Tim McGraw is an acclaimed country music star and actor that was born on May 1, 1967 in Delhi, Louisiana. Tim McGraw came to the attention of Curb Records in 1990. After cutting a demo single, Tim McGraw gave a copy to his father, Tug McGraw. A man who was friends with Curb Records executives heard the demo while driving with Tug McGraw one day and recommended that Curb contact the young singer. Several weeks later Curb Records signed him to a contract. In 1993 he released his self titled debut album. It features the singles "Welcome to the Club", "Two Steppin’ Mind", and "Memory Lane", none of which reached Top 40 on the country charts. Tim McGraw then went on to release his second album, Not a Moment Too Soon n 1994. It charted #1 on Billboard’s Top 200, and charted #1 on Billboard Country chart and stayed for 26 consecutive weeks, becoming Billboards biggest hit of 1994. Since then Tim Mcgraw has gone on to make four more albums. He has also acted in several films which include Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom and Flicka. Tim McGraw has won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards and 3 People’s Choice Awards.
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Marilyn Manson was born as Brian Hugh Warner on January 5, 1969 in Canton, Ohio. He was raised in his mother’s religion graduating from Cardinal Gibbons High School in 1987. In 1990, Manson was a college student attending Broward Community College working toward journalism degree. In 1989 he formed Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids. In 1992 the name was just shortened to Marilyn Manson. His stage name was formed from the names of actress Marilyn Monroe and convicted murderer Charles Manson. In 1994 they produced their debut album Portrait of an American Family and released it on the Nothing Records label. In 1996 he released Antichrist Superstar, It was produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and has sold over 7.5 million copies as of the summer of 2008. Since then the band has released five other albums. Marilyn Manson made his film debut in 1997, as an actor in David Lynch’s Lost Highway. Since than he has appeared in several roles including Clone High, Party Monster and King Shot.
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Danity Kane is an all girl group formed in 2005. It was formed on the third installment of MTV’s Making the Band, a television reality series. Danity Kane is comprised of Aubrey O’Day, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgette, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard, and Aundrea Fimbres. On August 22, 2006 they released their self titled debut album. It shipped through Bad Boys Records and sold over 90,000 copies in its first day of release and almost a quarter million it’s first week, placing it at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart. In early 2007, it was certified platinum for over a million copies shipped domestically. It also spawned the singles "Show Stopper" and "Ride for You". The song "One Shot" is featured on America’s Next Top Model, Cycle eight’s promotional theme song. In March of 2008, Danity Kane released their second studio album Welcome to the Dollhouse. It became the group’s second consecutive album to debut at number-one on the Billboard 200 chart. It was certified Gold by the RIAA as of April 22, 2008. The band became the first female group in Billboard history to debut their first two albums at the top of the charts. In 2009 it was confirmed to MTV.com that Danity Kane disbanded and is no longer a group.
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Kate Ryan is the stage name of Katrien Verbeeck. She was born on July 22, 1980 in Tessenderlo, Belgium. At eight years of age she had learned to play the piano and guitar. She had singing and piano lessons from her aunt who teaches at a conservatory, but had other interests too. She studied at an art school, specialising in jewellery design. She also lived some time in Meerhout, a small village near Tessenderlo. Kate Ryan played frequently in bars and cafes as a teenager, and one night a manager approached her, wanting her to record a song in a studio. She became a member of a pop group called Melt at the age of 16. The group was active for two years, but they did not release any material commercially. When she met with producer Andy Janssens, she left Melt and the pair began to write music together. Their debut single "Scream For More" was released in 2001, and it became an unexpected chart success. She gained international prominence with a cover of Mylčne Farmer’s "Desenchantee", which was a hit on various European pop music charts. She signed with EMI Belgium and released her first album Different in 2002 exclusively in Europe. The album went Gold, selling more than 250,000 copies throughout Europe. Kate Ryan has since released three more albums.
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Busta Rhymes is the stage name of rapper Trevor Smith. He was born on May 20, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended High School but before he could graduate in 1991 he dropped out of school and pursued a music career as part of the group, Leaders of the New School. They began recording in 1989 and released their debut album A Future Without a Past in 1991. Soon after, however, the group broke up. In 1996, Busta Rhymes released his debut album, The Coming. It reached number six on the Billboard 200 chart in 1996 and has since received a platinum certification from RIAA. His second album, When Disaster Strikes, released in 1997, produced the hit singles "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" and "Dangerous". 1999 was a challenging year for Busta Rhymes. He paid a visit to a courthouse regarding confusion involving child support, and he received 5 years of probation for possessing an unregistered gun. In 2001 he went back to work and released a greatest hits collection alongside a new album titled, Genesis. Busta Rhymes went on to release three more studio albums; It Ain’t Safe No More in 2002, The Big Bang in 2006 and Back on My B.S in 2009.
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Apocalyptica is a Finnish band that was formed in 1993 in Helsinki, Finland. It features Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, Perttu Kivilaakso and Mikko Siren. In 1996, Apocalyptica released their debut studio album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, which consisted solely of Metallica covers played on cellos. In 1999, Antero Manninen left the group, and was replaced by Perttu Kivilaakso. In 2000, Apocalyptica released their third studio album, Cult, which featured 10 original songs, and 3 covers. And it was after the recording of Cult that an Apocalyptica track was first seen featuring vocals, "Path Vol. 2". In 2002, Max Lilja left the group and joined Hevein, leaving Apocalyptica with only three members. Apocalyptica released three more albums of the same stock material and found little commercial success. Apocalyptica released their sixth studio album, Worlds Collide, on September 17, 2007. It was produced by Jacob Hellner. The first single "I’m Not Jesus" featuring Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour from the "Worlds Collide" album cracked the top 10 of both the Active rock and Alternative rock charts. In November 2008, Apocalyptica featuring Adam Gontier hit first at the BDS and Mediabase Active Rock radio charts with the single "I Don’t Care".
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Cobra Starship is an American pop punk band created in 1995. The members consist of lead vocalist Saporta, guitarist Ryland Blackinton, bassist Alex Suarez, Nate Novarro on drums and Victoria Asher on keytar, all of whom provide backing vocals. Cobra Starship was signed to Decaydance Records and spent part of autumn on tour with Gym Class Heroes. While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, which features the previously released song "Snakes on a Plane", was released October 10, 2006. Cobra Starship released their second album, !Viva La Cobra!, on October 23, 2007. It was produced by Patrick Stump, who was also credited as singing some backup vocals. The album has been toured heavily worldwide. Cobra Starship headlined the Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour with guests Metro Station, The Cab, and We The Kings from January to March, 2008. They also played on Warped Tour 2008 and headlined the SassyBack tour, which toured from October 7 through November 30, 2008 with guests Forever the Sickest Kids, Hit the Lights, and Sing it Loud. In 2009, a new album was announced for a tentative release in the summer. The band has worked with Kara DioGuardi, Kevin Rudolf, S*A*M, Sluggo and song-writers Benny Blanco and Patrick Stump.
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James Blunt was born on February 22, 1974 in Tidworth, Wiltshire, England. He was the first child born to Jane and Charles Blunt. Blunt took piano and violin lessons as a child then he was introduced to the guitar by a fellow student, and started playing guitar and writing songs at age 14. James Blunt was an officer in the Life Guards, a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and served under NATO in Kosovo during the conflict in 1999. He left the British Army in 2002 so that he could pursue his musical career. In 2004, James Blunt released his debut album, Back to Bedlam. The album reached number one in the summer of 2005. It was on the New Zealand album charts for 32 weeks and has gone #1 with a sextuple platinum certification. In 2006, as a sequel to his debut album, James Blunt released Chasing Time: The Bedlam Sessions. The CD contains a live set from Ireland, while the DVD features a recorded performance at the BBC, music videos for all of the Back to Bedlam singles. In 2007, he released his sophomore album All the Lost Souls. The first single released from the album was "1973", which started radio play on July 23, 2007. The album has so far shipped 4 million copies. Blunt’s primary residence is now on the Spanish island of Ibiza.
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Ice Cube was born O’Shea Jackson in South Central Los Angeles, California, where he was raised, the son of Doris (nee Benjamin), a hospital clerk and custodian, and Andrew Jackson, who worked as a groundskeeper at California State University. In 1987 Cube and Dr. Dre released the EP My Posse, under the alias CIA and the county police. After the collaboration, Cube showed Eazy-E the lyrics to "Boyz-n-the-Hood". Eazy-E eventually recorded the song for N.W.A. and the Posse the debut album for the group N.W.A that included Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, and rappers MC Ren and DJ Yella. In 1990, Ice Cube started a solo career and in May of that year released his debut album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. It peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard 200and remains one of the defining hip hop albums of the 1990s. Ice Cube has since released seven more album and has turned his sight towards acting. He has appeared in movies such as Boyz N the Hood, Trespass, The Players Club, Higher Learning, Friday, First Sunday and Ride Along. In 1992, he married Kimberly Woodruff, with whom he has four children. Ice Cube currently works as a rapper, director, actor and writer.
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Simple Plan is a French Canadian pop punk band based in Montreal, Quebec and formed in 1993. It’s line up includes Pierre Bouvier, David Desrosiers, Jeff Stinco, Sebastien Lefebvre and Chuck Comeau. In 2002, Simple Plan released their first studio album, No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls. It spawned four singles, I’d Do Anything, I’m Just a Kid, Addicted and Perfect. October 26, 2004, Simple Plan released their sophomore album, Still Not Getting Any. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and generated several singles including Shut Up!, Welcome to My Life and Crazy. Their third album, titled Simple Plan, was released on February 12, 2008. It peaked at number fourteen on the charts and sold over a quarter of a million copies. Three singles were released from the album, When I’m Gone, Your Love Is a Lie and Save You. Simple Plan also released two widely marketed live albums: Live in Japan 2002 (2003) and MTV Hard Rock Live (2005). "Your Love Is a Lie" was first publicly performed at a taping for YouTube on December 18, 2007. All the songs on the CD, except "Holding On" were played at a small show in Montreal on January 11, 2008.
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