Gwen Stefani

Birth name : Gwen Renée Stefani
Born : October 3, 1969(1969-10-03), Fullerton, California, United States
Origin : Anaheim, California, United States
Genre(s) : Rock, ska punk, pop
Occupation(s) : Singer, songwriter, fashion designer, actress
Instrument(s) : Vocals, guitar
Years active : 1986–present
Label(s) : Interscope
Associated acts : No Doubt
Website : www.gwenstefani.com
Gwen Renée Stefani (pronounced /ˈgwɛn stɛˈfɑːni/;born October 3, 1969) is an American recording artist and fashion designer. Stefani fronts the rock band No Doubt, whose 1995 album Tragic Kingdom propelled them to stardom, selling 16 million copies worldwide. It spawned the singles "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and "Don't Speak". The band's popularity went into decline with its fourth album, Return of Saturn (2000), but Rock Steady (2001) focused on dancehall production traits, and generally received positive reviews.
Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was primarily inspired by music of the 1980s, and emerged an international success with sales of over seven million. The album's third single "Hollaback Girl" became the first U.S. digital download to sell one million copies. Stefani's second solo album The Sweet Escape (2006) yielded "Wind It Up", a moderate worldwide success, and "The Sweet Escape".Including her work with No Doubt, Stefani has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. She won the World's Best-Selling New Female Artist at the World Music Awards 2005.
Stefani is known as a fashion trendsetter. In 2003, she debuted her clothing line L.A.M.B. and expanded her collection with the 2005 Harajuku Lovers line, drawing inspiration from Japanese culture and fashion. Stefani performs and makes public appearances with four back-up dancers known as the Harajuku Girls. She married British grunge musician Gavin Rossdale in 2002; they have two sons, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, who was born May 26 2006 and Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, who was born August 21 2008.
Early life
Stefani was born and raised in Fullerton, California, and grew up in a Roman Catholic household. Her mother named her after a stewardess in the 1968 novel Airport, and her middle name, Renée, comes from The Four Tops' 1968 cover of The Left Banke's 1966 hit song "Walk Away Renée".Her father, Dennis Stefani, is Italian and works as a Yamaha marketing executive. Her mother, Patti (née Flynn), is of Irish and Scottish descent and worked as an accountant before becoming a homemaker. Her parents were fans of folk music and presented music by Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris to their daughter. She is the second oldest of four children; she has a younger sister, Jill Stefani, a younger brother, Todd, and an older brother, Eric. Eric was the keyboardist for No Doubt but left the band to pursue a career in animation on The Simpsons.
Many of the women in Stefani's family were seamstresses, and much of her clothing was made by her or her mother. As a child, Stefani's musical interests consisted of musicals such as The Sound of Music and Evita. After making a demo tape for her father, she was encouraged to take music lessons to train her "loopy, unpredictable" voice. Stefani is a distant cousin of Madonna. Her great-aunt's mother-in-law shares the last name with Madonna.
Stefani made her onstage debut during a talent show at Loara High School, where she sang "I Have Confidence," from The Sound of Music, in a self-made tweed dress inspired by one from the film. Stefani was on the Loara swim team in an attempt to lose weight. She first worked at a Dairy Queen and later manning the MAC makeup counter of a department store. After graduating from high school in 1987, she began attending California State University, Fullerton.
Personal life
Soon after Stefani joined No Doubt, she and bandmate Tony Kanal began dating. Stefani stated that she was heavily invested in the relationship, commenting that "...all I ever did was look at Tony and pray that God would let me have a baby with him." Kanal ended the relationship.
During her time with No Doubt, the band toured with fellow ska punk band Reel Big Fish, whose frontman, Aaron Barrett, later wrote the song "She's Famous Now" for their 1998 album Why Do They Rock So Hard?. The song is commonly interpreted to be about a relationship between the two and Stefani's subsequent success with No Doubt. Barrett later stated that he "was just trying to start a rumor".
In December 1995, No Doubt and rock band Goo Goo Dolls went on tour opening for alternative rock band Bush. Stefani met Bush guitarist and lead singer Gavin RossdaleThey married on September 14, 2002, with a wedding in St Paul's Church in Covent Garden, London. A second wedding was held in Los Angeles two weeks later. According to Stefani, it was held so that she could wear a custom-designed wedding dress by British-Gibraltarian fashion designer John Galliano twice.
The couple discovered in 2004 that Rossdale had a daughter, Daisy Lowe (b. 1989) from a previous fling with model and designer Pearl Lowe when Rossdale took a paternity test. Stefani was "devastated and infuriated" at the discovery, leading to a rocky patch in her relationship with Rossdale. Though Rossdale remains Daisy's godfather, he has severed all ties with the Lowes. Stefani's song "Danger Zone" was widely believed to be about the discovery and its aftermath. However, the song was written prior to the incident.
In December 2005, Stefani and Rossdale announced that they were expecting their first child together. The pregnancy was first reported by Us Weekly, and Stefani confirmed the pregnancy by shouting "I want you to sing so loud that the baby hears it" during a concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after her press agent stated that it was untrue. On May 26, 2006, their son, Kingston James McGregor Rossdale, was born via caesarean section at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Kingston weighed 3.4 kilograms (7 pounds, 5 ounces). In January 2008, it was confirmed by her father-in-law that Stefani would be expecting her second child. As of the date of announcement, she was 13 weeks along. Reports from In Touch magazine came in on August 21, 2008, reporting that Stefani had checked in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and was scheduled to give birth via C-section around 10:00 a.m. People confirmed that Stefani gave birth to a baby boy, Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, who was born at 12:46 PST on August 21, 2008 weighing 8.5 lbs. A representative for Stefani said "Mother, baby and family are all happy and healthy."
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51st Grammy Awards

Date : February 8, 2009
Venue : Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Host : none
Network : CBS
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will take place on February 8, 2009. It will be broadcast on CBS in the United States at 8PM EST. Nominations were announced on December 3, 2008. For the sixth year in a row, the ceremony will be held in the Staples Center. The nominations were announced on a special concert airing on CBS on December 3rd, 2008, and were posted on the official website afterwards.
To be eligible for an award a recording must have been commercially released between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008. This is for all recordings released in the 2008 recording year. After the nominees are announced on December 4, 2008 final voting ballots will be sent to the academy members. This is when they will vote for one of the nominees to win the award. Each category has five nominees. More than five is the result of a tie in the nominating process. Members are allowed to vote in the General field and up to nine other fields on their final voting ballots. All ballots are tabulated by the independent accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. There are about 7,000 people who vote in the nominating and final voting process. These people are artists, producers, engineers, mixers and mastering engineers. Academy members are to vote based upon quality alone. They are not to be influenced by mass sales or personal friendships. The acceptance of gifts is prohibited and can result in termination of membership.
After the nominations are announced the recipients of all special awards such as lifetime achievement awards will be announced. In addition performers and presenters will be announced. Neil Diamond will be the recipient of the MusiCares Person of the Year award. Lil Wayne topped the nominations with eight, Coldplay garnered seven , and Jay-Z, Ne-Yo and Kanye West each earned six nods. Radiohead, Alison Krauss, John Mayer, Robert Plant, Jazmine Sullivan received five, and Jennifer Hudson, Adele, Danger Mouse, The Eagles, Lupe Fiasco, George Strait, Metallica and T.I. each received four nominations.
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Sara Bareilles

Birth name : Sara Beth Bareilles
Born : December 7, 1979 (1979-12-07) - Eureka, California, USA
Origin : Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre(s) : Pop, piano pop, pop rock
Occupation(s) : Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument(s) : Vocals, piano, guitar
Voice type(s) : Contralto
Years active : 2003—present
Label(s) : Epic
Website : http://www.sarabmusic.com/
Sara Beth Bareilles (pronounced /bəˈrɛlɪs/; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song", which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. Bareilles' vocal range registers from contralto to mezzo-soprano.
Biography
Early life
Bareilles was born and raised in Eureka, California. She participated in the high school choir, Limited Edition, and local community theater musical productions, including her high school's production of Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey. She graduated from Eureka Senior High School in June 1998, having been voted "Most Talented" in the senior yearbook of that year.
Bareilles attended UCLA, where she was a member of their a cappella group Awaken A Cappella. The group's rendition of Bareilles' "Gravity" was featured on the Best of College A Cappella 2004 compilation CD. Sara also stated on MTV's TRL that she and the band Maroon 5 go back far to their younger days in California when the band was known as Kara's Flowers. She performed in the annual student concert, UCLA Spring Sing, winning twice.
Career
After graduating from college in 2002, Bareilles performed at local bars and clubs (such as the Hotel Café and Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles), building a following, before performing in larger venues. She issued two demos of mostly live tracks in 2003: The First One in April and The Summer Sessions in October. In 2004, she appeared as a singer in a bar in the indie film Girl Play, performing the song "Undertow".
In January 2004, Bareilles released her first studio album, Careful Confessions. She signed a contract with Epic Records' A&R executive Pete Giberga on April 15, 2005. The remainder of the year and early 2006 were spent writing and reworking songs for her upcoming album. Her song, "Gravity," appears briefly in the 2006 independent film Loving Annabelle. She also toured as the opening act in 2006 for Marc Broussard's "Carencro" tour.
In mid-2004 she opened for Rocco DeLuca and the Burden during their inaugural headline tour, supported Guster on their first UK tour and co-headlined a tour with Jon McLaughlin. In 2007, Bareilles toured as the opening act for Aqualung and Mika, and later that year opened for several shows on both Maroon 5 and Paolo Nutini's U.S. tours. She also opened for James Blunt on his U.S. Tour in association with VH1 You Oughta Know.
In June 2007, iTunes featured Bareilles' single "Love Song" as the free single of the week. The following month, her major-label debut Little Voice shot to #1 on the list of most downloaded albums of the music store in its first week of release, and debuted at #45 on the Billboard 200 chart. After being featured on a Rhapsody commercial in 2007, "Love Song" began climbing the pop charts, jumping from #73 to #16 in one week. As of December 27, 2007, "Love Song" has entered the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bareilles performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday, January 17, 2008, and on the Today show on Thursday, February 21, 2008.
As of February 14, 2008, Little Voice has been certified Gold by the RIAA. The album peaked in the Billboard 200 at #7. Bareilles' single, "Love Song" was certified 2x platinum in April 2008.
She toured with Counting Crows and Maroon 5 between July 22 and August 26, 2008. The first stop was Virginia Beach, Virginia and the last stop Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Bareilles was selected as MTV artist of the week for July 7 - 11 and appeared again on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday, July 9, 2008; and on December 9, 2008 (with Ingrid Michaelson).
On October 28, 2008, Bareilles released "Live At The Fillmore" on DVD and CD. The package is a recording of her first headlining tour at the famous Fillmore in San Francisco. She concluded the tour in her home town of Eureka, California on December 19, 2008, at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.
In December 2008, a single with Ingrid Michaelson titled "Winter Song" was released off the compilation The Hotel Cafe Presents Winter Songs. The two performed it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and an animated video was released.
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Leona Lewis

Birth name: Leona Louise Lewis
Born: 3 April 1985(1985-04-03), Islington, London, England, UK
Genre(s): Pop, R&B
Occupation(s): Singer
Voice type(s): Soprano
Years active: 2006–present
Label(s): Sony, Syco, J Records
Website: www.leonalewismusic.co.uk
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985 in London) is an English pop/R&B singer and songwriter. She was discovered on the reality television show The X Factor and went on to win the third series in 2006, where she was the first female to win the show. The prize she received was a £1 million contract to Simon Cowell's record label, Syco Music. Her debut single in the United Kingdom, "A Moment Like This", broke a world record after it was downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release.
Her second single, "Bleeding Love", was the biggest-selling single of 2007 in her home country, topped over thirty international singles charts including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, the Republic of Ireland, France, Italy, Germany and Russia, and has since become the biggest selling single of the twenty-first century by a female, propelling Lewis to international fame.
Her debut album, Spirit, was released throughout Europe in 2007 and became the fastest-selling debut album ever in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Released in North America in 2008, Spirit debuted at number one on the United States' Billboard 200 album chart, making Lewis the first British solo artist to top the chart with a debut album.
Her fifth UK single which is a cover of Snow Patrol song "Run", became the fastest selling digital-only release of all time, after it sold 69,244 in just two days. By the end of the first week, download sales had reached 131,593, some eight thousand below the first week sales of "A Moment Like This".Lewis reached number one in both Ireland and the UK purely from downloads of the song.
Early life
Leona Louise Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to parents Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis, a youth worker from Guyana of Black African descent, and Maria Lewis, a British social worker of Welsh, Italian and Irish descent. At the age of five, she attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and later the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School. There she learned guitar and piano and also worked hard to write her own songs in order to be taken seriously as an accomplished musician.
She wrote her first song at the age of twelve, and won a number of talent competitions. She attended the John Loughborough SDA school. After leaving school, Lewis took a number of jobs to pay to get into a recording studio, including waitressing and several receptionist jobs. Lewis also has said her biggest idol as a singer growing up was the African-American soprano Leontyne Price.
She wrote, recorded and produced a number of songs including two demo albums, Twilight and Best Kept Secret. When she was fifteen years old, she recorded a version of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" with music producer Marley J. Wills, who commented that "Leona could hit the notes and I think she did it better than the original." Unable to secure a contract, Lewis considered placing her music career on hold to attend university, before her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor.
Personal life
Lewis lives in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician, whom she has known since she was approximately eleven years old. Lewis also lives with her pet dog, a baby Rottweiler called Rome.
A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008.
On 9 October 2008, Lewis revealed in an interview that she turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open the Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. Lewis also announced that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories. Leona lewis will perform on the 28th of jan.
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Chris Brown (entertainer)

Birth name : Christopher Maurice Brown
Born : May 5, 1989 (1989-05-05) (age 19)
Origin : Tappahannock, Virginia, United States
Genre(s) : R&B, pop, dance, hip hop
Voice type(s) : Tenor
Years active : 2005–present
Label(s) : Jive, Zomba, LBW
Website : ChrisBrownWorld.co
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is a Grammy-nominated American R&B and pop singer-songwriter, dancer, music video director and actor. He made his recording debut in late 2005 with Chris Brown at the age of 16. The album featured the hit single "Run It!", which topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Brown the first male artist to have his debut single to top the chart. The album has sold over two million copies in the United States and was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Brown's second studio album, Exclusive was released worldwide in November 2007. It spawned two successful singles; his second U.S. number one hit, "Kiss Kiss" featuring T-Pain and "With You", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Brown has released a deluxe version of his album called the The Forever Edition. The first single off of it, "Forever", was released in May 2008 and reached number two on Billboard Hot 100. Exclusive has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
In addition to his solo commercial success, Brown has been featured on several hits such as "No Air", a duet with singer Jordin Sparks, "Shortie like Mine" with the rapper Bow Wow and "Shawty Get Loose" alongside Lil Mama and T-Pain. The songs have peaked on number three, number nine and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. Due to his dance routines, Brown has been compared to renowned R&B artists such as Usher and Michael Jackson, citing both as large influences on his music.
Early life
Brown was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock, Virginia, the son of Joyce Hawkins and Clinton Brown. He began dancing at the age of two. He was influenced by the soul albums his parents listened owned. Originally interested in becoming a rapper, he chose to become a vocalist when his mother noticed his singing voice.
From the ages seven to thirteen, Brown was scarred by the domestic violence his mother endured from her boyfriend. He claims to "hate him to this day".
At the age of thirteen, Brown and his mother began looking for opportunities of a record deal. He was discovered by a local production team who visited his father's gas station searching for new talent. At the age of 15, Brown was then sent to perform for L.A. Reid and was subsequently signed in 2004 to Jive Records. By early 2005, Brown began work for his debut album, working with the likes of Scott Storch, The Underdogs, Dre & Vidal, Bryan-Michael Cox, Bow Wow, and Jermaine Dupri.
Music career
Chris Brown: (2005–2006)
Brown left school in late 2004 to begin working on his self-titled debut album which was released in November 2005. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 selling over 155,000 copies in first week of sales. It sold over 2.1 million copies in the United States and over three million copies worldwide. His debut single, "Run It!", was number one in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. Following "Run It!", "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" became Brown's second top 10 hit in the U.S., peaking at number seven, and number 13 in the UK. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
His third single, "Gimme That", was released in March 2006 which featured Lil Wayne for a remix, originally not featured on the album, but was later included. The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 80 and climbed the charts quickly peaking at number 15. Brown also co-directed his music videos for "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Gimme That".His fourth single is the ballad "Say Goodbye", which is also a part of the Step Up soundtrack. On June 13, 2006, Brown released a DVD entitled, Chris Brown's Journey, which shows footage of him traveling in England and Japan, getting ready for his first visit to the Grammy Awards, behind the scenes of his music videos and bloopers.
On August 17, 2006 to further promote the album, Brown began his major co-headlining tour, The Up Close and Personal Tour. Due to the tour, production for his next album was pushed back two months. Brown was also the opening act for R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles on the Australian leg of her The Beyoncé Experience tour.
Exclusive: (2006–present)
Shortly after ending his summer tour with Ne-Yo, Brown quickly began production for his second studio album, Exclusive, which was released in November 2007. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling 294,000 copies in its first week. It has sold 1.9 million copies in the United States.
According to MTV News, Brown stated: "I am still going to keep it so my younger fans can continue to listen to my music, but I got a couple of joints on there that's for some of the older people." The album's first single, "Wall to Wall", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 96, and peaked at number 79 and number 22 on the Billboard R&B and Hip-Hop Chart becoming his lowest charting song to date. "Kiss Kiss", featuring and produced by T-Pain, was released as the second single. "Kiss Kiss", became more successful surpassing the success of "Wall To Wall", reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 to become Chris' second number one single and his highest chart peak since "Run It!" in 2005. On December 4, 2007, Brown released the third single from "Exclusive", entitled "With You", a song produced by Stargate. "With You" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and had entered the charts in various countries around the world, becoming one of Brown's most successful released to date, entering the top ten in New Zealand, Singapore, Canada, the United States, Cyprus, Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Australia.
Brown re-released Exclusive on June 3, 2008 as a deluxe edition, renamed Exclusive: The Forever Edition, seven months after the release of the original version. The re-released version featured four new tracks, including the single "Forever" which reached number two on Billboard Hot 100.
In support of the album, Brown embarked on his The Exclusive Holiday concert tour, visiting over thirty venues in United States. He started the tour in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 6, 2007 and concluded it on February 9, 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The documented footage was released on June 3, 2008 as the double disc of Exclusive: The Forever Edition. He performed "With You" at the BET Awards '08 in June 2008. He was then joined by Ciara to dance with him to a snippet of the song "Take You Down".
Brown, alongside The Game, is featured on Nas' untitled album on "Make the World Go Round", co-produced by the The Game and Cool & Dre. He is also featured alongside Sean Garrett for Ludacris' single "What Them Girls Like" off Ludacris's album Theater of the Mind. He was also featured on T-Pain's third single "Freeze" off T-Pain's new album Thr33 Ringz. Brown was named the top artist of 2008 by Billboard magazine.
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Rihanna

Birth name : Robyn Rihanna Fenty
Born : February 20, 1988 (1988-02-20) (age 20)
Origin :Saint Michael, Barbados
Genre(s) : Pop, R&B, dance, reggae
Occupation(s) : Singer, songwriter, model, fashion designer
Years active : 2005–present
Label(s) : Def Jam Recordings
Website : www.rihannanow.com
Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), known as Rihanna (pronounced /riːˈɑːnə/), is a Barbadian singer, model and fashion designer. She also serves as the cultural ambassador for the island of Barbados. She is the first Barbadian artist to officially win a Grammy Award Rihanna is currently signed to the Def Jam Recordings label. She has attained five Billboard Hot 100 number ones thus far ("Umbrella", "SOS", "Take a Bow","Disturbia" and Live Your Life), four as a solo artist and one as featured artist, and is currently tied with Beyonce as the female solo artist with the most number ones in this decade.
Rihanna broke into the industry in 2005 with the release of her debut album Music of the Sun, which features her hit single "Pon de Replay". Less than a year later, Rihanna released A Girl Like Me and earned her first number-one single, "SOS". In 2007, Rihanna released her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album has yielded seven hit singles, including three worldwide number one singles: "Umbrella", "Don't Stop the Music", "Take a Bow". Since the release of her debut album, Rihanna has amassed twelve top 40 hit singles in the U.S.
Life and early career
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados to parents Ronald Fenty and Monica Fenty. She has two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty.
Rihanna went to Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then on to the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates. In 2004, she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant and performed in the Colours of Combermere School Show.
In 2003, after forming a girl group with two classmates at the age of 15, Rihanna along with her two bandmates, received their big break when her friends introduced her to record producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group auditioned for producer Evan Rogers and said that the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist. She eventually moved to Connecticut to live with Rogers and his wife. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to various recording companies. Rihanna's demo made its way to Def Jam who invited her to audition for rapper turned Def Jam president Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to Def Jam Recordings.
Rihanna cites Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Brandy, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Bob Marley, Fefe Dobson and her Caribbean background as major musical influences.
Music career
Rihanna's debut album, Music of the Sun, was released on August 30, 2005 in the United States, yielding two singles, the first being "Pon de Replay" which was released on August 22, 2005. This single became a huge success upon its release peaking at number 2 in the US on Billboard Hot 100 charts. It also became a global hit where it peaked within the top 10 across 15 countries as well as achieving top 20 chartings on 20 charts around the world. The single written by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers was described by Rolling Stone magazine as a "poppy piece of dancehall reggae with slapping, syncopated beats recalling big-band jazz."
Rihanna second album, A Girl Like Me, was released in April 2006; less than eight months after the release of her first album. The lead single, "SOS", was used in an endorsement deal with Nike. The song became Rihanna's first number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it also debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart. "SOS" peaked at number one in Australia and number two in the UK. The second single, entitled "Unfaithful", was written by R&B singer Ne-Yo. The song became her third top ten hit in the U.S. and in the UK. The third single, "We Ride", was not as successful as her previous releases, failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, however, it became her fifth UK top 20 single, where it peaked at number 17 on that chart and peaked at number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. Rihanna's fourth single from the album, "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul, had already climbed to number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on airplay. It was released as a digital download on February 19, 2007, which made the song jump from number fifty-two to number ten and then eventually peak at number nine. A Girl like Me's sales were significantly stronger, selling over 1 million in the U.S.
Rihanna went into the studio in early 2007 with Ne-Yo, Stargate, and Timbaland among others to record her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad. The album was released on June 5, 2007, features Jay-Z and Ne-Yo. Rihanna worked with Timbaland on three songs in the album: "Lemme Get That", "Rehab" and the Japanese bonus track "Haunted". Justin Timberlake co-wrote and provides background vocals on "Rehab".
The album so far has yielded eight hit singles, including the world-wide number one hit "Umbrella", featuring Jay-Z. In addition to reaching number one in various countries, "Umbrella" was the number one single in the UK for 10 consecutive weeks, making it the longest running UK number one single since Wet Wet Wet's single "Love Is All Around", back in 1994, and the longest running number one by a female artist since Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", which also topped the chart for 10 weeks in 1992. By the end of the year, "Umbrella" was ranked second on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in the United States.
Her other singles, "Shut Up and Drive" and "Don't Stop The Music" were able to mirror the success of "Umbrella", with "Don't Stop the Music" reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Rihanna's seventh top ten single and her fourth top five hit, while peaking at number one in various countries. The fourth single (third single in the US and UK) "Hate That I Love You", featuring Ne-Yo, was able to peak at number seven in the U.S.
2008-present
On November 23, 2008 Rihanna was nominated for two American Music Award (Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist). Rihanna won in in both categories making it her third AMA. Rihanna also performed "Rehab" on stage at the AMA.
Rihanna was also selected as the spokesmodel for Gucci’s first UNICEF ad campaign. She will appear in the fashion house’s Tattoo Heart campaign, premiering in December. Rihanna will be photographed in series of special edition print ads with UNICEF items, twenty-five percent of sales will benefit the children’s charity.
In New York, Rihanna was then enlisted by Gucci's Frida Giannini along with Madonna to light the UNICEF Christmas snowflake. Rihanna, dressed head to toe in Gucci, is now the face of the fourth annual Gucci Campaign to Benefit UNICEF, which aims to raise funds for children in Africa through the sale of its Tattoo Heart collection of bags.
On December 24, 2008 Rihanna stated that she would be back in the recording studio in early 2009 to resume working on her fourth studio album. She expects the album to be released in 2009.
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Doug Wead

Doug Wead is a presidential historian, philanthropist and public speaker. He was Special Assistant to former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and is the author of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-seller All the Presidents’ Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of the First Families. He has authored a sequel which examines the parenting of presidents of the United States, The Raising of a President: The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders.
Professional history
In 1979, Doug Wead joined entertainer Pat Boone and Dan O’Neill in co-founding Mercy Corps. In 1991, Wead provided initial funding to help launch a Mercy Corps economic recovery program in the newly formed Republic of Kazakhstan.
In the 1980s, Wead organized the Annual Charity Awards, now under the name International Charity Association. Ten First Ladies and Presidents have served as honorary chairpersons of this prestigious event, including Lady Bird Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, George H. W. and Barbara Bush, and George W. and Laura Bush.
In 1992, Wead was the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona's 6th Congressional District. Despite having lived in Arizona for only a few years, Wead won the Republican nomination after championing a tax limitation initiative and airing a television commercial featuring praise by former President Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian efforts. He lost in the general election to the Democratic nominee, Karan English.
Wead was an active behind-the-scenes player in the 2000 United States presidential election, receiving some credit for George W. Bush's victory in the Iowa straw polls of 1999. From 1984 to 2000, he served as an on-and-off adviser to both presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
Time magazine called Mr. Wead an insider in the Bush family orbit and "the man who coined the phrase 'Compassionate Conservative.'"George W. Bush first picked up the term “Compassionate Conservative” in 1987 from his then aide Doug Wead. In 1979, Wead gave a speech titled “The Compassionate Conservative” at the annual Charity Awards Dinner, and tapes of the speech were later sold across the country at corporate seminars.
In March 2008, Wead helped create the Web site Religious Freedom In America, focusing on government threats to religious observance.
Public speaking
As a presidential historian, Wead is a frequent guest on television shows. He has been interviewed by Matt Lauer on The Today Show, Bill O'Reilly of The O'Reilly Factor, Connie Chung on a CNN Special, Debra Norville on MSNBC, Diane Sawyer on ABC's Good Morning America, and others. He was interviewed by Dan Rather on The CBS Evening News on the first night of the Gulf War.
Mark Victor Hansen, the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, describes Doug Wead as "incredibly inspiring and unbelievably motivating." Wead continues to speak around the world. He has spoken to audiences in thirty countries, including Russia, Poland, Hungary, France, Germany, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Brazil and across the United States. [13] Steve Siebold, who trains corporate speakers for clients ranging from Toyota to Coldwell Banker, describes Doug Wead as "one of the greatest platform speakers in the world."
Books
Wead has written more than 30 books that have been translated into thirty languages and have sold millions of copies.
"First families" trilogy
In his research of presidential families, he has interviewed ten first ladies and presidents from six different presidential families, and nineteen of the presidential children. His trilogy, already twenty years in the making, covers presidential children, presidential parents, and presidential siblings. The first two books of the trilogy, All the President's Children (2004) and The Raising of a President (2006), were instant New York Times bestsellers.[ A third book, now being written with Mary Achor, will be the first book about presidential siblings.
Political books
In the 1970s and 1980's Wead wrote several instant books. Two of these, Reagan in Pursuit of the Presidency (1980) and The Iran Crisis (1980), were best sellers on their respective subjects.
Religious books
Wead wrote as a Protestant apologist for the Catholic Charismatic Movement at the age of 22. Books written around this time include Tonight They’ll Kill a Catholic (1974) and Compassionate Touch (1980).
Motivational books
Beginning in the 1970s, Wead wrote many motivational and network marketing books that sold extensively. Wead was the co-author of numerous titles with Amway distributor Dexter Yager, including Don’t Let Anyone Steal Your Dream (1978) and Millionaire Mentality (1993).
George W. Bush taping controversy
In 1987 Doug Wead began tape recording members of the Bush family, with their permission, providing an historical record of the family. George Bush: Man of Integrity, which includes accounts of all family members, was published in 1988, written primarily from these taped conversations.
In February, 2005, the New York Times revealed that Wead's taping had continued. Between 1997-2000 Wead reportedly recorded nine hours of telephone conversations with then Governor George W. Bush as he engaged in his presidential run. Wead stated he wanted to create an ongoing record of Bush as a historical figure; it was his intention that the tapes never become public but be available for his own research and writing. Wead was offered millions of dollars for the tapes but turned down all offers, stating that his personal friendship with Bush was "more important than history." He said he would have the tapes turned over to the president, stating, "I would rather be a good man with mediocre book sales, than mediocre man with big book sales." In February, 2005, the White House announced that the president had reached an agreement with Wead regarding the issue and the matter was closed.
Other activities
Mr. Wead is also an independent business owner in partnership with Quixtar and Network TwentyOne. He has achieved a high status in this business; known to insiders as a "Diamond". In 1995 he helped reopen Canyonville Christian Academy, a private boarding school for teenagers in southern Oregon. For the first three years, Wead personally subsidized the school’s monthly budget. Since 2000, the school has enjoyed a full attendance and maintains an annual waiting list. He currently serves as its president.
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Network TwentyOne

Network TwentyOne, also known as N21 or Network 21, is an education and training company supplying Professional Development Programs to Independent Business Owners (IBOs) working with the Quixtar and Amway network marketing business opportunities. Network TwentyOne operates in more than 36 countries. It was founded in 1989 by Americans Jim and Nancy Dornan, IBOs in Amway and Quixtar. The Dornans were Founders Crown Ambassadors in Amway as of 2006.
History
Jim Dornan recounts in his book The Power of Partnership that he is a graduate of Purdue University and was an aerospace engineer and Nancy Dornan a speech therapist when they joined Amway in 1970. He states that they retired from conventional employment while in their 20s, having built a large Amway network. The financial burdens caused by the birth of their son, Eric, with spina bifida was one of the reasons the Dornans started building their business seriously. Later on he started his own training and motivation organization, and named it Network 21. Most IBOs in the Amway/Quixtar business are affiliated to some such IBO organization which are typically started by successful IBOs after having grown their business significantly.
People and Culture
Jim Dornan has also coauthored the book Becoming A Person Of Influence with John C. Maxwell. Jim Dornan has been a committee member of National Charity Awards organized by Doug Wead. Maxwell and Wead are among frequent speakers at seminars organized by N21As of 1995, Jim Dornan was one of the several Amway business leaders on the board of Gospel FilmsAs of 2007, Jim Dornan was on the board of directors of Equip Foundation founded by John C. Maxwell.
Business Methodology
Network 21 provides training programs to help IBOs grow their Amway/Quixtar businesses. The system consists of books and CDs, and organizing seminars where successful business persons, specialists and motivational speakers, from within and from outside Network 21, speak. Network 21 teaches a method of business building which it calls the "TEAM21 strategy"
Philanthropy
World Vision, an international "Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children", has recognized Network TwentyOne's members as their largest corporate network of child sponsors. On September 1, 2006, Jim and Nancy Dornan, founders of Network TwentyOne, accepted an achievement award from World Vision President, Richard Stearns, on behalf of Network of Caring. Network 21 IBOs from around the world have donated over $20,000,000 to World Vision's child sponsorship programme over the previous 20 years, improving the lives of over 50,000 children.
Jim and Nancy Dornan, and their son Eric Dornan have also created The Ambassador Fund and the Fernando Foundation, in honor of Fernando Ruelas, the late long-time caretaker of Eric. The Fernando Foundation supports numerous outreach programs in support of the world's children, the construction of homes and schools for street children in India organised under the Karuna Project. The foundation is also heavily involved in promoting and supporting Power Soccer.
Controversy
Leslie Giblin, author of the book Skill with People sued Network 21 in 2002 for copyright infringement through unauthorized printing and selling of his book in several countries In a related case against Yager Internet Services, Leslie Giblin's grandson, Brian Zima, stated in a court affidavit that he had inadvertently published an incorrect date of first publication for the book on their website www.skillwithpeople.com, and apologised for any misunderstandings this may have caused. Network TwentyOne and Giblin subsequently settled the case out of court
Network TwentyOne is named in the Blakey Report, as one of the organizations that works with Amway. The report was used as an expert witness report in P&G vs Amway case number H-97-2384 (S.D. Tex. 1997)and claims that the Amway business operates in a manner that is parallel to that of major organized crime groups. The report was prepared by G. Robert Blakey who was retained by P&G to support its RICO claim against Amway. It also figured in the Amway vs. P&G case number 1:98cv 726. It is claimed that Amway unsuccessfully tried to prevent the appearance of this report on the internet. These cases did not involve Network TwentyOne. The Britt and Yager Organizations are the two main groups mentioned in the report, while Network 21 and several other IBO organizations are mentioned only as other organizations within the Amway "family".
Courts in both Utah and Texas dismissed Procter & Gamble's claims against Amway.
In 1994, in the parliament of New South Wales in Australia, the minister for consumer affairs was questioned regarding the methods used by Amway and N21, to which the minister replied by saying that the complaints and evidence received were too few to indicate any cause for concern.
In May 2007, Amway stated on its media blog that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in its complaints against Network 21, made serious allegations about the way Network 21 represents the Amway business opportunity in the UK. The DTI also alleged that Amway did not do enough to police the misrepresentations made by Network 21 and other organizations. Amway announced a ban on sale of Business Support Materials (books, tapes, CDs, meetings, websites) by IBO organizations, including Network 21, in UK, and announced a thorough review of its business practices globally. Amway refused to stand by assertions in a response letter from Jim Dornan to IBOs, calling it an "unproductive spin" created by Network 21. Dornan's letter suggested that Network 21 is not a party to the DTI complaint. Jim Dornan subsequently issued a second letter, stating that Network 21 (UK) is named in a separate complaint by the DTI and hence the issue should be taken seriously and addressed.
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Andrea Bocelli

Born : September 22, 1958 (1958-09-22) (age 50)
Origin : Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy
Genre(s) : Classical Crossover, Popera, Adult Contemporary, Easy Listening
Occupation(s) : Singer, producer, songwriter, musician and former lawyer
Instrument(s) : Vocals, keyboards, Flute, Saxophone, Trumpet, Trombone, Harp, Guitar, Drums
Voice type(s) : Tenor
Years active : 1992 - present
Label(s) : Sugar Label, Decca
Website : Andrea Bocelli
Dr. Andrea Bocelli, GO OMRI., LL.D. (born September 22, 1958) is an Italian operatic poptenor and a classical crossover singer who has also performed in operas. To date, he has recorded seven complete operas (La bohème, Tosca, Il trovatore, Werther, Pagliacci, Cavalleria rusticana and Carmen) in addition to various classical and pop albums. He has sold over 65 million albums worldwide thus far making him the biggest selling tenor of all time, and the biggest selling classical soloist of all time (even bigger than Pavarotti who sold more albums with The Three Tenors but not as a soloist). He is also a Doctor of law but only worked as a lawyer for a short time.
Early life 1958-1992
Teatro del Silenzio at Lajatico, Tuscany
Bocelli was born in Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy, about 40 km south of Pisa, in 1958, to parents Alessandro and Edi Bocelli, and grew up on the family farm. It was evident at birth that he had problems with his sight and after visits to many doctors, Bocelli was diagnosed with glaucoma. In 1972, at the age of 14, he completely lost his sight after an accident during a soccer game.
As a young boy, Bocelli showed a great passion for music. His mother, Edi, has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. At the age of six he started piano lessons before also learning to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums.
Bocelli would also spend time singing during his childhood and would later recall that he was "one of those children who would always be asked to sing for my relatives. I don't think one really decides to be a singer - other people decide it for you by their reactions." At the age of 14 he won his first song competition, the Margherita d'Oro in Viareggio with O sole mio. After he finished secondary school, in 1970, he studied Law at the University of Pisa. After graduating as a Doctor of Law he spent one year as a court appointed lawyer but it wasn't too long before his call for music took over. To pay for the fees Bocelli performed evenings in piano bars. It was there, in 1987, that he met his future wife, Enrica.
He also performed there to pay for singing lessons from Italian composer Bettarini who had taught famous opera singers such as Franco Corelli. In 1992 he attended a master-class with Italian tenor Corelli, singing "Che gelida manina" from Giacomo Puccini's La bohème. Corelli then took him on as a pupil.
Personal life
Bocelli met his first wife Enrica, with whom he had two children, while singing at piano bars early in his career. They were married on 27 June 1992. Their first child, Amos, was born in February 1995. Their second son, Matteo was born in October 1997. The couple divorced in 2002. Since then, he met his fiancée to be, Veronica Berti, but he doesn't plan to get married again due to being catholic. The couple lives in Forte dei Marmi in a 19th century former hotel on the beach and Bocelli's ex-wife and his two sons live in the couple's previous residence in the same comune near Pisa.
Bocelli's father, Sandro Bocelli, died on 30 April 2000. His mother encouraged him to honour his commitments and so he sang for the Pope in Rome on 1 May and immediately returned home for the funeral. At the 5 July performance that was filmed for PBS as American Dream — Andrea Bocelli's Statue of Liberty Concert, Bocelli dedicated the encore Sogno to the memory of his father. A section of the way along the beach in Jesolo, on the Italian Adriatic coast, was named after Bocelli on 11 August 2003.
In 2006, Bocelli influenced the municipality of Lajatico (his home village) to build an outdoor theatre, the "Teatro del Silenzio".Bocelli performed for one night only. One night every July the theatre will be opened for performances. The rest of the time it will be silent.. Since the opening he has sung on 27 July 2006, 5 July 2007 and 20 July 2008, and has agreed to perform at least two more, in July 2009 and 2010.
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Sean Penn

Born : Sean Justin Penn, August 17, 1960 (1960-08-17) (age 48), Santa Monica, California, USA
Years active : 1974–present
Spouse(s) : Madonna (1985–1989), Robin Wright Penn (1996–present)

Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American film actor, filmmaker, libealr political activist and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2004. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his role in Mystic River.
Early life
Penn was born in Los Angeles County, California, the son of Leo Penn, an actor and director, and Eileen Ryan, an actress. He has one living brother, musician Michael Penn. Another brother, actor Chris Penn, died in 2006. His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania and Russia. Penn's mother is a Catholic of Italian and Irish descent. According to Penn's mother, Leo Penn may have had distant Spanish ancestry, as the family's surname was originally "Piñón".Penn was raised in a secular homeand is an Agnostic.
Acting career
Penn appeared in a 1974 episode of Little House on the Prairie as a then blond-haired extra when his father, Leo, directed some of the episodes. Penn launched his career with the 1981 film Taps, followed a year later with the hit comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High (in the role of stoner Jeff Spicoli). Penn's portrayal of Spicoli was immensely popular and the film remained his most commercially successful work for many years. In 1983, Penn turned in one of his best early performance as Mick O'Brien, a troubled youth in the drama Bad Boys. It earned Penn favorable reviews and jump started his career as a serious actor.
In 1985, Penn gave a memorable performance in the role of Andrew Daulton Lee in The Falcon and the Snowman. Lee was a former drug dealer by trade, convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union and was originally sentenced to life in prison. Lee was paroled in 1998. According to an April 8, 2005, interview in The Guardian, Penn later hired Lee as his personal assistant, partly because he wanted to reward Lee for allowing him to play Lee in the film, and also because he was a firm believer in rehabilitation and thought Andrew Lee should be reintegrated into society now that he is a free man again.
In 1986 he starred in the drama At Close Range, opposite Christopher Walken. The film was based on a true story and gained positive reviews from critics. The film featured his then wife Madonna's single "Live to Tell". The music video for the song, which featured clips from the film, played heavily on MTV and helped promote the film.
Penn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor five times and won the award once. The academy first recognized his work playing a racist murderer on death row in Tim Robbins' 1995 drama Dead Man Walking. Penn was noted in 1999 for his comedic performance as an egotistical jazz guitarist in the Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown. He received his third nomination in 2001 after portraying a mentally challenged father seeking custody of his child in the drama I am Sam. In 2003 Penn finally won for his role in Clint Eastwood's Boston crime-drama Mystic River. He portrayed a hot-headed father with ties to criminals, who seeks revenge for the murder of his daughter. He was nominated once more for his role as Harvey Milk in the 2008 film Milk.
Penn's interest in progressive or liberal politics is reflected in some of his recent film roles. In 2004, he played a disturbed man bent on killing the president in The Assassination of Richard Nixon. In 2006 he portrayed populist governor Willie Stark (based on Huey Long) in an adaptation of the classic American novel All the King's Men, though the film was a critical and commercial failure. In November 2008, Penn earned rave reviews for his portrayal of real-life gay rights icon and politician Harvey Milk in the biopic Milk and was nominated for best actor for the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.
Personal life
Penn was supposedly engaged to actress Elizabeth McGovern, his co-star in 1984's Racing with the Moon, after which he dated Susan Sarandon. Penn's personal life began to attract media attention when he married pop star Madonna in 1985. The relationship was marred by violent outbursts against the press, including one incident for which he was arrested for violently beating a photographer. It is also suggested that when Penn discovered the paparazzo in his hotel room, he hung him by his ankles from the ninth-floor balcony. Madonna dedicated her third studio album, True Blue to Penn, referring to him in the liner notes as "the coolest guy in the universe". Later in the marriage, Penn was charged with felony domestic assault, a charge for which he pleaded to a misdemeanor. Penn and Madonna divorced in 1989.
He soon began a relationship with Robin Wright, and their first child, Dylan Frances, was born in 1991. Their second child, Hopper Jack, was born in 1993. Penn and Wright married in 1996 and lived in Ross, California. On December 27, 2007, the couple's representative announced that the Penns were divorcing, however, they later stopped divorce proceedings in April 2008.
During a separation from Wright in the mid 1990s, Penn dated singer and songwriter Jewel. He was also the director of the original video for Jewel's hit song "You Were Meant for Me"
Penn's younger brother, Chris, who played "Nice Guy Eddie" in Reservoir Dogs, died from an enlarged heart (drug induced) in his Santa Monica condominium on January 24, 2006.
Along with Johnny Depp, Mick Hucknall, and John Malkovich, Penn is a part-owner of the Parisian restaurant-bar Man Ray.
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Meryl Streep

Born : Mary Louise Streep, June 22, 1949 (1949-06-22) (age 59), Summit, New Jersey, United States
Years active : 1977–present
Spouse(s) : Don Gummer (1978–present)
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American award-winning actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. She is widely regarded as being one of the most talented and respected movie actors of the modern era. She made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, and her screen debut came in 1977's made-for-television movie, The Deadliest Season. Streep made her film debut in Julia (1977), starring opposite Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave.
Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in The Deer Hunter, with Robert De Niro and John Cazale, and Kramer vs. Kramer, with Dustin Hoffman, the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. Streep's work has earned her two Academy Awards, a Cannes award, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), four Grammy Award nominations, two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA award, and a Tony Award nomination. She has received 15 Academy Award nominations, more than any other actor or actress in the history of the awards, and is tied with Angela Lansbury and Jack Nicholson for most Golden Globe Award wins, with six each. She has now been nominated a record-breaking 23 times for a Golden Globe award, beating Jack Lemmon, who had 22. She is now the most nominated actor in the history of the awards. She is also one of the few actors to have won all four major screen acting awards (Oscars, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA awards).
Early life
Streep was born Mary Louise Streep in Summit, New Jersey, the daughter of Mary W. Streep, a commercial artist, and Harry William Streep, Jr., a pharmaceutical executive. Streep's mother was of Swiss, Irish, and English ancestry, and her father's family was of Dutch descent. Streep was raised Presbyterian; the name "Streep" means "straight line" in Dutch. She has two younger brothers, Dana and Harry. Streep was raised in Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended and graduated from Bernards High School. She received her B.A. in Drama at Vassar College in 1971 but also enrolled as a transfer student at Dartmouth College for a semester before that school had become coeducational. She subsequently earned an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama.
Early career
She performed in several theater productions in New York after graduating from Yale, including the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew with Raul Julia, and Measure for Measure opposite Sam Waterston and John Cazale, who became her fiancé. She starred on Broadway in the Brecht/Weill musical Happy End, and won an Obie for her performance in the all-sung off-Broadway production of Alice at the Palace.
Streep's first feature film was Julia, in which she played a small but pivotal role during a flashback scene. The Deer Hunter (1978) was her second feature film, and it earned Streep her first Academy Award nomination (for Best Supporting Actress). The following year, she won an Academy Award for her role opposite Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer (Best Supporting Actress, 1979). In 1982 she won again, for Sophie's Choice (Best Actress), where she starred alongside Peter MacNicol and Kevin Kline.
In 1978, she won her first Emmy Award, for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for the miniseries Holocaust. A year later, she appeared in her only Woody Allen film, Manhattan. Streep was engaged to John Cazale ("Fredo" in The Godfather), her costar in The Deer Hunter, until his death from bone cancer on March 12, 1978. In September 1978, she married sculptor Don Gummer. They have four children: Henry W. Gummer (1979), Mary Willa Gummer (Mamie Gummer) (1983), Grace Jane Gummer (1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (1991). While Streep still continued her career during motherhood, she chose to raise her family and be there for her children rather than work full time. Henry is an actor, filmmaker and co-founder of the rock band Bravo Silva. Mamie has chosen acting as a career, and made her off-Broadway debut as Lucy in a 2005 production of Mr. Marmalade at the Laura Pels Theatre. Grace made her acting debut at the Wild Project in New York in The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents, by the Swiss playwright Lukas Bärfuss in November 2008.
Awards
Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated 15 times since her first nomination in 1979 for The Deer Hunter (12 for Best Actress and 3 for Best Supporting Actress).
Meryl Streep also holds the record for actress with the most Golden Globe Awards, with six wins. She is the most nominated performer for a Golden Globe Award (she has 23 nominations) and is also tied with Jack Nicholson for most Golden Globes overall by an actor or actress (six wins). Streep has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2003, she was awarded an honorary César award by the French Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema. In 2004 at the Moscow International Film Festival, Meryl Streep was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school.
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Phil Collins,

Birth name : Philip David Charles Collins
Born : 30 January 1951 (1951-01-30), Chiswick, London, England
Genre(s) : Progressive rock, rock, pop, big band
Occupation(s) : Singer-songwriter, Musician, Actor
Instrument(s) : Vocals, drums, keyboards, bagpipes, guitar, bass
Years active : 1968–present
Label(s) : Virgin, Atlantic, WEA
Associated acts : Genesis, Brand X, Flaming Youth, Philip Bailey, The Phil Collins Big Band
Website : philcollins.co.uk
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO, (born 30 January 1951 in Chiswick, London) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboardist and actor best known as the lead singer and drummer of English progressive rock group Genesis and as a Grammy and Academy Award-winning solo artist. He has also appeared in several films.
Collins sang the lead vocals on eight American chart-toppers between 1984 and 1989; seven as a solo artist and one with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "In the Air Tonight", to the dance pop of "Sussudio", to the political statements of his most successful song, "Another Day in Paradise". His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early MTV mainstay.
Collins' professional career began as a drummer, first with obscure rock group Flaming Youth and then more famously with Genesis. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel, singing lead on only two songs: "For Absent Friends" from 1971's Nursery Cryme album and "More Fool Me" from Selling England by the Pound, which was released in 1973. On Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer. As the decade closed, Genesis's first international hit, "Follow You, Follow Me", demonstrated a drastic change from the band's early years.
His concurrent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both him and Genesis commercial success. According to Atlantic Records, Collins' total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2002, were 150 million.
Early life and career
Collins was given a toy drum kit for Christmas when he was five. Later, his uncle Mark Wade made him a makeshift one that he used regularly. As Collins grew older these were followed by more complete sets bought by his parents. He practised by playing alongside the television and radio, and never learned to read and write conventional musical notation; instead, he uses a system he devised himself
His professional training began at fourteen when he entered Barbara Speake Stage School. He began a career as a child actor and model, and won his first major role as The Artful Dodger in a London production of Oliver!. He was an extra in The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night - one of hundreds of screaming teenagers during the TV concert sequence and seen fleetingly in a close-up. He was also in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He also auditioned for the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (1968). In 1970, the 19-year old Collins played percussion on the George Harrison song "The Art of Dying". Harrison credited him in the liner notes to the remastered CD version of the album released in 2000. Collins was among the last three finalists for the role of "I.Q." on the children's American television show The Bugaloos (he lost out to English actor/musician John McIndoe).
Despite the beginnings of an acting career, Collins continued to gravitate towards music. While attending Chiswick Community School he formed a band called The Real Thing and later joined The Freehold. With the latter group, he wrote his first song titled "Lying Crying Dying"
Collins' first record deal came as drummer for Flaming Youth who released a single album, Ark 2 (1969). A concept album inspired by the recent media attention surrounding the moon landing, Ark 2 (with Ronnie Caryl, Brian Chatton and Gordon (Flash) Smith), failed to make much commercial success despite positive critical reviews. Melody Maker featured the album as "Pop Album of the Month", describing it as "adult music beautifully played with nice tight harmonies".The album's main single, "From Now On", failed on the radio. After a year of touring, band tensions and the lack of commercial success dissolved the group.
Personal life
Collins married Canadian Andrea Bertorelli in 1975. They met as students in a drama class in London, in 1975. They had a son, Simon Collins, and Collins adopted Bertorelli's daughter Joely Collins, now a Canadian actress. They divorced in 1980, after she started an affair with their painter and decorator. Collins later appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops singing his 1981 solo hit In The Air Tonight with a pot of paint and brush positioned on his piano.
Collins and his second wife, Sue Collins whom he met in 1980, were married from 1985 to 2000. They had a daughter and a son, Paul & Pippa Collins. Collins openly admits that some of their divorce-related correspondence was by fax (one, about access to their daughter, was reproduced in The Sun), but denies that this took her by surprise. Collins paid Jill £17M as final settlement.[
After a five year romance, Collins married his third wife, Orianne Cevey, in 2005, with guests Eric Clapton and Sir Elton John in attendance. The couple have two sons, Nicholas and Matthew. They bought Sir Jackie Stewart's former house located in Begnins, Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva. Announcing their separation on 16 March 2006, they were divorced in 2008. Collins paid Cevey £25M in settlement. Collins has said he will continue to live in Switzerland to be near the children. He is presently residing in Féchy, maintaining a home in New York City and Oxford. In 2008, Collins was quoted in People Magazine: "Marriage is a difficult proposition. But I haven't given up on it, either
Collins was appointed a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in 1994 in recognition of his work on behalf of the Prince's Trust.
Collins was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005 for his contribution to music and his ongoing commitment to fighting world poverty.
Bob Geldof said of Collins after recording the drums for the Band Aid single 'Feed The World (Do They Know its Christmas)', "Phil Collins, is a magnificent soul, he has touched the world through his music and he continues to fight against world poverty. He is one of life's true heroes."
Collins is a supporter of animal rights and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In 2005, he donated autographed drumsticks in support of PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken.
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Jennifer Lopez

Birth name : Jennifer Lynn Lopez
Also known as : J.Lo, Jenny
Born : July 24, 1969 (1969-07-24)
Origin : The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States
Genre(s) : Pop, dance-pop, Latin pop
Years active : 1987–present
Label(s) : Epic, Work
Website : JenniferLopez.com
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), popularly nicknamed J.Lo, is an American Golden Globe-nominated actress, Grammy Award-nominated singer, record producer, dancer, fashion designer and television producer. She is the richest person of Latin American descent in Hollywood according to Forbes, and the most influential Hispanic entertainer in America according to People en Español's list of "100 Most Influential Hispanics".
Starting in 1999, Lopez released seven albums, including two #1 albums on the Billboard 200 charts and four Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles. She won the 2003 American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and the 2007 American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist. She has appeared in numerous films, and has won ALMA Awards for outstanding actress for her work in Selena, Out of Sight, and Angel Eyes. She parlayed her media fame into a fashion line and various perfumes with her celebrity endorsement.
Media attention has also focused on her personal life. She has had high-profile relationships with Ojani Noa, Cris Judd, Sean Combs, Ben Affleck, and Marc Anthony. Her first children, fraternal twins named Max and Emme, were born on February 22, 2008.
Early life
Jennifer Lopez was born and grew up in the South Bronx, New York to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodríguez, a kindergarten teacher, and David Lopez, a computer specialist. She has two siblings, Lynda and Leslie. Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at the all-girls Preston High School, in the Bronx. She financed singing and dancing lessons for herself from the age of 19. After attending Baruch College for one semester, Lopez divided her time between working in a legal office, dance classes, and dance performances in Manhattan night clubs. After months of auditioning for dance roles, Lopez was selected as a dancer for various rap music videos, a 1990 episode of Yo! MTV Raps, and as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block and their performance of their song "Games" for the American Music Awards in 1991. After being rejected twice, Lopez gained her first regular high-profile job as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color in 1990. Soon after, Lopez became a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and made an appearance in her 1993 video "That's the Way Love Goes".
Film and television
Lopez appeared on the short-lived television programs South Central, Second Chances, and Hotel Malibu, and the made-for-television film Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. Lopez broke into the big screen in the 1995 drama My Family and then appeared opposite Wesley Snipes in the action film Money Train. Lopez has played roles in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams, and the 1997 thriller Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson. Lopez played the lead role in the 1997 film Selena for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" in 1998. She became the first Hispanic actress to get paid $1 million or more for a film role. Some of her other critically-acclaimed films include Out of Sight, The Cell, An Unfinished Life, and Shall We Dance?. Two independent films produced by Lopez were well-received at film festivals: El Cantante at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Bordertown at the Brussels film festival. Other modestly successful films include The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, Monster-in-Law, and Enough. Gigli, however, would be a critical and commercial disappointment. In August 2007, Lopez collaborated on the feature film, El Cantante, with her husband singer-actor Marc Anthony. The film is in English, with a creative use of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics.
Lopez made an appearance as a mentor on American Idol on April 10, 2007
In May 2006, Lopez was the executive producer of the eight-episode reality show, DanceLife, which ran on MTV beginning January 15, 2007. Lopez helped select the show's participants and made cameo appearances. She then served as executive producer of a miniseries broadcast on Univisión. Titled after her CD Como Ama Una Mujer, it ran in five episodes from October 30 to November 27, 2007, and starred Christian Borrero and Adriana Cruz.
Lopez signed a contract as star and executive producer of an unscripted reality series for TLC, a division of Discovery Communications Inc. The series will show the launching of her new fragrance, and will not focus on her family.
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