Thursday, June 2, 2011

Real Kelly Clarkson Please 2011 gallery

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson rose to fame after winning the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.

Clarkson has released four albums to date under RCA Records: her double-platinum debut album Thankful (2003), her multi-platinum second album Breakaway (2004) (which won two Grammy Awards), My December (2007), and her latest album All I Ever Wanted (2009) (which was nominated for a Grammy Award). Her albums have sold over 10.5 million copies in the United States. Clarkson is the only American Idol contestant to have reached number one in the UK. She claimed number one on March 1, 2009, when "My Life Would Suck Without You" debuted number one on downloads alone. Clarkson is also ranked on the top 200 album sellers of the Nielsen SoundScan era at number 187Eleven of Clarkson's singles became Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", advanced from No. 97 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in its first week of release, breaking the record for the largest leap to the top position in chart history

Clarkson has toured extensively worldwide as a solo act. She has performed in other versions of American Idol such as Pop Idol, Swedish Idol, Canadian Idol, Australian Idol, as well as other singing competitions such as The X Factor and Superstar K. After Clarkson's appearance on the CMT Crossroads and her duet version of "Because of You" (2007) with Reba McEntire, they co-headlined the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (2008) Billboard named Clarkson the "most successful American Idol of all time factoring in album sales, singles sales, and radio plays Billboard ranked Clarkson the #14 artist of the 2000-10 decade According to Nielsen SoundScan, Clarkson is the highest-selling Idol winner worldwide, with around 36 million singles and 23 million albums sold around the world
* 1 Early life
* 2 Music career
o 2.1 2002–03: American Idol and World Idol
+ 2.1.1 American Idol season 1 performances and results
+ 2.1.2 World Idol performance and results
o 2.2 2003–04: Thankful
o 2.3 2004–06: Breakaway
o 2.4 2006–08: My December
o 2.5 2008–10: All I Ever Wanted
o 2.6 2010–present: Fifth studio album
o 2.7 Collaborations
* 3 Film career
o 3.1 Filmography (acting roles only)
* 4 Musicianship and artistry
* 5 Discography
* 6 Tours
* 7 Awards
* 8 References
o 8.1 Footnotes
o 8.2 Further reading
* 9 External links

Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in the small town of Burleson, a suburb of Fort Worth. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Rose, a first grade English teacher of Greek descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of Irish and Welsh extraction.[

Clarkson's siblings include her older brother and sister, Jason and Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents divorced after seventeen years of marriage. The family settled in Burleson, where Clarkson's mother married her second husband, Jimmy Taylor

Clarkson's family struggled financially, and after her parents divorced, music became her refuge. Clarkson attended Pauline G Hughes Middle School and Burleson High School. She wanted to become a marine biologist but changed her mind after seeing the movie Jaws In seventh grade, a teacher (Mrs. Cynthia Glenn) overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir; Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training.

In high school, Clarkson performed in musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Brigadoon. She sang at her high school talent show, after which an audience member shared some inspiring words with her: "God has given you this gift. You've got to sing. You're destined to sing." Clarkson continued singing and soon started classical training, hoping that music would be her ticket to a college scholarship

Upon high school graduation, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee, but decided against college because she had "already written so much music and wanted to try it on her own," and she figured "you're never too old to go to college.

Kelly Clarkson

shania twain album 2011 new

Shania Twain, OC (play /ʃəˈnaɪ.ə ˈtweɪn/; born Eilleen Regina Edwards; August 28, 1965) is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s with her album The Woman in Me (1995), and achieved worldwide success with her 1997 album Come On Over, which became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million copies worldwide and is the 9th best-selling album in the U.S. Her 4th album, titled Up! was released late 2002. To date it has sold 20 million copies worldwide.

A five-time Grammy Award winner, Twain has also achieved major success as a songwriter, winning 27 BMI Songwriter awardsTwain is one of the only female musician to have three albums certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and is also the second best-selling artist in Canada, behind fellow Canadian Céline Dion, with three of her studio albums being certified double diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Twain has sold over 80 million albums worldwideand is ranked as the 10th best-selling artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era.sa was also ranked the 72nd Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard.Most recently, Twain will have her own series, Why Not? with Shania Twain, that premiered on the OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network on May 8, 2011.

* 1 Early years
* 2 Music career
o 2.1 Career as Eilleen Twain
o 2.2 1993–1994: Shania Twain
o 2.3 1995–1996: The Woman in Me/popularity established
* 3 Worldwide success
o 3.1 1997–2001: Come On Over
o 3.2 2002–2004: Up!
o 3.3 2004–2005: Greatest Hits
* 4 2006 onwards
o 4.1 Why Not? with Shania Twain; new music
* 5 Endorsements and other ventures
* 6 Personal life
* 7 Awards and honours
* 8 Discography
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 Further reading
* 12 External links

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, daughter of Clarence and Sharon Edwards. Her parents divorced when she was two and her mother then moved to Timmins, Ontario with Eilleen and her sisters Jill and Carrie Ann. Sharon married Jerry Twain, an Ojibwa, and they had a son together, Mark. Jerry adopted the girls, legally changing their last name to Twain. When Mark was still in diapers, the Twains adopted Jerry's baby nephew, Darryl, after Darryl's mother passed away. Because of her connection to her stepfather, in the past, people had presumed Twain's ancestry was Ojibwa, but she stated in an interview that her biological father was part Cree As well, through her mother she is a descendant of Zacharie Cloutier. Her maternal grandmother, Eileen Pearce, emigrated from Newbridge, Kildare, Ireland

Eilleen Twain had a hard childhood in Timmins. Her parents earned little and there was often a shortage of food in the household. Eilleen did not confide her situation to school authorities, fearing they might break up the family. In the remote, rugged community, she learned to hunt and to chop wood. Sharon and Jerry's marriage was at times stormy, and from a young age, Eilleen witnessed violent fights between them. Sharon struggled with bouts of depression. In the summer of 1979, while Jerry was at work, at Eilleen's insistence, her mother drove the rest of the family 425 miles (684 km) south to a Toronto homeless shelter for assistanceSharon returned to Jerry with the children in 1981. In Timmins, Twain started singing at bars at the age of eight to try to make ends meet, often earning twenty dollars between midnight and one in the morning performing for remaining customers after the bar had finished serving. Although she expressed a dislike for singing in those bars, Twain believes that this was her own kind of performing arts school on the road She has said of the ordeal, "My deepest passion was music and it helped. There were moments when I thought 'I hate this'. I hated going into bars and being with drunks. But I loved the music and so I survivedTwain wrote her first songs at the age of ten, Is Love a Rose and Just Like the Storybooks which were fairy tales in rhyme She states that the art of creating, of actually writing songs, "was very different from performing them and became progressively important

In the early 1980s, Twain spent some time working with her father's reforestation business in northern Ontario, a business that employed some 75 Ojibwe and Cree workers. Although the work was demanding and the pay low, Twain said "I loved the feeling of being stranded. I'm not afraid of being in my own environment, being physical, working hard. I was very strong, I walked miles and miles every day and carried heavy loads of trees. You can't shampoo, use soap or deodorant, or makeup, nothing with any scent; you have to bathe and rinse your clothes in the lake. It was a very rugged existence, but I was very creative and I would sit alone in the forest with my dog and a guitar and would just write songs

Shania Twain

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Esperanza Spalding and the Future of Fusion

Destroying Jazz:

Esperanza Spalding and the Future of Fusion

by Michael Gonzales | Wax Poetics

With the release of Miles Davis’s revolutionary records In a Silent Way in 1969 and Bitches Brew the following year, the genius trumpeter, with the invaluable assistance of an amazing crew of young collaborators, created the musical future shock later called fusion.

Best described as improvised music that incorporates rock, funk, and soul into the grooves, fusion “revamped…Black music’s avant-garde through the use of electronics,” musician and cultural critic Greg Tate explained in 1983.

However, when rock critic Lester Bangs wrote that In a Silent Way “gives you faith in the future of music,” he had no idea the prophecy of his words. A few years later, Miles Davis’s alumni, including keyboardist Herbie Hancock, pianist Chick Corea, guitarist John McLaughlin, and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, formed their own innovative groups Head Hunters, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and, of course, Weather Report.

Yet, from fusion’s early days as a noisy musical contender, many narrow-minded jazz aficionados and critics were unable to appreciate the sonic change when acoustic became suddenly antiquated. Appalled by upstarts infiltrating their music with electric guitars, Moogs, wild percussion instruments, tape loops, and synthesizers, purists referred to the new musical movement as anti-jazz. In Considering Genius (2006), jazz traditionalist and essayist Stanley Crouch stated that fusion was “the aesthetic death valley” of jazz.

Yet, while the genre became quite popular, not many women instrumentalists ventured into fusion. With the exception of Alice Coltrane, Bobbi Humphrey, Joni Mitchell, Patrice Rushen, Meshell Ndegeocello, and a few others, fusion has long remained a male-dominated field.

Read the Full Essay @ Wax Poetics

Oprah's Stealth Philanthropy

Oprah's Stealth Philanthropy in Chicago

by Natalie Moore | WBEZ 91.5

Chicago and Oprah Winfrey go hand-in-hand.

She built a TV empire here, and there’s no doubt that the media mogul has been a booster for the Windy City.

Oprah lovers make the pilgrimage to her studio, contributing to tourism with dining and hotel stays along the way.

But her legacy is bigger than an economic engine to Chicago.

Oprah's philanthropic legacy in Chicago is vast, but under the radar.

There aren’t that many places or things named after Oprah in Chicago, but one of them’s going to last a long time. I’m looking for it in downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park, a showpiece on Michigan Avenue. Here it is Oprah Winfrey name in all caps on a wall. It lists the founders of this enormous park.

Oprah gave a million dollars of her own money to make this park happen, but that’s a fraction of her largesse.

The exact figures for Oprah’s philanthropic impact in Chicago are hard to pinpoint, but one person with some insight on the big picture – is former mayor Richard M. Daley.

Listen Here

Naomi Campbell: Cadbury Ad 'Insulting & Hurtful'

Naomi Campbell is considering "every option available," including a lawsuit, after Cadbury used her name to promote its new Bliss chocolate bar, theIndependent UK reports.

The advertisement reads, "Move over Naomi, there's a new diva in town," with an image of the candy posed on a mound of diamonds. According to theIndependent, Campbell said, "I am shocked. It's upsetting to be described as chocolate, not just for me, but for all black women and black people. I do not find any humour in this. It is insulting and hurtful." Her mother, Valerie Morris, explained, "I'm deeply upset by this racist advert. Do these people think they can insult black people and we just take it? This is the 21st century, not the 1950s. Shame on Cadbury."

The Daily Mail writes that black rights groups have backed Campbell's cause. Simon Woolley of the UK's Operation Black Vote, called for a boycott of the brand's products, adding, "Racism in the playground starts with black children being called 'chocolate bar.'" He has also contacted both Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

A spokesperson for Kraft Foods, which owns Cadbury, told the Mail that all billboards featuring the ad have been taken down, adding, "It was certainly never our intention to cause any offense and the campaign itself is a light-hearted take on the social pretensions of Cadbury Dairy Milk Bliss."

The ad:

Rap Sessions: From Precious II For Colored Girls: The Digital Highlight Reel

For the 5th year the Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in The Arts and Media at Columbia College and Rap Sessions co-presented a Community Dialogue. The powerful 'townhall meeting,' created and moderated by award-winning journalist, activist, political analyst and Institute Fellow Bakari Kitwana explored contemporary moments in popular culture and political debates where race, image and identity were center stage.

The program featured Elizabeth Méndez Berry (journalist and author, "The Obama Generation, Revisited," featured in The Nation), John Jennings (SUNY Buffalo; co-author, Black Comix: African American Independent Comix and Culture), Joan Morgan (journalist, culture critic, and author, When Chickenheads Come Home to Roost), Mark Anthony Neal (Duke University; author, New Black Man), and Vijay Prashad (Trinity College; author, The Darker Nations: A People's History of the Third World).

This highlight reel presents some of the program's prominent moments.

jessica simpson hair pictures dukes

Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, television personality and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and beauty products, and designed fragrances, shoes, and handbags for women. She has devoted time to philanthropic efforts including Operation Smile and a USO-hosted tour for troops stationed overseas.

She has achieved seven Billboard Top 40 hits, three gold and two multi-platinum Recording Industry Association of America certified studio albums, four of which have reached the top 10 on the US Billboard 200. Simpson starred with her then-husband Nick Lachey in the MTV reality show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. She ventured into the country music market in 2008 and released Do You Know.

Simpson has a total of records sales in Australia of more than 426,000 copies and was ranked No. 113 on the 1000 artists chart of Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Music Decade Charts (1980–2010)In 2009, Billboard named Simpson as the 95th overall best Artists of the Decade. Simpson also was ranked at number 86 on Billboard 200 Artists, based on album sales.
* 1 Early life
* 2 Career
o 2.1 1999–01: Sweet Kisses and Irresistible
o 2.2 2002–05: Newlyweds, In this Skin and film career
o 2.3 2006–07: A Public Affair and Employee of the Month
o 2.4 2008–09: Move to country and Do You Know
o 2.5 2010–present: Return to Reality TV and Happy Christmas
* 3 Other projects
o 3.1 Cosmetics and clothing
o 3.2 Commercials
o 3.3 Philanthropy
* 4 Criticism and controversy
* 5 Personal life
o 5.1 Marriage to Nick Lachey
o 5.2 Other relationships
* 6 Filmography
* 7 Discography
* 8 Tours
* 9 Awards and nominations
* 10 References
* 11 Further reading
* 12 External links

Jessica Ann Simpson was born in Abilene, Texas, as the daughter of Tina Ann (née Drew), a homemaker, and Joe Truett Simpson, a minister and psychologist.She has a younger sister Ashlee, who is also a singer. As a child, Simpson began singing at her local Baptist church. At age twelve, she unsuccessfully auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. While attending J.J. Pearce High School, she signed to Proclaim Records, a minor Gospel music record label. She recorded an album, Jessica, but Proclaim went bankrupt and the album was never officially released except for a small pressing funded by her grandmother. This small pressing gained her minor attention and she gave concerts with other acts such as Kirk Franklin, God's Property, and CeCe Winans. Simpson left high school at age sixteen (she later earned her GED), and after Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola heard Jessica, she was signed to the label
Career
1999–01: Sweet Kisses and Irresistible
Simpson at the 54th Presidential Inaugural Opening Celebration

Simpson released her first single, "I Wanna Love You Forever", which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999, and reached the top ten in ten countriesSoon afterwards, her major label debut album Sweet Kisses was released. To support the album, Simpson toured with Ricky Martin and with boy band 98 Degrees.

Meanwhile, Simpson's album Sweet Kisses had gone double platinum, helped by the follow-up singles "Where You Are" and "I Think I'm In Love With You", which were both released in 2000. The latter became Simpson's radio hit at that point, and was her first release of an uptempo single. Her debut album sold 2 million copies in US. Columbia Records officials reportedly decided Simpson needed a change for her second album. The following year, when Simpson came to record her second album, executives pressured her to have a much more sexy image

In 2000, Simpson started recording the follow-up to Sweet Kisses, with what Columbia considered more radio-friendly, up-tempo tracks. The album, titled Irresistible, was released in mid-2001 on the heels of the title-track first single. "The title track" became one of the biggest hits of her career; it peaked at number fifteen on the Hot 100 and stayed in the chart for twenty weeks. It managed to reach the top forty in some other countries it charted.

Irresistible debuted at number 6 in June 2001 on the Billboard 200 chart, with 127,000 copies sold in its first week. It was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling or shipments of 500,000 copies or more. Irresistible has sold 850,000 copies in the US, to date.[citation needed] In order to support the album, Simpson went on her first headlining tour, called the DreamChaser Tour, in mid-August, but due to the September 11, 2001 attacks could not complete the planned dates.
2002–05: Newlyweds, In this Skin and film career
Simpson and then-husband Nick Lachey at a publicity shoot for the MTV Video Music Awards in 2004.

During the summer of 2003, the reality show, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, starring Simpson and her then-new husband Nick Lachey began airing on MTV. Simpson's third album, In This Skin, was released in August 2003 to coincide with the series premiere of Newlyweds.

The show quickly became a pop culture phenomenon and is credited with making her a household name, even among those who did not follow pop music or . "I never knew that just doing the show would give me that pedestal to step on," Simpson told Blender magazine, in a March 2004 feature