John Legend is the stage name of John Stephens. He was born on December 28, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio. He is the son of a seamstress and a factory worker who spent two years in the National Guard. Legend has three siblings: an older brother, Ronald Stephens II; a younger brother, Vaughn Anthony; and a younger sister, Missy Stephens. He is the son of a seamstress and a factory worker who spent two years in the National Guard. Legend has three siblings: an older brother, Ronald Stephens II; a younger brother, Vaughn Anthony; and a younger sister, Missy Stephens. In late 2004, John Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted. It was released through the GOOD Music label on December 28, 2004. The album sold over three million units worldwide, with a total of 1.8 million copies in the U.S., where it was certified platinum. The album won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the hit single "Ordinary People". In 2006 John Legend released his second album, Once Again. Singles from the album include "Save Room", "Heaven", "P.D.A. (We Just Don’t Care)", "Stereo", "Another Again", "Slow Dance", "Show Me" and "Each Day Gets Better". Once Again has since sold over one million copies. His latest album, Evolver, was released in 2008. The album debuted at number 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
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Jim Jones was born Joseph Guillermo Jones II on July 15, 1976. Jim Jones was born in The Bronx to a Puerto Rican father and a Aruban mother and grew up in Harlem. As a young boy he used to skate which inspired him to create Dip Skate, his skate team. Later Jones would join the 9 Trey Bloods gang. On August 24, 2004 Jim Jones released his debut album, On My Way to Church. It met with moderate success, peaking at number eighteen on the Billboard 200 and number four on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums charts. Jim Jones then capitalized on his debut album’s success with the release of his second studio album, Harlem: Diary of a Summer, on August 23, 2005. The album was released in three configurations including a DualDisc version which features the entire new album in LPCM Stereo, a brand-new Jim Jones documentary plus uncensored versions of some of his biggest videos. The album debuted and peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 with 75,652 copies sold in the first week of release. The first single from Harlem: Diary of a Summer is "Baby Girl". The single didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but it did manage to peak at #58 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Jim Jones has since released two more studio albums as well as starring in several films which include "State Property 2" and "Righteous Kill".
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Janet Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana but raised in Los Angeles, California. She was the youngest of nine children born to Katherine Scruse and Joseph Jackson. By the time she was a toddler, her five older brothers, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael were performing music at nightclubs and theaters as The Jackson 5. ? late 1980 she joined the cast of Diff’rent Strokes, portraying Charlene Duprey from 1981 to 1982. At age sixteen in 1982, Jackson signed a recording contract with A&M, releasing her self-titled debut album the same year. The album peaked at number sixty-three on the Billboard 200. She followed that with the 1984 release of Dream Street. In 1986, she released her breakthrough album Control. Control peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 album charts and earned a nomination for the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also produced five hit singles. Since Control Janet Jackson has released seven studio albums. She is ranked by Billboard magazine as one of the top ten best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music, having sold over 100 million albums worldwide and RIAA lists her as the eleventh best-selling female artist in the United States, with 26 million certified albums.
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Within Temptation is a Dutch rock band formed in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. The band also features members Ruud Adrianus Jolie, Jeroen van Veen, Stephen van Haestregt and Martijn Spierenburg. They were offered a recording contract and signed to DSFA Records the year that they formed and started work on their first release. In 1997, Within Temptation released their debut album, Enter. The band rounded out 1997 by embarking on their first international tour, of Germany and Austria. On December 4, 2000 the band released their second studio album, Mother Earth. It spawned the the single "Ice Queen" which reached the number two spot on the charts and made Within Temptation a household name. Since then, the band won the Conamus Exportprijs five years in a row. Their next album The Silent Force debuted at #1 on the Dutch charts, as did their latest, The Heart of Everything. In 2008 they released a live DVD/CD, Black Symphony, recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. Within Temptation has received several awards which include the Edison Award For Best Band in 2005, the Buma Culture Export Prize 2006 and the 3FM Award for Best Rock Artist in 2007.
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