Kelis is he stage name of Kelis Rogers. She was born on August 21, 1979 in Manhattan, New York City. As a child, she sang in church choirs and played violin, piano, and saxophone while attending Manhattan Country School, a private school. Kelis left home at age sixteen, but continued her education at age sixteen when she went to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she formed the R&B trio BLU. After graduation, she formed a band with The Neptunes and, with their support, landed herself a record deal. In December of 1998, Kelis released her debut album Kaleidoscope. The album debuted at number number one hundred and forty-nine on the Billboard 200 and number twenty-three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 12,423 copies in its opening week. Then in 2001, Kelis released her second studio album, Wanderland. The album spawned only one single, "Young, Fresh n’ New", which became Kelis’ third solo top forty hit in the United Kingdom. She has since released two more albums. Kelis over the course of her career has had nine top forty singles as a solo artist and, as a featured artist, has had six top forty singles to date. She has also won one BRIT Award and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.
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Paula Abdul was born in the San Fernando Valley on June 19, 1962. Paula Abdul began taking dance lessons at the age of eight and showed a natural talent. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was a cheerleader and an honor student. At 15, she received a scholarship to a dance camp near Palm Springs, and in 1978 appeared in a low-budget Independent musical film, Junior High School. After working as a dancer and an acclaime choreographer she turned to singing and in the summerof 1988 released her debut album, Forever Your Girl. The album was on the Billboard charts for over sixty-two weeks before finally making it to number one. The album was eventually certified seven times Platinum in the US and sold 12 million worldwide. Paula Abdul has since released two more albums, Spellbound and Head Over Heels. In 1997, Paula Abdul co-wrote "Spinning Around" along with fellow American Idol judge, Kara DioGuardi; a dance-pop track intended to be the lead single off her new album. The album never materialized and "Spinning Around" was given to Kylie Minogue as a single. The song became highly successful and re-launched Minogue’s career, as it was intended to do for Abdul, and reached #1 in numerous countries. She is currently a judge on the hit show American Idol.
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