About 2pac

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 - September 13, 1996), best known by his stage names 2Pac (or Pac for short) and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. MTV ranked him at number two on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time and Rolling Stone named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. His double disc album All Eyez On Me is one of the best selling hip hop albums of all time. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground, eventually branching off as a solo artist. The themes of most of Shakur's songs revolved around the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism and other social problems. Both of his parents and several other of his family were members of the Black Panther Party, whose ideals were reflected in his songs. During the latter part of his career, Shakur was a vocal participant in the so-called East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, becoming involved in conflicts with other rappers, producers and record-label staff members, most notably The Notorious B.I.G. and his label Bad Boy Records. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the Southern Nevada University Medical Center, where he died six days later. Life and career: 1971-1990: Early life and career beginnings: Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. He was named after Túpac Amaru, a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed. Subsequent to his death, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (as well as the official coroner's report, which lists "Crooks" as an aka) released Shakur's name as Lesane Parish Crooks. His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The infant boy was born a month after his mother was acquitted of more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York "Panther 21" court case. Shakur lived from an early age with people who were convicted of serious criminal offences and who were imprisoned. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery, although his sentence was later overturned. His stepfather, Mutulu, spent four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in 1982. Mutulu was wanted for having helped his sister Assata Shakur (also known as Joanne Chesimard) to escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey. She had been imprisoned for killing a state trooper in 1973. Mutulu was caught in 1986 and imprisoned for the robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which two police officers and a guard were killed. Shakur had a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior, and an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who appeared in many of his recordings. At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed at the Apollo Theater. In 1986, the family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in the ballet The Nutcracker. Shakur, accompanied by one of his friends, Dana "Mouse" Smith, as his beatbox, won many rap competitions and was considered to be the best rapper in his school. He was remembered as one of the most popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor, superior rapping skills, and ability to mix with all crowds. He developed a close friendship with a young Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith) that lasted until his death. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life." Pinkett Smith calls him "one of my best friends. He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us. The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime." A poem written by Shakur titled "Jada" appears in his book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which also includes a poem dedicated to Pinkett Smith called "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes". During his time in art school, Shakur became affiliated with the Baltimore Young Communist League USA, and began dating the daughter of the director of the local Communist Party USA. In June 1988, Shakur and his family moved to Marin City, California, a residential community located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of San Francisco, where he attended Tamalpais High School in nearby Mill Valley. He began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg in 1989. That same year, Steinberg organized a concert with a former group of Shakur's, "Strictly Dope"; the concert led to him being signed with Atron Gregory. He set him up as a roadie and backup dancer with the young rap group Digital Underground in 1990. 1990-92: 2Pacalypse Now, police brutality and shooting in Marin City: Shakur's professional entertainment career began in the early 1990s, when he debuted his rapping skills in a vocal turn in Digital Underground's "Same Song" from the soundtrack to the 1991 film Nothing but Trouble and also appeared with the group in the film of the same name. The song was later released as the lead song of the Digital Underground extended play (EP) This is an EP Release, the follow-up to their debut hit album Sex Packets. Shakur appeared in the accompanying music video. After his rap debut, he performed with Digital Underground again on the album Sons of the P. Later, he released his first solo album, 2Pacalypse Now. Though the album did not generate any "Top Ten" hits, 2Pacalypse Now is hailed by many critics and fans for its underground feel, with many rappers such as Nas, Eminem, Game, and Talib Kweli having pointed to it as inspiration. Although the album was originally released on Interscope Records, rights of it are now owned by Amaru Entertainment. The album's name is a reference to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. The album generated significant controversy. Dan Quayle criticized it after a Texas youth's defense attorney claimed he was influenced by 2Pacalypse Now and its strong theme of police brutality before shooting a state trooper. Quayle said, "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." The record was important in showcasing 2Pac's political conviction and his focus on lyrical prowess. On MTV's Greatest Rappers of All Time List, 2Pacalypse Now was listed as one of 2Pac's "certified classic" albums, along with Me Against the World, All Eyez On Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. 2Pacalypse Now went on to be certified Gold by the RIAA. It featured three singles; "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped", and "If My Homie Calls". 2Pacalypse Now can be found in the Vinyl Countdown and in the instruction manual for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, along with the track "I Don't Give a Fuck," which appeared on the in-game radio station, Radio Los Santos. In October 1991, Tupac filed a $10 million civil suit against the Oakland Police Department, alleging they brutally beat him for jaywalking. On August 22, 1992, in Marin City, Shakur performed at an outdoor festival, and stayed for an hour afterwards signing autographs and pictures. A confrontation occurred in which someone drew a Colt Mustang, and accidentally dropped it. As it was picked up, a bullet discharged. About 100 yards away, Qa'id Walker-Teal, a 6-year-old, was pedaling his bicycle at a school playground nearby when a bullet struck him in the forehead and killed him. Although the fatal slug was matched by police to a .38-caliber pistol registered to Shakur, and his half-brother, Maurice Harding was initially arrested on suspicion of firing the weapon, no charges were filed. Marin County prosecutors have said they were stymied by a lack of witnesses. Charges were dropped when Shakur agreed to pay a $300,000 - $500,000 settlement to the parents The police "rescued" them and took the two into custody, who were soon released without charge for lack of evidence. In 1995, a wrongful death suit was brought against Shakur by Qa'id's mother. Ballistics tests proved the bullet that killed the boy was not from Shakur's or any members of his entourage's gun. Shakur's attorney stated that the festival was a "nasty situation," and his client was saddened by the death of the young boy. Shakur's record company settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount, reportedly between $300,000 and $500,000. 1993: Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., rape charge and shooting in Atlanta: His second studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., was released in February 1993. The album did better than the previous one debuting on number 24 on the Billboard 200. The album contains many tracks emphasizing 2Pac's political and social views. This album had more commercial success than its predecessor, and there were noticeable differences in production. While Tupac's first effort had an indie-rap-oriented sound, this album was considered his "breakout" album. It spawned the hits "Keep Ya Head Up" and "I Get Around" and reached platinum status. On vinyl, Side A (tracks 1-8) was labeled the "Black Side" and Side B (tracks 9-16) the "Dark Side." It's known as his tenth-biggest selling album with 1,366,000 units moved as of 2004. In October 1993, in Atlanta, two brothers and off-duty police officers, Mark and Scott Whitwell, were with their wives celebrating Mrs. Whitwell's recent passing of the state bar examination. As they crossed the street, a car with Shakur inside passed by them or "almost struck them." The Whitwells began an altercation with the driver, Shakur and the other passengers, which was joined by a second passing car. Shakur shot one officer in the buttocks, and the other in the leg, back, or abdomen, according to varying news reports. There were no other injuries. Mark Whitwell was charged with firing at Shakur's car and later lying to the police during the investigation; Shakur was charged with the shooting; the prosecutors decided to drop all charges against all parties. In November 1993, Shakur and others were charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room. Shakur denied the charges. According to Shakur, he had prior relations days earlier with the woman that were consensual. The complainant claimed sexual assault after her second visit to Shakur's hotel room; she alleged that Shakur and his entourage raped her. In the ensuing trial, Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. In sentencing Shakur to 1½-4½ years in prison, the judge described the crime as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman." After serving part of his sentence, Shakur was released on bail pending appeal. On April 5, 1996, a judge sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail for violating terms of his release on bail. 1994: Thug Life, Thug Life: Volume 1 and November shooting: "Thug Life" redirects here. For the film, see Thug Life (film). For the album, see Thug Life: Volume 1. In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with a number of his friends, including Big Syke, Macadoshis, his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur, and Rated R. The group released their only album Thug Life: Volume 1 on September 26, 1994, which went gold. The album featured the single "Pour Out a Little Liquor," produced by Johnny "J" Jackson, who went on to produce a large part of Shakur's album All Eyez on Me. The group usually performed their concerts without Shakur. The album was originally released by Shakur's label Out Da Gutta Records. Due to criticism about gangsta rap at the time, the original version of the album was scrapped and re-recorded with many of the original songs being cut. Among the notable tracks on the album are "Bury Me a G," "Cradle to the Grave," "Pour Out a Little Liquor" (which also appears in the soundtrack to the 1994 film Above the Rim), "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" and "Str8 Ballin'." The album contains ten tracks because Interscope Records felt many of the other recorded songs were too controversial to release. Although the original version of the album was not completed, Tupac performed the planned first single from the album, "Out on Bail" at the 1994 Source Awards. Although the album was originally released on Shakur's label Out Da Gutta, Amaru Entertainment, the label owned by the mother of Tupac Shakur, has since gained the rights to it. Thug Life: Volume 1 was certified Gold. The track "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" appeared later in 1998 from 2Pac's Greatest Hits album. On the night of November 30, 1994, the day before the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five times and robbed by two armed men in army fatigues after entering the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan. He would later accuse Sean Combs,Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls--whom he saw after the shooting--of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attack. In the documentary, Biggie says that they were in the recording studio and did not know Shakur would be there. Once they heard he was downstairs, Lil' Cease went to get him but came back with news that he had just been shot. When Biggie's entourage went downstairs to check on the incident, Shakur was being taken out on a stretcher, still conscious and giving the finger to those around. According to the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted immediately following the incident, Shakur had received five bullet wounds; twice in the head, twice in the groin and once through the arm and thigh. In the documentary "Biggie and Tupac", Tupac's father is interviewed and said that Tupac made a point to show him that no damage was inflicted upon his penis and/or testicles. His father also mentions that when he saw Tupac's groin, he knew that he was his son. He checked out of the hospital against doctor's orders, three hours after surgery. In the day that followed, Shakur entered the courthouse in a wheelchair and was found guilty of three counts of molestation, but innocent of six others, including sodomy. On February 6, 1995, he was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual assault charge. A year later on November 30, 1995, Stretch was killed after being shot twice in the back by three men who pulled up alongside his green minivan at 112th Ave. and 209th St. in Queens Village, while he was driving. His minivan smashed into a tree and hit a parked car. On March 17, 2008, Chuck Philips wrote a Los Angeles Times article stating that Jimmy Henchman, a hip hop talent manager, ordered a trio of thugs to rough up Shakur. The article, which was later retracted by the LA Times because it partially relied on FBI documents which turned out to be forged was thought to be vindicated in 2011 when Dexter Isaac admitted to attacking Tupac on orders from Henchman. Following Isaac's public confession, Philips corroborated Isaac as one (among many) of his key unnamed sources. In a June 12, 2012 exclusive for the Village Voice, Philips reported that Jimmy Henchman admitted to setting up Tupac's ambush during one of nine "Queen For A Day" proffer sessions with the government in autumn of 2011, according to prosecutors, key evidence supporting Philips' theory of the attack. 1995: Prison sentence, Me Against the World and bail: Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995. Shortly afterward, he released his multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Shakur became the first artist to have an album at number one on the Billboard 200 while serving a prison sentence. Me Against the World made its debut on the Billboard 200 and stayed at the top of the charts for four weeks. The album sold 240,000 copies in its first week, setting a record for highest first week sales for a solo male rap artist at the time. While serving his sentence, he married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, on April 4, 1995; the couple divorced in 1996. While imprisoned, Shakur read many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other works of political philosophy and strategy. He wrote a screenplay titled Live 2 Tell while incarcerated, a story about an adolescent who becomes a drug baron. The album was very well received, with many calling it the magnum opus of his career. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential hip hop albums of all-time. It is his fourth biggest selling album with 2,439,000 units moved to date.Me Against the World won best rap album at the 1996 Soul Train Music Awards. "Dear Mama" was released as the album's first single in February 1995, along with the track "Old School" as the B-side. "Dear Mama" would be the album's most successful single, topping the Hot Rap Singles chart, and peaking at the ninth spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was certified platinum in July 1995, and later placed at #51 on the year-end charts. The second single, "So Many Tears", was released in June, four months after the first single. The single would reach the number six spot on the Hot Rap Singles chart, and the 44th on the Billboard Hot 100. "Temptations", released in August, was the third and final single from the album. The single would be the least successful of the three released, but still did fairly well on the charts, reaching number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, 35 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and 13 on the Hot Rap Singles charts. In October 1995, Shakur's case was on appeal but due to all of his legal fees he could not raise the $1.4 million bail. After serving eleven months of his one-and-a-half year to four-and-a-half year sentence, Shakur was released from the Clinton Correctional Facility due in large part to the help and influence of Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records, who posted a $1.4 million bail pending appeal of the conviction in exchange for Shakur to release three albums under the Death Row label. 1996: All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: All Eyez on Me was the fourth studio album by 2Pac, released on February 13, 1996 by Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The album is frequently recognized as one of the crowning achievements of 1990s rap music. It has been said that "despite some undeniable filler, it is easily the best production 2Pac's ever had on record". It was certified 5× Platinum after just 2 months in April 1996 and 9× platinum in 1998. The album featured the Billboard Hot 100 number one singles "How Do U Want It" and "California Love". It featured 5 singles in all, the most of any 2Pac album. Moreover, All Eyez On Me (which was the only Death Row release to be distributed through PolyGram by way of Island Records) made history as the first double-full-length hip-hop solo studio album released for mass consumption. It was issued on two compact discs and four LPs. Chartwise, All Eyez on Me was the second album from 2Pac to hit number-one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It sold 566,000 copies in the first week of its release, and was charted on the top 100 with the top one-week Soundscan sales since 1991. The album won the 1997 Soul Train R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year Award. Shakur also won the Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist at the 24th Annual American Music Awards. Makaveli The Don - Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, commonly shortened to The 7 Day Theory, is the fifth and final studio album by Tupac Shakur, under the new stage name Makaveli, finished before his death and his first studio album to be posthumously released. The album was completely finished in a total of seven days during the month of August 1996. The lyrics were written and recorded in only three days and mixing took an additional four days. These are among the very last songs he recorded before his fatal shooting on September 7, 1996. In 2005, MTV.com ranked Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory at #9 on their greatest hip hop albums of all time list and, in 2006, recognized it as a classic. The emotion and anger showcased on the album has been admired by a large part of the hip-hop community, including other rappers. Ronald "Riskie" Brent is the creator of the Makaveli Don Killuminati cover painting. George "Papa G" Pryce, Former Head of Publicity for Death Row, claimed that "Makaveli which we did was a sort of tongue and cheek and it was not really to come out and after Tupac was murdered, it did come out. But before that it was going to be a sort of an underground." The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the Billboard 200. The album generated the second-highest debut-week sales total of any album that year, selling 664,000 copies on the first week. This album was certified 4× Platinum on June 15, 1999. Death: September 1996 shooting: Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_shooting_of_Tupac_Shakur On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. After leaving the match, one of Knight's associates spotted Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, an alleged Crips gang member from Compton, California, in the MGM Grand lobby. Earlier that year, Anderson and a group of Crips had robbed a member of Death Row's entourage in a Foot Locker store. Knight's associate told Shakur, who attacked Anderson. Shakur's entourage, as well as Knight and his followers, assisted in assaulting Anderson. The fight was captured on the hotel's video surveillance. After the brawl, Shakur went with Knight to go to Death Row-owned Club 662 (now known as restaurant/club Seven). He rode in Knight's 1996 black BMW 750iL sedan as part of a larger convoy, including many in Shakur's entourage. At around 11:00-11:05 pm, they were halted on Las Vegas Boulevard by Metro bicycle police for playing the car stereo too loudly and not having license plates. The plates were found in the trunk of Knight's car; the party was released without being fined a few minutes later. At about 11:10 pm, while they were stopped at a red light at Flamingo Road near the intersection of Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel, a vehicle occupied by two women pulled up on their left side. Shakur, who was standing up through the sunroof, exchanged words with the two women, and invited them to go to Club 662. At approximately 11:15 pm, a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac with an unknown number of occupants pulled up to the sedan's right side, rolled down a window, and rapidly fired gunshots at Shakur. He was hit in the chest, pelvis, and his right hand and thigh. One of the rounds went into Shakur's right lung. Knight was hit in the head by fragmentation, though it is thought that a bullet grazed him. The bodyguard, Frank Alexander, stated that when he was about to ride along with the rapper in Knight's car, Shakur asked him to drive the car of Shakur's fiancée Kidada Jones instead, in case they needed additional vehicles from Club 662 back to the hotel. The bodyguard reported in his documentary, Before I Wake, that shortly after the assault, one of the convoy's cars drove off after the assailant but he never heard from the occupants. After arriving on the scene, police and paramedics took Knight and a wounded Shakur to the University Medical Center. According to an interview with the music video director Gobi, while at the hospital, he received news from a Death Row marketing employee that the shooters had called the record label and threatened Shakur. Gobi told the Las Vegas police, but said they claimed to be understaffed. No attackers came. At the hospital, Shakur was heavily sedated, was placed on life support machines, and was ultimately put under a barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of the bed. While in the critical care unit, on the afternoon of Friday, September 13, 1996, Shakur died of internal bleeding; doctors attempted to revive him but could not stop the hemorrhaging. His mother, Afeni, made the decision to tell the doctors to stop. He was pronounced dead at 4:03 pm (PDT). The official cause of death was noted as respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in connection with multiple gunshot wounds. Shakur's body was cremated the next day and some of his ashes were later mixed with marijuana and smoked by members of the Outlawz. Aftermath: Murder case: In 2002, the LA Times published a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Chuck Philips, titled "Who Killed Tupac Shakur", based on a yearlong investigation that reconstructed the crime and the events leading up to it. Evidence gathered by the paper indicated that: "the shooting was carried out by a Compton gang called the Southside Crips to avenge the beating of one of its members by Shakur a few hours earlier. Orlando Anderson, the Crip whom Shakur had attacked, fired the fatal shots. Las Vegas police discounted Anderson as a suspect and interviewed him only once, briefly. He was later killed in an unrelated gang shooting." Philips's article also included East Coast rappers including Biggie, Tupac's rival at the time, and several New York criminals. Before they died, The Notorious B.I.G. and Anderson denied their role in the murder. In support of their claims, Biggie's family produced computerized invoices suggesting that Biggie was working in a New York recording studio the night of the drive-by shooting. His manager Wayne Barrow and fellow rapper James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd made public announcements denying Biggie's role in the crime and claimed further that they were both with him in the recording studio during the night of the event. Philips' article, however, was based on police affidavits and court documents as well as interviews with investigators, witnesses to the crime and members of the Southside Crips who had never before discussed the killing outside the gang. The main thrust of Philips' article, implicating Anderson and the Crips, remains the best supported theory of the murder of Shakur to date. Artistry: Influences and musical style: Shakur's music and philosophy is rooted in many American, African-American, and world entities, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. Tupac's love of theater and Shakespeare also influenced his work. A student of the Baltimore school of Arts where he studied theater, Tupac understood the Shakespearian psychology of inter-gang wars and inter-cultural conflict. During a 1995 interview, Tupac told the Pulitzer prize-winning Los Angeles Times reporter Chuck Philips: " ... I love Shakespeare. He wrote some of the rawest stories, man. I mean look at Romeo and Juliet. That's some serious ghetto shit. You got this guy Romeo from the Bloods who falls for Juliet, a female from the Crips, and everybody in both gangs are against them. So they have to sneak out and they end up dead for nothing. Real tragic stuff. And look how Shakespeare busts it up with Macbeth. He creates a tale about this king's wife who convinces a happy man to chase after her and kill her husband so he can take over the country. After he commits the murder, the dude starts having delusions just like in a Scarface song. I mean the king's wife just screws this guy's whole life up for nothing...". " Chuck Philips made his recorded 1995 interview with Tupac available at chuckphilipspost.com on September 13, 2012, the 16th anniversary of Tupac's death. In a European interview Philips said that what impressed him the most about Tupac was that he was a poet. Philips said "I like sacred texts, myths, proverbs and scriptures. ... When Tupac came along, I thought he was quite the poet... It wasn't just how cleverly they rhymed. It wasn't just the rhythm or the cadence. I liked their attitude. It was protest music in a way nobody had ever thought about before. ...These artists were brave, wise and smart - wickedly smart. The thing about Tupac was he had so many sides. He was unafraid to write about his vulnerabilities." Tupac's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, revealed the socially conscious side of Shakur. On this album, Shakur attacked social injustice, poverty and police brutality on songs "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped" and "Part Time Mutha". His style on this album was highly influenced by the social consciousness and Afrocentrism pervading hip hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On this initial release, Shakur helped extend the success of such rap groups as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious rappers from the West Coast. On his second record, Shakur continued to rap about the social ills facing African-Americans, with songs like "The Streetz R Deathrow" and "Last Wordz". He also showed his compassionate side with the anthem "Keep Ya Head Up", while simultaneously putting his legendary aggressiveness on display with the title track from the album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. He added a salute to his former group Digital Underground by including them on the playful track "I Get Around". Throughout his career, an increasingly aggressive attitude can be seen pervading Shakur's subsequent albums. The contradictory themes of social inequality and injustice, unbridled aggression, compassion, playfulness, and hope all continued to shape Shakur's work, as witnessed with the release of his incendiary 1995 album Me Against the World. In 1996, Shakur released All Eyez on Me. Many of these tracks are considered by many critics to be classics, including "Ambitionz Az a Ridah", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "California Love", "Life Goes On" and "Picture Me Rollin".; All Eyez on Me was a change of style from his earlier works. While still containing socially conscious songs and themes, Shakur's album was heavily influenced by party tracks and tended to have a more "feel good" vibe than his first albums. Shakur described it as a celebration of life, and the record was critically and commercially successful. He had enjoyed and had been influenced by the work of contemporary English and Irish pop musicians as a teenager such as Kate Bush, Culture Club, Sinéad O'Connor and U2. Other ventures: Death Row Records: Upon his release from Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur immediately went back to song recording. He began a new group called Outlaw Immortalz. Shakur began recording his first album with Death Row and released the single "California Love" soon after. On February 13, 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo album, All Eyez on Me. This double album was the first and second of his three-album commitment to Death Row Records. It sold over nine million copies. The record was a general departure from the introspective subject matter of Me Against the World, being more oriented toward a thug and gangsta mentality. Shakur continued his recordings despite increasing problems at the Death Row label. Dr. Dre left his post as house producer to form his own label, Aftermath. Shakur continued to produce hundreds of tracks during his time at Death Row, most of which would be released on his posthumous albums R U Still Down? (Remember Me), Still I Rise, Until the End of Time, Better Dayz, Loyal to the Game and Pac's Life. He also began the process of recording an album with the Boot Camp Clik and their label Duck Down Records, both New York-based, entitled One Nation. On June 4, 1996, he and Outlawz released the diss track "Hit 'Em Up", a scathing lyrical assault on Biggie and others associated with him. In the track, Shakur claimed to have had sexual intercourse with Faith Evans, Biggie's wife at the time, and attacked Bad Boy's street credibility. Shakur was convinced that some members associated with Bad Boy had known about the '94 attack on him beforehand due to their behavior that night and what his sources told him. After the attack, Shakur immediately accused Jimmy Henchman (an associate of Bad Boy CEO Sean Combs) of orchestrating the attack, according to a 2005 interview with Henchman in Vibe magazine. After the attack, Shakur therefore aligned himself with Suge, Death Row's CEO, who was already bitter toward Combs over a 1995 incident at the Platinum Club in Atlanta, Georgia, which culminated in the death of Suge's friend and bodyguard, Jake Robles; Suge was adamant in voicing his suspicions of Combs' involvement. (In a June 12, 2012 Village Voice article, Chuck Philips reported that Sean Comb's associate Jimmy Henchman, remarkably, admitted to setting up Tupac's ambush during one of nine "Queen For A Day" proffer sessions with the government in autumn of 2011, according to prosecutors). While incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works, which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The album presents a stark contrast to previous works. Throughout the album, Shakur continues to focus on the themes of pain and aggression, making this album one of the emotionally darker works of his career. Shakur wrote and recorded all the lyrics in only three days and the production took another four days, combining for a total of seven days to complete the album (hence the name). Outlawz: Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlawz When Tupac Shakur recorded "Hit 'Em Up" a diss song towards his former friend and rival, The Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls he recruited three members from the former group Dramacydal whom he had worked with previously, and was eager to work with again. Together with the three New Jersey rappers and other associates, they formed the original lineup of the Outlawz. When 2Pac signed to Death Row upon his release from prison, he recruited his step brother Mopreme Shakur and Big Syke from Thug Life. Hussein Fatal, Napoleon, E.D.I. Mean, Kastro, Yaki Kadafi, and Storm (the only female Outlaw) were also added, and together they formed the original lineup of the Outlaw Immortalz that debuted on 2Pac's multi-platinum smash All Eyez on Me. They later dropped the immortal after the untimely deaths of 2Pac and Yaki Kadafi and moved on as Outlawz without the members of Thug Life. Young Noble was later added and appeared on 2Pac's second Death Row release The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. It was on 2Pac's Makaveli album that Outlawz first came to the greater rap community's notice, appearing on a few songs. The idea behind the group was for each member to have a rap name coinciding with the names of various tyrants or enemies of America, past and present. Outlawz chose in later years to make a backronym out of the letters of their group name Operating Under Thug Laws As Warriorz although it does not stand for the groups name and is used infrequently. On forming the Outlawz, Tupac gave each of them a name of a dictator/military leader or an enemy of America. Yaki Kadafi, after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Hussein Fatal, after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Mussolini (formerly Big Syke), after Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Komani (Shakur's half brother Mopreme Shakur), after Iranian Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Kastro, after Cuban leader Fidel Castro, E.D.I. Mean, after Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Napoleon, after military strategist and leader Napoleon Bonaparte, For himself, Tupac created the alias "Makaveli" from Renaissance Italian philosopher and strategist Niccolo Machiavelli, whose writings inspired Shakur in prison, but who also preached that a leader could eliminate his enemies by all means necessary. He mentioned Makaveli Records a few times before his death. This was supposed to be a music label for up and coming artists that Shakur had an interest in developing or potentially signing, and his own future projects would have also been published through it as well. Acting career: In addition to rapping and hip hop music, Shakur acted in films. He made his first film appearance in the motion picture Nothing But Trouble, as part of a cameo by the Digital Underground. His first starring role was in the film Juice. In this film, he played the character Roland Bishop, a violent member of the Wrecking Crew, for which he was hailed by Rolling Stone's Peter Travers as "the film's most magnetic figure." He then went on to star with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice and with Duane Martin in Above the Rim. After his death, three of Shakur's completed films, Bullet, Gridlock'd and Gang Related, were released. He had also been slated to star in the Hughes brothers' film Menace II Society but was replaced by Larenz Tate after assaulting Allen Hughes as a result of a quarrel. Director John Singleton mentioned that he wrote the script for Baby Boy with Shakur in mind for the leading role. It was eventually filmed with Tyrese Gibson in his place and released in 2001, five years after Shakur's death. The film features a mural of Shakur in the protagonist's bedroom as well as featuring the song "Hail Mary" in the film's score. Personal life: Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a wide variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. Shakur never professed following a particular religion, but his lyrics in singles such as 'Only God Can Judge Me' and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete suggest he believed in God. This means many analysts currently describe him as a deist. He believed in Karma, but rejected a literal afterlife and organized religion. Tupac has had several family members who were members of the Black Panthers; Mutulu Shakur, the step-father of Tupac, Assata Shakur, his step-aunt, Billy Garland the biological father of Tupac and Afeni Shakur his mother. Accolades: Legacy: " Since his death, Tupac has become an international martyr, a symbol on the level of Bob Marley or Che Guevara, whose life has inspired Tupacistas on the streets of Brazil, memorial murals in the Bronx and Spain, and bandanna-wearing youth gangs in South Africa. " -- Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture At a Mobb Deep concert following the death of Shakur and the release of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Cormega recalled in an interview that the fans were all shouting "Makaveli," and emphasized the influence of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and of Shakur himself even in New York at the height of the media-dubbed 'intercoastal rivalry'. Tupac Shakur was also one of the few rappers that were paid a tribute during the Up in Smoke Tour that featured many west coast hip-hop artists. Shakur is held in high esteem by other MCs - in the book How to Rap, Bishop Lamont notes that Shakur "mastered every element, every aspect" of rapping and Fredro Starr of Onyx says Shakur, "was a master of the flow." "Every rapper who grew up in the Nineties owes something to Tupac," wrote 50 Cent. "He didn't sound like anyone who came before him."About.com for their part named Shakur the most influential rapper ever. To preserve Shakur's legacy, his mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation (later renamed the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation or TASF) in 1997. The TASF's stated mission is to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents." The TASF sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers and undergraduate scholarships. The Foundation officially opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on June 11, 2005. On November 14, 2003, a documentary about Shakur entitled Tupac: Resurrection was released under the supervision of his mother and narrated entirely in his voice. It was nominated for Best Documentary in the 2005 Academy Awards. Proceeds will go to a charity set up by Shakur's mother Afeni. On April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored an academic symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics dealing with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to sociology. Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona, including State University of New York at Buffalo English professor Mark Anthony Neal who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the "organic intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group. Professor Neal has also indicated in his writings that the death of Shakur has left a "leadership void amongst hip-hop artists." Neal further describes him as a "walking contradiction", a status that allowed him to "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people." Professor of Communications Murray Forman, of Northeastern University, spoke of the mythical status about Shakur's life and death. He addressed the symbolism and mythology surrounding Shakur's death in his talk entitled "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Among his findings were that Shakur's fans have "succeeded in resurrecting Tupac as an ethereal life force." In "From Thug Life to Legend: Realization of a Black Folk Hero", Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Emmett Price, compared Shakur's public image to that of the trickster-figures of African-American folklore which gave rise to the urban "bad-man" persona of the post-slavery period. He ultimately described Shakur as a "prolific artist" who was "driven by a terrible sense of urgency" in a quest to "unify mind, body, and spirit". In Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur, Michael Eric Dyson indicated that Shakur "spoke with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of those who would never have his platform. He told the truth, even as he struggled with the fragments of his identity." At one Harvard Conference the theme was Shakur's impact on entertainment, race relations, politics and the "hero/martyr". In late 1997, the University of California, Berkeley offered a student-led course entitled "History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur." Graffitis of Tupac East Harlem, New York City Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil In late 2003, the Makaveli Branded Clothing line was launched by Afeni. In 2005, Death Row released Tupac: Live at the House of Blues. The DVD was the final recorded performance of Shakur's career, which took place on July 4, 1996, and features a plethora of Death Row artists. In August 2006, Tupac Shakur Legacy was released. The interactive biography was written by Jamal Joseph. It features unseen family photographs, intimate stories, and over 20 removable reproductions of his handwritten song lyrics, contracts, scripts, poetry, and other personal papers. Shakur's sixth posthumous studio album, Pac's Life, was released on November 21, 2006. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of Shakur's death. He is still considered one of the most popular artists in the music industry as of 2006. According to Forbes, in 2008 Shakur's estate made $15 million. In 2002, they recognized him as a Top Earning Dead celebrity coming in on number ten on their list. On April 15, 2012, a "hologram" of Tupac Shakur (technically a 2-D video projection) performed his songs "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" with Snoop Dogg at the Coachella Music Festival, the effect was created using an optical illusion called Pepper's ghost. The video footage was created by visual effects company Digital Domain. The Wall Street Journal reported Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were in talks of a possible tour involving the two rappers and the hologram version of Tupac, which was later turned down by Dr. Dre. Library of Congress: Shakur's hit song "Dear Mama" is one of 25 songs that were added to the National Recording Registry in 2010. The Library of Congress has called "Dear Mama" "a moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper's own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference." The honor came seven days after what would have been Shakur's 39th birthday. Shakur is the third rapper to enter the library, behind Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy. Honors: In a 2005 Rolling Stone magazine vote, Tupac was named No.86 of the '100 immortal artists of all time' behind the likes of Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and John Lennon., MTV ranked him at No. 2 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time., Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002., Ranked No. 3 on VH1's 50 Greatest Hip Hop Artists., In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Shakur as the "Number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers., In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang., A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans., At the First Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival held on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, Shakur was honored for his undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, cultural and medium lines; his mother accepted the award on his behalf., In 2008, The National Association Of Recording Merchandisers in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized him as a very influential artist and has added him in their Definitive 200 list., On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Shakur was inducted to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry., The seat of the Catholic Church released a list of 12 songs onto the social networking Web site's streaming music service. Among the artists included are Mozart, Muse and Dame Shirley Bassey; the list also includes Shakur's song "Changes", which was released two years after his shooting death on a greatest hits album in 1998., His double album, All Eyez on Me, is one of the highest-selling rap albums of all time, with over 5 million copies of the album sold in the United States alone by April 1996; it was eventually certified 9x platinum in June 1998 by the RIAA. wikipedia

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Keep Ya Head Up.

About Daniel Lanois

Daniel Lanois (born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Québec is a Canadian record producer and singer-songwriter. He has produced albums for a wide variety of artists and released a number of albums of his own work. Artists he has worked with include Bob Dylan, U2, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Chris Whitley, Ron Sexsmith and Nash The Slash. He started his production career working in his own studio, Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario. He worked with a number of local bands, most notably Martha And The Muffins, for whom his sister Jocelyne played bass, Ray Materick, as well as the Canadian children's singer Raffi. After being discovered by Brian Eno and working collaboratively with him on some of Eno's own projects, his career was given a huge boost when Eno invited him to co-produce U2's album The Unforgettable Fire. Along with Eno, he went on to produce U2's The Joshua Tree, the 1987 Grammy Winner for Album of the Year. Bono of U2 recommended Lanois to Bob Dylan in the late 1980s; in 1989 Lanois produced Dylan's Oh Mercy, widely considered one of Dylan's greatest later albums. Eight years later Dylan and Lanois worked together on Time Out of Mind, Dylan's first studio album of original material since 1990, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997. Wrecking Ball, his 1995 collaboration with Emmylou Harris, received almost unanimous critical praise (many critics placed the album on their year-end "best albums of the year" lists), and revived the aging country artist's career, bringing her to the attention of much younger rock audiences. As well as being a producer, singer and songwriter, Daniel Lanois plays the guitar, pedal steel and drums. His desire is to bring out the best in the artists he works with and produces, with his wide range of talents and musical ideas. He often leaves an atmospheric and emotionally resonant sound on the projects he produces, which some say has become his 'signature sound'. Daniel founded Red Floor Records to release his own music albums and DVD films that he sells direct to consumers from his website in high resolution downloads and traditional formats: www.DanielLanois.com After completing production work on U2's latest album "No Line In The Horizon" in 2009, Daniel has built a new recording studio in Toronto, which he has named "The Temple", as it is located on the site of a former Buddhist Temple. He recently completed producing Neil Young's latest 2010 release, "Le Noise". However, on June 5th, 2010, while working on Young's album, Daniel was in a serious motorcycle accident near his Silver Lake area home of Los Angeles, and he had to postpone his latest personal priority project, Black Dub which features Daniel on guitars, world renown drummer/percussionist Brian Blade, bassist and harmony vocalist Daryl Johnson, and lead vocalist/keyboardist Trixie Whitley (the daughter of the late Chris Whitley). Black Dub have been signed to Jive Records and they are expected to commence a world tour in early 2011 supporting their debut self titled release, and they are currently doing special engagements throughout November and early December 2010 across the USA. Daniel has recently written an autobiographical memoir entitled "Soul Mining, A Musical Life" that can be pre-ordered and is expected to be officially released through traditional book store channels in late November 2010. last.fm

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Daniel Lanois 1989 Acadie.

About Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985 in Waikiki, Hawaii), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is a Filipino-Puerto Rican American singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist signed to Atlantic Records. He is most well known for his hit Just The Way You Are, which went #1 in 9 countries in 2010. He is also known for singing/co-writing the hooks for the #1 hit Nothin' On You by B.o.B, and Billionaire by Travie McCoy; he also co-wrote the international hits Right Round by Flo Rida and Wavin' Flag by K'naan. After the success of the songs he featured on, Mars released his debut EP, It's Better If You Don't Understand, in May 2010. He then released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, on October 5th, which features special guest appearances from B.o.B, Cee-Lo Green, and Damian Marley. The lead single, Just the Way You Are, was released on July 19, 2010. The second single off the album, Grenade, was released on September 2010 as a promotional single but was eventually shifted to official second single. The It Will Rain Songfacts reports that in 2011 he recorded "It Will Rain," the lead single from the soundtrack to the movie The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. It was released exclusively on iTunes September 27, 2011. Bruno Mars was born and raised in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii by parents Pete and Bernadette "Bernie" Hernandez, of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent. Hernandez was one of six children and came from a musical family giving him a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B. From a young age, he was impersonating and performing songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Isley Brothers, and The Temptations. In 1990, Hernandez was featured in MidWeek as "Little Elvis", going on to have a cameo in Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992. "I watch the best. I'm a big fan of Elvis. I'm a big fan of 1950s Elvis when he would go on stage and scare people because he was a force and girls would go nuts! You can say the same thing for Prince or The Police. It's just guys who know that people are here to see a show, so I watch those guys and I love studying them because I'm a fan," he stated. In 2010 he said, "Growing up in Hawaii made me the man I am. I used to do a lot of shows in Hawaii with my father's band. Everybody in my family sings, everyone plays instruments. My uncle's an incredible guitar player, my dad's an incredible percussionist, my brother's a great drummer, he actually plays in our band. I've just been surrounded by it." He attended President Theodore Roosevelt High School, graduating in 2003 at the age of seventeen, and shortly after moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career. Before becoming a successful solo artist, Hernandez was an acknowledged music producer, writing songs for Alexandra Burke, Travie McCoy, Adam Levine, Brandy, and Sean Kingston, as well as Flo Rida's international hit "Right Round". He also co-wrote the Sugababes' hit song "Get Sexy" and provided backing vocals on their album Sweet 7. His first musical appearance as a singer was in Far East Movement's second studio album Animal, featured on the track "3D". He reached prominence as a solo artist after being featured on and co-writing B.o.B's "Nothin' on You" and Travie McCoy's "Billionaire"; both songs peaked within the top ten of many charts worldwide. He said of them, "I think those songs weren't meant to be full-sung songs. If I'd sung all of "Nothin' on You", it might've sounded like some '90s R&B." Following this success, Mars released his debut extended play (EP), titled It's Better If You Don't Understand, on May 11, 2010. The EP peaked at the ninety-ninth position on the Billboard 200 and produced one single: "The Other Side", featuring rappers Cee Lo Green and B.o.B. He performed a medley of "Nothin' on You" and "Airplanes" with B.o.B and Hayley Williams at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. He opened for Maroon 5 on the fall leg of the Hands All Over Tour which began on October 6, 2010. Mars also co-headlined with Travie McCoy on a European tour that started on October 18, 2010. On September 19, 2010, Mars was arrested in Las Vegas for possession of cocaine. He claims "he has never used drugs before" and his decision was "foolish". He has been nominated for seven 2011 Grammy Awards. last.fm

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2013 WMG. Directed by Cameron Duddy & Bruno Mars Bruno Mars - When I Was Your Man Download the single now: http://smarturl.it/wheniwasyourman Get Unorthodo...

Conserts with Bruno Mars

• Reliant Stadium in Houston(2013-03-07)
• Dubai Media City Amphitheatre in Dubai(2013-04-12)
• Verizon Center in Washington(2013-06-22)
• Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia(2013-06-24)
• TD Garden in Boston(2013-06-26)
• Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville(2013-06-27)
• Barclays Center in New York(2013-06-29)
• Prudential Center in Newark(2013-07-01)
• Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh(2013-07-02)
• Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto(2013-07-03)
• Bell Centre in Montreal(2013-07-05)
• Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto(2013-07-06)
• Le Festival d’été de Québec in Quebec City(2013-07-08)
• Schottenstein Center in Columbus(2013-07-10)
• The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit(2013-07-11)
• United Center in Chicago(2013-07-13)
• Xcel Energy Center in St Paul(2013-07-14)
• Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary(2013-07-17)
• Rexall Place in Edmonton(2013-07-18)
• Rogers Arena in Vancouver(2013-07-20)
• Key Arena in Seattle(2013-07-21)
• Rose Garden Arena in Portland(2013-07-22)
• Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento(2013-07-24)
• HP Pavilion in San Jose(2013-07-25)
• Staples Center in Los Angeles(2013-07-27)
• STAPLES Center in Los Angeles(2013-07-28)
• Valley View Casino Center in San Diego(2013-07-30)
• US Airways Center in Phoenix(2013-07-31)
• Maverik Center in West Valley City(2013-08-02)
• MGM Grand in Las Vegas(2013-08-03)
• Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison(2013-08-05)
• Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison(2013-08-06)
• Scottrade Center in St Louis(2013-08-08)
• Sprint Center in Kansas City(2013-08-09)
• Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City(2013-08-10)
• American Airlines Center in Dallas(2013-08-12)
• Frank Erwin Center in Austin(2013-08-14)
• Toyota Center in Houston(2013-08-15)
• Bridgestone Arena in Nashville(2013-08-17)
• KFC Yum! Center - in Louisville(2013-08-18)
• Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis(2013-08-19)
• Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte(2013-08-21)
• Philips Arena in Atlanta(2013-08-22)
• Amway Center in Orlando(2013-08-27)
• Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa(2013-08-28)
• American Airlines Arena in Miami(2013-08-30)
• Coliseo De Puerto Rico in San Juan(2013-09-01)
• The Odyssey in Belfast(2013-10-02)
• The O2 in Dublin(2013-10-03)
• Manchester Arena in Manchester(2013-10-05)

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DJ Antoine feat. The Beat Shakers - Ma chérie (V&P Project 'DANCE' Bootleg) + DOWNLOAD ZAPRASZAM: ..........::::: http://www.facebook.com/dobra.pompa.czasem....

Conserts with DJ Antoine & The Beat Shakers

• Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur(2013-01-19)
• Nordseehalle in Emden(2013-01-25)
• GoParc! in Herford(2013-01-26)
• Club White X in Dubai(2013-01-31)
• Privilege in Kornwestheim(2013-02-01)
• Delta Musikpark in Duisburg(2013-02-02)
• Kesselhaus in Augsburg(2013-02-08)
• Club Seven in Ellwangen(2013-02-09)
• OPEN AIR in Schladming(2013-02-14)
• Lokschuppenhalle in Simbach Am Inn(2013-02-15)
• Nachtschicht in Nuremberg(2013-02-16)
• Energy 2000 in Katowice(2013-02-22)
• Mad Club in Lausanne(2013-02-23)
• Private Event in Rome(2013-02-24)
• Swiss Music Awards @ Schiffbau in Zurich(2013-03-01)
• K-Shake in Rothis(2013-03-01)
• Eventhalle in Erstfeld(2013-03-02)
• N-Joy Starshow in Luneburg(2013-03-02)
• The Bandits Club in Tuggen(2013-03-02)
• Private Event in Geneva(2013-03-06)
• Das grosse SAT.1 Promiboxen in Dusseldorf(2013-03-08)
• REC Halle in Aachen(2013-03-09)
• Disco Max in Bressanone Bz(2013-03-15)
• Grand Club Sfera in Melle(2013-03-16)
• Echo | Deutscher Musikpreis 2013 in Berlin(2013-03-21)
• L1 Club in Liepzig(2013-03-22)
• Messe- und Veranstaltungspark in Lobau(2013-03-23)
• Lime Light in Milan(2013-03-27)
• Sundance Festival @ Espace Odyssee Centre Intercommunal De Glace De Malley SA in Prilly(2013-03-28)
• 84 Eighty Four in Winterthur(2013-03-30)
• Fame in Basel(2013-03-30)
• Viva Night in Geisenfeld(2013-03-31)
• KLANGFABRIK in Siegburg(2013-04-01)
• Capitol Music Palace in Dettelbach(2013-04-05)
• Gusto Club in Mantova(2013-04-06)
• Nafoura Disco in Marina Di Castellaneta Ta(2013-04-09)
• Energy 2000 in Przytkowice(2013-04-12)
• Tg. Mures Sports Hall in Mures(2013-04-13)
• TOP 10 in Singen(2013-04-19)
• NRJ Fashion Night @ Hallenstadion in Zurich(2013-04-19)
• Funpark in Regensburg(2013-04-20)
• Spazio Novecento in Rome(2013-04-24)
• Club Aura in Ibbenburen(2013-04-26)
• Eiderland Eventcenter in Pahlen(2013-04-27)
• Caffe Del Mar in Jesolo(2013-04-30)
• Open Air @ Clube Esperia in Sao Paulo(2013-05-03)
• ZAX CLUB in Rio De Janeiro(2013-05-04)
• Steelarena in Kosice(2013-05-07)
• Patinoire du Littoral in Neuchatel(2013-05-08)
• Mad Club in Lausanne(2013-05-09)

About Avicii

Tim Bergling (born 8 September 1989), known professionally as Avicii (pronounced ?-VEE-chee), is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. Avicii ranked No. 6 on the Top 100 DJs list by DJ Magazine in 2011, and ranked higher in 2012, coming at No. 3 on the Top 100 DJs list by the publication. Early life edit: Tim Bergling was born on 8 September 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden. He began remixing and producing tracks in his own bedroom at the age of 18. His friends convinced him to put his work on various music blogs online, which led to him gaining a huge following and led to support from legendary DJ and Producer Tiësto, who invited him to perform a weekly residency at Privilege Ibiza. Also, he gained support from Pete Tong who released his first single "Manman" through his Bedroom Bedlam label. In May 2008, Avicii signed to At Night Management. Influences edit: Avicii has said that his influences include Tiësto, Laidback Luke, Eric Prydz, Armand Van Helden, Daft Punk, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello and Axwell. "I've always been into music, and growing up with older siblings. I've also had loads of different influences when it comes to my music taste. There are loads of other people that have influenced me but I think the biggest inspirations I've had aside from my manager has been the Swedish House Mafia guys and Eric Prydz, they were the ones who first got me into house!" Avicii - April 2011 Musical career edit: 2010-2011 edit: In 2010, Avicii released a collaboration with fellow Swedish DJ John Dahlbäck, titled "Don't Hold Back." He additionally worked on projects with internationally-recognized DJs Tiësto and Sebastian Ingrosso. While his work is primarily electronic synthetic tracks, EMI released a vocal version of his track "Bromance," titled "Seek Bromance." "Seek Bromance", reached the top 20 in several countries including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Sweden. He also remixed Nadia Ali's classic single "Rapture" for her album Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx Edition. In October 2010, Avicii signed with the European A&R team with EMI Music Publishing, one of the recording industry's "big four". In 2011, his collaboration track, "Sunshine", with David Guetta was nominated for a Grammy award under the category for Best Dance Recording. His track 'Fade into darkness' was sampled by Leona Lewis on single "Collide". The sampling was not accredited and led to controversy as Avicii attempted to block the single's release. However, the matter was resolved outside of court with representatives stating "that Leona Lewis and Avicii will work together on the forthcoming single of Collide". In 2011, Avicii released "Levels", which reached the top ten in India, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and topped the charts in Hungary, Norway and Sweden. Levels edit: Avicii's most notable song has been the single "Levels" which was released officially 28 October 2011. The song had already been a major hit in the electronic music world all through 2011, but after its official release it became a huge mainstream hit, greatly increasing Avicii's popularity. The song was written by Tim Bergling and contains a vocal sample from the 1962 gospel-inspired "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James. The same vocal sample was used first by Pretty Lights in his 2006 song "Finally Moving". This sample was also used by Drum and Bass producer Logistics - "Call Me Back" and Flo Rida in his single "Good Feeling", which was produced by Dr. Luke and Cirkut. It bears a close resemblance to the "Levels". In the Britain's Got Talent semi-final, Greig Stewart performed this song on laser harp. 2012 edit: On 23 March 2012, Avicii's unsigned single "Last Dance" was previewed on Pete Tong's show on BBC Radio 1. The song was later released on 27 August 2012. At Ultra Music Festival 2012 in Miami he premiered two tracks, "Girl Gone Wild (Avicii's UMF Remix)" with Madonna and "Superlove" with Lenny Kravitz. "Madonna vs. Avicii - Girl Gone Wild (Avicii's UMF Remix)" was released on 20 April 2012, and Avicii vs. Lenny Kravitz - "Superlove" was released on 29 May 2012. After reaching two million followers on Facebook, Avicii released a new song titled "Two Million". It was put out as a free download on his official Soundcloud page. On 27 April 2012, Avicii released " Silhouettes". Featuring vocals from Salem Al Fakir, this song peaked at #5 on the UK Dance charts and #4 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. Later in the summer, he was a featured performer on 4 August 2012 at Lollapalooza festival in Chicago's Grant Park. His performance was streamed online. On 12 August 2012, Avicii released "Dancing In My Head" (Avicii's 'Been Cursed' Mix) on Beatport. The track features vocals from Eric Turner. A radio edit of the track, titled "Dancing In My Head (Tom Hangs Mix)" was released on 14 August 2012 on iTunes, and a remix EP was later released on 30 October 2012 featuring remixes from Charlie Bernardo and Michael Woods. At his shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, he played a preview of his new track with Mike Posner titled "Stay With You". This track has yet to be released. On 29 December 2012, Avicii released his highly anticipated "I Could Be The One" with Nicky Romero. Formerly known as "Nicktim", the song's title was changed after vocals by Noonie Bao were added. After first being debuted at his shows almost a year earlier, the track finally got released via Avicii's record label LE7ELS. The new vocal version was released along with an instrumental version, a radio edit, and remixes from Audrio and Didrick. Avicii is currently ranked number 3 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs List for 2012, moving up three spots from his position at number six in 2011. 2013 - present edit: On 30 January 2013, Avicii released "Three Million (ft. Negin)" to mark the 3 millionth fan on his Facebook page. Avicii previously released "Two Million", again when he reached 2 million fans on his Facebook page. Avicii was nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording with 'Levels' for the 2013 Grammy Awards. He was nominated alongside Calvin Harris & Ne-Yo, Skrillex, Swedish House Mafia & John Martin, and Al Walser. The award show took place on 10 February 2013 and the award was won by Skrillex. In late February - early March 2013, Avicii toured Australia as one of the headline acts in the Future Music Festival alongside The Prodigy and The Stone Roses. In late February 2013, Avicii made his first South American Tour including concerts in Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Chile. On 11 April 2013, Avicii has released his new album promo mix on SoundCloud. On 15 April 2013, it was officially announced by the EBU and the SVT that Avicii along with the ex-ABBA members, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, have composed the anthem for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. The song will be performed for the first time in the Final on the 18 May. Avicii X You Project edit: On 9 January 2013, Avicii launched the Avicii X You project, a partnership with Ericsson designed to create the world's first "crowdsourced" hit song. The project enabled fans to send in basslines, effects, melodies, rhythms and vocals to Avicii as sound files over the internet. Avicii acted as executive producer and created the finished song, which released on 26 February 2013. Avicii regularly posted updates on the Studio Blog of the Avicii X You website containing the winners of all the collaborate parts of the final song. He also announced almost every week how the song was going and did Skype interview calls with the winning collaborators. On 26 February 2013, the music video to the final song was released on the Avicii Vevo YouTube channel, concluding that the title of the song would be 'X You'. He also released on the Avicii X You website a free play of the extended version of the song. The winning collaborators were Kian Sang (melody), Naxsy (bassline), Martin Kupilas (beat & rhythm), ???? ????? (break) and Christian Westphalen, Mateusz Kolata & Jonathan Madray (effects). Charitable Work edit: Since achieving widespread commercial success, Avicii began working with his manager and executive producer Ash Pournouri to start House for Hunger in 2011, a charity dedicated to alleviating global hunger. The pair wanted to showcase the giving spirit fostered by the house music community. Avicii explained, "You have to give something back. I am so fortunate to be in the position where I can actually do that. I feel lucky every day when I wake up and am able to do what I love and make a living." In addition to donating $1 million to Feeding America, a charity founded by Lauren Bush, House for Hunger has helped fund the efforts of The Feed Foundation, allowing it to distribute over two million school meals throughout rural Africa. Radio City Music Hall edit: On 26 September 2012, Avicii made history by being the first DJ to headline world famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. He performed two sold out shows on 26 and 27 September. The 27 September show sold out in under one minute. He was supported by Matt Goldman and Cazzette at the two shows. wikipedia

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Music video by Avicii performing Silhouettes. (C) 2012 Veratone AG, Under exclusive license to Universal Music AB Buy Now! http://smarturl.it/Silhouettes.

Conserts with Avicii

• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-01-18)
• Park City Live in Park City(2013-01-19)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-01-25)
• DC Armory in Washington(2013-02-01)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-02-02)
• Vanguard Nightclub in Los Angeles(2013-02-07)
• TBA in Los Angeles(2013-02-08)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-02-09)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-02-16)
• Costanera Sur in Buenos Aires(2013-02-19)
• Space B. Camboriu in Balneario Camboriu(2013-02-22)
• Foro Alterno del Centro Cultural Universitario in Zapopan(2013-03-10)
• Calle 2 in Zapopan(2013-03-15)
• Ultra Music Festival in Miami(2013-03-16)
• Bayfront Park in Miami(2013-03-17)
• Secret Venue in Miami(2013-03-21)
• Bayfront Park in Miami(2013-03-22)
• Ultra Music Festival in Miami(2013-03-24)
• Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub in Las Vegas(2013-04-13)
• Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas(2013-04-14)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-04-19)
• Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas(2013-04-21)
• Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub in Las Vegas(2013-04-26)
• Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub in Las Vegas(2013-04-27)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-05-04)
• Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas(2013-05-05)
• XS THE NIGHTCLUB AT ENCORE in Las Vegas(2013-05-10)
• Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas(2013-05-11)
• Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet(2013-05-24)
• Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas(2013-05-26)
• Berns in Stockholm(2013-06-01)
• Port Covington in Baltimore(2013-06-08)
• Port Covington in Baltimore(2013-06-09)
• Star Hall @ KITEC in Hong Kong(2013-06-14)
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas(2013-06-21)
• Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub in Las Vegas(2013-06-22)
• Ultra Music Festival Croatia in Split(2013-07-12)
• ZAMARDI-LAC BALATON / HONGRIE in Zamardi(2013-07-14)
• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London(2013-07-20)
• PRC DE SCHORRE in Boom(2013-07-26)
• Randall's Island in New York(2013-08-30)

About Peter Bjorn And John

Peter Bjorn and John were formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1999. Made up of members Peter Morén on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Björn Yttling on vocals, bass, and keyboards; and John Eriksson on drums, percussion, and vocals. The band has released six albums: "Peter Bjorn and John" (2002), "Falling Out" (2004), "Writer's Block" (2006), "Seaside Rock" (2008), "Living Thing" (2009) and "Gimme Some" (2011). The band is influenced by the sounds of classic '60s baroque pop, power pop, and new wave The band gained recognition in the United Kingdon and United States during 2006 and 2007 due to the success of their single "Young Folks", whilst staying virtually unknown in their homeland, Sweden. last.fm

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Lyrics for Second chance by Peter Bjorn And John:

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Artista: Peter, Bjorn and John Faixa: Second Chance.

About Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone (/t??'ko?ne?/ chi-KOH-nay; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, director, dancer, and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance and performed in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy. Madonna is known for continuously reinventing both her music and image, and for retaining a standard of autonomy within the recording industry. She attained immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Critics have praised her diverse musical productions which have also been known to induce controversy. Madonna released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and followed it with a series of successful albums, including the Grammy Award winners Ray of Light (1998) and Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005). Many of her songs peaked atop record charts, including "Like a Virgin", "Into the Groove", "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", "Vogue", "Frozen", "Music", "Hung Up", and "4 Minutes". Madonna received generally positive reviews for her role in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), though her later film appearances received mixed commentary. She received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Evita (1996), but has received harsh feedback for other performances. She has been recognized as an acclaimed businesswoman, involving herself in fashion design, writing children's books, and film directing and producing. In 1992, she founded entertainment company Maverick as a joint venture with Time Warner, which also included the label Maverick Records. In 2007, she signed a US $120 million record, touring and merchandising 360° deal with Live Nation, resulting in her leaving Warner Bros. Records, her label since 1982. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the best-selling female recording artist of all time by Guinness World Records. Time considered her to be one of the "25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century" for being an influential figure in contemporary music. Madonna is the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and the second best selling female artist in the United States, with 64.5 million certified albums. Considered by Forbes and other publications as a cultural icon, she is often referred by the international press as the "Queen of Pop". In 2008, Billboard ranked her at number two, behind only The Beatles, on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, making her the most successful solo artist in the history of the chart. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the same year. In 2012, she was crowned the "Greatest Woman In Music" by VH1. As of 2013, some sources report that Madonna's net worth has crossed over one billion dollars. Life and career: 1958-81: Early life and career beginnings: Madonna Louise Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. Her father, Silvio Anthony Ciccone, is a first-generation Italian American (with roots in Pacentro, Italy), while her mother, Madonna Louise (née Fortin), was of French Canadian descent. Her father worked as a design engineer for Chrysler and General Motors. As Madonna had the same name as her mother, family members called her "Little Nonni". The third of six children from her father's first marriage, her full-blood siblings are: Martin, Anthony, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. Madonna was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. Upon receiving confirmation in 1966, she adopted Veronica as an additional confirmation name. She was raised in the Detroit suburbs of Pontiac and Avon Township (now part of Rochester Hills). Her mother died of breast cancer at the age of 30, in 1963. Months before her mother's death, Madonna noticed changes in her behavior and personality, although she did not understand the reason. Mrs. Ciccone, at a loss to explain her medical condition, would often begin to cry when questioned by Madonna. Madonna later acknowledged that she had not grasped the concept of her mother dying. Madonna turned to her grandmother in the hope of finding some solace and some form of her mother in her. The Ciccone siblings resented housekeepers and invariably rebelled against anyone brought into their home ostensibly to take the place of their beloved mother. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Madonna commented that she saw herself in her youth as a "lonely girl who was searching for something. I wasn't rebellious in a certain way. I cared about being good at something. I didn't shave my underarms and I didn't wear make-up like normal girls do. But I studied and I got good grades ... I wanted to be somebody." Terrified that her father could be taken from her as well, Madonna could often not sleep unless she was near him. Her father married the family's housekeeper Joan Gustafson in 1966, and they had two children: Jennifer and Mario Ciccone. At this point, Madonna began to express unresolved feelings of anger towards her father that lasted for decades, and developed a rebellious attitude. She attended St. Frederick's and St. Andrew's Catholic Elementary Schools, and then West Middle School. She was known for her high grade point average, and achieved notoriety for her unconventional behavior: she would perform cartwheels and handstands in the hallways between classes, dangle by her knees from the monkey bars during recess, and pull up her skirt during class--all so that the boys could see her underwear. Madonna later attended Rochester Adams High School where she became a straight-A student and a member of the cheerleading squad. After graduating, she received a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. She convinced her father to allow her to take ballet lessons and was persuaded by Christopher Flynn, her ballet teacher, to pursue a career in dance. In 1978, she dropped out of college and relocated to New York City. She had little money and worked as a waitress at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes. Madonna said of her move to New York, "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxi cab. I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." She started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. During a late night, Madonna was returning from a rehearsal, when she was dragged up an alleyway by a pair of men at knifepoint and forced to perform fellatio. Madonna characterized the attack as rape; she later commented that "the episode was a taste of my weakness, it showed me that I still could not save myself in spite of all the strong-girl show. I could never forget it." While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy. Together, they formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. In 1980 or 1981 she left Breakfast Club and, with her former boyfriend Stephen Bray as drummer, formed the band Emmy. Their music impressed DJ and record producer Mark Kamins who arranged a meeting between Madonna and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein. 1982-85: Sire Records, Madonna, Like a Virgin and marriage to Sean Penn: After Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire, her debut single, "Everybody", was released on April 24, 1982, and became a dance hit. In February 1984, according to the film director Sir Richard Attenborough, she auditioned at the Royale Theatre on Broadway for a dance role in his movie version of A Chorus Line using her birth-name of Ciccone. He rejected her. At about the same time, she started developing her debut album, Madonna, which was primarily produced by Reggie Lucas, a Warner Bros. producer. However, she was not happy with the completed tracks and disagreed with Lucas' production techniques, so decided to seek additional help. Madonna moved in with boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez, asking his help for finishing the album's production. Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced "Holiday", which was her third single. The overall sound of Madonna is dissonant, and is in the form of upbeat synthetic disco, utilizing some of the new technology of the time, like the Linn drum machine, Moog bass and the OB-X synthesizer. The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, and yielded the hit singles "Holiday", "Borderline" and "Lucky Star". "I was surprised by how people reacted to "Like a Virgin" because when I did that song, to me, I was singing about how something made me feel a certain way--brand-new and fresh--and everyone interpreted it as 'I don't want to be a virgin anymore. Fuck my brains out!' That's not what I sang at all. 'Like a Virgin' was always absolutely ambiguous." --Madonna on the backlash for "Like a Virgin" Madonna's look and manner of dressing, her performances, and her music videos influenced young girls and women and her style became one of the female fashion trends of the 1980s. It was created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol and the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix, bracelets, and bleached hair. Madonna achieved global recognition after the release of her second studio album: Like a Virgin in 1984. It topped the charts in several countries and became her first number one album on the Billboard 200. The title track, "Like a Virgin", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks. It attracted the attention of organizations who complained that the song and its accompanying video promoted premarital sex and undermined family values, and moralists sought to have the song and video banned. Madonna came under further fire when she performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) where she appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake, wearing a wedding dress and white gloves. The performance is noted by MTV as an iconic moment in VMA history. In later years, Madonna commented that she was actually terrified of the performance. Like a Virgin was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and sold more than 21 million copies worldwide. Madonna entered mainstream films in 1985, beginning with a brief appearance as a club singer in Vision Quest, a romantic drama film. Its soundtrack contained her U.S. number-one single, "Crazy for You". She also appeared in the comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), a film which introduced the song "Into the Groove", her first number one single in the United Kingdom. Although not the lead actress for the film, her profile was such that the movie widely became seen (and marketed) as a Madonna vehicle.The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby named it one of the ten best films of 1985. While filming the music video for the second single from Like a Virgin -- "Material Girl" -- Madonna started dating actor Sean Penn and married him on her birthday in 1985. Beginning in April 1985, Madonna embarked on her first concert tour in North America, The Virgin Tour, with the Beastie Boys as her opening act. where she progressed from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas. In July, Penthouse and Playboy magazines published a number of nude photos of Madonna, taken in New York in 1978. She had posed for the photographs as she needed money at the time, and was paid as little as $25 a session. The publication of the photos caused a media uproar, but Madonna remained defiant and unapologetic." The photographs were ultimately sold for up to $100,000. She referred to the whole experience at the 1985 outdoor Live Aid charity concert saying that she would not take her jacket off because "the media might hold it against me ten years from now." 1986-91: True Blue, Like a Prayer, Dick Tracy and The Immaculate Collection: In June 1986, Madonna released her third studio album, True Blue, which was inspired by and dedicated to Sean Penn.Rolling Stone magazine was generally impressed with the effort, writing that the album "sounds as if it comes from the heart". It spawned three number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart", and two more top-five singles: "True Blue" and "La Isla Bonita". The album topped the charts in over 28 countries worldwide, an unprecedented achievement at the time. She also starred in the critically panned film Shanghai Surprise for which she was awarded the Golden Raspberry Award for "worst actress". She made her theatrical debut in a production of David Rabe's Goose and Tom-Tom, both co-starring Penn. The next year, Madonna's second feature film, Who's That Girl, was released. She contributed four songs to its soundtrack, including the title track and "Causing a Commotion". In July 1987, she embarked on the Who's That Girl World Tour which continued until September. The tour was inspired by Madonna's belief that, with the help of people, she could turn herself into something else. It broke several attendance records, including over 130,000 audience in a concert in Paris, which remains her biggest concert attendance ever. Later that year, she released a remix album of past hits, titled You Can Dance, which reached 14 on the Billboard 200. After an annulment in December 1987, Madonna filed for divorce from Penn in January 1989 citing irreconcilable differences. "In Like a Prayer I've been dealing with more specific issues that mean a lot to me. They're about an assimilation of experiences I've had in my life and in relationships. They're about my mother, my father and my bonds with my family about the pain of dying, or growing up and letting go. The album was a real coming-of-age record for me emotionally ... I had to do a lot of soul-searching and I think it is a reflection of that." --Madonna talking about the inspiration behind Like a Prayer. In January 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with soft-drink manufacturer, Pepsi. In one of her Pepsi commercials, she debuted her song "Like a Prayer". The corresponding music video featured many Catholic symbols such as stigmata and cross burning, and a dream about making love to a saint, leading the Vatican to condemn the video. Religious groups sought to ban the commercial and boycott Pepsi products. Pepsi revoked the commercial and canceled her sponsorship contract. The song was included on Madonna's fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, which was co-written and co-produced by Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.Rolling Stone wrote that it was "as close to art as pop music gets".Like a Prayer peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 13 million copies worldwide, with 4 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. Six singles were released from the album, including "Like a Prayer", which reached number one, and "Express Yourself" and "Cherish", both peaking at number two. By the end of the 1980s, Madonna was named as the "Artist of the Decade" by MTV, Billboard and Musician magazine. Madonna starred as "Breathless" Mahoney in the film Dick Tracy (1990), with Warren Beatty playing the title role. To accompany the film, she released the soundtrack album, I'm Breathless, which included songs inspired by the film's 1930s setting. It also featured the U.S. number-one hit, "Vogue", and "Sooner or Later", which earned songwriter Stephen Sondheim an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1991. While shooting the film, Madonna began a relationship with Beatty which dissolved by the end of 1990. In April 1990 she began her Blond Ambition World Tour, which was held until August.Rolling Stone called it an "elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza" and proclaimed it "the best tour of 1990". The tour was met with strong reaction from religious groups for her performance of "Like a Virgin", during which two male dancers caressed her body before she simulated masturbation. The Church of England and the Catholic Church criticized her performance and the Pope asked the general public and the Christian community not to attend the concert. A private association of Catholics calling themselves Famiglia Domani also boycotted the tour for its eroticism. In response, Madonna said, "The tour in no way hurts anybody's sentiments. It's for open minds and gets them to see sexuality in a different way. Their own and others"."The Laserdisc release of the tour won Madonna a Grammy Award in 1992 for Best Long Form Music Video. The Immaculate Collection, Madonna's first greatest-hits compilation album, was released in November 1990. It included two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". The album was certified diamond by RIAA and sold over 30 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history. "Justify My Love" reached number one in the U.S. and top ten worldwide. Its music video featured scenes of sadomasochism, bondage, same-sex kissing and brief nudity. The video was deemed too sexually explicit for MTV and was banned from the network. Madonna responded to the banning: "Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling?" The second single, "Rescue Me", became the highest-debuting single by a female artist in Hot 100 chart history at that time, entering at number 15 and peaking at number nine. In December 1990, Madonna decided to leave Jennifer Lynch's film, Boxing Helena, which she had previously agreed to star in, without any explanation to the producers. Around this time, Madonna had an eight-month relationship with rapper Vanilla Ice; he ended their relationship because of Madonna's Sex book. Her first documentary film Truth or Dare (known as In Bed with Madonna outside North America) was released in mid-1991. The documentary chronicled her Blond Ambition World Tour. 1992-97: Maverick Records, Sex, Erotica, Bedtime Stories and Evita: In 1992, Madonna had a role in A League of Their Own as Mae Mordabito, a baseball player on an all-women's team. She recorded the film's theme song, "This Used to Be My Playground", which became a Hot 100 number one hit. The same year, she founded her own entertainment company, Maverick, consisting of a record company (Maverick Records), a film production company (Maverick Films), and associated music publishing, television broadcasting, book publishing and merchandising divisions. The deal was a joint venture with Time Warner and paid Madonna an advance of $60 million. It gave her 20% royalties from the music proceedings, one of the highest rates in the industry, equaled at that time only by Michael Jackson's royalty rate established a year earlier with Sony. The first release from the venture was Madonna's book, titled Sex. It consisted of sexually provocative and explicit images, photographed by Steven Meisel. The book caused strong negative reaction from the media and the general public, but sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each in a matter of days. At the same time she released her fifth studio album, Erotica, which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Its title track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.Erotica also produced five further singles: "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Fever", "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby". The provocative imagery continued in the 1990s with the erotic thriller, Body of Evidence, a film which contained scenes of sadomasochism and bondage. It was poorly received by critics. She also starred in the film Dangerous Game, which was released straight to video in North America. The New York Times described the film as "angry and painful, and the pain feels real." In September 1993, she embarked on The Girlie Show World Tour, in which she dressed as a whip-cracking dominatrix surrounded by topless dancers. The show faced negative reaction, specifically in Puerto Rico where she rubbed the island's flag between her legs on stage. In March 1994, she appeared as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, using profanity that was required to be censored on television and handing Letterman a pair of her underwear and asking him to smell it. The releases of her sexually explicit films, albums and book, and the aggressive appearance on Letterman all made critics question Madonna as a sexual renegade. She faced strong negative publicity from critics and fans, who commented that "she had gone too far" and that her career was over. According to biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli, the ballad "I'll Remember" (1994), was an attempt to tone down her provocative image. The song was recorded for Alek Keshishian's film With Honors. She made a subdued appearance with Letterman at an awards show and appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno after realizing that she needed to change her musical direction in order to sustain her popularity. With her sixth studio album, Bedtime Stories (1994), Madonna employed a softer image to try to improve the public perception of her. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and produced four singles, including "Secret" and "Take a Bow", the latter topping the Hot 100 for seven weeks, the longest period of any Madonna single. At the same time, she became romantically involved with fitness trainer Carlos Leon.Something to Remember, a collection of ballads, was released in November 1995. The album featured three new songs: "You'll See", "One More Chance", and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You". The following year saw the release of Evita in which she played the title role of Eva Perón. For a long time, Madonna had desired to play Perón and even wrote to director Alan Parker, explaining how she would be perfect for the part. She stated, "This is the role I was born to play. I put everything of me into this because it was much more than a role in a movie. It was exhilarating and intimidating at the same time...And I am prouder of Evita than anything else I have done." After securing it, she underwent vocal training and learned about the history of Argentina and Perón. During shooting she fell sick many times due to the intense emotional effort required.Evita was a period drama and almost 6,000 costumes were needed for the scenes, a Guinness World Record for the most costume changes in a film. After its release, the film garnered critical appreciation. Zach Conner from Time magazine commented "It's a relief to say that Evita is pretty damn fine, well cast and handsomely visualized. Madonna once again confounds our expectations. She plays Evita with a poignant weariness and has more than just a bit of star quality. Love or hate Madonna-Eva, she is a magnet for all eyes." Madonna won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for the role. She released three singles from the Evita soundtrack album including "You Must Love Me" (which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1997) and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". On October 14, 1996, Madonna gave birth to Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, her daughter with Leon. 1998-2002: Ray of Light, Music and marriage to Guy Ritchie: After Lourdes' birth, Madonna became involved in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah. She was introduced to Jewish mysticism by actress Sandra Bernhard in 1997. Her seventh studio album, Ray of Light, (1998) reflected this change in her perception and image. The album garnered critical acclaim and Slant Magazine declared it as "one of the great pop masterpieces of the '90s".Ray of Light was honored with four Grammy Awards, and listed as one of Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Topping the charts in Australia, Canada, UK and mainland Europe, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200--held off from the top spot by the soundtrack to the film Titanic--and sold 16 million copies worldwide. The album's first single, "Frozen", became Madonna's first single to debut at number one in the UK, while in the U.S. it became her sixth number-two single and set another record for Madonna as the artist with the most number two hits. The song was banned in Belgium, however, adjudicated to be plagiarized from Belgian songwriter Salvatore Acquaviva's 1993 song "Ma Vie Fout L'camp". The second single, "Ray of Light", debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Madonna's relationship with Leon ended in December 1998; she declared that they were "better off as best friends." Following their break-up, Madonna signed to play a violin teacher in the film Music of the Heart but left the project, citing "creative differences" with director Wes Craven. She followed Ray of Light with the single "Beautiful Stranger", recorded for the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It reached number 19 on the Hot 100 solely on radio airplay and earned Madonna a Grammy Award for "Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media". In 1998, the Guinness Book of World Records stated: "No female artist has sold more records than Madonna around the world". In 2000, Madonna starred in the film, The Next Best Thing, and contributed two songs to the film's soundtrack: "Time Stood Still" and the international hit "American Pie", a cover version of Don McLean's 1971 song. She released her eighth studio album, Music, in September 2000. It featured elements from the electronica-inspired Ray of Light era, and catered to her gay audience. Collaborating with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï, Madonna commented: "I love to work with the weirdos that no one knows about--the people who have raw talent and who are making music unlike anyone else out there. Music is the future of sound."Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic felt that "Music blows by in a kaleidoscopic rush of color, technique, style and substance. It has so many depth and layers that it's easily as self-aware and earnest as Ray of Light." The album took the number-one position in more than 20 countries worldwide and sold four million copies in the first ten days. In the U.S., Music debuted at the top, and became her first number-one album in eleven years since Like a Prayer. It produced three singles: the Hot 100 number one "Music", "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl". The music video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" depicted Madonna committing acts of crime and vandalism, and was banned by MTV and VH1. Around the same time as the release of the Music album, Madonna began a relationship with Guy Ritchie, a film director she had met in 1999 through mutual friends Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. On August 11, 2000, she gave birth to their son, Rocco Ritchie. In December, Madonna and Ritchie were married in a ceremony in Scotland. Her fifth concert tour, titled Drowned World Tour, started in April 2001. The tour visited cities in the U.S. and Europe and was the highest-grossing concert tour of the year by a solo artist, earning $75 million from 47 sold-out shows. She also released her second greatest-hits collection, titled GHV2, to coincide with the home video release of the tour. GHV2 debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200. Madonna starred in the film Swept Away, directed by Ritchie. Released direct-to-video in the UK, the film was a commercial and critical failure. In May 2002 she appeared in London in the West End play Up For Grabs at the Wyndhams Theatre (billed as 'Madonna Ritchie'), to universally bad reviews and was described as "the evening's biggest disappointment" by one. Later that year, she released "Die Another Day", the title song of the James Bond film Die Another Day, in which she had a cameo role, described by The Guardian film reviewer as "incredibly wooden". The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Raspberry for Worst Song. 2003-06: American Life, children's books and Confessions on a Dance Floor: Following Die Another Day, Madonna collaborated with fashion photographer Steven Klein in 2003 for an exhibition installation named X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It included photography from a photo shoot in W magazine, and seven video segments. The installation ran from March to May in New York's Deitch Projects gallery. It then traveled the world in an edited form. The same year, Madonna released her ninth studio album, American Life, which was based on her observations of American society, and received mixed reviews. She commented, "American Life was like a trip down memory lane, looking back at everything I've accomplished and all the things I once valued and all the things that were important to me." Larry Flick from The Advocate felt that "American Life is an album that is among her most adventurous and lyrically intelligent" while condemning it as "a lazy, half-arsed effort to sound and take her seriously." The title song peaked at number 37 on the Hot 100. Its original music video was canceled as Madonna thought that the video, featuring violence and war imagery, would be deemed unpatriotic since America was then at war with Iraq. With only four million copies sold worldwide, American Life was the lowest-selling album of her career. She gave another provocative performance later that year at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, while singing "Hollywood" with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott. Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera suggestively during the performance, triggering a tabloid frenzy. In October 2003, Madonna provided guest vocals on Spears' single "Me Against the Music". It was followed with the release of Remixed & Revisited. The EP contained remixed versions of songs from American Life and included "Your Honesty", a previously unreleased track from the Bedtime Stories recording sessions. Madonna also signed a contract with Callaway Arts & Entertainment to be the author of five children's books. The first of these books, titled The English Roses, was published in September 2003. The story was about four English schoolgirls and their envy and jealousy of each other. Kate Kellway from The Guardian commented, "Madonna is an actress playing at what she can never be--a JK Rowling, an English rose." The book debuted at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list and became the fastest-selling children's picture book of all time. The next year, Madonna and Maverick sued Warner Music Group and its former parent company Time Warner, claiming that mismanagement of resources and poor bookkeeping had cost the company millions of dollars. In return, Warner filed a countersuit alleging that Maverick had lost tens of millions of dollars on its own. The dispute was resolved when the Maverick shares, owned by Madonna and Ronnie Dashev, were purchased by Warner. Madonna and Dashev's company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music, but Madonna was still signed to Warner under a separate recording contract. In mid-2004 Madonna embarked on the Re-Invention World Tour in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It became the highest-grossing tour of 2004, earning around $120 million. She made a documentary about the tour named I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.Rolling Stone ranked her at number 36 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In January 2005, Madonna performed a cover version of the John Lennon song "Imagine" at Tsunami Aid. She also performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in London. "I tried several different things when Stuart producer Stuart Price brought me music. And it was like divine inspiration. It just clicked, like: 'This is the direction of my record.' That's what we intended, to make a record that you can play at a party or in your car, where you don't have to skip past a ballad. It's nonstop." --Madonna talking about Confessions on a Dance Floor. Her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, was released in November 2005. Musically the album was structured like a club set composed by a DJ with Keith Caulfield from Billboard commented that the album was a "welcome return to form for the Queen of Pop." The album won a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album".Confessions on a Dance Floor and its lead single, "Hung Up", went on to reach number one in 40 and 41 countries respectively, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The song contained a sample of ABBA's Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), only the second time that ABBA has allowed their work to be used. ABBA songwriter Björn Ulvaeus remarked "It is a wonderful track--100 per cent solid pop music." "Sorry", the second single, became Madonna's twelfth number-one single in the UK. She embarked on the Confessions Tour in May 2006, which had a global audience of 1.2 million and grossed over $193.7 million, becoming the highest-grossing tour to that date for a female artist. Madonna used religious symbols, such as the crucifix and Crown of Thorns, in the performance of "Live to Tell". It caused the Russian Orthodox Church and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia to urge all their members to boycott her concert. The Vatican condemned her mock-crucifixion as blasphemous. Madonna replied that performance was neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous and was intended to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole. In the same year, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced officially that Madonna had sold over 200 million copies for her albums alone worldwide. While on tour, Madonna participated in the Raising Malawi initiative by partially funding an orphanage in and traveling to that country. On October 10, 2006, she filed adoption papers for a boy from the orphanage, David Banda Mwale. He was later renamed David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. The adoption raised strong public reaction, because Malawian law requires would-be parents to reside in Malawi for one year before adopting, which Madonna did not do. She addressed this on The Oprah Winfrey Show, saying that there were no written adoption laws in Malawi that regulated foreign adoption. She described how Banda had been suffering from pneumonia after surviving malaria and tuberculosis when she first met him. Banda's biological father, Yohane, commented, "These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing ... They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband." The adoption was finalized on May 28, 2008. A clothing line titled M by Madonna, in collaboration with Swedish clothing retailer H&M, was launched internationally in 2006. The collection consisted of leather trench coats, sequined shift dresses, cream-colored calf-length pants and matching cropped jackets. H&M said the collection reflected Madonna's "timeless, unique and always glamorous style." 2007-09: Live Nation, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Hard Candy: Madonna released the song "Hey You" for the Live Earth series of concerts. The song was available as a free download during its first week of release. She also performed it at the London Live Earth concert. Madonna announced her departure from Warner Bros. Records, and a new $120 million, ten-year 360 deal with Live Nation. She produced and wrote I Am Because We Are, a documentary on the problems faced by Malawians. The documentary was directed by Nathan Rissman, who worked as Madonna's gardener. She also directed her first film Filth and Wisdom. The plot of the film revolved around three friends and their aspirations. The Times said she had "done herself proud" while The Daily Telegraph described the film as "not an entirely unpromising first effort but Madonna would do well to hang on to her day job." In December 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced Madonna as one of the five inductees of 2008. At the induction ceremony on March 10, 2008, Madonna did not sing but asked fellow Hall of Fame inductees and Michigan natives The Stooges to perform her songs "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light". She thanked Christopher Flynn, her dance teacher from 35 years earlier, for his encouragement to follow her dreams. Madonna released her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy, in April 2008. Containing R&B and urban pop influences, the songs on Hard Candy were autobiographical in nature and saw Madonna collaborating with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Nate "Danja" Hills.Rolling Stone complimented it as an "impressive taste of her upcoming tour." "Probably in many respects most of the songs on Hard Candy are autobiographical. But in more of an unconscious way. I don't really think about telling personal stories when I'm writing music. It just comes. And then a lot of times, six months later, eight months later, I go, 'Oh, that's what I wrote that song about.' But that's when I play the song for lots of people and they all go, 'Oh, I can totally relate to that.'" -- Madonna talking about the inspiration behind Hard Candy The album debuted at number one in thirty seven countries and on the Billboard 200. It received generally positive reviews worldwide though some critics panned it as "an attempt to harness the urban market". Its lead single, "4 Minutes", reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was Madonna's 37th Hot 100 top-ten hit--it pushed Madonna past Elvis Presley as the artist with the most top-ten hits. In the UK, she retained her record for the most number-one singles for a female artist; "4 Minutes" becoming her thirteenth. At the 23rd Japan Gold Disc Awards, Madonna received her fifth "Artist of the Year" trophy from Recording Industry Association of Japan, the most for any artist. To further promote the album, Madonna embarked on the Sticky & Sweet Tour; her first major venture with Live Nation. With a gross of $280 million, it became the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist, surpassing the previous record Madonna set with the Confessions Tour. It was extended to the next year, adding new European dates, and after it ended, the total gross was $408 million. Life with My Sister Madonna, a book by Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone, debuted at number two on The New York Times bestseller list. The book caused some friction between Madonna and her brother, because of the unsolicited publication. Problems also arose between Madonna and Ritchie, with the media reporting that they were on the verge of separation. Ultimately, Madonna filed for divorce from Ritchie, citing irreconcilable differences, which was finalized in December 2008. She decided to adopt again from Malawi. The country's High Court initially approved the adoption of Chifundo "Mercy" James; however, the application was rejected because Madonna was not a resident of the country. Madonna appealed, and on June 12, 2009, the Supreme Court of Malawi granted Madonna the right to adopt Mercy James. She also released Celebration, her third greatest-hits album and final release with Warner. It contained the new songs "Celebration" and "Revolver" along with 34 hits spanning her career.Celebration reached number one in the UK, tying her with Elvis Presley as the solo act with most number one albums in the British chart history. She appeared at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009, to speak in tribute to deceased pop star Michael Jackson. Madonna ended the Aughts as the best-selling single artist of the decade in the U.S. and the most-played artist of the decade in the UK.Billboard also announced her as the third top-touring artist of the decade--behind only The Rolling Stones and U2--with a gross of over $801 million, 6.3 million attendance and 244 sell-outs of 248 shows. 2010-present: W.E., Super Bowl and MDNA: Madonna performed at the Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief concert in January 2010. In April she released her third live album, Sticky & Sweet Tour. It was her first release under Live Nation, but was distributed by Warner Bros. Madonna granted American TV show Glee the rights to her entire catalogue of music, and the producers planned an episode featuring Madonna songs exclusively. Titled "The Power of Madonna", the episode was approved by her, telling Us Weekly that she found it "brilliant on every level", praising the scripting and the message of equality.Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna, an EP containing eight cover versions of Madonna songs featured in the episode, was released afterward and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Madonna released the Material Girl clothing line, which she designed with her daughter, Lourdes. The 1980s inspired clothing line, borrowed from Madonna's punk-girl style when she rose to fame in the 1980s, was released under the Macy's label. Madonna also opened a series of fitness centers around the world named Hard Candy Fitness. The gyms are a partnership between Madonna, her manager Guy Oseary and Mark Mastrov, the founder and CEO of 24 Hour Fitness. The first of the gyms was opened at Mexico City in November 2010, as Madonna believed that the city served as "a great test market before bringing the gyms to cities around the world." In November 2011, Madonna and MG Icon announced the release of a second fashion brand called Truth or Dare by Madonna to include footwear, underclothing, and accessories. The brand represents a second partnership between MG Icon and Macy's. She directed her second feature film, W.E., a biographical film about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson; it was co-written with Alek Keshishian. The film premiered out of the main competition at the 2011 Venice Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews. Critical response to the film has been overwhelmingly negative, as reflected at Rotten Tomatoes website. Madonna also contributed the ballad "Masterpiece" for the film's soundtrack, which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Madonna performed at Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, which was visualized by Cirque Du Soleil and Jamie King and featured special guests LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and Cee Lo Green. It became the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history with 114 million viewers, higher than the game itself. It was revealed that the singer had signed a three-album deal with Interscope Records, who would act as the distributor in partnership with her 360 deal with Live Nation. Her twelfth studio album, MDNA, was released in March 2012. Reuniting with her long-time collaborator William Orbit, Madonna also worked with a variety of producers such as Martin Solveig, The Demolition Crew, Benny Benassi, Alle Benassi, Indiigo and Michael Malih. The album was well received by music critics. Priya Elan from NME called the album "a ridiculously enjoyable romp", citing its "psychotic, soul-bearing stuff" as "some of the most visceral stuff she's ever done."MDNA debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and many other countries worldwide. Madonna surpassed Elvis Presley's record for the most number-one album by a solo artist in the United Kingdom. The lead single "Give Me All Your Luvin'", featuring guest vocals from Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., became Madonna's record-extending 38th top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Later, Madonna was criticised after her performance at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Florida for her reference to drug use while addressing the crowd. The MDNA Tour, which further promoted the album, began in May 2012 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Madonna described the tour as "a journey from darkness to light". It was divided into four sections: Transgression, where guns and violence was the main theme, Prophecy, where a mix of joyful songs that bring people together are performed, Masculine/Feminine, a combination of sensuality and fashion with a few of Madonna's classic songs performed in a French Cabaret-style, and Redemption, which Madonna labeled as "a big party and celebration". The tour has received positive reception, but featured controversial subjects such as violence, firearms, human rights, nudity and politics. Lawsuits threatened against Madonna have also been engaged from the tour. It was a box office success and many venues were instantly sold out. It was dubbed as the highest-grossing tour of 2012 by Billboard. The tour grossed $305.2 million from 88 sold-out shows, becoming the ninth highest-grossing tour of all time and surpassing Celine Dion's Taking Chances Tour as the second highest-grossing tour among female artists, behind Madonna's own Sticky & Sweet Tour. Madonna broke the record for occupying the top two highest-grossing female tours of all time. In December 2012, it was announced that Madonna's Raising Malawi organization has built ten schools to educate 4,871 children in different locations in Malawi. The enterprise was in association with buildOn and follows the original announcement of building an Academy for Girls which was scrapped. When Madonna visited the schools in April 2013, President of Malawi Joyce Banda expressed criticism of Madonna and her charity, accusing her of exaggerating her charity's contribution. Madonna responded by releasing a statement saying she was saddened that Banda had chosen to act negatively about her endeavors. "I have no intention of being distracted by these ridiculous allegations," she added. Later, it was confirmed that Banda had not approved the statement released written by her press team and was "incandescent with anger" over the mix-up. Artistry: Musical style: Madonna's music has been the subject of much analysis and scrutiny by critics. Robert M. Grant, author of Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2005), commented that what has brought Madonna success is "certainly not outstanding natural talent. As a vocalist, musician, dancer, songwriter, or actress, Madonna's talents seem modest." He asserts Madonna's success is in relying on the talents of others, and that her personal relationships have served as cornerstones to the numerous reinventions in the longevity of her career. Madonna's approach was far from the music industry wisdom of "Find a winning formula and stick to it." Her musical career has been a continuous experimentation with new musical ideas and new images and a constant quest for new heights of fame and acclaim. Grant concluded that "having established herself as the queen of popular music, Madonna did not stop there, but continued re-inventing."Musicologist Susan McClary wrote that "Madonna's art itself repeatedly deconstructs the traditional notion of the unified subject with finite ego boundaries. Her pieces explore, varios ways of constituting identities that refuse stability, that remain fluid, that resist definition." Mark Bego, author of Madonna: Blonde Ambition, called her "the perfect vocalist for lighter-than-air songs", despite not being a "heavyweight talent." Madonna has always been self-conscious about her voice, especially in comparison to her vocal idols such as Ella Fitzgerald, Prince and Chaka Khan. According to Freya Jarman-Ivens, Madonna's talent for developing "incredible" hooks for her songs allows the lyrics to capture the attention of the audience, even without the influence of the music. As an example, Jarman-Ivens cites the 1985 single "Into the Groove" and its line "Live out your fantasy here with me, just let the music set you free; Touch my body, and move in time, now I know you're mine." Madonna's lyrics often suggest an identification with the gay community. Santiago Fouz-Hernández believes that when Madonna sings "Come on girls, do you believe in love?" in "Express Yourself", she is addressing both the gay audience and the heterosexual female. Even in the Erotica era, with its often adult-oriented lyrics, the songs appear free-flowing and gullible ("So won't you go down, where it's warm inside" -- "Where Life Begins" from Erotica). Madonna has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. She started her musical career with songs that she described as "soulful pop music". Madonna recalled in a 1983 interview with Island magazine that she had wanted to grow up as a black kid. "First of all, all the black girls in my neighborhood had these dances in their yard where they had these little turntables with 45 records and they'd play all this Motown stuff and they would dance, just dance, all of them dancing together and none of the white kids I knew would ever do that. They were really boring and stiff. And I wanted to be part of the dancing. I didn't like my friends. I had to be beaten up so many times by these little black girls before they would accept me and finally one day they whipped me with a rubber hose till I was like, lying on the ground crying. And then they just stopped doing it all of a sudden and let me be their friend, part of their group." On her 1983 debut album, Madonna's vocal abilities and personal artistry were not fully formed. Her vocal style was similar to other pop stars of that period like Paula Abdul, Debbie Gibson, and Taylor Dayne. The songs on Madonna reveal several key trends that have continued to define her success, including a strong dance-based idiom, catchy hooks, highly polished arrangements and Madonna's own vocal style. In songs such as "Lucky Star" and "Borderline", Madonna introduced a style of upbeat dance music that would prove particularly appealing to gay audiences. The bright, girlish vocal timbre of the early years became passé in Madonna's later works, the change being deliberate, since Madonna was constantly reminded of how the critics had once labelled her as "Minnie Mouse on helium", because of her early voice. Her second album, Like a Virgin (1984), foreshadowed several trends in Madonna's later works. It contained references to classical works (pizzicato synthesizer line that opens "Angel"); potential negative reaction from social groups ("Dress You Up" was blacklisted by the Parents Music Resource Center); and retro styles ("Shoo-Bee-Doo", Madonna's homage to Motown). Madonna's early style, and the change that she ushered in it, is best evident in the song "Material Girl". It opens with Madonna using a little-girl voice, but following the first verse, she switches to a richer, more mature voice in the chorus. This mature artistic statement was visible in True Blue (1986). The song "Papa Don't Preach" was a significant milestone in her artistic career. The classical introduction, fast tempo and the gravity in her voice were unprecedented in Madonna's œuvre at that time. With Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna again entered a new phase, musically. The album introduced live recorded songs and incorporated different genres of music, including dance, R&B and gospel music. Madonna continued to compose ballads and uptempo dance songs for Erotica (1992) and Bedtime Stories (1994). She tried to remain contemporary by incorporating samples, drum loops and hip hop into her music. Her voice grew much deeper and fuller, evident in the tracks like "Rain" and "Take a Bow". During the filming of Evita, Madonna had to take vocal lessons, which increased her range further. Of this experience she commented, "I studied with a vocal coach for Evita and I realized there was a whole piece of my voice I wasn't using. Before, I just believed I had a really limited range and was going to make the most of it." Continuing her musical evolution with Ray of Light, the track "Frozen" displayed her fully formed vocal prowess and her allusions to classical music. Her vocals were restrained and she sang the songs in Ray of Light without vibrato. However, the intake of breath within the songs became more prominent. With the new millennium came her album Music in which Madonna sang in her normal voice in a medium range, and sometimes in a higher register for the chorus. A change was also noted in the content of the songs, with most of them being simple love songs, but with an underlying tone of melancholy. Her next record, American Life, was characterized by "a thumping techno rhythm, liquid keyboard lines, an acoustic chorus and a bizarre Madonna rap", according to Q magazine. The "conventional rock songs" of the album were suffused with dramatic lyrics about patriotism and composition, including the appearance of a gospel choir in the song "Nothing Fails". Musically, things changed with Confessions on a Dance Floor, which returned Madonna to pure dance songs, infusing club beats and retro music, but the lyrics continued to be about paradoxical metaphors and reference to her earlier works. In her studio album, Hard Candy, she mixed R&B and hip hop music with dance tunes. The album also had songs whose lyrics were autobiographical and expressed support for helping Africa. Fouz-Hernández commented that "Throughout her career, Madonna's manipulation of her voice shows us that, by refusing to be defined in one way, she has in fact opened up a space for new kinds of musical analysis." With MDNA, Madonna returned to the electropop genre she flirted with on Like a Prayer and Music. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph noted the attempt was feeble, compared to her previous classics in the genre. Influences: According to Taraborrelli, the defining moment of Madonna's childhood was the tragic and untimely death of her beloved mother. Psychiatrist Keith Ablow suggests that her mother's death would have had an immeasurable impact on the young Madonna at a time when her personality was still forming. According to Ablow, the younger a child is at the time of a serious loss, the more profound the influence and the longer lasting the impact. He concludes that "some people never reconcile themselves to such a loss at an early age, Madonna is not different than them." Conversely, author Lucy O'Brien feels that the impact of the rape is, in fact, the motivating factor behind everything Madonna has done, more important even than the death of her mother: "It's not so much grief at her mother's death that drives her, as the sense of abandonment that left her unprotected. She encountered her own worst possible scenario, becoming a victim of male violence, and thereafter turned that full-tilt into her work, reversing the equation at every opportunity." As they grew older, Madonna and her sisters would feel deep sadness as the vivid memory of their mother began drifting farther from them. They would study pictures of her and come to think that she resembled poet Anne Sexton and Hollywood actresses. This would later raise Madonna's interest in poetry with Sylvia Plath being her favourite. Later, Madonna commented: "We were all wounded in one way or another by her death, and then we spent the rest of our lives reacting to it or dealing with it or trying to turn into something else. The anguish of losing my mom left me with a certain kind of loneliness and an incredible longing for something. If I hadn't had that emptiness, I wouldn't have been so driven. Her death had a lot to do with me saying--after I got over my heartache--I'm going to be really strong if I can't have my mother. I'm going to take care of myself." Taraborrelli felt that in time, no doubt because of the devastation she felt, Madonna would never again allow herself, or even her daughter, to feel as abandoned as she had felt when her mother died. "Her death had taught Madonna a valuable lesson, that she would have to remain strong for herself because, she feared weakness--particularly her own--and wanted to be the queen of her own castle." In 1985, Madonna commented that the first song to ever make a strong impression on her was "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra; she said it summed up her own "take-charge attitude". As a young woman, she attempted to broaden her taste in literature, art, and music, and during this time became interested in classical music. She noted that her favorite style was baroque, and loved Mozart and Chopin because she liked their "feminine quality". Other musical influences included artists Karen Carpenter, The Supremes, Led Zeppelin, and dancers such as Martha Graham and Rudolf Nureyev. Madonna's Italian-Catholic background and her relationship with her parents were reflected in the album Like a Prayer. It was an evocation of the impact religion had on her career. Her video for the title track contains Catholic symbolism, such as the stigmata. During The Virgin Tour, she wore a rosary, and also prayed with it in the music video for "La Isla Bonita". The "Open Your Heart" video sees her boss scolding her in the Italian language. On the Who's That Girl World Tour, she dedicated the song "Papa Don't Preach" to the Pope. During her childhood, Madonna was inspired by actors, later saying, "I loved Carole Lombard and Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe. They were all incredibly funny ... and I saw myself in them ... my girlishness, my knowingness and my innocence." Her "Material Girl" music video recreated Monroe's look in the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend", from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She studied the screwball comedies of the 1930s, particularly those of Lombard, in preparation for the film Who's That Girl. The video for "Express Yourself" (1989) was inspired by Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis (1927). The video for "Vogue" recreated the style of Hollywood glamour photographs, in particular those by Horst P. Horst, and imitated the poses of Marlene Dietrich, Carole Lombard and Rita Hayworth, while the lyrics referred to many of the stars who had inspired her, including Bette Davis, described by Madonna as an idol. Influences also came to her from the art world, most notably through the works of artist Frida Kahlo. The music video of the song "Bedtime Story" featured images inspired by the paintings of Kahlo and Remedios Varo. She is also a collector of Tamara de Lempicka's art deco paintings and has included them in her music videos and tours. Her 2003 video for "Hollywood" was an homage to the work of photographer Guy Bourdin; Bourdin's son subsequently filed a lawsuit for unauthorised use of his father's work. Pop artist Andy Warhol's use of sadomasochistic imagery in his underground films were reflected in the music videos for "Erotica" and "Deeper and Deeper". However, Madonna's film career has been largely received negatively by the film critic community. Stephanie Zacharek, critic for Time magazine, stated that, "Madonna seems wooden and unnatural as an actress, and it's tough to watch, because she's clearly trying her damnedest." According to biographer Andrew Morton, "Madonna puts a brave face on the criticism, but privately she is deeply hurt." After the 2002 box office bomb Swept Away, Madonna vowed that she would never act in a film, hoping that her repertoire as a bad actress will never be discussed again. Madonna is dedicated to Kabbalah and in 2004, she adopted the name Esther which in Persian means "star". She has donated millions of dollars to New York and London schools teaching the subject. She faced opposition from rabbis who felt Madonna's adoption of the Kabbalah was sacrilegious and a case of celebrity dilettantism. Madonna defended her studies, saying "It would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi Party", and that her involvement with the Kabbalah is "not hurting anybody." The influence of the Kabbalah was subsequently observed in Madonna's music, especially albums like Ray of Light and Music. During the Re-Invention World Tour, at one point in the show, Madonna and her dancers wore t-shirts that read "Kabbalists Do It Better". Music videos and performances: In The Madonna Companion, biographers Allen Metz and Carol Benson noted that more than any other recent pop artist, Madonna had used MTV and music videos to establish her popularity and enhance her recorded work. According to them, many of her songs have the imagery of the music video in strong context, while referring to the music. Cultural critic Mark C. Taylor in his book Nots (1993) felt that the postmodern art form par excellence is video and the reigning "queen of video" is Madonna. He further asserted that "the most remarkable creation of MTV is Madonna. The responses to Madonna's excessively provocative videos have been predictably contradictory". The media and public reaction towards her most-discussed songs such as "Papa Don't Preach", "Like a Prayer", or "Justify My Love" had to do with the music videos created to promote the songs and their impact, rather than the songs themselves. Morton felt that "artistically, Madonna's songwriting is often overshadowed by her striking pop videos." Madonna's initial music videos reflected her American and Hispanic mixed street style combined with a flamboyant glamor. She was able to transmit her avant-garde downtown New York fashion sense to the American audience. The imagery and incorporation of Hispanic culture and Catholic symbolism continued with the music videos from the True Blue era. Author Douglas Kellner noted, "such 'multiculturalism' and her culturally transgressive moves turned out to be highly successful moves that endeared her to large and varied youth audiences". Madonna's Spanish look in the videos became the fashion trend of that time, in the form of boleros and layered skirts, accessorizing with rosary beads and a crucifix as in the video of "La Isla Bonita". Academics noted that with her videos, Madonna was subtly reversing the usual role of male as the dominant sex. This symbolism and imagery was probably the most prevalent in the music video for "Like a Prayer". The video included scenes of an African-American church choir, Madonna attracted to a statue of a black saint, and singing in front of burning crosses. This mix of the sacred and the profane upset the Vatican and resulted in the Pepsi commercial withdrawal. Madonna has been honored with 20 MTV Video Music Awards--the most for any artist--including the lifetime achievement "Video Vanguard Award" in 1986. In 2003, MTV named her "The Greatest Music Video Star Ever" and said that "Madonna's innovation, creativity and contribution to the music video art form is what won her the award." Her videos "Die Another Day", "Express Yourself", "Bedtime Story", and "Give Me All Your Luvin'" are some of the most expensive music videos of all time. Madonna's emergence occurred during the advent of MTV; Chris Nelson from The New York Times spoke of pop artists like Madonna saying, "with its almost exclusively lip-synced videos, ushered in an era in which average music fans might happily spend hours a day, every day, watching singers just mouth the words." The symbiotic relationship between the music video and lip-syncing led to a desire for the spectacle and imagery of the music video to be transferred to live stage shows. He added, "Artists like Madonna and Janet Jackson set new standards for showmanship, with concerts that included not only elaborate costumes and precision-timed pyrotechnics but also highly athletic dancing. These effects came at the expense of live singing." Thor Christensen of the Dallas Morning News commented that while Madonna earned a reputation for lip-syncing during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, she has subsequently reorganized her performances by "staying mostly still during her toughest singing parts and leaves the dance routines to her backup troupe ...rather than try to croon and dance up a storm at the same time." To allow for greater movement while dancing and singing, she was one of the earliest adopters of hands-free radio-frequency headset microphones, with the headset fastened over the ears or the top of the head, and the microphone capsule on a boom arm that extended to the mouth. Because of her prominent usage, the microphone design came to be known as the "Madonna mic". Metz noted that Madonna represents a paradox as she is often perceived as living her whole life as a performance. While her big-screen performances are panned, her live performances are critical successes. Madonna was the first artist to have her concert tours as reenactment of her music videos. Author Elin Diamond explained that reciprocally, the fact that images from Madonna's videos can be recreated in a live setting enhances the realism of the original videos. Thus her live performances have become the means by which mediatized representations are naturalized. Taraborrelli said that encompassing multimedia, latest technology and sound systems, Madonna's concerts and live performances are deemed as "extravagant show pie Continue reading →]]>

Listen to Madonna - Live To Tell (5,86 min) on spotify.

Live To Tell can be found on the album Celebration which were released 2009, track nr: 30

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About Najwa Karam

Najwa Karam (Arabic: ???? ???? Lebanese pronunciation: 'na?wa 'ka?am) (born February 26, 1966) is a Lebanese Multi-Platinum, Best-Selling Recording Artist in the Middle East, and Ambassador for L'Oréal Paris, who has sold over 50 Million records worldwide. Najwa, widely known for her Mawwal and other musical talents, has surpassed musical limits in building her Empire, as she has effectively helped change the Arabic music industry in its outreach. Having left her mark by creating and introducing her own blend of traditional and contemporary Arabic Music, Najwa has defined her image and her music in the Middle East and throughout the world, and has contributed to the spread of the Lebanese dialect in Arabic Music. Apart from her singing career, Najwa is a Middle Eastern fashion icon as well as the main Judge on the hit television show Arabs' Got Talent. Najwa holds the titles of highest-selling Middle Eastern Artist for the years 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2008. Having earned her well-known title, Shams el-Ghinnieh (The Sun of Song), Najwa's domination of the Arabic Music industry began in 1994 through 1999, when she had major successes with albums, such as Naghmet Hob, Ma Bassmahlak and Maghroumeh. In 1999, her album Rouh Rouhi, topped the charts throughout the Arab world, and in 2000, Najwa's album Oyoun Qalbi brought Najwa's greatest success yet, as it sold over 5 million albums worldwide, holding the up-to-date record for best-selling Arabic-language album of all time. In 2001 Najwa's album Nedmaneh sold over 4 million copies worldwide, and is one of Najwa's most-acclaimed albums to date. The success of Nedmaneh earned Najwa numerous awards, including a coveted Murex D'or award for Best Arabic Artist and additional awards from Najwa's record company, Rotana Records: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Highest-Selling Album. By the time of the release of "Saharni" in 2003, Najwa had established the status of pop icon in the Middle East. Najwa's more recent albums, such as Shu Mghaiara, Hayda Haki, Am Bemzah Ma'ak, and Hal Leile...MaFi Noum, have all sold millions of copies and achieved great success, earning her numerous awards and recognitions worldwide. Her many singles, such as "Shou Jani" and "Lashhad Hobbak" have also topped music charts. One of the best-selling Arabic artists in history, Najwa has participated in countless festivals and concerts around the globe, and has received a number of awards and accolades from various distinguished bodies. In her other works, Najwa has collaborated with musician and composer Melhem Barakat, as well as with Wadih el Safi on a single titled "W Kberna" ("We Grow Old Together"), which achieved major success throughout the Middle East. Also, Najwa is a sponsor and spokesperson for Pearl Properties, a UAE real-estate company, which features her in their advertisement commercials. The Lebanese idol has also established herself as a television superstar, winning thousands of new fans through her appearance as the main judge on MBC 4's mega hit Arabs' Got Talent, which became a television sensation across the Arab World. Then in 2011, a new era in music media was marked when Najwa Karam, in collaboration with Sony Entertainment and Rotana, produced the Middle East's very first 3D music video, for her song, "MaFi Noum". Already one of Rotana's most-important and highest-paid artists, in 2012 Najwa was appointed as the first Arab Ambassador for L'Oréal Paris in the Middle East, which followed with her stunning appearance on the red carpet at the 65th International Cannes Film Festival. The early years and Layali Lubnan: 1972-1988 edit: Najwa Karam Karam was born in Zahlé, Lebanon, to Karam Karam and Barbara Chahine Karam, a family of Lebanese Maronite Catholics. She is the youngest of five children, having an older sister, Salwa, and three older brothers, Tony, Jean, and Nicolas. She spent her childhood in Zahlé, in the care of her parents and older brothers. Karam attended secondary school at Jesus the Angel College, and then worked as a teacher for two years at Eastern College, Zahlé. Karam studied at the Lebanese Institute of Music for four years, to improve her knowledge of music and the music industry in general. The beginning: 1989-1993 edit: Shams el-Ghinnieh, (The Sun of Song) edit: In 1989 Karam's first studio album, Ya Habayeb, was released by a then-little-known record label, Relax-in International. The album contained seven tracks, all in the traditional Lebanese traditional/folkloric style. Due to her previous exposure to the Lebanese public, the album was well received in Lebanon but did not receive much attention from the rest of the Arab world. After a three year-hiatus from music-making, Karam returned to the scene with her follow up album, Shams el-Ghinnieh. The album title was inspired by her nickname, "Shams el-Ghinnieh" ("sun of the song"), which was given to her by the Lebanese people and media because of her vocal abilities. The album was recorded by another small record company, CM. The style of the album was more romantic and contemporary, in comparison to Najwa's debut, Ya Habayeb, which was more traditional. Shams el-Ghinnieh was received very well by the Lebanese public. Ana Ma'akon (I'm With You) edit: The next year, 1993, Karam signed with another record label for her new album. This time it was an even less-known Saudi Arabian company. The new album was called Ana Ma'akon ("I am with you"). The album was classic in style and quite different from Shams el-Ghinnieh, not really reflecting Najwa's artistic identity. Despite her personal discontent, she had no choice but release it, bound by a contract with her production company. As expected, the album failed to do as well as Shams el-Ghinnieh. Poor marketing and lack of resources did not help much either and were blamed for the low sales of the album. It remains Karam's least-known album, although many of her fans consider it the best, in terms of showing Najwa's abilities and voice-power. Domination: 1994-1999 edit: Najwa's fortunes took a turn for the better when she was approached by the Middle East's largest recording label, Rotana, owned by the Saudi Arabian Prince Walid Bin Talel. An agreement between the parties was made, and Najwa was now on Rotana's roster. Work on a new album began immediately. Expert poets, writers, and composers were enlisted to help Najwa make a fresh new musical image for herself to revitalize public interest, and finally draw attention from the wider Arab audience. By mid-1994, an album consisting of 8 new songs had been compiled and was ready to be released to the Middle East. Naghmet Hob (The Rhythm of Love) fused Lebanese tradition with Arab pop. Its catchy Lebanese dance song "Law Habaytek" ("If I Loved You") was an instant hit, introducing Najwa Karam to all of the Middle East. The song and its video clip dominated the Arabian charts. Its follow up hits from the same album were "Wrood Eddar" ("Roses of the Garden") and "Elala" ("La La"), which received similar success. The wide success of Naghmet Hob fueled a concert tour and a number of awards for Karam, including a prize from the Lebanese Broadcasting Association for the Best Artist of 1994. Karam had been thrust to the top of the Arabic music scene in less than a year, and was now constantly in the public eye. In 1995, Najwa started work on her second Rotana album, her fifth release in total. It was titled Ma Bassmahlak and closely followed the traditional style of Naghmet Hob. The main difference was the lyrical and vocal nature of the tracks which had more depth. Riding the wave of her celebrity, two of the songs were hits, namely "Ma Bassmahlak" ("I Won't Allow You") and "Hakim el-Qady" ("The Judge Has Spoken"). Hazi Helo, (I'm Lucky) edit: With five albums under her belt, the latter two of which witnessed ground breaking success, Najwa was becoming a familiar face in the Arabic music industry. On 16 June 1996, Karam released her newest album entitled Hazi Helo ("I'm Lucky"). The title track, "Hazi Helo" and three other songs, "Khayarouni", "Ala Mahlak" and "El-Ghorbil", were the most popular from the album. Following the release of Hazi Helo, Najwa set off on a large-scale world concert tour, which would take in many Arab states, parts of Europe, and America. She found a number of fans in the U.S., and performed to sold-out concerts all over. To honour her success in the U.S., Najwa was presented with the Key to the City of Chicago. Ma Hada La Hada (Nobody) and Maghroumeh (In Love) edit: After the sell-out world tour, Najwa returned to Lebanon with a fresh mind and new song ideas. And so work began on her next studio album - Ma Hada La Hada. The tracks on the album were quite different from those of Najwa's previous albums, with a more contemporary sound. For example the song "El Helw" was heavily influenced by foreign beats and synthesised melodies. Three months prior to the album's official release, the song El Tahady was distributed to the Arabic radio stations. By the time of the album's release, the song's popularity had dwindled, and Ma Hada La Hada's relatively poor sales were attributed to this factor. However, the title track did become quite popular. It had harmonious musical arrangements which used the traditional Lebanese instrument the Qanoun, along with other traditional instruments such as the violin and the accordion. These musical stylings, along with an uplifting song topic and a powerful "mini movie" video clip made the song a huge hit. The 1998 release, Maghroumeh, marked Karam's "official" transition from purely traditional Lebanese artist to the blend of traditional and contemporary Arabic that she is famous for today. It had poetic Arabic lyrics sung with Najwa's trademark power and authority; extensive use of Arabic instruments (trumbakke, mijwiz, zamour, tabal... etc.) and contemporary ones; and a brand new look for the album cover. Maghroumeh was another success from Karam. The title track, "Maghroumeh" ("I Am in Love"), was shot as a video clip, and was the biggest hit off the album, hitting number one on most radio stations in the region. Other hits were the feisty "Ghamza" ("The Wink") and the sad love song "Noqta al-Satr" ("Somewhere along the line"). Rouh Rouhi edit: The new year brought about a number of changes in Karam's career lives. Najwa's new album was set to be released in the summer, and her personal changes were showing in her new album Rouh Rouhi. It was similar to the Maghroumeh album, but had a number of tweaks in the vocal and musical styles. The musical arrangements were heavily detailed and technical, and the lyrics were more poetic than all other Karam albums. The tracks "Ariftu Albi La Meen" ("Do you know who my heart belongs to?"), "Atchana" ("Thirsty"), and the title track, "Rouh Rouhi" ("Soul of my Soul") were the major hits off the album, the latter two being shot as music videos. Many other songs succeeded like "Kif Bdawik" ("How Do I Treat You?)", and "Ma Berda Ghayrak" ("I Don't Accept Anyone Beside You"). The new millennium edit: No Regrets edit: Another year, another change for Najwa Karam. This time it came about in the form of a music album called Oyoun Qalbi. Oyoun Qalbi was a more romantic, reflective body of work compared to Karam's previous albums. Its major included "Majboura" ("I Have to") which had a modern jazz influence, and the "power ballets", "Oyoun Qalbi" ("Sweetheart") and "Khaleek al Ard" ("Stay down to Earth"). A music video was made for the Najwa 2000 megamix, which contained samples from each song on the Oyoun Qalbi album. The album sold over 5 million copies, topping charts. It holds the up-to-date record for best-selling Arabic album of all time. In 2001, Karam made her record breaking release Nedmaneh. It sold over 4 million copies worldwide, and is one of Najwa's most acclaimed albums to date. It followed on from the style of music first presented by Karam in Oyoun Qalbi, and further experimented with new styles and sounds. The song "Aaskah" ("Falling in love") was an enormous hit, hitting number one all over the Middle East, and was also quite popular abroad. It was a more playful and vibrant song than most of Karam's previous work, with a strong bass line, and a distinct oriental influence. It was quite different from any Arabic song at the time, and appealed to a wide range of audiences. The success of album Nedmaneh brought about a number of awards, including a coveted Murex D'or for "Best Arabic Artist" award, and three special awards from Karam's production company, Rotana: "Artist of the Year", "Album of the Year" and "Highest Selling Album". To further Rotana's crediting of Karam's successes, an honouring assemble was held on Saturday, 23 June 2001 where Karam was awarded for her achievements throughout her singing career and for the huge success of Nedmaneh. The ceremony was held at the Venesia Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon. In attendance were the Lebanese Minister of Information, Ghazi Al-Aredi who was representing the President of the Lebanese Republic, Émile Lahoud, prominent singer Wadih el Safi, acclaimed composer Elias Rahbani and a number of journalists and reporters. During the night, Karam sang some of her hits (old and new), and was presented with numerous medals and trophies. The recording was released on a special edition CD (Live in Concert), along with a compilation CD of Najwa's hits from 1989-2000 titled The Very Best Of Najwa Karam. Karam's 2002 album, Tahamouni, was far removed from the "easy going" contemporary feel of Oyoun Qalbi and Nedmaneh, and audiences noticed. The album was intended to get back in touch with a more youthful audience from other Arab nations, with whom had taken slight dis-interest in Karam's music from the late 90s. This was shown though songs like Tahamouni (They accused me) which included attempts at rapping, and Ew'a Tekoun Ze'alt (I hope you're not mad at me) which seemed to have a complete Western influence. The songs had a youthful sound. Saharni, (He Charmed Me) edit: In late 2002, Karam began meeting with the Lebanese "tarab" star, Wadih el Safi (Born 1919). Wadi had known Najwa for a while, and had been impressed with her vocal talents. The two of them decided to make a duet together, depicting the trials of a father-daughter relationship. The song was titled W Kberna (We grow old together), and was an epic ballad in which both vocalists showed immense vocal range and depth. W Kberna was a success as the lyrics were easy to relate to and it teamed two of the region's most prominent artists together. Taking this success, Najwa got back to the drawing board for a new album. Months were spent piecing together lyrics and arrangements, and by mid-2003, the album was ready for release. Rotana set up a large launch party in Downtown Beirut, where over fifteen thousand of Karam's fans packed the streets, waiting for Najwa to appear and sing her new material. Saharni (Charmed) was exactly the kind of album that was a rebirth of the "old Najwa Karam", and took the public by surprise, as they had at this point come to expect contemporary pop from the Shams el-Ghinnieh. The music had all the makings of distinctly Lebanese music: trumbakke solos, traditional wind instruments, lots of bass and a vibrant singing style - all features far removed from the "western" motif that most artists opted for at the time. Not only had Karam's music changed, but she also sported a new look, which further emphasised that the album was a turn around. Saharni's success was instantaneous, even though there was a lack of video clips for the songs, the album came through on top of the charts, and produced a number of major hits, including Edhak Lil Dounya (Smile to the world), and the title track Saharni (He charmed me). Najwa made a world tour to complement Saharni's success, taking in the Middle East as well as destinations such as France and the U.S. with Wadih el Safi. She also travelled to Australia, where her concert there still holds the record for largest ever recorded concert attendance for an Arabic artist. Najwa was presented with a number of awards and achievements in 2003. These include "Highest Selling Album" from Rotana, and award for the "Best singer of Traditional Lebanese Song" from the Lions Club, "Song of the Year": Edhak Lil Donya from Sawt El Ghad Australia and an honorary Award from Australian Government. As the New Year came and passed, Karam began work on a new single to be included in her upcoming album. This single would be like no other she had released before. Titled Leish Mgharrab? (Why are you living abroad?) it told of the hardships that people face when having to leave their home country for a better life. Coupled with this harrowing topic, was a revolutionary new music video (directed by Sa'aed el-Marouk), which would transform modern day Beirut into a bleak and harsh wasteland in 2020. The original video - which also contained scenes of citizens protesting against the Lebanese government - was banned from being aired by the Lebanese Parliament. When the clip was edited slightly, it was finally allowed to go to air, along with its song. It hit home with many people, especially those living abroad in countries like Australia and the U.S.. It also sent a direct message to Lebanese politicians, telling them to act on their words. After a few months, Najwa had completed the rest of her new album, Shu Mghaira..!. Like Saharni, it was distinctly Lebanese, but it was more of a modern adaptation, with a reflective and sad overtone. Najwa continued her many live appearances to promote the album, and a notable event for 2004 was her sell-out concert in Carthage, Tunisia where she performed to thousands of enthusiastic fans. The tracks Bi Hawak (In your love) and Shu Mghaira (How you've changed) were shot in an expensive duel video clip which was riddled with special effects. It remained at the number 1 position for 6 weeks on the Rotana Top 20 Chart. The two songs were the most popular from the album, and Najwa obtained the as "Female Artist of the Year" from MusicanaNet.net, which was decided via a large scale internet poll. 2005 and beyond edit: In the second quarter of 2005, Karam released a new single and video clip called Shu Jani. Shu Jani was a contemporary pop song, with the use of traditional Lebanese instruments. The video was filmed in the Faraya ski resort in Lebanon by director Sa'aed el-Marouk. It was to be on her upcoming 2005 album. The timing of the new clip was criticised in some tabloids, because it was released during the tense electoral season in Lebanon, and the so-called Cedar Revolution (Independence Intifada). It was argued by these tabloids that it was disrespectful for Karam to release new material at such a time. Karam defended herself by putting the claim on her Saudi production company, Rotana, who she says fast tracked the release against her wishes. Even though there was some controversy surrounding Shu Jani, it fared well with the public. Due to the prolonged situation in the Lebanon region, Karam's 2005 album was postponed from originally being released in June, then July and then finally postponed until November 2005. However, Karam released another single in late July called Bhebak Walaa which was an upbeat, contemporary/traditional song typical of Karam's usual work. It was a fairly big hit, hitting number one on many internet and radio charts. On 6 September 2005, Karam released the video for Bhebak Walaa, directed by Salim el-Turk. Kibir'el Hob, (Love Got bigger) edit: In November 2005, billboards and unipolls all over Beirut were displaying a lady's hand upon a cloudy horizon. No writing was on the posters. The advertisement had the public wondering what message the posters were relaying, and who did the mysterious hand belong to? Soon it was generally concluded that the hand belonged to a recording artist, but there were many conflicting suggestions as to whose it was. Gradually, the billboards had bits of the lady added to the picture, until on 30 November 2005 the "mystery lady" was revealed as Najwa Karam. On the same day, Karam's 15th studio album, Kibir'el Hob (Love Just Got Greater) was officially released. The album gained widespread attention through its rigorous advertising campaign, which included the billboard posters, many television appearances on popular variety programs such as Dandana, and Akeed Maestro, and music video clips for singles. Kibir'el Hob topped the highest selling album chart in Lebanon for Rotana during the Christmas sales period, and remained in the number one position through the New Year. In mid April 2006, Karam released a third and last single from the Kibir'el Hob album, accompanied by a video clip, and proved to be among the most popular Arabic songs of the year 2006. In response to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Karam teamed for the first time with popular Lebanese singer/songwriter Melhim Barakat to record the song Rah Yeb2a El Watan. The track was written and composed by Barakat, and called for unity among all Lebanese people. The single was released in late September and was critically acclaimed for its message and vocals, although criticised for its short running time. Plans for another collaboration with Barakat are underway. 2007-2008: Haida Haki, (That's What I'm Talking About) & Aam Bimzah Maak, (I'm Kidding With You) edit: 28 May began Sawt el Ghad and several other Arab radio stations to play the new hit Hayda Haki. This song with a very new style was expected to be a great deal for 2007. On 6 June 2007 the company Rotana released Najwa's 16th album titled Hayda Haki. A new Lebanese album with Najwa Karam's special flavor in it. This album included 8 excellent songs as usual. Different kind of styles in each song. A powerful mawal in Raje3 Tes2al 3a Meen and a nice/soft mawal for El hanone. Law ma btekzob is like her 90's songs, Ana Rouh and Nawer Eyami are two of a kind romance songs. Hata Be Ahlamak, Hayda Haki and Behkik are upbeat songs with different styles in each one and a special Najwa Karam's touch. Hayda Haki was the next song (after her 06-07 huge hit Shu Hal Hala) that Najwa Karam shot as a video clip with Lebanese director Said el Marouk. From the First week of the release of Hayda Haki it was the best selling album in Lebanon in UAE and Kwait Number one best selling Album. The Album had huge succees from the first week of release in Lebanon, the Gulf, Libya, Syria, Jordan and other Arabic countries. Najwa Karam was a guest on the show Album on MBC 1. In 29 June 2007, she shined on Album's stage, one week before Album's final prime. She started by singing Hayda Haki by herself. Secondly, she sang Sho hal hala with one of the three groups. Thirdly, she sang Law Ma Btekzob with another group of the three groups. In June she released her latest video clip : Hayda Haki, which displayed her character in a romantic atmosphere and love shots and in its first day on the charts she landed on the 1st spot. Najwa Karam toured the United States and Canada with Lebanese Stars Wael Kfoury and Fadel Shaker, the tour lasted for a little more than a month as they visited major cities and was all success. The American concerts were in Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Detroit, New Jersey, Boston and Miami. And in Canada, concerts were in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, singing in the biggest and most important venues. Najwa celebrated the New Year's Eve with Wael Kfoury in the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, the huge demand on the concert left it sold out more than a week before its date. Najwa Karam was the first guest on the first prime of Star Academy 5 LBC on Friday 25 January 2008. She sang: Hayda Haki, Law ma btekzob and Ana rou7 ya rou7i. On 9 February, Karam held a huge, successful concert in the capital city of Germany, Berlin. After four days, Najwa released a video clip for "Law Ma Btekzob" by the director Fadi Haddad. The song achieved tremendous success across the middle east. Along with Law Ma Btekzob success, the song Behkeek was achieveing unexpected success too in Egypt and Lebanon ranking #2 in both charts for a couple of weeks. One of Najwa's most anticipated appearance on TV show Al Arrab (Final), with host Nishan, was aired on 31 May. As well, George Kurda7i was there. Najwa sang medley of her old and new songs and added songs for Fairouz, Sabah, Wadih El Safi and Samira Tawfiq. She also sang one of her old mawal "Wainak Ya Ra3i Deni" (Where are you God?) aka. Mawal El Adyan and it achieved huge success. On 17 July 2008 Rotana released Najwa's 17th studio-album, Am Bimzah Maak (I'm Joking with you). The album received considerable success and positive reviews. The album contained eight songs. One of the most famous Arabic composer Melhim Baraket composed two songs from the album: "Kammil 3ala Rouhi" and "Gatalna El Khof". The album stayed for three months #1 in Virgin Mega Store Lebanon, 4 weeks #1 in UAE Virgin Mega Store, 8 Weeks in Saudi Arabia, etc.; Rotana, Najwa's production company, said that Najwa Karam's last album Am Bimzah Maak, was one of the top 3 best-selling (Rotana) albums in the middle east. It was chosen by Virgin MegaStore Jordan, as Top 3 most selling albums in the year of 2008. One week after the release of her album The Queen of Carthage Najwa Karam shined in Carthage, Tunisia. The concert was very successful. Najwa Karam went to Sweden where she shined in the Globe-arena 20 September. The celebrating of Eid El Fitr took place in Dubai. While four songs from Aam Bimza7 Maak; "Am Bimzah Maak", "Enta El Shams", "Amanti Galbi", and "Taa Khabik" were achieving a lot of success all over the middle east, Najwa released her second video clip from her latest album "Ma Bkhabi Aleyk" were she collaborated for the first time with Lebanese young director Randa Aalam. She got an invitation to open the new music-channel named Al Dafrah that would take place 1 November. Najwa shot a 3rd video clip from her successful album "Aam Bimza7 Maa" called "Taa Taa Khabik". And it played on many Music channels in the middle east and received huge success in Lebanon, Maghreb, Syria, Jordan and the Gulf countries. 2009: Khaleeni Shoofak, (Let Me See You) edit: In February 2009 Najwa attended one of the Middle East most important concert, Hala Febrayer 09 in Kuwait. She performed a mixture of old and new songs for the very active crowd. In 9 March specifically on Mothers Day, Najwa Karam released her anticipated single "El Deni Em" (A mother is the whole world), which received huge success and stayed #1 for three wjkjlkiuoppliopeeks on the Online-Magazine "Elaph". After the meeting between Najwa Karam and Nidal El Ahmadieh (journalist) took place to discuss the many events that took place including Nidal El Ahmadieh's imprisonment, everything is back to normal and Najwa & Nidal are back to being on better terms. In May 2009 Najwa Karam traveled to Morocco to perform at the Mawazine Festival 2009. Her opening performance attracted a crowd exceeding 60,000. She performed for two and a half hours long as the crowd sang and danced along with her. It will go down in history as one of, if not the most successful concert of Najwa's legendary career. On 10 June 2009 Rotana released Najwa's 18th album, entitled "Khallini Shoufak" (Let me see you). It has been deemed a very strong release from Shams El Ghenniyie, Najwa Karam. The album contains 8 songs, each with a different style of music and catchy lyrics. It is worth mentioning that along with the lead single "Khallini Shufak", three other songs are receiving huge success: "Eidak" (your hand), "Allah Yesghello Balo" (may God make him worry), and "Aboos Eynak" (kiss your eye). The remaining songs are: "Wale'"(light the fire), "El Deni Em" (a mother is the whole world), "Albi Masna' Baroud" (my heart is a gun factory), "El Haramy" (the thieve). The album is considered to be Najwa's strongest return to her original style since "Saharny" (2003). Najwa said, "it's full of folkloric, balady songs, similar to Saharny and her 90's releases". Her video for "Khallini Shoufak" was released around the same time as her cd. It's worth it to mention that Najwa was a guest performer on Star Academy 6's (Lebanon) final prime. She sang "Am Bemzah Ma'ak" (I'm joking with you), "Ta'a Khabeek" (Let me hide you), and her latest single, "Khallini Shoufak" (Let Me See you). Najwa appeared on Layali El Samar on March 25, 2010 on ABU DHABI TV. Also Najwa was the guest star on Taratata, Dubai TV, and soon after she appeared on the TV show Akher Man Ya3lam. 2010-2011: Bil Rou7, Bil Dam (with soul, with blood) & Lashhad Hobbak (I'll beg for your love) edit: On May 7, 2010 Sawt El Ghad Radio, Beirut, started playing Najwa's new hit "Bil Rou7, Bil Dam" (with soul, with blood). The new hit single was the first song of Najwa's that was produced directly out of Rotana in 17 years. The song, along with its video clip, which featured in it the Guinness world record for largest plate of tabbouleh, sponsored by Najwa, were well received, and reached great success. Then on November 11, 2010 Najwa released her next single "Lashhad Hobbak" (I'll beg for your love). Its video clip aired on Rotana Music Channels, attracting a large audience through its classy styles, such as the spider-webbed characteristics. The song became very popular among the masses, and it became a favorite of Najwa's fans. The beaded fulle spider-web bodysuit, designed by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, that was worn by Najwa in the video clip, was later also worn by Jennifer Lopez, in her music video, "On the Floor." In late 2010 although there were doubts of a new contract between Najwa and Rotana Production Company, after several meetings with Salem El Hendi, Najwa agreed to return to Rotana. Haifa Wehbe attended the dinner party which was held after the press conference telling the press that she was glad to accept Najwa's invitation and delighted to be part of the celebration. On January 17, 2011 Najwa was the last guest of the popular show, "Absher" with Nishan. On February 23, 2011 the first issue of the online Najwa Karam Magazine was published by her official Page on Facebook (facebook.com/NajwaKaram). After Najwa decided to postponed her upcoming album, a Song called "Wayn" appeared on the internet. The song was verified stolen from the Najwa Karam Office and released without her permission. The song was recorded three years prior in 2009 and was removed from that year's Album, "Khallini Shoufak." Although illegally released, the song was well liked, and was played on numerous radio stations. With its slow rhythm and different style, unusual of Najwa's music, it reached the top ten singles, and became a favorite, especially among Najwa's fans. 2011: Hal Leile...MaFi Noum (Tonight, There's No Sleep) edit: On June 28, 2011 Rotana released "Hal Leile...MaFi Noum", Najwa Karam's 19th Studio Album. The album contains the usual 8 songs, 3 of them, "Mafi Noum," "Shu Hal Leile," and "Eainy Bi Eainak" were written by Najwa Karam herself. "MaFi Noum (There's No Sleep)" and "Shu Hal Leile (What a Night)" were both successful before the Album release. After only three days, the Album reached Number 1 on Virgin Megastore Charts, pushing Nawal Al Zoghbi's album, "Ma'rafsh Leh," that stayed 5 months at the top of charts from number one, down to number five. With Najwa's huge success, Tamer Hosny, a well-known Egyptian singer, was unable to land a number one spot for his new album, "Elly Gai Ahla," which was released the same day. Also unable to reach a number one spot was Assi El Helani with his album "Rouhi Ana." Two weeks after the album debut, with "MaFi Noum" still at the number 1 spot on the charts, A 3D Video clip was released for the song "MaFi Noum." It became the first produced 3D Music Clip in the Middle East, giving Najwa the earned distinction of first Arabic artist to create a video using 3D technology. The feat was accomplished with the assistance of three professional teams from the US and the UK and the Lebanese W&P Production Group, which undertook extensive research on 3D techniques to familiarize the Middle East crew with the breakthrough technology, including the handling of sophisticated 3D equipment and digital cameras that were used for the shoot. Directed by Waleed Nassif, the video was created by Sony, and produced by Rotana. The clip received huge success as audiences were wowed by the up-beat style of the interactive Video clip. During the opening sequence, The Clip features, Season 1 Arabs' Got Talent contestant, Abdelmalek Al Baljani, from Morocco, in a dance solo. Because of his advanced dance skills, on the show, Najwa, a judge on Arabs' Got Talent, had made a promise to cast Al Baljani in her next video, and when she actually did, many were surprised. The three-day shoot took place in Northern Lebanon, at Nahr Ibrahim, in the Kesserwan area of Basateen Al Ossi, Jeita Grotto, and at the studio of Mansourieh. The 3D version premiered at the ABC Achrafieh theatre in Lebanon on July 25, 2011 and the video clip is currently being played in 600 3D Sony showrooms and outlets, throughout the Arab world. The clip was also shot in 2D to enable TV viewers to watch it on their regular TV sets. The "MaFi Noum" 3D clip had one of the largest production budgets in the Middle East. Controversy regading the usage of "DOUM TAC," in "MaFi Noum" The song "MaFi Noum" Employs the fun, "Doum Tac" Derbake notes as a part of its variety of music styles. But the "Doum, Tac...Tarra Doum Doum Doum" parts of the song were at first questioned. In critiques and popular fandom, some believed that the derbake notes were unnecessary in the song, but after repeated listening to the song, especially over the radio, the "Doum Tac" parts become catchy and fun to sing along, and the "MaFi Noum" video clip adds to their appeal as the notes are associated with sudden movements and swift dance moves in the 3D music Video. Najwa has continuously reiterated in interviews the meaning and significance of the "Doum Tac" music notes. In concerts, the audience sings along the "Doum Tac," and it, like the well-known lines "Rooh Rouhi," "Ana Ma Fiyeh," and "Aam Bimzah Maak" has become a trademark and popular label of Najwa Karam's. Philanthropy edit: 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict edit: Karam's initial response to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict was to go ahead with scheduled tour dates abroad, with all proceeds forwarded to the Lebanese Red Cross. Furthermore, Karam donated 3 fully equipped ambulance vehicles, also to the Lebanese Red Cross. Awards and nominations edit: Year Awarded by Category Notes 1985 Layali Lubnan Gold Medal First Place 1994 Lebanese Broadcasting The Best Singer 1995 Lebanese Broadcasting The Best Singer 1995 LaRami.com The Most Famous Singer 1996 U.S American Citizenship 1996 U.S Key to the City of Chicago 1996 Jordan Jerash Festival Award 1996 2nd Orbit Festival Award 1996 LaRami.com The Most Famous Singer 1997 Tunis Carthage Festival Award 1998 Oman Masqat Festival Award 1998 Germany Key to the City of Düsseldorf 1998 Canada Arab Communities Festival Award 1998 Libya Alfatih Festival Award 1999 Australia Arab Communities Festival Award 1999 Lebanese Army Honorary Award 2000 Tunisia Carthage Festival Award 2000 Tunisia Alzahra City festival Award 2000 French Press Organization (IFP) Pronounced As "Lebanese Diva" 2001 Qatar "Doha Arab Song" Festival Award 2001 Kuwait Hala February Festival Award 2001 UAE Layali Dubai Festival Award 2001 Lebanon Murex D'or award for The Best Arabic singer 2001 Lebanon Best Singer from Lebanese Radio Stations 2001 Rotana Artist of the year 2001 Rotana Album of the Year: Nedmani 2001 Rotana The highest selling album: Nedmani 2001 Al delta, Almahabi, Almeraj, Jabal Lebanon & Sawt El Musica Awards 2002 Aley Festival Award 2002 Lebanon Tyre Festival Award 2003 Rotana Highest selling album: Saharni 2003 Lebanon Tyre Festival Award 2003 Lions Best Singer of the Traditional Lebanese Songs 2003 Lebanon Faraya City Award 2003 Jordan Jarash Festival Award 2003 Sawt El Ghad Australia Song of the Year: Edhak Lil Donya 2003 Australian Government Honorary Award 2004 Kuwait Hala February Award 2004 Tunisia Carthage Festival Award 2004 Lebanon Zahle City Award 2004 MusicanaNet.net Female Artist of the Year 2005 Rotana Arabic Singer of the Year 2005 Sawt El Ghad Australia Song of the Year: Bhebak Walaa 2006 Sawt El Ghad Australia Shu Hal Hala marked #4 in Top 100 songs 2007 Qatar Doha Festival Award 2007 Kuwait Hala February Award 2007 Jordan Jerash Festival Award 2007 Canada The Best Female Singer in the Middle East 2007 Mosaqiue Fm Best Album of the Year: Hayda Haki 2007 Zahrat Al Khaleej Yearly Survey Most Popular Female Singer #1, Best Female Singer #2 2008 Tunisia Queen Of Carthage 2008 Software Times Award The Best Arabic Singer 2008 LE Music Choice The Best Lebanese Song: Am Bimzah Maak 2008 Al Sarih Magazine The Best Arabic Singer 2008 Zahrat Al Khalig The Best Arabic Singer (receiving 90%) 2008 Stars Magazine #1 The Best Album: Am Bimzah Maak One of the most selling albums: Am Bimzah Maak (with Rotana Records) 2009 Melody FM Najwa Karam Best female singer 2009 Al Jaras TV "Khallini shufak" Best Album for the year Best Female singer for the year 2009 Hiya TV Najwa karam best female singer of the year, program: Top of the Tops "Khallini shufak" Best Album fot the year receiving 64% 2009 Najwa Karam Best singer ever who sings the LEBANESE SONG according to www.bisara7.com 2009 IRAQ Radio FM Najwa karam best female singer for the year (97%) "Khallini Shoufak" best selling album in Iraq 2009 El Madina FM Best Female Singer for the year (31.0%) 2009 Zahrat El khalij Best Female Arab Singer for the year 2011 Virgin Records "Hal Leile...MaFi Noum" Number 1 on Charts 3 Days after release 2011 Sony "MaFi Noum" First 3D Music Video in the Middle East 2011 Jerash, Jordan Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts Award 2011 7asriyan.com Best Lebanes Female Singer of 2011 2011 Bahr el Nojoum Best Album of 2011 (Helleileh...Ma Fi Nom) 2011 Bahr el Nojoum Most Concerts in the Middle East of 2011 2011 Zahrat Al Khaleeg Magazine Best Arabic Singer of 2011 2011 Music Master Best Female Arabic Singer of 2011 2011 Music Master Best Arabic Album of 2011 (Helleileh...Ma Fi Nom) 2011 Music Master Best Television Interview of 2011 (Special Najwa on MTV/Rotana Music) 2011 Music Master Queen of Concerts of 2011 2011 Best oF The best Best Arabic Album of 2011 (Helleileh...Ma Fi Nom) 2011 Music My Life (Mml) Best Singer for the Year 2011 2011 Radio Balad Palestine Best Singer for the Year 2011 2011 Radio Balad Palestine Best Video Clip for the Year 2011 (Ma Fi Nom) 2011 Radio Balad Palestine Best Female Album for the Year 2011 (Helleileh...Ma Fi Nom) 2011 Panet Best Arabic Singer for the Year 2011 2011 Panet Best Singer in the Eyes of the Arabs 2011 Panet The Singer with the Widest Fan Base for 2011 2011 Music Master Best Looking Artist Wearing a Crowm (from: Aam Bimza7 Maak clip 2008) 2011 Bisara7a Best Artist 2011 - Najwa Karam 52% (28537 votes) 2011 Bisara7a Best Album 2011 - Halleileh ... Ma Fi Nom 48% (44356 votes) 2011 Bisara7a Best Video Clip 2011 - Ma Fi Nom (Directed by Walid Nassif) 44% (48541 votes) 2011 Municipality of Zahle Najwa Karam Street wikipedia

Pictures of Najwa Karam

Music video with Najwa Karam

Here you can find videos from Youtube with Najwa Karam - Ariftu albi lamin

Dieses Lied....alte Zeiten im Haar....

Conserts with Håkan Hellström

• Siesta! in Hässleholm(2013-06-01)
• Slottsskogsvallen in Kungsladugård(2013-06-08)
• Stadsfesten in Skelleftea(2013-06-28)
• Peace & Love in Borlänge(2013-06-29)
• Putte i parken in Karlstad(2013-07-05)
• Borgholms Slott in Borgholm(2013-07-18)
• Tanumstrand in Tanum(2013-07-19)
• Societetsparken in Varberg(2013-07-26)
• Sofiero Slott och Park in Helsingborg(2013-08-01)
• Konsertfesten in Sundsvall(2013-08-03)