Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

 


Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan  نصرت فتح علی خان ( October 1948 – 16 August 1997), a Pakistani musician, was primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. He possessed an extraordinary range of vocal abilities and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely credited with introducing Qawwali music to international audiences. He is popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of Kings of Qawwali"
Born in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Khan had his first public performance at age of 16, at his father's chelum. He became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971. He was signed by Oriental Star Agencies, Birmingham, England, in the early 1980s. Khan went on to release movie scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan, and the U.S.A. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries.

Biography


Early life and career

Khan was born on 13 October 1948 in the city of Faisalabad. He was the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and Qawwal. Khan's family, which included four older sisters and a younger brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grew up in central Faisalabad. Initially, his father did not want Khan to follow the family's vocation. He had his heart set on Khan choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented, Khan began by learning to play tabla alongside his father before progressing to learn Raag Vidya and Bol Bandish. He then went on to learn to sing within the classical framework of khayal. Khan's training with his father was cut short when his father died in 1964, leaving Khan's paternal uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan, to complete his training. His first performance was at a traditional graveside ceremony for his father, known as chehlum, which took place forty days after his father's death.
In 1971, after the death of Mubarak Ali Khan, Khan became the official leader of the family Qawwali party and the party became known as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Khan's first public performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organised by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan. Khan sang mainly in Urdu and Punjabi and occasionally in Persian, Braj Bhasha and Hindi. His first major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured restrained use of Khan's sargam improvisations.
In 1979, Khan married his first cousin, Naheed (the daughter of Fateh Ali Khan's brother, Salamat Ali Khan); they had one daughter, Nida.
Early in his career, Khan was signed up by Oriental Star Agencies in the U.K. to their Star Cassette Label. OSA sponsored regular concert tours by Khan to the U.K. from the early '80s onwards, and released much of this live material on cassette, CD, videotape and DVD.

Later career

In the summer of 1985, Khan performed at the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) festival in London. He performed in Paris in 1985 and 1988. He first visited Japan in 1987, at the invitation of the Japan Foundation. He also performed at the 5th Asian Traditional Performing Art Festival in Japan.
In the 1992–93 academic year, Khan was a Visiting Artist in the Ethnomusicology department at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States.
Khan teamed with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ in 1985, with Canadian musician Michael Brook on the albums Mustt Mustt (1990) and Night Song (1996), and with Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder in 1995 on two songs for the soundtrack to Dead Man Walking. One of these songs ("The Long Road") was re-used on the soundtrack for Eat Pray Love in 2010. Khan also contributed to the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers. He composed the music for the 1994 film Bandit Queen in collaboration with Roger White.

Peter Gabriel's Real World label later released five albums of Khan's traditional Qawwali, together with some of his experimental work which included the albums Mustt Mustt and Star Rise. Khan provided vocals for The Prayer Cycle, which was put together by Jonathan Elias, but died before the vocals could be completed. Alanis Morissette was brought in to sing with his unfinished vocals. Khan also collabrated with Michael Brook to create music for the song "Sweet Pain" used in the movie Any Given Sunday. He also performed traditional Qawwali before international audiences at several WOMAD festivals and the single "Dam Mast Qalandar" was remixed by electronic trip hop group Massive Attack in 1998.
His album Intoxicated Spirit was nominated for a Grammy award in 1997 for best traditional folk album. Same year his album Night Song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, but lost out to The Chieftains' album Santiago.




Khan contributed songs to, and performed in, several Pakistani films. Shortly before his death, he recorded a song each for two Bollywood films, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (in which he also sang the song onscreen) and Kachche Dhaage. He sang a song for the film Dhadkan. He also sang "Saya bhi saath jab chhod jaye" for Sunny Deol's movie Dillagi. The song was released in 1999, two years after Khan's death.
Khan contributed the song "Gurus of Peace" to the album Vande Mataram, composed by A. R. Rahman, and released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of India's independence. Rahman, who was a big fan of Khan could not do further songs with him. As a tribute, Rahman later released an album titled Gurus of Peace, which featured "Allah Hoo" by Khan. Rahman's 2007 song "Tere Bina" was also done as a tribute to Khan.


After his death, the song "Solemn Prayer", on which Khan provided vocals, was used on the Peter Gabriel
song "Signal to Noise" (on the album Up), and on the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan holds the world record for the largest recorded output by a Qawwali artist—a total of 125 albums as of 2001.

Death

Khan was taken ill with kidney and liver failure on 11 August 1997 in London, England, while on the way to Los Angeles USA in order to receive a kidney transplant. He died of a sudden cardiac arrest at Cromwell Hospital, London, on Saturday, 16 August 1997, aged 48. His body was repatriated to Faisalabad, Pakistan, and his funeral was a public affair.

Composition of Nusrat's qawwali party

 

The composition of Khan's ensemble, called a "party" (or "Humnawa" in Urdu), changed over its 26 years. Listed below is a snapshot of the party, circa 1983:
  1. Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan: Khan's first cousin, vocals
  2. Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan: Khan's brother, vocals and lead harmonium
  3. Rehmat Ali: vocals and second harmonium
  4. Maqsood Hussain: vocals
  5. Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Khan's nephew and pupil, vocals
  6. Dildar Hussain: percussion
  7. Majawar Abbas: mandolin and guitar/chorus, handclapping
  8. Mohammed Iqbal Naqvi: secretary of the party, chorus, handclapping
  9. Asad Ali: chorus, handclapping. Khan's cousin
  10. Ghulam Farid: chorus, handclapping
  11. Kaukab Ali: chorus, handclapping
The one significant member of the party who does not appear on this list is Atta Fareed. For many years, he alternated with Rehmat Ali on vocals and second harmonium. He is easily identifiable in videos since he plays the harmonium left-handed.

Awards and titles



Khan is widely considered to be the most important qawwal in history. In 1987, Khan received the President of Pakistan’s Award for Pride of Performance for his contribution to Pakistani music. In 1995 he received the UNESCO Music Prize. In 1996 he was awarded Grand Prix des Amériques at Montreal World Film Festival for exceptional contribution to the art of cinema. In the same year, Khan received the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes. In 2005, Khan received the "Legends" award at the UK Asian Music Awards. Time magazine's issue of 6 November 2006, "60 Years of Asian Heroes", lists him as one of the top 12 artists and thinkers in the last 60 years. He also appeared on NPR's 50 Great Voices list in 2010. In August 2010 he was included in CNN's list of the twenty most iconic musicians from the past fifty years.
Many honorary titles were bestowed upon Khan during his 25-year music career. He was given the title of Ustad after performing classical music at a function in Lahore on his father's death anniversary.

Tributes, legacy and influence


Alexandra A. Seno of Asiaweek wrote:
"Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's voice was otherworldly. For 25 years, his mystical songs transfixed millions. It was not long enough ... He performed qawali, which means wise or philosophical utterance, as nobody else of his generation did. His vocal range, talent for improvisation and sheer intensity were unsurpassed."
Jeff Buckley cited Khan as a major influence, saying of him "He's my Elvis", and performing the first few minutes of Khan's hit "Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai" (including vocals) at live concerts. Many other artists have also cited Khan as an influence, such as Peter Gabriel, A. R. Rahman, Sheila Chandra,and Alim Qasimov.



Paul Williams picked a concert performance by Khan for inclusion in his 2000 book The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: a 'top-40' list, in which he devotes a chapter each to what he considers the top 40 artistic achievements of the 20th century in any field (including art, movies, music, fiction, non-fiction, science-fiction).
In 2008, Khan was listed in 14th position in UGO's list of the best singers of all time.
In 2004, a tribute band called (Brooklyn Qawwali Party) (formerly Brook's Qawwali Party) was formed in New York City by percussionist Brook Martinez to perform the music of Khan. The 13-piece group still performs mostly instrumental jazz versions of Khan's qawwalis, using the instruments conventionally associated with jazz rather than those associated with qawwali.

Discography


  • 1988: In Concert in Paris, Vol 1. Ocora.
  • 1988: Shahen-Shah. RealWorld/CEMA.
  • 1990: Mustt Mustt. RealWorld/CEMA. Collaboration with Michael Brook.
  • 1991: Magic Touch OSA.
  • 1991: Shahbaaz. RealWorld/CEMA.
  • 1991: The Day, The Night, The Dawn, The Dusk. Shanachie Records.
  • 1992: Devotional Songs. Real World Records.
  • 1992: Love Songs. EMI.
  • 1993: Ilham. Audiorec.
  • 1993: Traditional Sufi Qawwalis: Live in London, Vol. 2. Navras Records.
  • 1994: Pakistan: Vocal Art of the Sufis, Vol 2 – Qawwali. JVC.
  • 1994: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party. Real World Records.
  • 1994: The Last Prophet. Real World Records.
  • 1994: Traditional Sufi Qawwalis: Live in London, Vol. 4. Navras Records.
  • 1995: Revelation. Interra/Intersound.
  • 1995: Back to Qawwali. Long Distance
  • 1996: In Concert in Paris, Vol. 3–5. Ocora.
  • 1996: Qawwali: The Art of the Sufis. JVC
  • 1996: Night Song. Real World Records.
  • 1996: Dead Man Walking: The Score. Columbia/Sony
  • 1996: Intoxicated Spirit. Shanachie Records.
  • 1996: Mega Star. Interra.
  • 1996: Bandit Queen. Milan.
  • 1996: The Prophet Speaks. M.I.L. Multimedia.
  • 1996: Sangam. EMI.
  • 1997: Live In India. RPG.
  • 1997: Akhian. M.I.L. Multimedia.
  • 1997: Live in New York City. M.I.L. Multimedia.
  • 1997: Farewell Song: Alwadah. M.I.L. Multimedia.
  • 1997: In Concert in Paris, Vol 2. Ocora.
  • 1997: Oriente/Occidente: Gregorian Chant & Qawwali Music. Materiali Sonori.
  • 1998: Allah & The Prophet. Ex Works.
  • 1998: Star Rise: Remixes. EMI.
  • 1998: Live at Royal Albert Hall. M.I.L. Multimedia.
  • 1998: Missives from Allah. BCD.
  • 1998: Imprint: In Concert. Hi Horse Records. (Selections from the 23 January 1993 concert at Meany Hall, University of Washington in Seattle, during Khan's residency at their ethnomusicology program.)
  • 1999: Peace. Omni Parc.
  • 1999: Live at Islamabad, Vol 1–2. M.I.L. Multimedia.
  • 1999: Passion. NYC Music.
  • 1999: Visions of Allah. Ex Works.
  • 1999: Swan Song. Narada.
  • 2000: Jewel. MoviePlay.
  • 2000: Live in London, Vol 3. Navras Records.
  • 2001: Opus. Vanstory.
  • 2001: The Final Studio Recordings. Legacy/Sony.
  • 2001: Pukaar: The Echo. Navras Records.
  • 2001: The Final Moment. Birdman Records.
  • 2002: Body and Soul. RealWorld/CEMA.
  • 2002: Sufi Qawwalis. Arc Music.
  • 2004: Allah Hoo. Saregama.
  • 2004: Aur Pyar Ho Gaya. Saregama.
  • 2004: Ishq Da Rutba. Saregama.
  • 2004: Kartoos. Saregama.
  • 2004: Main Aur Meri Awargi. Saregama.
  • 2004: Ye Jo Halka. Saregama.
  • 2005: Nami Danam. JVC Compact Discs.






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Taylor Swift


Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's eponymous debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless became the best-selling album of 2009 and was supported by an extensive concert tour. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Swift's third album, 2010's Speak Now, sold over one million copies in its first week of US release and was supported by the Speak Now World Tour. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards. Swift's fourth album, Red, was released in 2012. Its opening US sales of 1.2 million were the highest recorded in a decade, with Swift becoming the only female artist to have two million-plus opening weeks. The singles "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" were worldwide hits. The North American leg of Swift's Red Tour will run until September 2013.
Swift is known for her narrative songs about her experiences as a teenager and young adult. As a songwriter, she has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Swift's other achievements include seven Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards and six Academy of Country Music Awards. She has sold over 26 million albums and 75 million digital single downloads worldwide. Forbes estimates that she is worth over $220 million. In addition to her music career, Swift has appeared as an actress in the crime drama CSI (2009), the ensemble comedy Valentine's Day (2010), the animated film The Lorax (2012) and the sitcom New Girl (2013). As a philanthropist, Swift supports arts education, children's literacy, natural disaster relief, LGBT anti-discrimination efforts, and charities for sick children.

Early life______________________________

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania Her father, Scott Swift, is a Merrill Lynch financial adviser. Scott was raised in Pennsylvania and is the descendant of three generations of bank presidents. Her mother, Andrea (née Finlay), is a homemaker who previously worked as a mutual fund marketing executive. Andrea spent the first ten years of her life in Singapore, before settling in Texas; her father was an oil rig engineer who worked throughout Southeast Asia. Swift has a younger brother, Austin, who attends the University of Notre Dame. She and her brother were raised in the Presbyterian faith. She spent the early years of her life on an eleven-acre Christmas tree farm in Cumru Township, Pennsylvania. She attended preschool and kindergarten at the Alvernia Montessori School, run by Franciscan nuns, and was later educated at the Wyndcroft School, a co-ed private school. When Swift was nine years old, the family moved to a rented house in the suburban town of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where she attended West Reading Elementary Center and Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School. Swift summered at her parents' waterfront vacation home in Stone Harbor, New Jersey and has described it as the place "where most of my childhood memories were formed."
 After watching a Behind the Music episode about Faith Hill, Swift felt sure that she needed to go to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a music career. At the age of eleven, she traveled with her mother to Nashville for spring break to leave a demo of Dolly Parton and Dixie Chicks karaoke covers with record labels along Music Row. She received label rejections and realized that "everyone in that town wanted to do what I wanted to do. So, I kept thinking to myself, I need to figure out a way to be different." At the age of twelve, Swift was shown by a computer repairman how to play three chords on a guitar, inspiring her to write her first song, "Lucky You". She had previously won a national poetry contest with a poem entitled "Monster in My Closet" but now began to focus on songwriting. In 2003, Swift and her parents started working with New York-based music manager Dan Dymtrow. With Dymtrow's help, Swift modelled for Abercrombie and Fitch as part of their "Rising Stars" campaign, had an original song included in a Maybelline Cosmetics compilation CD and took meetings with major record labels. After performing original songs at an RCA Records showcase, the eighth-grader was given an artist development deal and began making frequent trips to Nashville with her mother.
When Swift was fourteen, her father transferred to the Nashville office of Merrill Lynch and the family relocated to a lakefront house in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Swift later described this as "an incredible sacrifice" for her family to make. "My parents saw that I was so obsessed, that I wasn't going to drop it, that it wasn't some adolescent phase." In Tennessee, she attended Hendersonville High School for her freshman and sophomore years. Later, to accommodate her touring schedule, Swift transferred to the Aaron Academy, a private Christian school which offered homeschooling services. She earned her high school diploma in 2008, having completed her final two years of course work in twelve months.

Music career

2004–08: Career beginnings and Taylor Swift____________________________ 


Swift moved to Nashville at the age of fourteen. As part of her artist development deal with RCA Records, she had writing sessions with experienced Music Row songwriters such as Troy Verges, Brett Beavers, Brett James, Mac McAnally and The Warren Brothers. She eventually formed a lasting working relationship with Liz Rose. Swift saw Rose performing at an RCA songwriter event and suggested that they write together. They began meeting for two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school. Rose has said that the sessions were "some of the easiest I've ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She'd write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say. And she'd come in with the most incredible hooks." Swift also began recording demos with producer Nathan Chapman. After performing at a BMI Songwriter's Circle showcase at The Bitter End, New York, Swift became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house. Swift left RCA Records when she was fifteen; the company wanted her to record the work of other songwriters and wait until she was eighteen to release an album, but she felt ready to launch her career with her own material. She also parted ways with manager Dan Dymtrow, who later took legal action against Swift and her parents. "'I genuinely felt that I was running out of time," Swift later recalled. "I wanted to capture these years of my life on an album while they still represented what I was going through." At an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, a DreamWorks Records executive who was preparing to form his own independent record label, Big Machine Records. She became one of the label's first signings, with her father purchasing a three per cent stake in the fledgling company at an estimated cost of $120,000. As an introduction to the country music business, Borchetta arranged for Swift to intern as an artist escort at the CMA Music Festival.




Swift began working on her eponymous debut album shortly after signing her record deal. After experimenting with veteran Nashville producers, Swift persuaded Big Machine to hire her demo producer Nathan Chapman. It was his first time to record a studio album but Swift felt they had the right "chemistry." Swift wrote three of the album's songs alone, including two singles, and co-wrote the remaining eight with writers such as Liz Rose, Robert Ellis Orrall and Angelo Petraglia. Musically, the album has been described as "a mix of trad-country instruments and spry rock guitars."

Swift and Alan Jackson were jointly named the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 2007, with Swift becoming the youngest person ever to be honored with the title. She also won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award for Best New Artist, the Academy of Country Music Awards's Top New Female Vocalist award and the American Music Awards's Favorite Country Female Artist honor. She was also nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist, but lost to Amy Winehouse.

2008–10: Fearless, VMA controversy and Grammy backlash



Swift's second studio album, Fearless, was released in November 2008. Swift wrote seven of the album's songs alone, including two singles, and co-wrote the remaining six with songwriters Liz Rose, John Rich, Colbie Caillat and Hillary Lindsey. She co-produced the album with Nathan Chapman. Musically, it has been said that the record is characterized by "loud, lean guitars and rousing choruses," with the occasional "bit of fiddle and banjo tucked into the mix." The New York Times described Swift as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country's foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults." The Village Voice felt she displayed "preternatural wisdom and inclusiveness," "masterfully avoiding the typical diarist's pitfalls of trite banality and pseudo-profound bullshit." Rolling Stone described her as "a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture" whose "squirmingly intimate and true" songs seemed to be "literally ripped from a suburban girl's diary." Music critic Robert Christgau characterized Swift as "an uncommonly-to-impossibly strong and gifted teenage girl." Swift promoted Fearless heavily upon its release. An episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show was dedicated to the album launch and Swift appeared on many other chat shows. She communicated with fans using social media platforms such as Twitter and personal video blogs. The lead single from the album, "Love Story", was released in September 2008 and became the second best-selling country single of all time, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Four more singles were released throughout 2008 and 2009: "White Horse", "You Belong with Me", "Fifteen" and "Fearless". "You Belong with Me" was the album's highest-charting single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 Album Chart with sales of 592,304 and has since sold over 8.6 million copies worldwide. It was the top-selling album of 2009 and brought Swift much crossover success.

Swift carried out her first headlining tour in support of Fearless. As part of the 105-date Fearless Tour, Swift played 90 dates in North America, six dates in Europe, eight dates in Australia and one date in Asia. She sang a cover of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around" nightly, intertwined with her own "You're Not Sorry". Swift invited John Mayer, Faith Hill and Katy Perry to perform one-off duets with her at various dates during the North American tour, while Justin Bieber, Kellie Pickler and Gloriana were the support acts. The tour was attended by more than 1.1 million fans and grossed over $63 million. Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless, a concert film, was aired on television and later released on DVD and Blu-ray. Swift also performed as a supporting act for Keith Urban's Escape Together World Tour.

Swift won four Grammy Awards in 2010, from a total of eight nominations.

2010–12: Speak Now and world tour


Swift released her third studio album, Speak Now, in October 2010. She wrote all fourteen songs alone and co-produced the record with longtime collaborator Nathan Chapman. Musically, it has been said that the album "expands beyond country-pop to border both alternative rock and dirty bubblegum pop." The New York Times described the album as savage, musically diverse and "excellent too, possibly her best." The Village Voice remarked that the album demanded "a true appreciation of Swift's talent, which is not confessional, but dramatic: Like a procession of country songwriters before her, she creates characters and situations—some from life—and finds potent ways to describe them." Music critic Robert Christgau found the album's songs "overlong and overworked" but remarked that "they evince an effort that bears a remarkable resemblance to care—that is, to caring in the best, broadest, and most emotional sense." Rolling Stone described Swift as one of the best songwriters in "pop, rock or country": "Swift might be a clever Nashville pro who knows all the hitmaking tricks, but she's also a high-strung, hyper-romantic gal with a melodramatic streak the size of the Atchafalaya Swamp." Swift carried out an extensive promotional campaign prior to Speak Now's release. She appeared on various talk shows and morning shows, and gave free mini-concerts in unusual locations, including an open-decker bus on Hollywood Boulevard and a departure lounge at JFK airport. She took part in a "guitar pull" alongside Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill and Lionel Richie at LA's Club Nokia; the musicians shared the stage and took turns introducing and playing acoustic versions of their songs to raise money for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The album's lead single, "Mine", was released in August 2010 and five further singles were released throughout 2010 and 2011: "Back to December", "Mean", "The Story of Us", "Sparks Fly" and "Ours". Speak Now was a major commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. Its opening sales of 1,047,000 copies made it the sixteenth album in US history to sell one million copies in a single week. As of February 2012, Speak Now has sold over 5.7 million copies worldwide.

Swift toured throughout 2011 and early 2012 in support of Speak Now. As part of the thirteen-month, 111-date world tour, Swift played seven shows in Asia, twelve shows in Europe, 80 shows in North America and twelve shows in Australasia. Swift invited many musicians to join her for one-off duets during the North American tour. The tour was attended by over 1.6 million fans and grossed over $123 million. Swift's first live album, Speak Now World Tour: Live, featuring all seventeen performances from the North American leg of the tour, was released in November 2011.

She was named Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association in both 2010 and 2011. She was named Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in both 2011 and 2012 and was named Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association in 2011. Swift was the American Music Awards's Artist of the Year in 2011, while Speak Now was named Favorite Country Album. Billboard named Swift 2011's Woman of the Year.

Taylor, who first met Swift when she was eighteen, has said that, "we just hit it off. I loved her songs, and her presence on stage was so great." During this period, Swift also contributed two original songs to The Hunger Games soundtrack album. "Safe & Sound" was co-written and recorded with The Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett. John Paul White has said working with Swift was "a revelation ... It truly was a collaboration." It was released as the album's lead single and, as of January 2013, has sold over 1.4 million copies in the United States. It won Best Song Written For Visual Media at the 2013 Grammy Awards and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 70th Golden Globe Awards.

2012–present: Red and intense media scrutiny


Swift's fourth studio album, Red, was released in October 2012. She wrote nine of the album's sixteen songs alone. The remaining seven were co-written with Max Martin, Liz Rose, Dan Wilson, Ed Sheeran and Gary Lightbody. Nathan Chapman served as the album's lead producer but Jeff Bhasker, Butch Walker, Jacknife Lee, Dann Huff and Shellback also produced individual tracks. Chapman has said he encouraged Swift "to branch out and to test herself in other situations." Musically, while there is experimentation with heartland rock, dubstep and dance-pop, it is "sprinkled among more recognisably Swiftian fare." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times found Red "less detailed and more rushed than her usual fare" but placed it at number two on his end-of-year list, characterizing it as the album on which Swift "stops pretending she’s anything but a pop megastar, one with grown-up concerns, like how two bodies speak to each other and how taste in records can be a stand-in for moral turpitude."

As part of the Red promotional campaign, representatives from 72 worldwide radio stations were flown to Nashville during release week for individual interviews with Swift. She also appeared on many television chat shows and performed at award ceremonies in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Australia. The album's lead single, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", became Swift's first number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

As of May 2013, Red had sold over 5.2 million copies worldwide. In her career, as of November 2012, she had sold in excess of 26 million albums and 75 million song downloads.

Personal life

 

Wealth

According to Forbes's Celebrity 100 list, released annually in the month of May, Swift earned $18 million in 2009, $45 million in 2010, $45 million in 2011, $57 million in 2012 and $55 million in 2013.

Relationships

Swift dated singer Joe Jonas from July to October 2008, and actor Taylor Lautner from October to December 2009. She was romantically linked to musician John Mayer from late 2009 until early 2010. She dated actor Jake Gyllenhaal from October to December 2010. Following their break-up, they were seen together in January and February 2011. Swift dated political heir Conor Kennedy from July to September 2012. She dated One Direction singer Harry Styles from October 2012 to January 2013.



Awards and nominations

Swift has been the recipient of seven Grammy Awards, eleven American Music Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, six Academy of Country Music Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards. As a songwriter, she has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Discography

Main article: Taylor Swift discography

Concert tours






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Monday, October 15, 2012

Jennifer Lopez


Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969) is an American actress, dancer, entrepreneur and recording artist. Widely recognized as being the definition of America's sweetheart, Lopez has been cited as being the most influential Hispanic performer in the United States. She is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood and is the highest paid actor of Latin descent, making up to US$15 million per film role. Lopez has sold over 11.8 million albums in the United States and over 70 million records worldwide. She became interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry following her small role in the 1986 film My Little Girl, to the dismay of her Puerto Rican parents, who believed that it was an unrealistic career route for a Latino. Following her move from The Bronx to Manhattan, Lopez performed in regional stage productions, before touring with musicals in Europe and Japan. She gained her first regular high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color in 1991, where she remained a regular cast member until 1993 when she decided to pursue a full-time acting career.
Lopez received her first leading role in the Selena biopic of the same name in 1997, which earned her widespread acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination. Following subsequent roles in the films Anaconda (1997) and Out of Sight (1998), Lopez ventured into the music industry in 1999 with the release of her debut album On the 6. With the simultaneous release of her second studio album J.Lo and her film The Wedding Planner in 2001, Lopez became the first person to have a number one album and film in the same week. Lopez's 2002 remix album, J to tha L–O! The Remixes, became the first in history to debut atop the U.S. Billboard 200. Between the release of her third and fourth studio albums - This Is Me... Then and Rebirth - Lopez took a break from her music career to focus on acting, starring in the films Maid in Manhattan (2002) and Shall We Dance? (2004). Lopez's Spanish-language album, Como Ama una Mujer (2007), received the highest first-week sales in the United States for a Spanish album. Her commercial success was severely damaged after the release of her sixth studio album, Brave (2007). The set, which showcased a different musical prospective from the singer, failed to attain the success of her previous efforts and removed Lopez from the music scene until 2011, when she became a judge on the singing competition American Idol; this move allowed her to regain media attention and improved her success at charts, with her single "On the Floor", showcased and released during such timespan, becoming a worldwide hit and her best-selling single to date.
Lopez's public image and high-profile relationships have attracted worldwide media attention. Her marriage to actor Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998 was proceeded by a series of lawsuits resulting from Noa's attempts to sell private details of Lopez and their relationship. Following her marriage to Noa, Lopez dated producer Sean Combs, a relationship that became the inspiration for Lopez's 2000 single "Love Don't Cost a Thing". Combs accompanied Lopez to the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000, where she wore her infamous Green Versace dress. After a series of incidents and Combs' trial and pursuit by the press Lopez terminated her involvement with Combs later that same year. Lopez became romantically involved with actor Ben Affleck, while still married to her second husband Cris Judd, during shooting of Gigli (2003), a film that is considered one of the worst of all time. Their relationship, dubbed as Bennifer by the public, ended as a result of media overexposure, which had a negative impact on both of their careers. After rekindling her relationship with recording artist Marc Anthony, whom she had previously dated in 1999, the two wed in a private ceremony in 2004. Lopez gave birth to the couple's twins, Maximilian and Emme, in February 2008. They were introduced in the March 11, 2008 issue of People, for which the magazine paid a reported $6 million—the photographs of the twins became the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken at the time.

Life and career

1969–94: Childhood and early work:-

Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in the Castle Hill neighborhood of The Bronx, New York. The middle child of Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez, she has an elder sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda (born June 14, 1971). David worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company, before becoming a computer technician at the firm, while Guadalupe was a homemaker. When Jennifer was born, the Lopez family was living in a small apartment. A few years later, her parents had saved up enough money to be able to purchase a two-story house, which was considered a big deal for the relatively poor family. By the age of five, Lopez began taking singing and dancing lessons. She toured New York with her school when she was seven years old. Her parents stressed the importance of work ethic and being able to speak English. They encouraged their three daughters to put on performances at home, singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so that they would stay "out of trouble". Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at the all-girls Preston High School. In school, Lopez did gymnastics, ran track on a national level and was a member of the school's softball team. She excelled athletically rather than academically, competing in national track championships. In 1984, at the age of fifteen, she began dating David Cruz, her first boyfriend.
While attending her final year of high school, Lopez learned about a film casting that was seeking several teenage girls for small roles. She auditioned and was cast in My Little Girl (1986), an low-budget film co-written and directed by Connie Kaiserman. Lopez acted as Myra, a young woman at a center for troubled girls. After she finished filming her role in the film, Lopez knew that she wanted to become a "famous movie star". To please her parents, though, she enrolled in Baruch College, only to drop out after one semester. She told her parents her dream of becoming a movie star, but they ensisted that it was a "really stupid" idea and that "no Latinos did that". The differences in opinions led Lopez to move out of their family home and into an apartment inManhattan. During this period, Lopez performed in regional productions of the musicals: Jesus Christ, Superstar! and Oklahoma. From there, she was hired for the chorus in a Golden Musicals of Broadway, which toured Europe for a period of five months. She was unhappy with the role, as she was the only member of the chorus not to have a solo. She later got a job on the show Synchronicity in Japan, where she acted as a dancer, singer and a choreographer.
In 1991 Lopez was selected as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block and performed with them during their performance of "Games" at the American Music Awards. Shortly after, Lopez gained her first regular high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. She applied for the job after one of the cast members was unavailable to continue with the show. Out of two thousand applicants, Lopez made it to the finals; becoming the runner-up, but eventually received the role when the winner was unable to accept the job. She moved with Cruz to Los Angeles to film the series and remained a regular cast member until 1993 when she decided to pursue an acting career. Prior to leaving the show, Lopez briefly worked as a backup dancer for American recording artist Janet Jackson. Lopez was set to tour with Jackson on her Janet World Tour in late 1993, but backed out as she wanted to do her "own thing." Lopez received her first professional acting gig in the direct-to-video drama film Lost in the Wild (1993), co-starring alongside Lindsay Wagner and Robert Loggia.Later in 1993 Lopez signed a deal withCBS to co-star in the television series Second Chances. The show was cancelled after airing only six episodes, due to its set being destroyed by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. A spin-off of the series, entitled Hotel Malibu was launched later that same year. It also ran for only a brief period of time and, like Second Chances, received negative reviews.

1995–98: Selena and subsequent film roles

Lopez's received her first high-budget film role in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama My Family, playing the character of Young Maria in the 1920s. After starring alongside Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in My Family, which earned her a Independent Spirit Award nomination, Lopez starred in the action film Money Train, opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Lopez reportedly beat out Ashley Judd and Lauren Holly for the supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams. She then starred opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's well-received noir thriller Blood and Wine (1996). Lopez's first big break came in 1996, when she was chosen to play the title role in Selena, a biopic of the Tejano pop singer Selena. Despite having previously worked with the film's director on My Family, Lopez was subjected to an intense auditioning process before she was cast in the film. Lopez played Selena in her twenties, while Rebecca Lee Maza played Selena in her younger years. During pre-production, Mexican-American activists were highly critical that Lopez was selected to play Selena, preferring to have an actress with Mexican roots to play Selena. Lopez earned widespread outstanding reviews and praise from critics for her portrayal of Selena. Kenneth Turan from Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan while giving the film a mixed review, he wrote that Selena was not just a celebration of Selena's life, but the actress who played her. She garnered multiple awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Lopez married Cuban actor Ojani Noa on February 22, 1997. Later that year, Lopez appeared in two major films. She starred in the horror film Anaconda alongside Ice Cube and Jon Voight, playing the role of Terri Flores, a director who is shooting a documentary while traveling through the Amazon River. Despite being a modest box office hit, the film was panned by film critics.Lopez then starred as the leading actress in the neo-noir film U Turn, which is based on the book Stray Dogs, starring alongside Sean Penn and Billy Bob Thornton.

2008–11: Motherhood, Love? and American Idol

On February 5, 2008, it was revealed that Lopez and Anthony were expecting twins. Later that same month, Lopez released her seventh fragrance Deseo. On February 22, Lopez gave birth to a son, Maximilian David Muñiz, and a daughter Emme Maribel in Long Island, New York. The twins were introduced in the March 11, 2008 issue of People, for which the magazine paid a reported $6 million—the photographs of the twins became the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken at the time. While pregnant with her children, Lopez began working on new music for a future project. Lopez's next musical project was kept under wraps until February 2009 when a new song from the recording sessions leaked online.Following this, several other songs were leaked online, that were, at the time, meant to appear on a greatest hits album; that would later turn into a studio album. In June, Lopez told MTV's Larry Carol that the songs hinted at the musical direction of her then-upcoming seventh studio album. She also stated that she was keen to finish the album and several singles, with a potential release date for the end of 2009. In late summer, Lopez released Sunkissed Glow, the fourth flanker fragrance of Glow by J.Lo. On October 7, Lopez released her twelfth fragrance My Glow. Described as a "feminine, skin floral fragrance", My Glow contains notes that create a "subtle, yet fresh scent". The shape of the bottle is inspired by soaps from Lopez's nursery and thecherub cap is dual-sided to represent each of her twins: one side a baby boy and the other a girl. Later that same day, a song entitled "Fresh Out the Oven" featuring Miami rapperPitbull surfaced online. Following the leak, the song was issued as a buzz single and managed to peak atop the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Lopez released "Louboutins", a song written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, as the project's lead single in November 2009.However, upon release, the song failed to garner enough airplay to chart, despite topping the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Lopez parted ways with Epic Records in February 2010, citing that she had fulfilled her contractual obligations and now wished to release her seventh studio album, Love?, under a new label. Her departure from the label temporarily halted production on the album, however upon signing a new contract with Island Records, recording resumed on the album. The New York Daily News revealed that Lopez would be taking some of the records recorded under Sony Music Entertainment to her new label so that they could be included on the album.[153] In March 2010, Lopez guest starred on an episode of How I Met Your Mother as Anita Appleby, a no-nonsense author of self-help books that teach women how to mold men into "relationship machines" through the power of denial. Later that same month, Lopez launched Blue Glow, the fifth flanker to Glow by J.Lo. It was described as a "fresh, sexy and enticing" fragrance. The perfume is made of fruits, florals and woods with many different ingredients. The fragrance was initially available exclusively at HSN and was later made available at Sears, Macy's and Sephora. In April, Lopez starred in the romantic comedyThe Back-up Plan, her first theatrical role in three years. With a $35 million production budget, the film grossed $77 million worldwide. While Lopez's acting in the film was praised, the film was criticized for for its "unrelatable characters" and "predictable plot". In June, following the departure of Ellen DeGeneres from American Idol, it was reported that Lopez was in talks to join season ten's judging panel. During this same time, Lopez and Anthony were being considered for a role on The X Factor for their appeal to Latin and International markets. It was officially announced in September that Lopez would be joining the tenth season of American Idol. MTV stated that the deal was "mutually beneficial to all those involved", while CNN reported that Lopez was viewing it as a decision to revive her career, while American Idol producers believed that Lopez and Steven Tyler's appointments would strengthen viewing figures. In October, Lopez released her fourteenth fragrance, Love and Glamour. The perfume was inspired by Lopez's "return to the spotlight". L'Oreal Paris named Lopez their new Global Ambassador and the face of their brands, including EverPure hair care, Preference hair color and Youth Code skin care, in December 2010. Her ads for EverSleek hair care made their debut in early 2011, to coincide with the release of Love? and her debut as a judge on America Idol. To further promote her comeback, in February 2011, Venus chose Lopez as their new Global Ambassador. She appeared in their Gillette Venus ads, which featured Lopez covering the Venus theme song "Yeah Baby, She's Got It" for the commercials.

2012: Dance Again World Tour


In January 2012, Lopez returned as judge on the eleventh season of American Idol, earning a reported $20 million.The season was not as successful as its previous ten seasons and for the first time in the show's history, it was not the most-watched primetime television show. Later that same month a new talent show, ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen, created by Simon Fuller premiered on Univision and was a hit for the channel. It followed Lopez, Anthony and director-choeographer Jamie King as they travelled across 21 countries in Latin America to find new talent for a Las Vegas show. On May 18, Lopez returned to the big screen co-starring alongside an ensemble cast consisting of Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Matthew Morrison and Dennis Quaid in the film What to Expect When You're Expecting. Based on the book of the same name, Lopez plays Holly, a woman who adopts a baby from abroad with her husband after difficulty conceiving. With a budget of $40 million, the film grossed a total of $74 million worldwide, becoming a moderate commerical success. The film, however, received generally negative reviews from film critics. In late May, Lopez released her eighteenth fragrance, Glowing, exclusively in Kohl's. It was described as an "evolution" of Glow by J.Lo.
In early June, Lopez released "Goin' In", a song that promoted the dance film Step Up Revolution (2012). On June 14, 2012, Lopez launched the Dance Again World Tour, her first headlining concert tour. The tour began in Panama and traveled across Latin America, ending in Brazil on July 1.Later that same month, Lopez launched Teeology, a Los Angeles-based luxury T-shirte-commerce. Lopez voiced Shira, a saber tooth tiger, in the animated film, Ice Age: Continental Drift, the fourth film in the Ice Age franchise. The film debuted at number one at the US Box Office, having grossed $46 million in its opening weekend, becoming Lopez's highest opening weekend figure. With a $95 million production budget, the film has since grossed $860 million worldwide. On July 14, Lopez launched her co-headlining concert tour with Spanish recording artist Enrique Iglesias. The tour, an extension of the Dance Again World Tour, traveled across nineteen North American cities during the months of July, August and September.
Lopez's first greatest hits album, Dance Again... the Hits, was released on July 24, 2012 in the United States.The album was released by Epic Records, as Lopez owed them one final album to end her contract, despite previously announcing in 2010 that she had fulfilled her contract with the label. It was preceded by the release of it's sole single, "Dance Again", in April. Lopez, at the time of the single's release, was unsure if it would be the lead single from a greatest hits album or her eighth studio album. The song was a moderate commercial success, peaking within the top ten in almost all of the countries where it was released. "Dance Again" and "Goin' In" both reached the top of theBillboard Hot Dance Club Songs, giving Lopez her twelfth and thirteenth number one on that chart, respectively. Additionally, "Goin' In" became her tenth consecutive number one on the chart, tying Katy Perry for having the most consecutive numbers one on the chart. In September, nuvoTV, a small English-language network aimed at Latino viewers, announced plans for a "marketing and programming partnership" with Lopez that will make her a part-owner of the channel. Lopez will produce programming for the network through her production company, Nuyorican Productions and will appear occasionally on-air. She will also act as a promotional ambassador for the network. In October, Lopez joined Beyonce Knowles, Eva Longoria, Olivia Wilde, Sheryl Crow, Julianne Moore, Jane Lynch and other female celebrities for a campaign video in support of Barack Obama's reelection campaign.



Filmography


Discography


Tours





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