AFI is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. Their lineup includes lead vocalist Davey Havok, bassist Hunter Burgan, guitarist Jade Puget and drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson. From 1995-2000 the band released five albums on independent labels. These include the EP’s Answer That and Stay Fashionable, Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes and The Art of Drowning. In 2003, AFI released their first major studio release entitled Sing the Sorrow. The album reached the #5 position on the Billboard charts, and was certified Gold on April 30, 2003 by the RIAA. It went onto receive Platinum certification with over one million units sold in the US. In 2006, AFI released the album, Decemberunderground. The album was released on May 29, 2006, in the United Kingdom, June 6, 2006, in the United States, and June 16, 2006, in Mexico. It was their first album to debut at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 182,000 units in its first week. The album also featured "Love Like Winter", which attained number four on the Modern Rock charts. It reached as far as Australia, where it grasped Gold certification, and also achieved this in the United States, where it has sold in excess of 900,000 copies.
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Toby Keith is the stage name of Toby Keith Covel. He was born on July 8, 1961 in Clinton, Oklahoma. Toby Keith graduated from Moore High School and, in 1979, went to work as a derrick hand in the booming oil fields of Oklahoma. He worked his way up to become an operation manager. At the age of 20, he formed the Easy Money band where he and his friends Scott Webb and Danny Smith and few other members played at local bars as he continued to work in the oil industry. At times, he would have to leave in the middle of a concert if he was paged to work in the oil field. In 1982, the oil industry in Oklahoma began a rapid decline and Keith soon found himself unemployed. He then returned to focus once again on music. In 1984, Easy Money began playing the honky tonk circuit in Oklahoma and Texas. The band cut a single titled Blue Moon and the song received some airplay on local radio stations in Oklahoma. Toby Keith released his self titled debut album through Polygram Records in 1993. The album has sold more than one million copies in the United States. Toby Keith has since released nine more studio albums. He has also charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including eighteen Number One hits and seventeen additional Top Ten hits.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983. The core members of the band include Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Michael "Flea" Balzary and Chad Smith. Former members have included Hillel Slovak, Cliff Martinez and Dave Navarro. They began their career by playing at various LA clubs and musical venues. Several months after their first performance they were signed to EMI records. On August 10, 1984, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released their self titled debut. It was a commercial failure and failed to break into the charts. The band undaunted, would go on to release three more albums before they released their breakthrough hit Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The album was released on September 24, 1991 through Warner Bros. Records. The album made the Red Hot Chili Peppers mega stars and has since sold over thirteen million copies worldwide. They have since gone on to release four more albums. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have won seven Grammy Awards and sold over fifty million albums worldwide. They also have had eight singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and hold a record of eleven #1 singles on the Modern Rock charts. They are currently on hiatus and are eligible for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in the year 2009.
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Pretty Ricky is an American R&B Boy band originally made up of Diamond Blue Smith "Baby Blue", Spectacular Smith "Spectacular", Corey Mathis "Slick ‘em" and Marcus Cooper "Pleasure P". They were formed in Miami, Florida. In 2004 their single "Grind On Me" began to get heavy airplay on Miami radio, which lead to a deal with Atlantic Records and national exposure. In 2005, they released their debut album, Bluestars. Grind With Me," a sanitized version of their hit single, powered their debut album Bluestars and it debuted and peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 album chart and has been certified Gold by the RIAA. Later that year Pretty Ricky toured with Omarion and other R&B acts in the Scream Tour IV concert series. Their second release, Late Night Special (2007), included the hit singles "On the Hotline" and "(I Wanna See You) Push It, Baby." The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling about 132,000 copies in its first week. They have since released two albums, Eighties Babies in 2008 and Pretty Ricky in 2009. The album Eighties Babies spawned the single "Cuddle Up". Pretty Ricky currently is based in Florida.
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Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in 1991 in Albany, California. It’s members include Tim Armstrong, Lars Frederiksen, Matt Freeman and Branden Steineckert. Rancid’s first recorded release was a 1992 EP for Operation Ivy’s old label Lookout! Records. Shortly after releasing this, the band was signed to Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz’s label, Epitaph Records. Rancid would release their self titled debut album for Epitaph in 1993. In 1994, Rancid released their next album, Let’s Go. That year their then-label-mates, The Offspring, experienced a huge success with their album Smash. The Offspring took Rancid on tour with them, and helped Let’s Go make it to #97 on Billboard’s Heatseekers and Billboard 200 charts, respectively. With the success of the album the band was pursued by several major labels, including Madonna’s Maverick Records. The band eventually decided to stay on Epitaph, and the next year released their third album …And Out Come the Wolves. That album quickly surpassed Let’s Go in terms of success. Three of the album’s singles, "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb", and "Ruby Soho" all charted on the North American Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. They have since released four more studio albums.
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Alicia Augello Cook was born in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York on January 25, 1981. She is better known by her stage name Alicia Keys. At the age of four, Alicia Keys made her television debut on the popular sitcom The Cosby Show. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. On June 5, 2001 Alicia Keys released her debut album entitled Songs in A Minor. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over a quarter million units. To date the album has sold over eleven million units worldwide. In 2003, she released her sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. It garnered the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2005 and was nominated for Album of the Year. She went on to release her third album in 2007 entitled "As I Am". It sold over 700,000 copies it’s first week. Alicia Keys also had roles in the movies Smoking Aces and the Nanny Diaries during that year. In 2008 she continued her acting work with the role of June Boatwright in The Secret Life of Bees.
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Clay Aiken was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 30, 1978. As a young boy, Aiken sang in the Raleigh Boy choir, and as a teenager, he sang in school choirs, church choirs, musicals and local theatre productions. Aiken had filled out an application to participate in the reality show Amazing Race when a friend of his insisted that he try out for American Idol instead. Aiken made it to the round of 32 before being cut from the show, but he was invited to return for the "Wild Card" round; his performance of Elton John’s "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me" sent him on to the final 12 as the viewer’s choice. On May 21, 2003, Aiken came in a close second to Ruben Studdard. On October 14, 2003, Clay Aiken released his first solo album, "Measure of a Man", which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was, with 613,000 copies sold in its first week, the highest-selling debut for a solo artist in 10 years, and to date the highest debut of any American Idol contestant. The album spawned both the hit single "Invisible" and his first hit song, "This Is the Night". Clay Aiken has gone on to release four more studio albums.
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Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Amityville, Long Island, New York, formed in 1999. The current members of Taking Back Sunday are vocalist Adam Lazzara, guitarist and back-up vocalist Matthew Fazzi, guitarist Eddie Reyes, drummer Mark O’Connell, and bassist Matt Rubano. The band released their first full album Tell All Your Friends, on Victory Records in 2002. Tell All Your Friends gave the band a small taste of success in the alternative rock spotlight. Their second album, titled Where You Want To Be, was released on July 27, 2004, on Victory Records. Propelled by the single A Decade Under The Influence, Where You Want To Be went on to debut at the #3 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with around 163,000 copies sold. On April 25, 2006, Taking Back Sunday released their third album, entitled Louder Now, on Warner Bros. Records. It has sold over 600,000 copies and peaked at #2 on the United States’ Billboard 200. On June 2, 2009, Taking Back Sunday released their latest album, New Again. The album’s first single, "Sink Into Me", was released to radio on April 27, 2009. Their portfolio also currently has twelve singles, one extended play, one live album and a compilation album.
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Shayne Ward was born in 1984 in Clayton, Manchester to Irish parents. He has a twin sister named Emma and five other siblings: Mark, Martin, Michael, Lisa and Leona. In early 2005, Ward auditioned for the second series of The X Factor. He impressed all three judges and passed through to the next round. He was crowned the winner of The X Factor in 2005. Immediately after his victory on The X Factor, Ward signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and his first single, "That’s My Goal", was released in the UK on Wednesday, December 21, 2005. After selling 742,000 copies in the first week, it became the Christmas number one single of 2005, held the top spot for four weeks and stayed in the top 75 until June 2006, a 21-week run. On April 17, 2006, Shayne Ward released his self titled debut album. It has since gone platinum in the United Kingdom. On November 26, 2007, Shayne Ward released his second album, Breathless. The album was commercially successful, debuting at number two on the UK Albums Chart. It sold 95,801 units within a week of release. Since the beginning of his career, Shayne Ward has gone on to sell over 1 million records globally, including combined UK sales of 980,000 for his first two albums and sales of 600,000 in Asia for his debut album.
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Linkin Park is a band that was formed in Agoura Hills, California in 1996. The band consist of 6 members, Chester Bennington,Rob Bourdon,Brad Delson,Joe Hahn,Dave "Phoenix" Farrell and Mike Shinoda. They are best known for their hybrid musical style which includes influences from heavy metal, rap and alternative rock. Linkin Park’s debut album, Hybrid Theory, was released through Warner Brothers Records in October of 2000. The album was a smash hit, selling over ten million copies and becoming certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005. As of 2009, it has sold almost twenty five million copies making it the band’s best selling album as well as the best selling debut album of all time. Their sophomore album was titled Meteora and was released in March of 2003. It has since sold fifteen million copies worldwide. Their recent album, Minutes To Midnight, was released in May 2007. It has sold over six million copies and has spawned several hit singles such as "What I’ve Done", "Bleed It Out" and Shadow of the Day. In April of 2009, Linkin Park announced that they would be working on the soundtrack for the movie,Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. They are also currently working on a new studio record.
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