 Lady
Gaga is a theatrical dance-pop performer whose debut single, the international
chart-topping hit "Just Dance," established her as an up-and-coming
superstar upon its release in 2008. Born Stefani Germanotta on March 28, 1986,
the New York native attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girl
Catholic school in Manhattan, before proceeding to study music at New York
University's Tisch School of the Arts at age 17. Influenced by flamboyant glam
rockers such as
...
Read more »
|
 In November 2005, Chris Brown's Scott
Storch-produced "Run It!" -- a rewrite of
...
Read more »
|
 An electro-rap duo from Los Angeles, CA, LMFAO
made their major-label debut in 2008. Comprised of producers, DJs, and clothing
designers Redfoo and SkyBlu (the son and grandson, respectively, of Motown
impresario Berry Gordy), LMFAO worked the club circuit for years before making
their major-label debut in 2008 with the single "I'm in Miami Bitch,"
a song inspired by their first experience at the Winter Music Conference. In
the wake of the single's release on Interscope and its hitting the charts in
several countries, LMFAO toured the American club circuit and prepared their
full-length album debut, Party Rock, which was released in July 2009. "La
La La"
...
Read more »
|
 When the Southern-flavored party rap called
crunk took over urban radio in 2004, Miami rapper Pitbull decided it was time
to seek stardom. The way Pitbull sees it, "crunk ain't nothin' but bass
music slowed down." Miami bass music, that is, the kind Pitbull grew up
on. His parents were first-generation Cuban immigrants who didn't let their son
forget about his culture. They required him to memorize the works of Cuban poet
José Martí, and Pitbull understood the power of words right away. Southern acts
like Poison Clan and Luther Campbell were early influences, but as he grew, the
young rapper got turned on to the G-funk sound of the West Coast and
...
Read more »
|
 Taio Cruz is a British pop singer/songwriter
whose second album, Rokstarr, catapulted him to international chart-topping
success in 2010 with its smash hit singles "Break Your Heart" and
"Dynamite." Born Jacob Taio Cruz on April 23, 1983, in London,
England, to a Nigerian father and a Brazilian mother, he went to school in
Rugby, Warwickshire, West Midlands. His songwriting career got off to a quick
start when he was signed to a publishing deal at age 19 and credited with
co-writing Pop Idol winner Will Young's 2004 Top Five hit single "Your
Game," the recipient of the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Single. In
the wake of this success, Cruz made his
...
Read more »
|
 A former Christian artist, Katy Perry rebranded
herself as a larger-than-life pop star and rose to prominence during the summer
of 2008. Before she topped the charts with songs like "I Kissed a
Girl" and "California Gurls," though, she spent the better part
of a decade recording music under a different name. Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
(or Katy Hudson, as she billed herself on her 2001 gospel album) was born on
October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, CA. Raised in a religious household as the
daughter of two pastors, she was forbidden to listen to secular bands as a
child, although a childhood slumber party introduced her to the music of
...
Read more »
|
 When the Dirty South movement broke nationwide
at the turn of the century, Ludacris rode it to immediate widespread
popularity, becoming arguably the most commercially successful Southern rapper
of the time. In 2000 the Atlanta-based rapper signed to Def Jam's newly
established Southern rap subsidiary, Def Jam South, and became the label's
flagship Dirty South artist. Def Jam repackaged his underground album
Incognegro (2000) as Back for the First Time (2000) and issued "What's
Your Fantasy?" as its lead single. The song soon became a national hit,
beginning a long string of hits that would include Billboard Hot 100 number
ones ("Stand Up," "Money Make
...
Read more »
|
Combining the vocal prowess of|
1.
|
