Shaheila Binti Abdul Majid or commonly known to her fans as Sheila Majid is Malaysia's queen of R&B and Jazz, and she was born on 3 January 1965. She is the youngest of a family of 8 children. Sheila is very petite and her height measured at only 4' 11".

Sheila attended school at Methodist Girls Primary School and Methodist Secondary School, both in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was married to Roslan Aziz, the producer of her previous albums, but has since divorced him. Sheila is now married to Murshim Hassim, better known as Acis, who is also a musician. They got married on the 3 June 2003. Sheila has two children from her earlier marriage to Roslan, Khaleda and Megat.

Music was always around Sheila and her family when she was growing up. The singing started off as a hobby. She started to learn the piano at the age of four. Never in her wildest dreams had Sheila thought that one day she would become a singer, let alone a diva. She stumbled into the limelight by accident, singing at a friend's party when she was 17, and being spotted by a music producer. Impressed by what he heard he invited Sheila to do a demo.

Sheila auditioned for Roslan Aziz and was given a contract in 1982. However, it took another three years before she burst into the limelight in 1985 with her debut album "Dimensi Baru" (New Dimension), which subsequently went gold. With "Emosi" (Emotion), released a year later, Sheila made a Malaysian invasion of a very protective Indonesian market. She went on to win the prestigious BASF Award for Best Female Artist in R&B category in 1987; never before by a non-Indonesian. Her success in Indonesia was further entrenched by a 1988 nationwide tour, which received an overwhelming response.

From Indonesia, Sheila spread her wings to Japan where she performed at the Tokyo Music Festival in 1989. She left such an impression at the Okinawa Music Pageant in 1990 that she was invited back to perform in Japan by popular demand that very same year. With two well-received albums and singles respectively she remains the first and only Malaysian artist to successfully infiltrate Japan, the world’s second biggest market.

By the same time, Sheila released her 1988 multi-platinum selling album "Warna" (Colour) her album sales abroad were outstripping sales in her home country. Her music had broken all age and racial barriers and she had by now become a household name. Her popularity topped New Straits Times reader’s poll four consecutive years between 1987 to 1990, which incidentally was the last year the poll was held.

Even before she could take time to revel in the resounding success of Warna, Sheila embarked upon yet another pioneering project in 1990, fourth album "Legenda" (Legend) which featured her fresh interpretation of several classics by the late P.Ramlee, perceived as a daring effort by critics and fans alike. Her tribute to Malaysia’s most unrivaled legendary artist captured the imagination of the nation across the board. Little wonder when in the same year, she was awarded the Ahli Mangku Negara (A.M.N), a federal honour, by His Majesty the Yang DiPertuan Agong IX. To date, Legenda remains her best-selling album which was complemented by an enormously success nationwide tour, spanning over two years and culminating in a concert at Stadium Negara, Kuala Lumpur which drew a record-breaking crowd of more than 10,000 – hitherto the biggest by a local solo artiste.

The release of her fifth original studio album, "Ratu" (Queen) in 1996 was a marked transition in Sheila's singing career. By now her voice and singing style have matured completely. Her immense popularity, despite a 6 years break, coupled her enchanting new found velvety smooth sound had enabled her to collaborate with some of the world’s best musicians – most notably bassist Nathan East of American jazz group Four Play and Rex Goh of Air Supply fame on guitars, as well as Japanese violinist, Aska Kaneko.

With this critically acclaimed album, Sheila took her music to United Kingdom where she performed at a sold-out concert at London’s West End Royalty Theatre in March 1996. To mark this historic event – again, Malaysia’s first – East West Records, her UK affiliate label, occasioned a special release of Ratu with a meet-the-fans session at the world’s biggest music store, Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus, London – a privilege usually reserved for international superstars.

With growing demand for her presence in London, in December of the same year she accepted an invitation by Ronnie Scotts’, the jazz Mecca of the Music world to take to the very stage where her idols like Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder had once performed. In the United Kingdom, much encouragement was given for her to embark upon a long awaited English album but Sheila's orientation remains committed to her roots. Many critics believe her magical delivery is most apparent in her mother tongue but none has so far ruled out the viability of an English project. Neither has she.

The release of Sheila's highly anticipated sixth studio album, "Ku Mohon" (I Pray) in November 1999 is an affirmation of her leading position in the music industry. With a successful nationwide tour preceding the album release, Ku Mohon went on to win four awards most notably "Best Pop Album" at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) 2000, Malaysia’s equivalent of the Grammy. The title track, one of her five compositions in the album and incidentally her first lyric creation was named "Song of the Year".

In July 2000, Sheila created history yet again by being the first local artiste to perform at the Dewan Filharmonic PETRONAS. The two night sell out concerts were held in conjunction with her fifteenth year anniversary in the music industry. Amongst those present to celebrate the occasion were Their Majesties The Yang di-Pertuan Agong XI and The Raja Permaisuri Agong on the first night and the Prime Minister and First Lady on the second.

In November 2001, Sheila was invited to represent Malaysia in Jakarta entitled DIVA SEA which brought together leading singers from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The concert was televised live to millions all over Indonesia.

In October 2003, Sheila was invited to headline a live concert by TransTV, Indonesia. This two hour special, entitled "Konsert Perjalanan Seni Sheila Majid" was a prelude to the release of her much anticipated new album. "Cinta Kita" (Our Love), her seventh studio effort was another milestone in her career if not the Malaysian music industry as a whole. This album, helmed by Warner Music Indonesia saw Sheila collaborating with some of Indonesia's industry giants like Andi Rianto, Tohpati and Indra Lesmana who collectively contributed towards 80% of the album production. To date, both the album as well as its first single, "Kerinduan" (Missed) have reached number one in Indonesia.

Sheila branched out from her singing career and opened her own beauty spa in Kuala Lumpur called Puri Santi in late 2002.

Source : www.sheilamajid.com/ contact.html

Marc Anthony

For the Roman general and statesman, see Mark Antony.

Marc Anthony (born September 16, 1969) is a Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter who is immensely popular throughout Latin America for his salsa music.

Anthony was born Marco Antonio Muñiz in New York of Puerto Rican parents who named him after a Mexican singer. He began his career as a session vocalist for pop and dance acts.

After changing his name, Anthony worked as a songwriter and backing vocalist for pop acts including Menudo and the Latin Rascals. He subsequently collaborated with producer Little Louie Vega, who featured the singer on the Latin-flavored club hit "Ride On The Rhythm" and When The Night Is Over. In 1992, Vega and Anthony opened for Latin bandleader Tito Puente at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Inspired by the music of Puente, Rubén Blades and Juan Gabriel, Anthony released his Spanish-language debut, Otra nota, in 1993, with the hit "Hasta que te conoci", a famous song by Mexican singer Juan Gabriel. Subsequent tours throughout the Americas, including an opening slot for Blades, established Anthony as one of the hottest new stars in salsa.

His 1995 collection, Todo a su tiempo, was nominated for a Grammy. The more traditional-sounding follow-up, Contra la corriente, was promoted by a sell-out concert at Madison Square Garden and won the 1999 Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Performance. Anthony also appeared alongside Blades in Paul Simon's 1998 stage musical, The Capeman, which ran for 68 performances. Anthony subsequently recorded the duet "No me ames", with Jennifer Lopez on her album On the 6.

In 1999, attempting to emulate the crossover success of Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin in the anglophone market, Anthony released an English-language album that had his name as the title with the US Top 5 hit single "I Need to Know" and the Spanish version "Dímelo" on the Top Ten Latin Songs. The foray was considered a mixed success, partly because it alienated his traditional salsa fans. In 2001, he debuted another salsa album known as Libre and was certified gold. The year after that, he made another English-language album called Mended which included smash hit "I've Got You" and the Spanish version "Te Tengo Aquí".

Anthony has also appeared in various motion pictures including 1996's Big Night and Martin Scorsese's 1999 film, Bringing Out the Dead.

Anthony was married to Dayanara Torres, a former Miss Universe for four years; the marriage ended in 2004. The couple had two children. On June 5, 2004, less than a week after his divorce from Torres was finalized, Anthony married Jennifer Lopez. At the same month, he released a Latin Pop album Amar Sin Mentiras with songs like "Ahora Quien" and "Escapemonos" with Jennifer Lopez. On July 2004, he converted those songs to salsa in another album, Valio La Pena and included a song "Lamento Boricano" that shows his love for Puerto Rico. In the Latin Grammy Award 2005, his Amar Sin Mentiras won best Latin Pop Album of The Year and his Valio La Pena won Best Tropical Album of The Year.

Discology

• Otra Nota-1994,
• Todo A Su Tiempo-1995,
• Contra La Corriete-1997,
• Marc Anthony-1999,
• Libre-2001,
• Mended-2002,
• Amar Sin Mentiras-2004,
• Valio La Pena-2004

Filmography

• Carlito's Way (1993, Brian DePalma) .... Latin Band at Disco, he sings "Parece Mentira"
• Natural Causes (1994, James Becket) .... Marine Guard
• Hackers (1995, Iain Softley) .... Agent Ray
• Big Night (1996, Stanley Tucci) .... Cristiano
• The Substitute (1996) .... Juan Lacas
• Bringing Out the Dead (1999, Martin Scorsese) .... Noel
• In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) (TV) .... Lio
• Man on Fire (2004, Tony Scott) .... Samuel

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

External links

• Official homepage (http://www.marcanthonyonline.com/)
• Marc Anthony biography and discography (http://www.theiceberg.com/artist.html?artist_id=8498) (theiceberg.com entry)
• filmography (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004711/) (imdb entry)
• Marcanthonyfans.com Fansite (http://marcanthonyfans.com/)
• MarcWeb, Marc Anthony en español (http://www.galeon.com/marcweb)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Aretha Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an iconic African-American gospel, soul and R&B singer born in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in Detroit, Michigan. On January 3, 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Many have called her "The Queen Of Soul" and "Lady Soul". She is generally regarded as being one of the best vocalists ever due to her phenomenal ability to inject whatever she may be singing about with gut wrenching soul and sheer conviction. She is renowned for her soul and R&B recordings but is also adept at jazz, rock, blues, pop, hip-hop, gospel, and even opera, The state of Michigan declared her voice to be a natural wonder. She has won 16 competitive Grammys (including 8 consecutive awards from 1968-1975) and she is normally ranked as the greatest female vocalist ever by such industry publications/media outlets as Rolling Stone and VH1.

Vocal Profile

• Voice type: Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano
• Highest note: B-b5
• Lowest note: B2
• Vocal Range: 3 octaves (B2-Bb5)
  

Biography

As a child, Franklin and her sisters, Carolyn and Erma, sang at her father's Detroit-area church and made her first recordings at the age 14. She signed with Columbia Records after being discovered by legendary A&R man John Hammond. In the early 1960s, Franklin had a few popular songs, most notably "Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody." Though Columbia really wanted her as a jazz singer, the results never gave full rein to Franklin's talents. Her greatest and most innovative work was yet to come.

After moving to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin teamed up with producers Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin, resulting in some of the most influential R&B recordings of the 1960s, including "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", a much more soulful and impassioned song than most of her earlier work. By the late 1960s, Franklin had earned the nickname "The Queen of Soul", having become an internationally famous artist and a symbol of pride for the African American community. Franklin said herself of this period, "When I went to Atlantic, they just sat me down at the piano and the hits started coming."

She released numerous Top Ten hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, dabbling in gospel music, blues music, pop music, psychedelic music and rock and roll, including notable covers of songs by The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby"), The Band ("The Weight"), Simon & Garfunkel ("Bridge Over Troubled Water"), Sam Cooke and The Drifters. 'Live at Fillmore West' and 'Amazing Grace' were two of her most influential full-length releases, the latter a double LP of live gospel music recorded in a Los Angeles Baptist church. Surprisingly she never made it to number one in the UK pop charts - the best result being a number four with her version of Burt Bacharach's "I Say a Little Prayer" in 1968.

Among her most successful hit singles from this era were "Chain of Fools", "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman", "Think", "Baby I Love You", "The House That Jack Built", and "Respect", a cover of an Otis Redding single which became her signature song. After the R&B category was added to the Grammy Awards in 1968, she was virtually unchallenged, winning eight successive awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; she later added three more Grammies in this category in the 1980s.

In the early 1970s, her music mellowed slightly, though losing nothing of its power, and she continued the hugely successful relationship with Wexler and Mardin while beginning to take a greater role in producing her work. A partnership with Quincy Jones led to a disappointing album in 1973 'You.' But it still produced a standout track "Angel", written by her sister Carolyn which became a soul classic.

She returned to working with Wexler, but her last Atlantic LP 'You' was released in 1976. Wexler had now left Atlantic and the partnership was over. Despite working with artists of the stature of Curtis Mayfield, popularity and critical success waned during the mid to late 1970s and the 1980s, though she scored several hits, often with partners (such as Luther Vandross). Her most notable 1980s hit was the dance song Freeway of Love, which charted in 1985. Most critics dismiss her post-Atlantic material as far inferior to the legendary recordings of the mid to late sixties.

She married Ted White in 1962 and he became her manager during her years with Columbia Records. The marriage ended in 1969 and she has always refused to answer questions about it. A Time Magazine cover story in 1968 led to a lawsuit from Ted White over allegations that he had roughed her up in public. The affair made her guard her private life even more jealously and she gave no interviews for several years after that. She lives today in Detroit.

Interesting Facts

Aretha Franklin was sued for breach of contract in 1984 when she was unable to star in the Broadway musical "Sing, Mahalia, Sing," (based on the life of gospel legend Mahalia Jackson) mainly because of her phobia of flying.

She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2001.

Albums

• 1956 The Gospel Soul of Aretha Franklin
• 1961 Aretha
• 1962 The Electrifying Aretha Franklin
• 1962 The Tender, The Moving, The Swinging Aretha Franklin
• 1963 Laughing on the Outside
• 1964 Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington
• 1964 Songs of Faith
• 1965 Yeah!: Aretha Franklin in Person
• 1965 Once in a Lifetime
• 1967 I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
• 1967 Aretha Arrives
• 1967 Take It Like You Give It
• 1967 Lee Cross
• 1968 Lady Soul
• 1968 Aretha Now
• 1968 Aretha in Paris
• 1969 Aretha Franklin: Live!
• 1969 I Say a Little Prayer
• 1969 Soul '69
• 1970 This Girl's In Love with You
• 1970 Don't Play That Song
• 1970 Sweet Bitter Love
• 1970 Spirit in the Dark
• 1971 Aretha Live at the Fillmore West
• 1971 Young, Gifted & Black
• 1972 Amazing Grace
• 1973 Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky)
• 1974 With Everything I Feel in Me
• 1974 Let Me in Your Life
• 1975 You
• 1976 Sparkle
• 1977 Satisfaction
• 1977 Sweet Passion
• 1977 Most Beautiful Songs
• 1978 Almighty Fire
• 1979 La Diva
• 1980 Aretha
• 1980 Aretha Sings the Blues
• 1981 Love All the Hurt Away
• 1982 Jump to It
• 1983 Get It Right
• 1984 Never Grow Old
• 1985 First Lady of Soul
• 1985 Who's Zoomin' Who?
• 1986 Aretha
• 1986 Soul Survivor
• 1987 One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
• 1989 Through the Storm
• 1991 What You See Is What You Sweat
• 1998 A Rose Is Still a Rose
• 2003 So Damn Happy

Filmography

• The Blues Brothers (1980)
• Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
• Immaculate Funk (2000) (documentary)
• Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003) (documentary)
• Singing in the Shadow: The Children of Rock Royalty (2003) (documentary)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Josh Groban in Sarah Brightman's La Luna: Live in Concert (2001)

Born: 27 February 1981

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California

Best Known As: Singer of "You Raise Me Up"

Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981 in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer. Known for his baritone voice and good looks, his musical style ranges from classical to pop.

In 1997 and 1998, Groban attended the Interlochen Arts Program, majoring in musical theater. In late 1998, the 17-year-old Groban was introduced by his vocal coach to Grammy-winning producer/arranger David Foster. Groban worked for Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the 1999 Grammy Awards -- where, as a stand-in for Andrea Bocelli, he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer" with Céline Dion -- and the January 1999 inauguration of Gray Davis as governor of California.

Accepted into the theater department at Carnegie Mellon University, Groban left after his freshman year, when he was offered a recording contract at Warner Bros. Records through Foster's own 143 Records imprint. He performed with Sarah Brightman on her 2000-2001 La Luna Tour, and made his recording debut by singing "For Always" with Lara Fabian on the movie soundtrack to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001).

In May 2001, Groban played the role of Malcolm Wyatt in the season finale of the television series Ally McBeal, performing "You're Still You" and "To Where You Are" from his debut album. The series creator David E. Kelley had been impressed at the 1999 Gray Davis inauguration and based on the audience reaction to Groban's singing, Kelley wrote a similar scene in this finale. The character of Malcolm Wyatt was so popular that Groban was asked to come back the next season to reprise his role.

On November 20, 2001, his self-titled debut album Josh Groban was released and over the next year, his album went from gold to double-platinum.

On February 24, 2002, Groban performed "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and in November, Groban had his own PBS special Josh Groban In Concert (2002). The following month, he performed "To Where You Are" and "The Prayer" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, and joined The Corrs, Ronan Keating, Sting, Lionel Richie and others for a holiday performance at the Vatican in Rome.

On November 11, 2003, his second album Closer was released. Josh himself said that he believed that this second album was a better reflection of him and that his audience would be able to get a better idea of him personally from listening to Closer. Both of Groban's albums were produced by David Foster, released under Foster's 143 Records and distributed by Warner Music.

On November 30, 2004, his second live DVD, Live at the Greek, was released. It also ran as a Great Performances special on PBS. Also in 2004, Josh performed "Remember When It Rained" at the MTV music awards where he was up for best male singer in the pop cateogory, but lost out to Usher. Still his live performance of "Remember When it Rained", backed by a full orchestra, was most memorable.

Links

• IMDb.com profile: Josh Groban (http://imdb.com/name/nm1169011/)
• Official Josh Groban Website (http://www.joshgroban.com)
• Listen to You Raise Me Up (Opens in Windows Media Player) (http://www.warnerreprise.com/asx/joshgroban_youraisemeup_audio_128-a.asx)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)