016, The Hills has sold 2,662,000 copies in the US. The albums lead single, Cant Feel My Face was released on June 8,2015, the song debuted at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. It produced first-week digital sales of 93,000 units and garnered additionally 4.2 million US streams and 38 million airplay audiences. In its third week on the chart, the reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his third top 10 hit
4.
Republic Records
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Republic Records is an American record company that operates as a division of Universal Music Group. The label was endowed by Monte Lipman and Avery Lipman in 1995, the labels main offices are located in New York City, New York, United States, other offices of the record label are located at the Interscope Center in Santa Monica, California, U. S. According to Mediabase, Republic Records was 2012s top charting U. S. label, according to Avery Lipman, he and his brother Monte Lipman first conceived of Republic Records at the kitchen table of their apartment, My brother and I had been working at record companies. He was in between jobs and we started putting out as a hobby. We had an approach to the business. The first record we put out happened to work really well, frustrated by the limitations of being an independent with a very small staff, the Lipman brothers accepted an offer from Universal. One of several labels that comprise Universal Motown Republic Group, the newly named Republic Records was formed in 1995 as a sub-label of MCAs Geffen Records, Avery Lipman told HitQuarters that the pairing was a complete disaster, saying, Our ideas and vision didn’t fit with the label. We didn’t trust our own instincts and we let others decide what was right for the project. As of 2006, Universal Republic has adopted an A&R and partnership-based growth strategy, in an era of music industry transition they have proven effective, as Universal Republic has continued to grow in the industrys declining years. In mid-2012, Universal Republic Records changed its name to its former name Republic Records, all Universal Republic Records roster were moved to Republic Records. The label has released albums by Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi. The new Republic became the one label in soundtrack production. On March 31,2014, it was announced that Big Machine and Republic Records revived Dot Records, vH1 and Republic has both used Social media in this campaign. In 2015 Republic Records had songs in six of the spots in the top 10 of the Mediabase Top 40 Chart, in the earlier days, Republic Records released the Bloodhound Gangs EP, Dingleberry Haze, as well as their first LP, Use Your Fingers. Universal Republic has created strategic partnerships and co-ventures, singer Jay Sean and producer Kevin Rudolf of Cash Money Records. Rudolfs single, Let It Rock was certified 3x Platinum and licensed by multiple television networks for sports, Jay Seans debut single Down sold 3 million copies in the United States and 6 million worldwide. Seans follow-up single Do You Remember also sold over a million copies, American singer Taylor Swift with Nashville-based Big Machine Records. Swift today is a Diamond artist with 10 Grammys and 40 million records sold worldwide, jack Johnson on Brushfire Records who has achieved multi-Platinum certifications twice and is estimated to have sold about 8 million albums worldwide
5.
Songwriter
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A songwriter is an individual who writes the lyrics, melodies and chord progressions for songs, typically for a popular music genre such as rock or country music. A songwriter can also be called a composer, although the term tends to be used mainly for individuals from the classical music genre. The pressure from the industry to produce popular hits means that songwriting is often an activity for which the tasks are distributed between a number of people. For example, a songwriter who excels at writing lyrics might be paired with a songwriter with a gift for creating original melodies, pop songs may be written by group members from the band or by staff writers – songwriters directly employed by music publishers. Some songwriters serve as their own publishers, while others have outside publishers. The old-style apprenticeship approach to learning how to write songs is being supplemented by university degrees and college diplomas, a knowledge of modern music technology, songwriting elements and business skills are necessary requirements to make a songwriting career in the 2010s. Several music colleges offer songwriting diplomas and degrees with music business modules, the legal power to grant these permissions may be bought, sold or transferred. This is governed by international copyright law, song pitching can be done on a songwriters behalf by their publisher or independently using tip sheets like RowFax, the MusicRow publication and SongQuarters. Skills associated with song-writing include entrepreneurism and creativity, songwriters who sign an exclusive songwriting agreement with a publisher are called staff writers. In the Nashville country music scene, there is a staff writer culture where contracted writers work normal 9-to-5 hours at the publishing office and are paid a regular salary. This salary is in effect the writers draw, an advance on future earnings, the publisher owns the copyright of songs written during the term of the agreement for a designated period, after which the songwriter can reclaim the copyright. In an interview with HitQuarters, songwriter Dave Berg extolled the benefits of the set-up, unlike contracted writers, some staff writers operate as employees for their respective publishers. Under the terms of work for hire agreements, the compositions created are fully owned by the publisher. In Nashville, young writers are often encouraged to avoid these types of contracts. Staff writers are common across the industry, but without the more office-like working arrangements favored in Nashville. All the major publishers employ writers under contract, songwriter Allan Eshuijs described his staff writer contract at Universal Music Publishing as a starter deal. His success under the arrangement eventually allowed him to found his own publishing company, so that he could. keep as much as possible, songwriters are also often skilled musicians. In addition to selling their songs and musical concepts for other artists to sing, songwriters need to create a number of elements for a song
6.
Sabahattin Ali
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Sabahattin Ali was a Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in 1907 in Eğridere township of the Sanjak of Gümülcine and he lived in Istanbul, Çanakkale and Edremit before he entered the School of Education in Balıkesir. Then, he was transferred to the School of Education in Istanbul, after serving as a teacher in Yozgat for one year, he earned a fellowship from the Ministry of National Education and studied in Germany from 1928 to 1930. When he returned to Turkey, he taught German language in schools at Aydın. While he was serving as a teacher in Konya, he was arrested for a poem he wrote criticizing Atatürks policies and he then applied to the Ministry of National Education for permission to teach again. After proving his allegiance to Atatürk by writing the poem Benim Aşkım, Sabahattin Ali married on May 16,1935 and did his military service in 1936. He was imprisoned again and released in 1944 and he also owned and edited a popular weekly newspaper called Marko Paşa, together with Aziz Nesin. Upon his release from prison, he suffered financial troubles and his application for a passport was denied. He was killed at the Bulgarian border, probably on 1 or 2 April 1948 and his body was found on June 16,1948. It is generally believed that he was killed by Ali Ertekin, a smuggler with connections to the National Security Service, another hypothesis is that Ertekin handed him over to the security services, and he was killed during interrogation. It is believed he was killed because of his political opinions, however it is very well understood that he was killed by the government, through the National Security Service, because of his political views. Sabahattin Alis 100th birth anniversary was celebrated in Bulgarian city Ardino in March 31,2007, Ali is a well-known author in this country because his books have been read in schools in Bulgaria since the 1950s. Değirmen Kağnı Ses Yeni Dünya Sırça Köşk Esirler Kuyucaklı Yusuf, kuyucakli Yusuf was made into a movie by Turkish national television. Turkish literature Daily Sabah, Sabahattin Ali biography and tragic romance and dark realism
7.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
8.
Love Me Harder
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Love Me Harder is a song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande and Canadian singer The Weeknd from Grandes second studio album, My Everything. It was written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Peter Svensson, Ali Payami, Abel Tesfaye, the song was produced by Payami and Peter Carlsson, with Svensson serving as a vocal producer. It was released by Republic Records on September 30,2014 as the single from the album. Love Me Harder is a synthpop and R&B track, with throbbing’, electro-heavy chorus, guitar riff, lyrically, the song focuses on a deeper understanding of love as an emotional and physical state, having double entendres about rough sex. The Hannah Lux Davis-directed video finds Grande and The Weeknd in an house in the desert filled with sand. As of March 2016, the song has sold 1.2 million copies in the United States, the collaboration between Grande and The Weeknd was pushed by their mutual label, Republic Records. Grande and The Weeknd were up-and-coming artists in 2013, with releasing their debut albums that year. In an interview with Billboard, Republic Records executive vice president Charlie Walk stated, in June 2014, Walk posted a photo on his Instagram with the caption, When you talk about artist development and pure talent, The Weekend comes to mind. I just heard a duet with a friend of ours that’s a global smash. Later, it was revealed that the collaborator was Ariana Grande, later, Walk admitted that the collaboration was part of a strategy to promote The Weeknd, saying, Its no accident that the new Ariana track features The Weeknd. Thats strategic, because hes about to blow up with his own record, on June 30,2014, it was revealed the track list for Grandes second studio album and the collaboration with The Weeknd was called Love Me Harder. Chris Martins of Spin thought the preview has Grande getting downright nasty on the track, later, Love Me Harder was announced to be the albums fourth single, being serviced to US rhythmic-crossover radio on September 30,2014. Love Me Harder was written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Peter Svensson, Ali Payami, Abel Tesfaye and it was produced by Payami and Peter Carlsson, while Svensson provided vocal production. The song is a duet with Canadian singer and songwriter The Weeknd, according to the sheet music published at Musicnotes. com by Kobalt Music Group, the song is composed in the key of E major with a moderately tempo of 100 beats per minute. Grandes vocals range from the note of E3 to E5, Rob Copsey wrote for The Official Charts Company that the song remind him of Drake at his most emotional, citing 2010’s Find Your Love and 2013s Hold On, Were Going Home as examples. Lyrically, the song has Grande demanding for romantic satisfaction, filled with double entendres about rough sex, in the bridge, Grande and Weeknd trade provocative oohs. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that Grande allowed The Weeknd to suck up the spotlight on the track, jason Lipshut of Billboard noted that the pairing somehow makes sense, praising Weeknds ultra-sincere crooning and the driving guitar riff for being delicious 80s cheese. Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times called it a darker R&B jam than anyone probably expected from a 21-year-old singer once known for her endless supply of pastel princess dresses
9.
YouTube
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YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The service was created by three former PayPal employees—Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim—in February 2005, Google bought the site in November 2006 for US$1.65 billion, YouTube now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries. Unregistered users can watch videos on the site, while registered users are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. Videos deemed potentially offensive are available only to registered users affirming themselves to be at least 18 years old, YouTube earns advertising revenue from Google AdSense, a program which targets ads according to site content and audience. YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, Hurley had studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Karim could not easily find video clips of either event online, Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service, and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not. YouTube began as a venture capital-funded technology startup, primarily from an $11.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital between November 2005 and April 2006, YouTubes early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. The domain name www. youtube. com was activated on February 14,2005, the first YouTube video, titled Me at the zoo, shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo. The video was uploaded on April 23,2005, and can still be viewed on the site, YouTube offered the public a beta test of the site in May 2005. The first video to reach one million views was a Nike advertisement featuring Ronaldinho in November 2005. Following a $3.5 million investment from Sequoia Capital in November, the site grew rapidly, and in July 2006 the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. The site has 800 million unique users a month and it is estimated that in 2007 YouTube consumed as much bandwidth as the entire Internet in 2000. The choice of the name www. youtube. com led to problems for a similarly named website, the sites owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006 after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube has since changed the name of its website to www. utubeonline. com, in October 2006, Google Inc. announced that it had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in Google stock, and the deal was finalized on November 13,2006. In March 2010, YouTube began free streaming of certain content, according to YouTube, this was the first worldwide free online broadcast of a major sporting event. On March 31,2010, the YouTube website launched a new design, with the aim of simplifying the interface, Google product manager Shiva Rajaraman commented, We really felt like we needed to step back and remove the clutter. In May 2010, YouTube videos were watched more than two times per day. This increased to three billion in May 2011, and four billion in January 2012, in February 2017, one billion hours of YouTube was watched every day
10.
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
11.
Rick Ross
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William Leonard Roberts II, known professionally by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. In 2009, Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Dont, Mastermind, Hood Billionaire, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddys management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC in the Game, william Leonard Roberts II was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and raised in Carol City, Florida. After graduating from Miami Carol City Senior High School, he attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship, Roberts worked as a correctional officer for 18 months from December 1995, until his resignation in June 1997. In his early years at Suave House Records, Roberts initially made his debut under the pseudonym Teflon Da Don and he made his recording debut on the song Aint Shhh to Discuss on Erick Sermons lone album for DreamWorks, Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis. In the mid-2000s, he changed his name to Rick Ross and he derived his stage name from the former drug kingpin Freeway Rick Ross, to whom he has no connection. After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Roberts toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums. His debut album Port of Miami was released in August 2006 and debuted at the top spot on the U. S. Billboard 200 album chart, Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine predicted that it would be the summers biggest rap record. The second single was Push It, which samples Scarface, the song from the gangster film Scarface. The music video for Push It was modeled after the film, during that time, Ross made guest performances on two singles from DJ Khaleds debut Listennn. The Album, Born-N-Raised and Holla at Me, Port of Miami received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America on November 8,2006. In March 2008, his second album Trilla was released and, as its predecessor Port of Miami had, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. Its lead single Speedin featuring R. Kelly peaked at number 21 on the U. S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, the third single Here I Am featured Nelly and Avery Storm. MTV News ranked Ross on the spot in its 2008 Hottest MCs in the Game list among ten rappers. The fourth single This Is The Life featured Trey Songz and was released in July, I look at all the strategies people use and what made them successful. What made Birdman just as relevant today after selling 50 million records, to see the class of Jay-Z, his accomplishments and see how he sits backs and accurately makes his moves. A track from the album called Valley of Death was what stood out to MTV reporters, in the song, Ross speaks briefly on his controversial stint as a prison guard
12.
Schoolboy Q
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Quincy Matthew Hanley, better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q, is an American hip hop recording artist from South Central Los Angeles, California. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment and in late 2011, Hanley is also a member of the hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside his label-mates and fellow California-based rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar. In 2008, Hanley released his first full-length project, a mixtape titled ScHoolboy Turned Hustla and he later released a follow-up in 2009, titled Gangsta & Soul. He then returned in January 2011, with his first independent album, the project, released under TDE, to digital retailers only, reached number 100 on the US Billboard 200 chart. A little over a year later, his independent album Habits & Contradictions, was also released exclusively to digital retailers. The album received favorable reviews and debuted at number 111 on the US Billboard 200. After signing with Interscope, Hanley subsequently began recording his debut studio album. The album was released on February 25,2014 and debuted at one on the US Billboard 200. Quincy Matthew Hanley was born October 26,1986, on a base in Wiesbaden. His parents divorced before he was born, and his mother gave him a different to those of both his parents, supposedly at random. His father remained in the Army while his left and moved with Hanley to Texas for a couple years. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, on 51st Street, neighboring Figueroa and he attended John Muir Middle School. He claims to have been playing American football from the age of six years, Hanley played receiver, cornerback, and tailback, and in college he played receiver and returner. Growing up on Hoover Street, Hanley joined a gang called the 52 Hoover Gangster Crips. My homies were doing it and I wanted to do it, I didnt get into it with another hood or anything like that. I was just following the leader, before turning to music, Hanley became a drug dealer selling Oxycontin, and for a short time crack and marijuana. In 2007, he was arrested for a crime he at the time wouldnt disclose and says he was sent to jail for six months and he later revealed on reddit that it was related to a home invasion but did not go into detail. Schoolboy Q has said he wrote his first verse when he was 16, Music became his way of expressing himself
13.
Recording Industry Association of America
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The Recording Industry Association of America is a continental North and South American trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, the RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D. C. The RIAA was formed in 1952 and its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3 rpm,45 rpm. Since 2001, the RIAA has spent $2 to $6 million each year on lobbying in the United States, the RIAA also participates in the collective rights management of sound recordings, and it is responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the United States. Cary Sherman has been the RIAAs chairman and CEO since 2011, Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO. Mitch Glazier has been the RIAAs senior executive vice president since 2011 and he served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011. The past RIAA chairman and CEO is Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011 and he left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, the RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies. The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles, the criterion was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales, the awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members. Since 2000, the RIAA also operates a program for Latin music sales. Currently, a Disco De Oro is awarded for 30,000 units, the RIAA defines Latin music as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to branch of certification. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish and this release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is different from other styles. Gold,50,000 Platinum,100,000 Multi-Platinum,200,000 copies The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music, studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible to moderate. The association has commenced high-profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers and it has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children
14.
Billboard (magazine)
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Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events and it is also known for its music charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular singles and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows, Billboard was founded in 1894 by William Donaldson and James Hennegan as a trade publication for bill posters. Donaldson later acquired Hennegens interest in 1900 for $500, in the 1900s, it covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows. It also created a service for travelling entertainers. Billboard began focusing more on the industry as the jukebox, phonograph. Many topics it covered were spun-off into different magazines, including Amusement Business in 1961 to cover outdoor entertainment so that it could focus on music. After Donaldson died in 1925, Billboard was passed down to his children and Hennegans children, until it was sold to investors in 1985. The first issue of Billboard was published in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 1,1894 by William Donaldson, initially, it covered the advertising and bill posting industry and was called Billboard Advertising. At the time, billboards, posters and paper advertisements placed in public spaces were the means of advertising. Donaldson handled editorial and advertising, while Hennegan, who owned Hennegan Printing Co. managed magazine production, the first issues were just eight pages long. The paper had columns like The Bill Room Gossip and The Indefatigable, a department for agricultural fairs was established in 1896. The title was changed to The Billboard in 1897, after a brief departure over editorial differences, Donaldson purchased Hennegans interest in the business in 1900 for $500, to save it from bankruptcy. That May, Donaldson changed it from a monthly to a paper with a greater emphasis on breaking news. He improved editorial quality and opened new offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London and he also re-focused the magazine on outdoor entertainment like fairs, carnivals, circuses, vaudeville and burlesque shows. A section devoted to circuses was introduced in 1900, followed by more prominent coverage of events in 1901. Billboard also covered topics including regulation, a lack of professionalism, economics and it had a stage gossip column covering the private lives of entertainers, a tent show section covering traveling shows and a sub-section called Freaks to order. According to The Seattle Times, Donaldson also published articles attacking censorship, praising productions exhibiting good taste
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British Phonographic Industry
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The BPI Limited, commonly known as the British Phonographic Industry or BPI, is the British recorded music industrys trade association. Its membership comprises hundreds of companies including all three major record companies in the UK, and hundreds of independent music labels and small to medium-sized music businesses. It has represented the interests of British record companies since being formally incorporated in 1973 when the aim was to promote British music. In 2007, the legal name was changed from British Phonographic Industry Limited. It founded the annual BRIT Awards for the British music industry in 1977, the organizing company, BRIT Awards Limited, is a fully owned subsidiary of the BPI. Proceeds from both shows go to the BRIT Trust, the arm of the BPI that has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation in 1989. In September 2013, the BPI presented the first ever BRITs Icon Award to Sir Elton John, the BPI also endorsed the launch of the Mercury Prize for the Album of the Year in 1992. In September 2008, the BPI became one of the members of UK Music. The BRIT Trust is the music charity actively supporting all types of education across the entire spectrum of music. Through the projects it supports, which include Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the BRIT School, proceeds from the BRIT Awards and the Classic BRITs shows go to the BRIT Trust, which has donated almost £15m to charitable causes nationwide since its foundation. Opened in September 1991, the BRIT School is a joint venture between The BRIT Trust and the Department for Education and Skills, based at Selhurst in Croydon, the school is the only non fee-paying performing arts school in the UK. It teaches up to 1,100 students each year aged from 14–19 years in music, dance, drama, musical theatre, production, media and art & design. Students are from diverse backgrounds and are not required to stick to their own discipline, dancers learn songwriting. Nor do students have to work/perform in the evening to pay for the tuition, the BPI administers the Platinum, Gold and Silver awards scheme for music releases in the United Kingdom. The level of the award varies depending on the format of the release, member companies do, however, still have the option to certify titles based on shipment levels if they choose to. Since July 2014, audio streaming has also included for singles at a ratio of 100 streams equivalent to 1 unit. From June 2015, audio streams were added to album certifications, according to BPI, they would take the 12 most-streamed tracks from the standard version of an album, with the top two songs down-weighted in line with the average of the rest. The total of these streams will be divided by 1,000, additionally, personnel are also seconded to the City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit top support anti-piracy operations
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United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
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ITunes Store
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ITunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28,2003, and has been the largest music vendor in the United States since April 2008, and the largest music vendor in the world since February 2010. It offers over 35 -40 million songs,2.2 million apps,25,000 TV shows, iTunes Stores revenues in the first quarter of 2011 totaled nearly US$1.4 billion, by May 28,2014, the store had sold 35 billion songs worldwide. On January 6,2009, Apple announced that DRM had been removed from 80% of its catalog in the US. As of June 2013, iTunes Store possesses 575 million active user accounts, before iTunes Store, most of the online music was download through websites like Napster. Steve Jobs expressed concern that people were illegally obtaining music because it was the option they had. In 2002, Steve Jobs made an agreement with the five major record labels to offer their content through iTunes, iTunes Store was introduced by Steve Jobs at a Worldwide Developers Conference to give music listeners a legal alternative to peer-to-peer file sharing networks. When it opened, it was the only legal digital catalog of music to songs from all five major record labels. At first, it was available on Mac OS X. Following the introduction of iTunes Store, individual songs were all sold for the same price, Music in the store is in the Advanced Audio Coding format, which is the MPEG-4-specified successor to MP3. Originally, songs were available with DRM and were encoded at 128 kbit/s. At the January 2009 Macworld Expo, Apple announced that all music would be made available without DRM. Previously, this model, known as iTunes Plus, had available only for music from EMI. Users can sample songs by listening to previews, ninety seconds in length, some Apps cost money and some are free. Developers can decide which prices they want to charge for apps, from a pre-set list of pricing tiers, when someone downloads an App,70 percent of the purchase goes to the developer, and 30 percent goes to Apple. At the Macworld 2008 keynote, Steve Jobs, who was Apples CEO at the time, movies are available for rent in iTunes Store on the same day they are released on DVD, though iTunes Store also offers for rental some movies that are still in theaters. Movie rentals are only viewable for 24 hours or 48 hours after users begin viewing them, iTunes Store also offers one low-priced movie rental a week, in the United States, this rental costs 99 cents. Movie rentals are not yet available in all countries but it is available in the United States, Mexico, there is a weekly promotion in which one to three songs are available to download for free to logged-in users
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Apple Inc.
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Apple is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. Apples consumer software includes the macOS and iOS operating systems, the media player, the Safari web browser. Its online services include the iTunes Store, the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple Music, Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 to develop and sell personal computers. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. in January 1977, Apple joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in March 2015. In November 2014, Apple became the first U. S. company to be valued at over US$700 billion in addition to being the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization. The company employs 115,000 full-time employees as of July 2015 and it operates the online Apple Store and iTunes Store, the latter of which is the worlds largest music retailer. Consumers use more than one billion Apple products worldwide as of March 2016, Apples worldwide annual revenue totaled $233 billion for the fiscal year ending in September 2015. This revenue accounts for approximately 1. 25% of the total United States GDP.1 billion, the corporation receives significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors and its environmental and business practices, including the origins of source materials. Apple was founded on April 1,1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, the Apple I kits were computers single-handedly designed and hand-built by Wozniak and first shown to the public at the Homebrew Computer Club. The Apple I was sold as a motherboard, which was less than what is now considered a personal computer. The Apple I went on sale in July 1976 and was market-priced at $666.66, Apple was incorporated January 3,1977, without Wayne, who sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. Multimillionaire Mike Markkula provided essential business expertise and funding of $250,000 during the incorporation of Apple, during the first five years of operations revenues grew exponentially, doubling about every four months. Between September 1977 and September 1980 yearly sales grew from $775,000 to $118m, the Apple II, also invented by Wozniak, was introduced on April 16,1977, at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It differed from its rivals, the TRS-80 and Commodore PET, because of its character cell-based color graphics. While early Apple II models used ordinary cassette tapes as storage devices, they were superseded by the introduction of a 5 1/4 inch floppy disk drive and interface called the Disk II. The Apple II was chosen to be the platform for the first killer app of the business world, VisiCalc. VisiCalc created a market for the Apple II and gave home users an additional reason to buy an Apple II. Before VisiCalc, Apple had been a distant third place competitor to Commodore, by the end of the 1970s, Apple had a staff of computer designers and a production line
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Sabah (newspaper)
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Sabah is a Turkish daily newspaper, with a circulation of around 330,000 as of 2011. Its name means morning in Turkish, the newspaper was founded in Izmir by Dinç Bilgin on 22 April 1985. In 2007, the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seized the newspaper, ownership of the newspaper was given to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey. According to Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, who was Sabahs Ankara bureau chief until the takeover, the Kalyon Group took over the newspaper in 2013. Kalyon Group is the current publisher, while Erdal Şafak is the editor-in-chief, Sabah has published The New York Times International Weekly on Sundays since 2009. This 8-page supplement features a selection of articles from The New York Times translated into Turkish, the partnership with the New York Times was terminated in 2014 without any formal explanation given. com/asliaydintasbas Todays Sabah front page at the Newseum website
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Official Charts Company
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The OCC is operated jointly by the British Phonographic Industry and the Entertainment Retailers Association. Since 1 July 1997, CIN and then the OCC have compiled the official charts, prior to this date, the charts were produced by a succession of market research companies, beginning with the British Market Research Bureau in 1969, and later by Gallup. All of the OCCs charts are published weekly on Friday nights, from 3 August 1969 until 5 July 2015, the chart week ran from Sunday to Saturday. Genre-specific charts include UK Dance Chart, UK Indie Chart, UK R&B Chart, UK Rock Chart, the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts ― and the former Welsh Singles and Albums Chart ― appears in listings within the Official Charts Company. It is a regional listing reflecting how sales towards the UK Singles Chart, the Welsh Singles and Album Chart served the same purpose in Wales. It also charts the UK DVD Chart and UK Budget Album Chart, while their music charts are now Friday to Thursday, their video charts remain Sunday to Saturday. On 5 September 2008, the Official UK Charts Company rebranded itself as the Official Charts Company and it later dropped the word Company and became just Official Charts. From May 2012, a new chart was launched – the Official Streaming Chart and this counts audio streams from streaming services Spotify, Deezer, Blinkbox Music, Napster, amongst others. In April 2015, the UKs first vinyl record chart was launched by the Official Charts Company due to the surge of interest in the sector. The chart was launched following the growth of the sector in the UK for the year in a row. Beginning in 2017 the Official Charts Company changed its methodology for calculating the Top 40, prior to January 2017,100 streams counted as one sale of a song. From January onward, the ratio became 150,1, UK Albums Chart UK Singles Chart UK Video Charts UK Singles Downloads Chart UK Album Downloads Chart British Phonographic Industry Official Charts Company website
21.
Kiss Land
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Kiss Land is the debut studio album by Canadian singer The Weeknd. The album was released in the United States on September 10,2013, by XO, Kiss Land was supported by six singles, Kiss Land, Belong to the World, Love in the Sky, Live For, Pretty and Wanderlust. The albums sole guest appearance comes from frequent collaborator Drake, the albums production was primarily handled by DannyBoyStyles, The Weeknd and Jason DaHeala Quenneville. Kiss Land received generally positive reviews from critics, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 95,000 copies in its first week. As of August 2015, the album has sold 273,000 copies in the US, on March 17,2013, The Weeknd announced his debut album would be titled Kiss Land. In July 2013, Amazon. com revealed that the album would be released on August 27,2013, on July 22,2013, it was announced that the album would be pushed back from August 27,2013, until September 10,2013. In July 2013, during an interview with Complex, The Weeknd described the album, saying, Kiss Land symbolizes the tour life, just like House of Balloons symbolizes Toronto and my experiences there, but its a world that I created. When I think about Kiss Land, I think about a terrifying place and its a place Ive never been to before that Im very unfamiliar with. A lot of it is inspired by filmmakers like John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, Thats what Kiss Land is to me, an environment thats just honest fear. I dont know who I am right now and Im doing all these things in these settings that Im not familiar with. To me, its the most terrifying thing ever, so when you hear the screams in the record and you hear all these horror references and you feel scared, listen to the music because I want you to feel what Im feeling. Kiss Land is like a horror movie and he also explained the albums second single Belong to the World, saying, Belong to the World is about falling in love with the wrong person. There are some songs where I talk about the same person, whatever that situation was, I spent the whole album focusing on that situation. He also explained where the title Kiss Land came from, saying, the title came from a conversation that I overheard and those words stuck out. Someone said, Kiss Land and I thought, Thats going to be the title of my album, when I put out everyone was like, What the hell. This is going to be corny and its going to be all lovey-dovey. On July 21,2013, the cover was released. On September 1,2013, the album was made available for streaming on NPR Music
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Trilogy (The Weeknd album)
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Trilogy is a compilation album by Canadian singer The Weeknd, released on 13 November 2012, by XO and Republic Records. It is composed of re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, Trilogy received generally positive reviews from critics, who reinforced the previous acclaim of the mixtapes, although some found it indulgent. It was promoted with three singles and The Weeknds concert tour during September to November 2012, the album charted at number five and number four in Canada and the United States, respectively. During 2011, The Weeknd released a series of mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence—, the mixtapes were principally recorded with producers Doc McKinney and Illangelo, at Dream House and Site Sound Studios in Toronto, additional sessions took place at Sterling Road Studios. The Weeknd released the mixtapes online as free digital downloads, in September 2012, The Weeknd signed with Republic Records in a joint venture with his own imprint label XO. The mixtapes were subsequently remastered and compiled for Trilogy, along with three previously unreleased songs, which were recorded at Liberty Studios in Toronto, Twenty Eight, Valerie, and Til Dawn were included as bonus tracks at the end of each of the compilations discs. A video accompanying the track Rolling Stone was released on 3 October 2012, the Weeknd previewed the album at a listening party in New York City on 24 October. It was his first major media event, I usually dont like to spoon feed my audience because I grew up idolising story tellers who tell stories using symbolism, so it was in my nature to do the same. The Rolling Stone video takes place in a dimly lit studio which represents the two worlds I have been stuck in, the gloomy side represents the mainstream world while the other side represents the underground. The girl holding on represents you, the video for his first official single from Trilogy, a revamped version of Wicked Games, was released just weeks later on 18 October 2012, again through his website. This time, the shot opens on a dancing, purse-lipped model type, but her shadow soon vamps away from her body, the albums lead single Wicked Games was released on 22 October 2012. It charted at number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100, and in the United States, it reached number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 and his fourth video release, and third to promote Trilogy, is a collaboration with fellow Toronto musician, rapper Drake. This video had been rumoured for months and was a popular track given the collaboration of OVOXO, J. Abrams jealous, a woman dancing in lace lingerie, and Drake. Its a fitting video – its film noir, Twin Peaks-y vibe perfectly matches the tracks subtle sexy-creepy energy, the second single Twenty Eight was released on 13 November. The Weeknd toured in support of Trilogy during September to November 2012, the Zone was released as the albums third and final single three days later. With Trilogy now on iTunes and in-stores, The Weeknd turned to his fifth official video, dropped on 13 February 2013, and directed by up-and-coming visionary Nabil Elderkin. Hes under surveillance—the crew is watching, hologram girl is watching, the line between whats real and whats imagined is blurred, but one thing is clear—this video is definitely NSFW. Trilogy received generally positive reviews from critics, at Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on 19 reviews
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House of Balloons
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House of Balloons is the debut mixtape by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. It was released as a download on March 21,2011. The mixtape was released on his official website. Its music incorporates electronic and urban genres, including R&B and soul, along with hop, indie rock. The contributions to the production came from Canadian record producers such as Doc McKinney, Zodiac and Illangelo. In September 2013, The Weeknd revealed that the House of Balloons is a real place, the albums eclectic music uses samples of songs by Beach House and Aaliyahs 2001 song Rock the Boat. The title track heavily samples Siouxsie and the Banshees 1980 single Happy House, the track The Knowing samples Cherry-Coloured Funk by Cocteau Twins. Pitchfork Medias Eric Grandy writes that the track has The Weeknd emoting in an androgynous falsetto one minute. Paul Lewster of The Guardian views that, although more than half of the mixtape features samples, the song High for This was featured in the promo for the final season of the HBO show Entourage in July 2011. On November 24,2011, The Weeknd’s first official video, for his song The Knowing. The song was first released on House of Balloons and the video was directed by French filmmaker Mikael Colombu, preceded by a string of low-profile buzz single releases throughout 2010, the mixtape attracted significant interest due to the then-anonymous identity of the individual behind The Weeknd. Metacritic, which assigns a rating based on reviews by industry professionals, gave House of Balloons a rating of 87. Stated that House of Balloons easily stands as one of the years best debuts so far, hipster, sputnikmusics Tyler Fisher said that despite being a free album, House of Balloons feels like a true album, a true labor of love. In December 2011, Metacritic determined that House of Balloons was the third best-reviewed project of the year, additionally, the mixtape was featured on several music critics and publications end-of-year albums lists. Complex called it the best album of 2011, Stereogum ranked it number 5, The Guardian ranked it number 8, club ranked it number 6, SPIN ranked it number 13, while Pitchfork ranked it number 10. As a whole, House of Balloons was the seventh most frequently mentioned album in music publications year-end top ten lists, the mixtape was named as one of the longlisted of nominees for the 2011s Polaris Music Prize. The mixtapes title track, House of Balloons was placed on Pitchforks list of top 100 songs of 2011 at number 57, sample credits What You Need contains excerpts of Rock the Boat performed by Aaliyah. House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls samples Happy House performed by Siouxsie, the Party & The After Party samples Master of None performed by Beach House
24.
Thursday (album)
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Thursday is the second mixtape by Canadian singer The Weeknd, independently released on August 19,2011. It follows his critically acclaimed, Polaris Music Prize-nominated debut mixtape House of Balloons and its music incorporates downtempo, dubstep, dream pop, hip hop, rock and reggae styles. As with his previous works, Canadian record producers Doc McKinney, Young Money artist Drake contributes guest vocals to the track The Zone. Thursday received generally positive reviews critics, who drew comparisons to House of Balloons. Rolling Stone and The Birds Part 1 were released as singles to precede the mixtapes release. Thursday was later remastered and packaged with The Weeknds compilation album Trilogy, Thursday received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications. Club said, Its a rare songwriter who can craft music thats so repellent yet also so irresistible, alex Young of Consequence of Sound said, Despite the ridiculously high highs of this album, it fails to maintain a great pace throughout. It struggles back and forth between good and great, whereas its foregoer grabbed great by the balls on the first track and never let go. Benjamin Boles of Now said, Its not quite perfect, his voice is the star of the show but is buried under the clever beats. But thats a small complaint about someone whos looking more and more one of the most exciting artists to emerge this year. Brandon Soderberg of Pitchfork said, Though theres less breathing space on Thursday, BBC Musics Mike Diver made a positive review, saying, File him beside Frank Ocean as an R&B star set to climb to new heights in 2012. Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine wrote, The Weeknd is in command of his craft. Hes earned my trust, as would any other artist who had released two of the years best albums. Tyler Fisher of Sputnikmusic said, Listening to something like Thursday is the form of escapism that so many of us flock to music for. Thats a quality that should be celebrated, not criticized for its lack of immediate pleasure, jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave a mixed review, commenting, While its refreshing to hear an R&B singer emphasizing the psychic toll of libertinism, his angst sex grows tiresome. Once in a while, cant this dude just get laid, all songs were produced by Doc McKinney and Illangelo. Sample credits The Birds Part 2 samples Sandpaper Kisses performed by Martina Topley-Bird
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Echoes of Silence
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Echoes of Silence is the third mixtape by Canadian singer The Weeknd, released December 21,2011, by his official website. The release follows his Polaris Music Prize-nominated debut release House of Balloons and his second mixtape Thursday, the project is the final installment in the trilogy of free albums released by The Weeknd in 2011. The album was preceded by the release of the single, Initiation, long-time collaborator Carlo Illangelo Montagnese returned to produce the bulk of the project, with other production contributions coming from Clams Casino and DropxLife of the XO crew. Rapper Juicy J contributes a short interlude at the end of Same Old Song. Echoes of Silence received widespread acclaim from critics, at Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the mixtape received an average score of 82, based on 17 reviews. Club said, Its Tesfayes total commitment to his persona that makes Echoes Of Silence so entrancingly chilling. Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune said, Its an impressive consolidation of his strengths, kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly said, Tesfayes velvety melodies infuse his trippy minimalism like incense smoke, getting lost only on the too-woozy title track. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone said, The Weeknd has helped make R&B a creepier place, crooning too-honest come-ons over cavernous, ballad-slow tracks that balance leering sensuality with vague menace. Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine said, Disappointing as Echoes of Silence may be as a collection of songs, brandon Soderberg of Spin said, Echoes is a profound listen that, despite its veneer of cynicism, oozes pain and crisis. The album was named as a nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize on June 14,2012. This marks the second consecutive year The Weeknd has been nominated for the award
Since May 2013, RIAA certifications for digital singles include on-demand audio and/or video song streams in addition to downloads.[19]
United States