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iTunes - Music Videos - Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake
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iTunes - Music Videos - Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake
Preview and download the music video for Love Never Felt So Good by Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake. Buy the Love Never Felt So Good music video for just $1.99.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Biography
Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the '80s, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time. In his prime, Jackson was an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power. His 1982 blockbuster Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time (probably his best-known accomplishment), and he was the first black artist to find stardom on MTV, breaking down innumerable boundaries both for his race and for music video as an art form. Yet as Jackson's career began, very gradually, to descend from the dizzying heights of his peak years, most of the media's attention focused on his increasingly bizarre eccentricities; he was often depicted as a man-child in a state of arrested development, completely sheltered from adult reality by a life spent in show business. The snickering turned to scandal in 1993, when Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy; although he categorically denied the charges, his out-of-court settlement failed to restore his tarnished image. He never quite escaped the stigma of those allegations, and while he continued to sell records at superstar-like levels, he didn't release them with enough frequency (or, many critics thought, inspiration) to once again become better known for his music than his private life. Whether as a pop icon or a tabloid caricature, Jackson always remained bigger than life.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. The fifth son of steelworker Joe Jackson, Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. His childhood was strictly regimented; from the start he was, to an extent, sheltered from the outside world by his mother's Jehovah's Witness faith, and his father was by all accounts an often ill-tempered disciplinarian. Joe began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962, and Michael joined them the following year, quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. His dead-on mastery of James Brown's dance moves and soulful, mature-beyond-his-years vocals made him a natural focal point, especially given his incredibly young age. Dubbed the Jackson 5, the group signed to Motown in 1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969, when Michael was just 11 years old. "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There" all hit number one in 1970, making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts. Motown began priming Michael for a solo career in 1971, and his first single, "Got to Be There," was issued toward the end of the year; it hit the Top Five, as did the follow-up, a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin." Later in 1972, Jackson had his first number one solo single, "Ben," the title song from a children's thriller about a young boy who befriends Ben, the highly intelligent leader of a gang of homicidal rats. Given the subject matter, the song was surprisingly sincere and sentimental, and even earned an Oscar nomination. However, the momentum of Jackson's solo career (much like that of the Jackson 5) soon stalled. He released his fourth and final album on Motown in 1975, and the following year, he and his brothers (save Jermaine) signed to Epic and became the Jacksons.
In 1977, Jackson landed a starring role alongside Diana Ross in the all-black film musical The Wiz, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz; here he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time. Encouraged by the success of the Jacksons' self-produced, mostly self-written 1978 album Destiny, Jackson elected to resume his solo career when his management contract with his father expired shortly thereafter. With Jones producing, Jackson recorded his first solo album as an adult, Off the Wall. An immaculately crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush, sentimental pop ballads, Off the Wall made Jackson a star all over again. It produced four Top Ten singles, including the number one hits "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You," and went platinum (it went on to sell over seven million copies); even so, Jackson remained loyal to his brothers and stayed with the group.
No group could have contained Jackson's rapidly rising star for long; however, there was still no sign (if there ever could be) that his next album would become the biggest in history. Released in 1982, the Quincy Jones-produced Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more driving, the pop tunes and ballads softer and more soulful, and all of it was recognizably Michael. Jackson brought in Paul McCartney for a duet, guitarist Eddie Van Halen for a jaw-dropping solo, and Vincent Price for a creepy recitation. It was no surprise that Thriller was a hit; what was a surprise was its staying power. Jackson's duet with McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine," was a natural single choice, and it peaked at number two; then "Billie Jean" and the Van Halen track "Beat It" both hit number one, for seven and three weeks, respectively. Those latter two songs, as well as the future Top Five title track, had one important feature in common: Jackson supported them with elaborately conceived video clips that revolutionized the way music videos were made.
He treated them as song-length movies with structured narratives: "Billie Jean" set the song's tale of a paternity suit in a nightmarish dream world where Jackson was a solitary, sometimes invisible presence; the anti-gang-violence "Beat It" became an homage to West Side Story; and the ten-plus-minute clip for "Thriller" (routinely selected as the best video of all time) featured Jackson leading a dance troupe of rotting zombies, with loads of horror-film makeup and effects. Having never really accepted black artists in the past, MTV played the clips to death, garnering massive publicity for Jackson and droves of viewers for the fledgling cable network. Jackson sealed his own phenomenon by debuting his signature "moonwalk" dance step on May 16, 1983, on Motown's televised 25th anniversary special; though he didn't invent the moonwalk (as he himself was quick to point out), it became as much of a Jackson signature as his vocal hiccups or single white-sequined glove.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Thriller just kept spinning off singles, including "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," the airy ballad "Human Nature," and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"; in all, seven of its nine tracks wound up in the Top Ten, obliterating conventional ideas of how many singles could be released from an album before it ran its course. Thriller stayed on the charts for over two years, spent 37 non-consecutive weeks at number one, and became the best-selling album of all time; it went on to sell 29 million copies in the U.S. alone, and around another 20 million overseas. Naturally, Jackson won a slew of awards, including a record eight Grammys in one night, and snagged the largest endorsement deal ever when he became a spokesman for Pepsi (he would later be burned in an accident while filming a commercial). At the end of 1983, Jackson was again on top of the singles charts, this time as part of a second duet with McCartney, "Say Say Say." In 1984, Jackson rejoined his brothers one last time for the album Victory, whose supporting tour was one of the biggest (and priciest) of the year. The following year, he and Lionel Richie co-wrote the anthemic "We Are the World" for the all-star famine-relief effort USA for Africa; it became one of the fastest-selling singles ever.
Even at this early stage, wild rumors about Jackson's private life were swirling. His shyness and reluctance to grant interviews (ironically, due in part to his concerns about being misrepresented) only encouraged more speculation. Some pointed to his soft-spoken, still girlish voice as evidence that he'd undergone hormone treatments to preserve the high, flexible range of his youth; stories were told about Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber to slow the aging process, and purchasing the skeleton of John Merrick, the Elephant Man (Jackson did view the bones in the London Hospital, but did not buy them). Jackson bought a large ranch in California which he dubbed Neverland, and filled it with amusement park rides and animals (including his notorious pet chimpanzee Bubbles), which only fueled the public's perception of him as a somewhat bizarre eccentric obsessed with recapturing his childhood. He also underwent cosmetic surgery several times, which led to accusations from the black community that his gradually lightening skin tone was the result of an intentional effort to become whiter; a few years later, Jackson revealed that he had a disorder called vitiligo, in which pigment disappears from the skin, leaving large white blotches and making direct sunlight dangerous. One of the rumors that was definitely true was that Jackson owned the rights to the Beatles' catalog; in 1985, he acquired ATV Publishing, the firm that controlled all the Lennon-McCartney copyrights (among others), which wound up costing him his friendship with McCartney.
During his long layoff between records, Jackson indulged his interest in film and video by working with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 3-D short film Captain Eo. The special-effects extravaganza was shown at the enormous widescreen IMAX theaters in Disney's amusement parks for 12 years, beginning in 1986. Finally, Jackson re-entered the studio with Quincy Jones to begin the near-impossible task of crafting a follow-up to Thriller. Bad was released to enormous public anticipation in 1987, and was accompanied by equally enormous publicity. It debuted at number one, and the first single, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," with vocal accompaniment by Siedah Garrett, also shot up the charts to number one. Like Thriller, Bad continued to spin off singles for well over a year after its release, and became the first album ever to produce five number one hits; the others were "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." Jackson supported the album with a lengthy world tour that featured a typically spectacular, elaborate stage show; it became the highest-grossing tour of all time. Although Jackson's success was still staggering, there were faint undercurrents of disappointment, partly because of the unparalleled phenomenon of Thriller (Bad "only" sold eight million copies in America, along with at least double that number overseas), and partly because the album itself didn't seem quite as exuberant or uniformly consistent when compared to its predecessors.
Jackson took another long hiatus between albums, giving the media little to focus on besides his numerous eccentricities; by this time, the British tabloids delighted in calling him "Wacko Jacko," a name he detested. When Jackson returned with a new album in late 1991, he'd come up with a different moniker: "The King of Pop." Dangerous found Jackson ending his collaboration with Quincy Jones in an effort to update his sound; accordingly, many of the tracks were helmed by the groundbreaking new jack swing producer Teddy Riley. As expected, the album debuted at number one, and its lead single, "Black or White," shot to the top as well. Jackson courted controversy with the song's video, however; after the song itself ended, there was a long dance sequence in which Jackson shouted, grabbed his crotch, and smashed car windows in a bizarre display that seemed at odds with the song's harmonious message. With the video given a high-profile, prime-time network premiere, Jackson was criticized for the inappropriate violence and the message it might send to his younger fans. However, Jackson would not be the biggest story in popular music for long. In early 1992, Nirvana's Nevermind symbolically knocked Dangerous out of the number one spot; after the alternative rock revolution, the pop charts would never be quite the same. Jackson scored several more hits off the album, including the Top Tens "Remember the Time" and "In the Closet," but the aggressive "Jam" and the saccharine "Heal the World" both performed disappointingly.
Jackson had long preferred the company of children over other adults, and befriended quite a few, inviting them to stay at his Neverland Ranch and enjoy the massive playground he'd assembled over the years. In 1993, Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy who'd become a frequent guest at Neverland. Predictably, there was a tabloid feeding frenzy, and a mainstream media circus as well. In the court of public opinion, the charges seemed all too plausible: Jackson was near-universally perceived as a weirdo, and here was a handy explanation for his heretofore asexual persona and distaste for adult companions. Additionally, Jackson entered rehab for a short time, seeking treatment for an addiction to pain killers. Investigations were unsuccessful in turning up any other boys who echoed the allegations, and Jackson countersued his accusers for attempting extortion; however, in spite of the fact that no criminal charges were ever filed against Jackson, he settled the boy's family's suit out of court in early 1995, paying an estimated 18 to 20 million dollars. Many felt the settlement was tantamount to an admission of guilt, and when Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, the move was perceived as a desperate ploy to rehabilitate his image; the marriage broke up just 19 months later, seemingly lending credence to the charge.
In 1995, Jackson attempted to put the focus back on his music by preparing HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, a two-CD set featuring one disc of new material and one of his greatest hits. The album debuted at number one, but the format backfired on Jackson: his fans already owned the hits, and the new album simply wasn't strong enough to offset the added cost of the extra disc for many more casual listeners. There were some encouraging signs — the lead single "Scream," a duet with sister Janet, debuted at number five, setting a new American chart record that was broken when the follow-up, "You Are Not Alone," became the first single ever to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. But on the whole, HIStory was something of a disappointment. Additionally, Jackson collapsed during rehearsals for an awards show later that year, and had to be rushed to the hospital; what was more, the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) was threatening to catch Thriller's American sales record (it eventually did, and the two continued to run neck and neck). There were signs that Jackson was grasping at his self-proclaimed King of Pop status; the cover of HIStory depicted an enormous statue of Jackson, and he performed at the 1996 BRIT Awards dressed as a Messiah, with children and a rabbi surrounding him worshipfully (Pulp lead singer Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage to protest Jackson's hubris during the middle of the song). The 1997 remix album Blood on the Dance Floor failed to even go platinum, although remix albums historically don't perform nearly as well as new material.
In late 1996, Jackson remarried, to nurse Debbie Rowe; over the next two years, the couple had two children, son Prince Michael Jackson, Jr. and daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. However, Jackson and Rowe divorced in late 1999. In 2001, Jackson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and later held a massive concert at Madison Square Garden celebrating the 30th anniversary of his first solo record. Among many other celebrity guests, the show featured the first on-stage reunion of the Jacksons since the Victory tour. In the wake of September 11, Jackson put together an all-star charity benefit single, "What More Can I Give." His new album, Invincible, was released late in the year, marking the first time he'd issued a collection of entirely new material since Dangerous; it found him working heavily with urban soul production wizard Rodney Jerkins. Invincible debuted at number one and quickly went double platinum; however, its initial singles, "You Rock My World" and "Butterflies" had rather disappointing showings on the charts, with the latter not even reaching the Top Ten. To compound matters, the expensive "What More Can I Give" single and video were canceled by Sony when executive producer Marc Schaffel was revealed to have worked in pornography. Jackson's camp tried to distance the singer from Schaffel, and the various corporations that were attached to it (McDonalds, Sony) claimed they had minimal involvement if any with the song. Sony and Jackson began a press war in the summer of 2002, starting with Jackson's claims that the label asked for 200 million dollars to pay them back for marketing costs. Although they had spent 55 million on his disappointing comeback, Sony released a statement saying that no such request had ever been made. Jackson stewed for a few weeks before launching a press attack on Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola, calling him "devilish" and making claims that he used racist language and held down black artists. Many Sony artists, including Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin, defended Mottola, but Jackson and his family maintained that racism ended their professional relationship.
From that point on, Jackson's career took an extreme turn toward the bizarre, starting with MTV's annual Video Awards. When Britney Spears presented him with a birthday cake, an offhand remark about being the artist of the millennium inspired a rambling Jackson to accept a meaningless trophy (which everyone presenting on-stage received) as an actual Artist of the Millennium award. Next came accusations from a promotional company over his promises of a tour and several appearances that he then canceled. Jackson arrived in court late, gave a drowsy testimony, and inspired gasps when he removed a surgical mask to reveal his nose had caved in from a botched cosmetic surgery. Only days later, German fans were horrified when Jackson came to the balcony of his hotel suite and briefly dangled his 11-month-old baby Prince Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket" by Jackson) over the edge with one arm. Although he apologized the next day, claiming he had gotten caught up in the moment, this only did more to cement the King of Pop's public image as an out-of-control millionaire. The year 2003 turned out not to be a good one for Jackson: in November, his Neverland Ranch was extensively searched by police, whereby he was subsequently arrested on charges of child molestation. That same month the single-disc retrospective Number Ones hit the stands with one new song, "One More Chance." A year later — nearly to the day — the four-CD/one-DVD box set The Ultimate Collection appeared with numerous rarities, including the original demo for "We Are the World." In January 2005, his child molestation trial began, and by May he was acquitted on all counts. Jackson soon relocated to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain and began working on new music, including a charity single that would benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. The single never appeared, but the two-disc The Essential Michael Jackson did, and in 2006 the strange box set Visionary was released, featuring 20 DualDiscs replicating 20 big hit singles with their videos included on the DVD side. In early 2007, it was announced that a comeback album was planned for late in the year, but the album never materialized.
In early 2009, Jackson announced an ambitious comeback, dubbed This Is It, including a series of ten concerts at O2 Arena in London. (After high ticket sales, the number was later increased to 50.) He rehearsed extensively in Los Angeles during the spring, but on the afternoon of June 25, 2009, he was found unresponsive at his home. Jackson was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at the age of 50. His death was later ruled a homicide, the result of ingesting a lethal amount of prescription drugs.
Unsurprisingly, in the wake of his death, a slew of releases ensued — planned prior to and after Jackson's death — including Motown's Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite and the soundtrack album Michael Jackson's This Is It (from a film based on Jackson's rehearsals for the comeback concerts). Michael Jackson's Vision, a comprehensive DVD set, and Michael, a collection of finished outtakes largely recorded in the years following Invincible but also containing some songs dating back to Thriller, appeared during the holiday season of 2010. In 2012, Epic celebrated the 25th anniversary of Bad with an expanded reissue, and Jackson's estate released the DVD Live at Wembley 7.16.1988, featuring the late pop icon performing at the storied British venue on the second leg of his Bad World Tour.
iTunes - Music Videos - She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer
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iTunes - Music Videos - She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer
Preview and download the music video for She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer. Buy the She Looks So Perfect music video for just $1.99.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Biography
Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer make ebullient, high-energy music that straddles the line between '90s punk-pop and 2000s boy band pop. Formed in 2011, the band features fellow Norwest Christian College grads Luke Hemmings (lead vocals/guitar), Michael Clifford (guitar/vocals), Calum Hood (bass/vocals), and Ashton Irwin (drums/vocals). The band uploaded several videos to YouTube and quickly caught the attention of Sony, which signed the band to a publishing deal. In 2012, 5 Seconds of Summer released two EPs, Unplugged and Somewhere New. The following year, they received a further boost after they were asked to open for Britain's One Direction on tour, and shortly thereafter they signed with Capitol Records. In 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer released their third EP, She Looks So Perfect, and their self-titled debut album was expected to follow soon afterward.
iTunes - Music Videos - Bartender by Lady Antebellum
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iTunes - Music Videos - Bartender by Lady Antebellum
Preview and download the music video for Bartender by Lady Antebellum. Buy the Bartender music video for just $1.99.
Biography
Formed in 2006 by Charles Kelley (brother of singer/songwriter Josh Kelley), Hillary Scott (daughter of Grammy-winning country artist Linda Davis), and Dave Haywood, Lady Antebellum make contemporary country music that relies on the trio's rich harmonies and impeccable instrumental skills. Since its inception, the trio has graduated from dive bars to the Grand Ole Opry, opening for Phil Vassar, Rodney Atkins, and Carrie Underwood along the way. The group signed with Capitol Nashville in 2007 and released its first single, "Love Don't Live Here," which peaked at number three on the country charts. A self-titled debut album followed in April 2008, featuring production from Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley and stocked with more country hits (including the chart-topping single "I Run to You," which also enjoyed crossover success as a Top 40 pop hit).
Within a year and a half, Lady Antebellum's debut had gone platinum and earned a Grammy nomination, and the band enjoyed its newfound success while putting the finishing touches on a second album. Need You Now appeared in early 2010, and its leadoff single — "Need You Now" — became the group's highest-charting song to date, topping the country charts and peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It eventually sold over three million copies. The album experienced similar success, going gold during its second week of release and reaching platinum status soon after. By early 2011, Need You Now had sold more than three million copies in America alone, and the band took a break from recording a third studio album in order to attend the Grammys, where Lady Antebellum took home five awards.
Lady Antebellum's third studio album, 2011's Own the Night, for which the group wrote ten of the 12 tracks, as well as co-producing the project with Worley, generated a hot single on the country chart right out of the box, "Just a Kiss," which became the trio's fastest-rising single yet and crossed over, topping Billboard's adult contemporary chart. The next single, "Dancin' Away with My Heart," reached number two on Billboard's country chart. Lady Antebellum next released the holiday album On This Winter's Night in the fall of 2012; the record entered the Billboard Top 10 upon its release and was certified gold in the US.
iTunes - Music Videos - Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) by Katy Perry
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iTunes - Music Videos - Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) by Katy Perry
Preview and download the music video for Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) by Katy Perry. Buy the Dark Horse (feat. Juicy J) music video for just $1.99. Biography 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, California. 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 Alanis Morissette and Freddie Mercury. Religious music remained at the forefront, however, and Katy released a self-titled Christian album in 2001 under her original name. She would later abandon the genre (and her given surname) in favor of a pop career. At age 17, she began working with hitmaker Glen Ballard, who had produced and co-written for Alanis Morissette. Several years later, she teamed up with the Matrix, a Grammy-nominated production/songwriting team whose résumé included collaborations with Avril Lavigne, Shakira, and Korn. Tired of producing music for other artists, the Matrix had plans to record an album of their own, with Perry serving as one of the group's two singers. The project was ultimately shelved, but not before Perry appeared in a 2004 write-up by Blender magazine, who hailed her as "the Next Big Thing!" With the Matrix's unreleased album sitting in the vaults at Sony Records, Perry went back to the drawing board and began working on a solo album for Columbia. The project was eventually canceled, although two of its songs were later given to Kelly Clarkson, who scored a Top 40 hit with "I Do Not Hook Up" several years later. Perry (who, by this point, had shed her original surname due to its similarity to actress Kate Hudson) then signed with Capitol, who encouraged their new client to write her own music and helped establish her image as a boisterous, tongue-in-cheek pop star. Perry's debut single, "Ur So Gay," generated a small buzz with its mischievous lyrics and clever music video, but it was "I Kissed a Girl" that proved to be her breakthrough hit, topping the charts in 20 countries and pushing its accompanying album, 2008's One of the Boys, into the Top Ten in America. Perry supported her debut by joining the Warped Tour that summer, where she toured alongside her boyfriend at the time, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. Meanwhile, "Hot N Cold" became her second multi-platinum hit, "Thinking of You" (one of the album's three songs written solely by Perry) cracked the Top 40, and "Waking Up in Vegas" cracked the Top Ten. Such success meant that Katy Perry had officially become one of the industry's biggest pop stars, celebrated as much for her outsized behavior and outrageous fashion choices as the music itself. She continued touring through the summer of 2009 (albeit without McCoy, whose boyfriend status had been revoked earlier that year) and found time to tape an installment of MTV Unplugged, which was released in November. Meanwhile, she worked on a new album and started up a whirlwind romance with comedian Russell Brand, eventually becoming his wife, a short-lived marriage that would last for only a year. She would later begin an on-again, off-again relationship with adult-alternative singer/songwriter John Mayer. Recording sessions for her album wrapped up in early 2010, and Perry scored her second number one single with "California Gurls," which was released that May. The accompanying album, Teenage Dream, followed in August. The album was reissued in 2012 as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, with the bonus track "Wide Awake," earning Perry a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance. In 2013, Perry announced the release of Prism, her fourth album, with the number one single "Roar." Written and produced in collaboration with a host of artists and producers (including Sia, Diplo, Max Martin, Bloodshy, and Emeli Sandé), it was inspired musically by Robyn, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, and Prince, and lyrically by her past relationships. Appearing in October, it hit number one in the U.S. and U.K., followed by another Billboard chart-topper, "Dark Horse," featuring Juicy J.
iTunes - Music Videos - Chandelier (Director's Cut) by Sia
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iTunes - Music Videos - Chandelier (Director's Cut) by Sia
Preview and download the music video for Chandelier (Director's Cut) by Sia. Buy the Chandelier (Director's Cut) music video for just $1.99. Biography Although raised in Australia, Sia Furler rose to fame after moving to the U.K., where she worked as a guest vocalist for several groups — including the electronica duo Zero 7 — and released her own solo albums. Born in 1975, she first performed on the Adelaide jazz circuit during the '90s as a vocalist for the band Crisp. An attempt to launch a solo career in 1997 didn't pan out, though, and the blonde, blue-eyed antipodean eventually hopped on a plane to London. While there, she landed a gig as a backup singer for Jamiroquai and inked a solo contract with DancePool, a sublabel of Sony. Sia released her first single, "Taken for Granted," in early 2000. Although the song only peaked at number 100 on the Australian charts, it rose to number ten in the U.K. and increased European demand for her debut album, Hearing Is Difficult, which followed in 2001. At the same time, a string of big names in the British music scene began asking for Sia's services; offers from Zero 7 and William Orbit ensued. Although some projects only called for Sia to sing on one song, her association with Zero 7 proved to be a recurring thing. She ultimately remained with Zero 7 for three albums, serving as the group's go-to vocalist while also furthering her own career with solo releases like Colour the Small One and Some People Have Real Problems. Meanwhile, Sia also began building an audience in America. One of the songs from Colour the Small One, "Breathe Me," gained attention when it was used in the elaborate final scene of the Six Feet Under series, and the resulting buzz allowed her to enjoy a successful stateside tour. That tour was documented on her first live release, Lady Croissant, in 2007. By the following year, Sia's American audience had increased to the point that Some People Have Real Problems, her third album, debuted at number 26. Zero 7 began working on another album in 2009, but Sia had already shifted most of her attention to furthering her own career, and the band hired another singer in her place. Working alongside bassist Sam Dixon, she boosted her songwriting cred by writing several songs for Christina Aguilera, who put the songs onto her 2010 release Bionic. Sia also continued writing songs for herself, and We Are Born marked her most upbeat album to date in 2010. It also went on to become her most successful, charting around the world and going to number two in Australia. But Sia, whose shy and withdrawn personality was at odds with her public persona, began to struggle with the pressures of fame. She became addicted to alcohol and drugs and almost committed suicide before a phone call from a friend persuaded her to enter rehab instead. She spent the next few years out of the spotlight, continuing her parallel career as a backroom songwriter for the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, and Rihanna, for whom she wrote the worldwide number one smash hit "Diamonds." In 2013 she started on a new album, working once again with producer Greg Kurstin. Wary of another breakdown, she eventually negotiated a near-unprecedented contract with RCA which stipulated that she would not have to tour or do press; her first public appearance to promote the album, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, saw her perform her new single "Chandelier" with her back to the audience. The album, entitled 1000 Forms of Fear, was slated for release in July 2014. ~ Andrew Leahey & David Peter Wesolowski, Rovi
iTunes - Music Videos - Happy (from Despicable Me 2) by Pharrell Williams
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iTunes - Music Videos - Happy (from Despicable Me 2) by Pharrell Williams
Preview and download the music video for Happy (from Despicable Me 2) by Pharrell Williams. Buy the Happy (from Despicable Me 2) music video for just $1.99.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Biography
Pharrell Williams didn't only help change the face of pop music during the late '90s and early 2000s. He also was one of the faces of pop music — as a charismatic star who often stole the show when producing and/or guesting on other artists' hit singles. His presence was unfading, whether he was in front of a music video or behind a beat. To trace the beginning of his ascent, you have to go back to 1992, when Teddy Riley tapped him to write a verse for Wreckx-n-Effect's "Rump Shaker." Since the late '90s, Williams and longtime friend Chad Hugo — known together as the Neptunes — began scoring songwriting and production assignments that slowly but steadily infiltrated mainstream music, whether it was via dance-pop (Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U"), hardcore rap (Clipse's "Grindin'"), or contemporary R&B (Babyface's "There She Goes"). Williams and Hugo were relatively obscure during the mid-'90s, doing spare work for the likes of SWV, Total, and Mase, but they would eventually develop a style that would become as recognized and as mimicked as that of fellow Virginia Beach native Timbaland. (Prior to stardom, all three producers were in a band together called Surrounded by Idiots.)
As the duo took on more work, Williams' voice became increasingly familiar. He was now more likely to provide the chorus and the background vocals of the same song, in addition to appearing in the video. (Hear/see Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss" and Snoop Dogg's "Beautiful" for two examples.) It wasn't until the summer of 2003 that he truly stepped out on his own. He released his first solo single, "Frontin'." Produced with Hugo and featuring a guest verse from Jay-Z, the song built anticipation for The Neptunes Present... Clones, a compilation of all-new tracks from artists produced by the duo. "Frontin'" was a ubiquitous summer hit and kept Williams' momentum running up to the release of Hugo and Williams' second funk/rock-oriented N.E.R.D. album, released in March 2004. Williams' first solo album, In My Mind, survived a number of delays and was finally issued in July 2006. The uneven set, produced by Williams alone, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart.
Although Williams didn't release another solo album for eight years, his name, as well as that of the Neptunes, continued to carry much weight. The remainder of the 2000s was filled with commercially successful collaborations with the likes of Clipse, Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Solange, and Madonna. There was a handful of Grammy nominations, as well as a surprising 2007 win for Ludacris' "Money Maker" in the Best Rap Song category. N.E.R.D., who released their third album, Seeing Sounds, in 2008, remained an an occasional diversion.
iTunes - Music Videos - Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea) by Ariana Grande
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iTunes - Music Videos - Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea) by Ariana Grande
Preview and download the music video for Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea) by Ariana Grande. Buy the Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea) music video for just $1.99.
Don't Stop - 5 Seconds of Summer
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Don't Stop - 5 Seconds of Summer
Biography Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer make ebullient, high-energy music that straddles the line between '90s punk-pop and 2000s boy band pop. Formed in 2011, the band features fellow Norwest Christian College grads Luke Hemmings (lead vocals/guitar), Michael Clifford (guitar/vocals), Calum Hood (bass/vocals), and Ashton Irwin (drums/vocals). The band uploaded several videos to YouTube and quickly caught the attention of Sony, which signed the band to a publishing deal. In 2012, 5 Seconds of Summer released two EPs, Unplugged and Somewhere New. The following year, they received a further boost after they were asked to open for Britain's One Direction on tour, and shortly thereafter they signed with Capitol Records. In 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer released their third EP, She Looks So Perfect, and their self-titled debut album was expected to follow soon afterward.
iTunes - Music - We Are the Champions: Greatest Themes for Superheroes by Various Artists
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iTunes - Music - We Are the Champions: Greatest Themes for Superheroes by Various Artists
Preview songs from We Are the Champions: Greatest Themes for Superheroes by Various Artists on the iTunes Store. Preview, buy, and download We Are the Champions: Greatest Themes for Superheroes for $9.99. Songs start at just $0.99.
iTunes - Music - Thor: The Dark World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Brian Tyler
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iTunes - Music - Thor: The Dark World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Brian Tyler
Preview songs from Thor: The Dark World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Brian Tyler on the iTunes Store. Preview, buy, and download Thor: The Dark World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) for $9.99. Songs start at just $1.29.
iTunes - Music - Marvel Studios Fanfare - Single by Dominik Hauser
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iTunes - Music - Marvel Studios Fanfare - Single by Dominik Hauser
Preview songs from Marvel Studios Fanfare - Single by Dominik Hauser on the iTunes Store. Preview, buy, and download Marvel Studios Fanfare - Single for $1.29. Songs start at just $1.29.
iTunes - Music Videos - Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) by Coldplay
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iTunes - Music Videos - Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) by Coldplay
Preview and download the music video for Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) by Coldplay. Buy the Viva la Vida (Anton Corbijn Version) music video for just $1.99.
iTunes - Music Videos - Magic by Coldplay
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iTunes - Music Videos - Magic by Coldplay
Preview and download the music video for Magic by Coldplay. Buy the Magic music video for just $1.99.
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