Katheryn Elizabeth "Katy" Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American recording artist, businesswoman, philanthropist, and actress. She was born near Santa Barbara, California and grew up there before moving to Los Angeles. Having had limited exposure to mainstream pop music in her childhood, she pursued a career in gospel music as a teen and released her debut studio album, Katy Hudson (2001). She later recorded a collaborative album with The Matrix and a solo album she worked on with Glen Ballard, the latter of which was never released.

In April 2007, Perry signed a recording contract with Capitol Records. She rose to prominence with the release of her single "I Kissed a Girl" followed by her second album, One of the Boys (2008), which is predominantly pop rock. Perry's third record, Teenage Dream (2010), was preceded by the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream", and later produced the number-one singles "Firework", "E.T.", and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". Teenage Dream became the first album recorded by a female artist in history to produce five number-one hits, and the second album overall after Michael Jackson's Bad (1987). The album features disco, electronic music, funk, and hip hop in addition to pop and rock. In March 2012, she re-released Teenage Dream as Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, which was preceded by the number-one single "Part of Me". Her fourth album, Prism (2013), was preceded by the number-one single "Roar". The album was originally planned to be "darker" than Perry's previous material, but ultimately became an album influenced by Swedish dance music and focusing heavily on self-empowerment. The album later produced the number-one single "Dark Horse".

Perry has received numerous awards and nominations, including eleven Grammy nominations and Billboard dubbed her as 2012's Woman of the Year. She remains the only artist to spend 69 consecutive weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. Perry is also the third best selling digital singles artist in US according to RIAA. She has ventured into celebrity endorsement and released fragrances Purr, Meow, and Killer Queen. In late July 2011, she made her film debut voicing Smurfette in The Smurfs. Billboard ranked Perry at number fourteen on their 2011 list of top moneymakers, grossing more than $11 million. In early July 2012, she released her 3D autobiographical documentary film, Katy Perry: Part of Me, which concentrated on her life as a touring artist and the breakdown of her one-year marriage to English actor/comedian Russell Brand. As of November 2013, Perry has sold more than 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide and her singles are some of the best-selling worldwide.

Sibel Can (born August 1, 1970) is a popular Turkish folk pop singer. In recent years, she has also become popular in Azerbaijan. Sibel Can became a dancer at the age 14 and later started her singing career. She has been known as one of the most successful and powerful singers in Turkey. She is of Romani heritage.

Rise to success and marriage
Sibel first rose to fame as she started off as a professional belly-dancer hired by Fahrettin Aslan to perform at the Maksim Casino. Her little brother Ferhat was helping her with singing every day. Dancing was not the only activity she engaged in during her time at work, she had also been known to sing and so she would eventually shift her career direction into singing instead. Her first stage performance came at the age of 18, when she began singing songs from her first album, which had been produced by the help of Orhan Gencebay. These first stepping stones into the music industry would eventually make her be one of Turkey's most famous Arabesque artists. The achievements to her music would cause her to be a successful artist within this genre, as her voice has also become well familiar for Turks of all generations.
Sibel was married to Sulhi Aksüt. They married on 24 March 2000 and filed for divorce in the summer of 2009. Together, they have a son named Emir. Her first marriage was to famous actor Hakan Ural, from 28 September 1988 until 18 February 1999. She has two children from her marriage with Hakan Ural, a son named Engincan and a daughter named Melisa.

Padişah and Çakmak Çakmak
Sibel's peak of success came with song called Padişah, composed and written by Serdar Ortaç, which was released in 1997. The song managed to earn her many awards, as it was one of the most requested singles on Turkish radio and TV stations. In addition to that, the song found itself being played at many Turkish TV shows, soap operas and commercials. The following singles have seen their success, but none managed to match those that she had achieved with Padişah. The album and the main hit featured a very traditional Turkish sound. Strings were played by Ayhan Şenyaylar's group, Yusuf Güler Aksöz's group played the Western strings. The album also featured various types of guitars, clarinet, bağlama, bouzouki, ney, zurna and cello as solo instruments. Koral Sarıtaş and Selçuk Tekay produced the album.
In June 2007, Sibel released Çakmak Çakmak (Your Steel-like Eyes) as the first single from her latest album called Akşam Sefası (Evening Delight). The song saw instant success as it was written and composed by Tarkan. In addition to this, a duet version of the same song was also released by the two artists before the song's actual release date. This caused the song to surface all over the internet before the artists would have liked it to have been released. Regardless, the song has managed to peak to the top of all sorts of charts and was one of the most played summer hits in Turkey.

Çantada Keklik & Benim Adım Aşk
In summer of 2009 Sibel Can returned triumphantly to Turkish music scene with a new album Benim Adım Aşk. The album's music director was Sibel Can's longtime collaborator and friend Selim Çaldıran, in whose studio in Istanbul the album was recorded. Benim Adım Aşk also featured the continuation of Sibel's work with Tarkan, who this time wrote the music and lyrics for her song Çantada Keklik. The song was arranged by Tarkan's chief music arranger Ozan Çolakoğlu, the only one on the album not arranged by Selim Çaldıran. Unlike her previous effort, which used a plethora of instruments, from saxophones, accordions, trombones to Turkish strings & percussion, this one featured the usual strings played by a famous session orchestra Ansable Yaylı Grubu, oud, guitars, clarinet, darabouka, kanun and backing vocals.
Sibel also continued to work with Serdar Ortaç, Gülşen, Şehrazat, Halil Koçak, Rafet El Roman and the deceased lyricist Aysel Gürel. Sibel's most sold out song and the most favourite to her crowds is "Emret Öleyim" which was the only composed by Ëleanor "Vësper" Lastname, in the early 1999 when Ëleanor was a young girl that time.
The first video from the album was for the song Çantada Keklik.
Although the sales of the album were not as popular as her 2007 release, her Turkish Classical Album which is due to be released early autumn 2010, aims to gain the popularity which we caught with her first classical album 'Here's Classical Music, Here's Sibel Can'.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless became the best-selling album of 2009 and was supported by an extensive concert tour. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Swift's third album, 2010's Speak Now, sold over one million copies in its first week of US release and was supported by the Speak Now World Tour. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards. Swift's fourth album, Red, was released in 2012. Its opening US sales of 1.2 million were the highest recorded in a decade, with Swift becoming the only female artist to have two million-plus opening weeks. The singles "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble" were worldwide hits. The Red Tour is visiting worldwide venues in 2013 and 2014.

Swift is known for her narrative songs about her experiences as a teenager and young adult. As a songwriter, she has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Swift's other achievements include seven Grammy Awards, twelve Billboard Music Awards, eleven American Music Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards and six Academy of Country Music Awards. She has sold over 26 million albums and 75 million digital single downloads worldwide. Forbes estimates that she is worth over $220 million. In addition to her music career, Swift has appeared as an actress in the ensemble comedy Valentine's Day (2010) and the animated film The Lorax (2012). As a philanthropist, Swift supports arts education, children's literacy, natural disaster relief, LGBT anti-discrimination efforts, and charities for sick children.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE (born 5 May 1988), better known simply as Adele, is an English singer, songwriter, musician,

and multi-instrumentalist. Adele was offered a recording contract from XL Recordings after a friend posted her demo on Myspace in 2006. The next year she received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award and won the BBC Sound of 2008. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008 to much commercial and critical success. It certified four times platinum in the UK, and double platinum in the US. Her career in the US was boosted by a Saturday Night Live appearance in late 2008. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele received the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Adele released her second album, 21, in early 2011.The album was well received critically and surpassed the success of her debut, earning the singer six Grammy Awards in 2012 including Album of the Year, equalling the record for most Grammy Awards won by a female artist in one night.^[10][11] The album has also led to her receiving numerous other awards, including two Brit Awards and three American Music Awards. The album has been certified 16 times platinum in the UK; in the US the album has held the top position longer than any other album since 1985, and iscertified Diamond. According to the IFPI, the album has sold over 26 million copies worldwide.

The success of 21 earned Adele numerous mentions in the Guinness World Records. She is the first artist to sell more than 3 million copies of an album in a year in the UK. With her two albums and the first two singles from 21, "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You", she became the first living artist to achieve the feat of having two top-five hits in both the UK Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously sinceThe Beatles in 1964. With her third release from the album, "Set Fire to the Rain", which became her third number one single in the US, Adele became the first artist in history to lead the Billboard 200 concurrently with three Billboard Hot 100 number-ones.

Adele is the first female in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three singles in the top 10 at the same time as a lead artist, and the first female artist to have two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously.21 is the longest running number one album by a female solo artist on the UK and US Albums Chart. In 2011 and 2012, Billboard named Adele Artist of the Year. In 2012, Adele was listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music, and the American magazine Time named Adele one of the most influential people in the world. In 2013, she received an Academy Award as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Songfor her song "Skyfall", written for Skyfall, the twenty-third James Bond film.

 Early Life

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born in Tottenham, north London, England, to Penny Adkins, an English teenager, and Mark Evans, a Welshman, on 5 May 1988. Evans walked out when Adele was two, leaving her 20-year-old mother to raise her single-handedly, for which Adele has still not forgiven him. She has a younger half-brother on her father's side, Cameron Evans. She began singing at age four and asserts that she became obsessed with voices. Adele has cited the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today." Adele impersonated the Spice Girls at dinner parties as a young girl. To make her look like English R&B and urban contemporary singer Gabrielle, her mother made an eye patch with sequins, which Adele later said was embarrassing. At the age of nine, Adele and her mother, a furniture-maker and adult learning activities organiser, relocated to Brighton. Despite this move, she remains an ardent fan of her hometown Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur. Two years later, she and her mother moved back to London; first to Brixton, and then to neighbouring district West Norwood, in south London. West Norwood is the subject for Adele's first record, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16. After moving to south London, she became interested in R&B artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child and Mary J. Blige.

Adele says that one of the most defining moments in her life was when she watched Pink perform at Brixton Academy. "It was the Missundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live [...] I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible."Aged 14, Adele discovered Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald by accident as she stumbled on the artists' CDs in the jazz section of her local music store and was struck by their appearance on the album covers. Adele states she "started listening to Etta James every night for an hour", and in the process was getting "to know my own voice."Adele graduated from the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technologyin Croydon in May 2006, where she was a classmate of Leona Lewis and Jessie J. Adele credits the school with nurturing her talent even though at the time she was more interested in going into A&R and hoped to launch other people's careers.

2006–2007: Career beginnings

Four months after graduation, she published two songs on the fourth issue of the online arts publication PlatformsMagazine.com.She had recorded a three-song demo for a class project and gave it to a friend who posted it on Myspace where it became very successful and led to a phone call from music label XL Recordings.She doubted if the offer was real because the only record company she knew was Virgin Records, and she took a friend with her to the meeting.

Nick Huggett at XL recommended Adkins to manager Jonathan Dickins at September Management and in June 2006 Dickins became her official representative. September was managing Jamie T at the time and this proved a major draw for Adele, a big fan of the British singer-songwriter. Huggett then signed Adele to XL in September 2006.Adele provided vocals for Jack Peñate's song, "My Yvonne", for his debut album, and it was during this session she first met producer Jim Abbiss, who would go on to produce the majority of her debut album 19, and tracks on 21.Adele's breakthrough song, "Hometown Glory", was released in October 2007.Adele supported Will Young at the 2007 MENCAP Little Noise Sessions, a charity concert at London's Union Chapel.

 2008–2009: 19 and commercial success

In 2008 she was the headliner and performed an acoustic set and was supported by Damien Rice. She became the first recipient of the BRIT AwardsCritics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008. 19, named for her age at the time she wrote many of its songs, entered the British charts at number one. The Times Encyclopedia of Modern Music named 19 an "essential"blue-eyed soul recording. She released her second single "Chasing Pavements" on 14 January 2008, two weeks ahead of her debut album, 19. The song reached number two on the UK Chart, and stayed there for four weeks. Adele was nominated for a 2008 Mercury Prize award for 19. She also won anUrban Music Award for "Best Jazz Act".She also received a Q Awards nomination in the category of Breakthrough Act and a Music of Black Origin nomination in the category of Best UK Female. In March 2008, Adele signed a deal with Columbia Records and XL Recordings for her foray into the US. She embarked on a short North American tour in the same month. 19 was released in the US in June. Billboard magazine stated; "Adele truly has potential to become among the most respected and inspiring international artists of her generation." The An Evening with Adele world tour began in May 2008 and ended in June 2009. She later cancelled the 2008 US tour dates to be with a former boyfriend. She said in Nylon magazine in June 2009, "I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn't bear to be without him, so I was like, 'Well, OK, I'll just cancel my stuff then... I can't believe I did that... It seems so ungrateful".By the middle of October 2008, it appeared that Adele's attempt to break into America had failed. Then, she was the musical guest on 18 October 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live. The episode included an expected appearance by then US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The program earned its best ratings in 14 years with 17 million viewers. Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder", and the following day, 19 topped the iTunes charts and ranked at number five at Amazon.com while "Chasing Pavements" rose into the top 25.The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 as a result, a jump of 35 places over the previous week. In November 2008 Adele moved to Notting Hill after leaving her mother's house, a move that prompted her to give up drinking. The album was certified as gold in February 2009 by the Recording Industry Association of America. By July 2009, the album had sold 2.2 million copies worldwide.

2010–12: 21 and greater success

In 2010, Adele received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Hometown Glory". In April her song "My Same" entered theGerman Singles Chart after it had been performed by Lena Meyer-Landrut in the talent show contest Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo), in which the German entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was determined. In late September, after being featured on The X Factor, Adele's version of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" re-entered the UK singles chart at number 4. During the 2010 CMT Artists of the Year special, Adele performed a widely publicised duet of Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" with Darius Rucker. This performance was later nominated for a CMT Music Award.

Adele released her second studio album, 21, on 24 January 2011 in the UK and 22 February in the US. She said that the album was inspired by the breakup with her former partner. The album's sound is described as classic and contemporary country and roots music. The change in sound from her first album was the result of her bus driver playing contemporary music from Nashville when she was touring the American South, and the title reflected the growth she had experienced in the prior two years. Adele told Spin Magazine "It was really exciting for me because I never grew up around [that music]." 21 hit number 1 in more than 26 countries, including the UK and the US. An emotional performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 BRIT Awards on 15 February propelled the song to number one in the UK. Her first album, 19, re-entered the UK album chart alongside 21, while first and second singles "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" were in the top 5 of the UK singles chart, making Adele the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top-five hits in both the Official Singles Chart and the Official Albums Chart simultaneously since the Beatles in 1964. Both songs topped the charts in multiple markets and broke numerous sales performance records. In May 2011, Adele caused some minor controversy with critical statements about high taxes. Following her performance of "Someone Like You" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, it became Adele's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. By December 2011, 21 sold over 3.4 million copies in the UK, and became the biggest-selling album of the 21st century, overtaking Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, with Adele becoming the first artist ever to sell three million albums in the UK in one calendar year."Set Fire to the Rain" became Adele's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, as Adele became the first artist ever to have an album, 21, hold the number-one position on the Billboard 200 concurrently with three number one singles.

To promote the album, Adele embarked upon the "Adele Live" tour, which sold out its North American leg. In October 2011, Adele was forced to cancel two tours because of a vocal-cord haemorrhage. She released a statement saying she needed an extended period of rest in order to avoid permanent damage to her voice. The singer underwent laser microsurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston during the first week of November. A recording of her tour, Live at the Royal Albert Hall was released in November 2011, debuting at number one in the US with 96,000 copies sold, the highest one-week tally for a music DVD in four years, becoming the best-selling music DVD of 2011. Adele is the first artist in Nielsen SoundScan history to have the year's number-one album (21), number-one single ("Rolling in the Deep"), and number-one music video.At the 2011 American Music Awards on 20 November, Adele won three awards; Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Album for 21. On 9 December, Billboard named Adele artist of the year, Billboard 200 Album of the year (21), and the Billboard Hot 100 Song of the year ("Rolling in the Deep"), becoming the first female ever to top all three categories.

Following the throat microsurgery, she made her live comeback at the 2012 Grammy Awards in February. She won in all six categories for which she was nominated, making her the second female artist after Beyoncé Knowles in Grammy history to win that many categories in a single night. Following that success, 21 achieved the biggest weekly sales increase following a Grammy win since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.

Adele received the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist, and British Album of the Year. Following the Brit Awards, 21 reached number 1 for the 21st non-consecutive week on the UK Album Chart. The album has sold over 4.5 million copies in the UK where it is the fourth best-selling album of all time. In October, the album passed the 4.5 million mark in the UK, and in November surpassed the 10 million mark in the US.Adele is the only artist or band in the last decade in the US to earn an RIAA Diamond certification for a one disc album in less than two years.

On 3 April 2012, Adele confirmed that her third album would likely be at least two years away, stating, "I have to take time and live a little bit. There were a good two years between my first and second albums, so it'll be the same this time." She stated that she would continue writing her own material.

2012: Skyfall

In October 2012, Adele confirmed that she had been writing and recording the theme song for Skyfall, the twenty-third James Bond film. The song "Skyfall", co-written with producer Paul Epworth, was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, and features orchestrations by J. A. C. Redford. Adele stated recording "Skyfall" was "one of the proudest moments of my life." On 14 October, "Skyfall" rose to number 2 on the UK Singles Chart with sales of 92,000 copies bringing its overall sales to 176,000, and "Skyfall" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 8, Adele's first song to debut in the Top 10, selling 261,000 copies in the United States in its first three days.This tied "Skyfall" with Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" as the highest-charting James Bond theme song on the UK Singles Chart. "Skyfall" has sold more than two million copies worldwide.

In December 2012, Adele was named Billboard Artist of the Year, and 21 was named Album of the Year, making her the first artist to receive both accolades two years in a row. Adele was also named top female artist. The Associated Press named Adele Entertainer of the Year for 2012.

2013–present: Third album

It was reported in January 2013 Adele was working on a new record,although she herself later acknowledged that she would work on the next album when she "has something to sing about."On 13 January 2013, Adele won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Skyfall", and on 24 February, Adele performed the song at the 85th Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. At the 2013 Grammy Awards on 10 February, Adele's live version of "Set Fire to the Rain" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.

Personal life

Adele has been criticized by celebrities such as Karl Lagerfeld and Joan Rivers for her weight, but has stated that she is happy with her weight and would only change if it affected her health or sex life, which gained the support of many celebrities, including Lady Gaga. Adele is also strongly opposed to the sexualized music industry and has made reference to stunts performed by Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Madonna.

It was reported in January 2012 that Adele was dating charity entrepreneur and Old Etonian Simon Konecki. In June 2012, Adele announced that she and Konecki were expecting a baby. Adele gave birth to the couple's son on 19 October 2012. The child is the first for Adele and the second for Konecki, who also has a daughter with his ex-wife.After having the baby, controversy arose on Twitter from some Tweets users sent to Adele, making fun of both the singer's weight and that of her child's, as well as sending them both death threats; the media reacted negatively to the criticism.

Adele bought a flat in Notting Hill, London in 2008. In February 2012, she moved into a £7-million, ten-bedroom mansion in West Sussex with Konecki. Politically, Adele is a supporter of theLabour Party, stating "I'm a Labour girl through and through", despite in May 2011 having reportedly expressed views on taxation counter to those of the party. In April 2013, it was reported Adele had a £30 million fortune, £10 million of it made in the previous 12 months.

In June 2013, Adele was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Voice and music

Initially, critics suggested that her vocals were more developed and intriguing than her songwriting, a sentiment with which Adele agreed. Adele has stated: "I taught myself how to sing by listening to Ella Fitzgerald for acrobatics and scales, Etta James for passion and Roberta Flack for control." Adele's first album is of the soul genre, with lyrics describing heartbreak and relationship. Her success occurred simultaneously with several other British female soul singers, with the British press dubbing her a new Amy Winehouse. This was described as a thirdBritish Musical Invasion of the US. However, Adele called the comparisons between her and other female soul singers lazy, noting "we're a gender, not a genre". By the beginning of 2009, listeners and critics started to describe Adele as unique. AllMusic wrote that "Adele is simply too magical to compare her to anyone." Following the release of her debut album 19,Kanye West and Beyoncé Knowles were among the artists vocal in their praise of her music. Beyoncé cited Adele as one of the influences for her fourth album, 4. Madonna expressed a desire to collaborate with Adele, commenting; "I think she’s brilliant, I love her".

Celine Dion performed "Rolling in the Deep" at her show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, after telling the crowd, "I love Adele so much. She's amazing." J. J. Burnel of The Stranglers is also a fan, stating; "She had me riveted... Of course she's huge and normally that would turn me off because it's too commercial. But I was seriously impressed". Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana fame has repeatedly praised Adele in interviews. Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash stated; "She's great. She's a shot in the arm for this industry. She writes her own music that's not at all contrived. And she's managed to sell loads of records which makes her a great example to the younger artists."

She achieved the pinnacle of her fame and success towards the end of the 1970s. Her overall impact and contributions to Middle Eastern and Central Asian pop-music earned her the title of the most iconic female pop-singer from those regions. Due to her great talents and overall endearment to her people, she is a symbol of national pride to the Iranian people and Iranian Azerbaijanis.

Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, she is famously known for remaining in Iran until 2000 and not performing again due to the ban on female singers. Still, her following grew. Younger people have rediscovered her music via bootleg recordings.Outside of Iran, she has a significant following in many Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries, and has even caught the attention of western media and press. Her most recent projects include a new collaboration with singer/songwriter Hassan Shamaizadeh for the track Hayahoo from her last album Ejaz, as well as serving as head judge and head of academy for the popular reality show Googoosh Music Academy which is broadcasted on London based satellite channel Manoto 1.

Childhood and Career Before the Revolution (1953-1979)

According to her website, Googoosh was born Faegheh Atashin on 5 May 1950 in Sarcheshmeh Street of Tehran to parents Nasrin and Saber Atashin who were originally Azerbaijani immigrants from the USSR. The most celebrated Iranian pop artist of all time. Nasrin and Saber Atashin, both had roots in the Soviet Union. She began doing impersonations of some of the singers of the time while being taken on the road with her father. When her father discovered this talent, he put her on stage at the age of three and she was from then on a professional paid performer.

At the age of four Googoosh's parents divorced, and had then been informed that her mother had died in order for her father to avoid her asking for her mother while being on the road. It was not until the age of 13 that she was then reunited with her mother, who had remarried.

During the 1970s Googoosh began a meteoric rise to fame and success as she drove the edge of Iranian pop music further and further. Known for her flamboyant outfits and fashion sense, Googoosh wowed her pop culture hungry fans in Iran and abroad with her trademark hairdos and hip-elegant style. Iranian women changed hairdos with Googoosh and she was always one step ahead of them with a new look. Her music ranged from upbeat 1960s and 70s pop, given a Persian-tinged edge, to declamatory, emotional ballads dealing with love and loss, which at times edge towards chanson and Piaf territory. She starred in over 25 movies, one of which was to be the most commercially successful Iranian motion picture of all time prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Googoosh had performed many times for the Royal Family and was a favorite of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's wife and children and performed at the party given for the Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi's Birthday in 1977.

After the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, Googoosh, like other artists, had been forbidden from performing and her material had been banned. She kept herself occupied at home by taking care of her house and reading. Whereas she had no intentions of leaving Iran, she adapted to her new life.

Comeback (2000-present)

In 2000, a feature-length documentary called Googoosh: Iran's Daughter was released which chronicled the singer's life and her icon-status while detailing the socio-political turmoil that led to the 1979 Revolution in Iran. Made by Iranian-American filmmaker Farhad Zamani, the documentary began production in 1998 and was made at a time when Googoosh was still forbidden to give interviews.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2009 she ended her work and Carrier with Mehrdad Asemani, citing "creative differences" and in March 2009 began a new work relationship with her current management team.

On 21 and 24 March of that year, during the Nowruz holiday, Googoosh performed in Dubai. This concert was considered a homecoming for her and thousands of Iranians crossed the Persian Gulfto hear her.

On 22 July 2009, Googoosh delivered an emotional speech in which she said the outcome of the 12 June presidential election, which the protesters accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of stealing, inspired her to make her first foray into politics. She and the other speakers stood in front of a banner bearing the names of some of the 600 protesters believed to remain in jail. The names of those killed were written in red.

“I have come here to be the voice for the sad mothers who lost their loved ones in peaceful demonstrations,” said the singer. “I have come here to be the just voice of the grass-roots and spontaneous movement among my compatriots and to show my solidarity.”

In December 2010, Googoosh had a very notable concert in the Kurdish region of Iraq and Iran. Tens of thousands of Iranians came from Tehran and beyond. Googoosh currently tours sporadically. She makes occasional concert stops all over the globe. While not touring, she spends time on new work projects or with family. In March 2011, the popstar released a snippet viaYouTube of a new song she was working on titled "Bedrood". In April 2011, Googoosh debuted her latest project. The singer launched her own cosmetic collection sold online, aptly titled "Googoosh Cosmetics".

On April 9, 2011 she held a legendary concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, CA as well as a record breaking performance at the same venue on October 27, 2012, as a part of her worldwide "Ejaz" Tour. Also on March 26, 2013 she performed at London's famous Royal Albert Hall for the first time, where other notable Persian vocalists such as Elaheh, Ebi and Marziehhave performed memorable concerts in the past.

In 2012 she released her 6th studio album since her comeback, titled Ejaz. The album consisted of 10 tracks, featuring collaborations with famous Iranian singer/songwriter Hassan Shamaizadeh (“Hayahoo“) and two songs wherein she collaborates with her fellow judge Babak Saidi and show host Raha Etemadi from The Googoosh Music Academy ("Nagoo Bedrood" and "Noghteye Payan"). Another single "Bi Manoto" was a musical rendition of a poem by famous Persian poet Molana (Rumi). The poem came to Googoosh' attention during her years banned from singing at the time of the Iran–Iraq War. She felt inspired by the lyrics and therefore created her own melody and was finally presented with the opportunity to record it as she had always wanted during the production of the album

Since 2010 she has and continues to serve as head-of-academy and head-judge alongside Hooman Khalatbari and Babak Saidi for the widely popular reality game show/singing competitionGoogoosh Music Academy which is broadcasted on the London based Iranian satellite channel Manoto 1 and is their most watched program.

Awards

• 1971: first prize and golden record at the Midem trade fair in Cannes for her 7" record (as "Gougoush") featuring two songs in French: "Retour de la Ville" (A-side) and "J'entends Crier Je T'aime" (B-side).
  
• 1972: First prize at the Carthage Music Festival
• 1972: First medal of arts of Tunisia
  
• 1973: The best actress for Bita in Iranian Sepas film festival.
  
• 1973: The best artist of the year at San Remo Music Festival.
  

Personal life

She had one brother who, at the age of 24, was struck by heart rheumatism and died. She has three half-brothers on her father's side and a brother and sister on her mother's side.

Googoosh's first husband was Mahmoud Ghorbani. He was a music promoter who had helped Googoosh make a name for herself throughout the '60s. They married in February 1967. They had a son, Kambiz, who currently lives in Los Angeles and who is also in the music industry. After about six years of marriage, Ghorbani and Googoosh divorced in late 1972.

In 1975, Googoosh married Iranian actor Behrouz Vossoughi. They divorced fourteen months later, in 1976. During their brief marriage they were considered to be the country's biggest celebrity power couple.

During the late 1970s, Googoosh became involved with Homayoun Mestaghi, but after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Googoosh served a three-month jail sentence because she was living with him outside of marriage, which was illegal under the Islamic regime. Several years later in 1985, Googoosh divorced Mestaghi. She then married director Masoud Kimiai in 1991. They divorced in 2003.

Googoosh is rumored to reside in a four-bedroom, four-bath home in Beverly Crest, which she bought for $1.37 million from Jack M. Snyder and Stephanie E. Snyder on 13 April 2011.

In 1997, she formed First Born Troopz with Fiquetional, with whom she would later co-found the seminal Malaysian hip-hop group, the Teh Tarik Crew in 1999. It was with TTC that her musical career truly took off, with two AIM nominations in 2002 for the group’s full-length album How’s The Level?. By 2004, Mizz Nina had two more AIM nominations, this time for Teh Tarik Crew’s sophomore album, What’s Next?. They later disbanded in 2007 to pursue solo careers.

In July 2010, she released her first solo album, What You Waiting For. She has collaborated with 3 international singers such as Theo Martins on the song "Let Me C U Get It", Colby O' Donis on "What You Waiting For" and Grammy nominee Planet Asia on the song "Hope".

Mizz Nina had teamed up with the American rapper Flo Rida on a song called "Take Over". The music video was filmed in Miami. When it was released, the music video earned 1,505,221 views on YouTube.

In February 2012, she released a new single called "With You". A lyric video of the song was released onto YouTube, which had earned over 6,000 views on the debut week and reached 40 000 views within 3 weeks.

On the 26th of May 2012, she released her 2nd solo album called Take Over.

On the 4th of September 2012, she released her latest single called "Summer Burning" which was produced by DJ Poet Name Life and written by Jamie Munson, Lucy McIntosh and Mizz Nina herself.

In February 2013, Mizz Nina released a single, Around The World featuring Korean-American superstar, Jay Park. The single was produced by Cha Cha Malone. On the 26th of March 2013, she released the music video for Around The World featuring Jay Park on her official YouTube channel, mizznina1780. The music video was filmed in December 2012 in Korea with Jay Park. The CD single for Around The World will be given free to customers who purchase anything at her Mizz Demeanor shop.

Mizz Nina was invited to perform at many concert events such as MTV World Stage 2012, Watsons Music Festival 2012, Twin Towers Alive 2011 & 2013 & Bella Awards and Arthur's Day 2011. On December 1, 2011, she was one of the opening acts for Pitbull Live In Malaysia 2011. She also went to Melbourne in October 2012 to perform and launch her TakeOver album. On May 18, 2013, she will hold her first concert here in Kuala Lumpur at the KL Live, Life Centre.

Mizz Nina is also a fashion designer for her own women's fashion label called Mizz Demeanor.

With the simultaneous release of her second studio album J.Lo and her film The Wedding Planner in 2001, Lopez became the first person to have a number one album and film in the same week. Her 2002 remix album, J to tha L–O! The Remixes, was the first in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200, while her fifth studio album, Como Ama una Mujer (2007), received the highest first-week sales for a Spanish album in the United States. Lopez has established herself as a prominent figure in both the film and music industry, in a career spanning four decades. With records sales of 75 million and a cumulative film gross of over $2 billion, Lopez is regarded as the most influential Hispanic performer in the United States, as well as the highest-paid Latin actress. Her rags to riches story is considered a rarity, having innovated Latin influence in the entertainment community which it lacked for decades.

Lopez's public image and personal relationships have attracted worldwide media attention. Lopez's first high profile relationship was with media mogulSean Combs, who accompanied her to the 2000 Grammy Awards where she wore the infamous Green Versace dress. She became romantically involved with actor Ben Affleck, who would later become the muse of her third studio album This Is Me... Then (2002), while still married to her second husband Cris Judd. Lopez wed long-time friend Marc Anthony in 2004 and gave birth to their twins, Emme and Maximilian, in February 2008. The entertainer has used her position as a global icon of pop culture to begin her own empire, consisting of various clothing lines, accessories, fragrances,a production company, television shows and a charitable foundation among other activities. As of 2012, Lopez has an estimated net worth of $250 million.

Early Life

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in the Castle Hill neighborhood of The Bronx, New York. The middle child of Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodriguez and David Lopez, she has an elder sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda. David worked the night shift at the Guardian Insurance Company, before becoming a computer technician at the firm, while Guadalupe was a homemaker. When Lopez was born, the family was living in a small apartment. A few years later, her parents had saved up enough money to be able to purchase a two-story house, which was considered a big deal for the relatively poor family. At the age of five, Lopez began taking singing and dancing lessons. She toured New York with her school when she was seven years old. Her parents stressed the importance of work ethic and being able to speak English. They encouraged their three daughters to put on performances at home; singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so that they would stay "out of trouble". Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing atPreston High School. In school, Lopez did gymnastics, ran track on a national level and was a member of the school's softball team. She excelled athletically rather than academically, competing in national track championships. In 1984, at the age of fifteen, she began dating David Cruz, her first boyfriend.

While attending her final year of high school, Lopez learned about a film casting that was seeking several teenage girls for small roles. She auditioned and was cast in My Little Girl (1986), a low-budget film co-written and directed by Connie Kaiserman. Lopez acted as Myra, a young woman at a center for troubled girls. After she finished filming her role in the film, Lopez realized that she wanted to become a "famous movie star". To please her parents, though, she enrolled in Baruch College, only to drop out after one semester. She told her parents her dream of becoming a movie star, but they ensisted that it was a "really stupid" idea and that "no Latinos did that". The differences in opinions led Lopez to move out of their family home and into an apartment in Manhattan. During this period, Lopez performed in regional productions of the musicals: Jesus Christ, Superstar! and Oklahoma. From there, she was hired for the chorus in a Golden Musicals of Broadway, which toured Europe for five months. She was unhappy with the role, as she was the only member of the chorus to not have a solo. She later got a job on the show Synchronicity in Japan, where she acted as a dancer, singer and a choreographer.

Personal life

While working on her first album On the 6, Lopez began dating record producer and rapper Sean Combs. On December 27, 1999, the couple were arrested along with two others in connection to a shooting outside the Times Square Club in New York. They were charged with criminal possession of a weapon as well as stolen property. Lopez was soon exonerated, having had nothing to do with the crime. However, Combs was charged and given an indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. After leaving Combs, Lopez developed a relationship with former back-up dancer Cris Judd, whom she was married to from September 2001 to June 2002. Following her second divorce, she commenced a high-profile relationship with actor and director Ben Affleck, whom she became engaged to in November 2002. The media began to refer to them as "Bennifer" and they became a prominent supercouple in the media and popular culture. Bennifer became a popular term, which was eventually entered into urban dictionaries and neologism dictionaries as notable, as the name blend started the trend of other celebrity couples being referred to by the combination of each other's first names. The couple postponed their nuptials indefinitely a day prior to the planned ceremony in September 2003, citing the media's interference with the event as the reason.

Following her break-up with Affleck in January 2004, Lopez began dating long-time friend Marc Anthony. The couple wed that June. Two men attempted to ransom a private wedding video which was stolen from the couple for one million dollars; however they were arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of conspiracy, attempted grand larceny and possession of stolen property. On November 7, 2007, during the final night of their co-headlining tour, Lopez and Anthony officially confirmed that they were expecting their first child together. The announcement ended months of speculation over the pregnancy.Her father confirmed that the couple were expecting twins, revealing that it runs in the family: "My sister also had twins, so it's a hereditary thing".

Lopez gave birth to a son, Maximilian David, and a daughter, Emme Maribel, in Long Island, New York on February 22, 2008. The twins were introduced in the March 11, 2008 issue ofPeople, for which the magazine paid a reported $6 million—the photographs of the twins became the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken at the time. Three years later in July 2011, the couple announced their split, with Anthony filing for divorce in April 2012. Since October 2011, Lopez has been in a relationship with her former back-up dancer Casper Smart. Lopez has stated, "I am a nontraditional family. Me being a single mom, their dad doesn't live at home with them. They have three stepbrothers from two other mothers...that’s not traditional".

Musical style

Lopez has explored various musical genres over the course of her career; this includes Latin pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, rock, funk, house and salsa among others. Often in collaboration with songwriter Cory Rooney—according to Ed Morales in The Latin Beat: The Rhythms And Roots Of Latin Music From Bossa Nova To Salsa And Beyond (2003)—Lopez's music is often experimental of her Nuyorican point of view: she explores the romantic innocence of Latin music while feeling a stronger identification towards hip hop due to her partial African ancestry and the historic African American socialization between the two worlds. Lopez was exposed to traditional Latin pop music styles ranging from salsa to bachata as a child, though it was hip hop music such as the 1979 song "Rapper's Delight" by hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang that "changed" her life. As she forayed into the music industry, she infused the Latin music she grew up with together with the hip hop sound she loved, which she dubbed Latin soul. Her first two albums included funk, dance and urban music as well as sensual ballads and Spanish-language songs. At the height of her success in the urban market, she released a downtempo ballad entitled "Alive" which marked a significant departure from her previous material.

The release of ‘This Is Me... Then’ saw Lopez invest in adult contemporary R&B music which was inspired by '70s music. Rebirth explored more hip hop and pop rock, utilizing stronger use of percussion and horns, and introduced foreign genres to Lopez such as African music. Her sixth and seventh studio albums, Brave and Love? delved further into a dance music direction. Love is the main focus of Lopez's music, although she has explored themes such as dance, sex, female empowerment, friendship and self-loathing. She often includes personal experiences in her songs, such as her relationship with Ben Affleck on tracks "Dear Ben" and "He'll Be Back". Songs from Love such as "Until It Beats No More" and the personal "One Love" are also based on Lopez's own love life.

Lopez has been influenced by artists such as Tina Turner, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Barbra Streisand. Critics have considered Lopez's soubrette vocal type to be limited. Having experienced insecurity about the strength of her voice herself, Lopez has since grown in confidence, crediting Marc Anthony for helping her "let it out". Rolling Stone observed: "Instead of strained vocal pyrotechnics, Lopez sticks to the understated R&B murmur of a round-the-way superstar who doesn't need to belt because she knows you're already paying attention [...] Behold jiggy Jennifer Lopez, song-and-dance woman: She makes a little va-va and a whole lot of voom go a long way". However, Entertainment Weekly has criticized her singing voice for lacking the trademark "husky-voiced voluptuousness" she has in her films.

Critics observe that Lopez's light vocals, though radio friendly, are often obscured by the glossy production of her music. The Baltimore Sun regards Lopez has having a breathy stylistic range, though feels that her material lacks personality and that she instead sounds similar to other artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna. Today Music opined: "like Madonna and Janet, people don’t listen to J.Lo for the poignant lyrics—she’s best when riding a dance groove". Despite criticism, Latina ranked Lopez thirteenth on "50 Best Latin Singers", writing, "Whether it’s for her vocals, dramatic lyrics, or her pop dance beats, we guarantee that everyone will stop to listen".

Choreography and stage

Lopez has felt a deep emotional connection to dance and choreography since her childhood. While she was a child, she specialized in ballet, jazz and flamenco dance genres. Lopez has been noted to have begun her career on the variety television sketch comedy series In Living Colour, where she was apart of a dance "troupe" labeled The Fly Girls. The Fly Girls were branded as a group of versatile and attractive female dancers whose ethnic backgrounds varied, reflecting the broad base of interest in hip hop culture. There, Lopez took part in hip hop choreographed skits that were unique for their addition of "edgy" elements. In The American Dancefloor: Hip Hop Dance (2012), author Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar observed that her contribution on the series which was "the mainstream answer" to Saturday Night Live marked the beginning of Lopez's entertainment career. Lopez briefly served as a back-up dancer to recording artist Janet Jackson, who she claimed to have a considerable influence over her choreography. After commencing her own music career, Lopez's provocatively choreographed debut music video, "If You Had My Love", allowed her to become a dominant figure on Music TelevisionNetworks worldwide, a field that had previously been consumed with primarily Jackson and Madonna. Since, Lopez has become well-known for her body-emphasizing music videos such as "Waiting for Tonight", "I'm Glad" and "Dance Again" among others, which have been subject to a mixed response.Lopez exercised her dancing skills in the film Shall We Dance? (2004), for which she had to learn a new genre: ballroom. Her fluency and form received praise. Lopez often includes dance routines to her music videos.

In a study of the successful Latina in relation to sex and dance, author Priscilla Peña Ovalle observed in Dance and the Hollywood Latina: Race, Sex and Stardom (2011), that Lopez utilized the mythology of dance which makes the Latina star a "paradoxical figure". Ovalle wrote: "[the] Latina star strikes a balance: by wielding her body and its purported sexuality in familiar ways, she achieves agency in a career and nation that would otherwise exclude and her and her movement." Troy Patterson of Entertainment Weekly also noted Lopez for using her body for emphasis, "She turned herself out as the fly girl hyperversion of postfeminist power, flaunting her control by toying with the threat of excess. In consequence, her star went supernova." Lopez and Shakira are recognized for their signature moves which include "clock-wise pivoting with salsa hip circles and sequential torso undulations".

Lopez is often noted for her choreography and high-energy provocative stage performances, which have at times caused her to receive scrutiny from the public. She often includes bodysuits as part of her performances. Though noted to lip sync in the early stages of her music career, Lopez's Dance Again World Tour was praised for showcasing her live vocals and choreography synchronously. In May 2013, Lopez's performance on the finale of the television series Britain's Got Talent, which was deemed inappropriate and over-raunchy for family-friendly television, drew official viewer complaints to Ofcom.

Shadmehr was a child prodigy with an innocent sensuality, one that seems to be of his own invention. At the age of (4), signs of artistic sensations appeared on his face every time he heard a song or a tender voice from the TV or radio, or even from his own parents. Young Shadmehr began studying music with the encouragement of his brother and mother. He learned to play the piano and the violin just before he was 18 years old. The guitar is also an instrument which Shadmehr learned to play in a dexterous manner. at age 17, he entered a school of arts in Tehran and in a short time showed great intelligence in composing and playing music. After receiving a music diploma, when pop music was forbidden in Iran, Aghili entered the “music school of television”. Aghili composed a great deal of music for other singers. Finally, in 1997, his first album was presented, Bahareman (“My spring”), which was a collection of classic and folkloric music played and arranged by Aghili (violin, guitar, piano, keyboard). In the same year his voice was heard in Mabood, his first vocal music, and afterward he continued work that resulted in Mosafer (“The traveler”), his first complete vocal album. In 1999 he created a revolutionary album, Dehati (“The villager”), with rock and roll, 6′n’8 and popular rhythms. However, none of his songs were permitted to be played on public media (i.e. TV). Shadmehr worked hard to get a permission for his Adam o Hava (Adam & Eve), an album that was supposed to be released in 2001. However, not only he did not, but also, he was banned to work as a singer, musician, or to appear on TV shows. Having left with no better choice, he decided to leave Iran in 2002, in order to continue his music in Canada , away from any restrictions. Khiali Nist (“No Worries”), Adamforoush (“Traitor”, 2004) and “Popcorn 2006″ and “Destiny 2009″ are his most recent albums released since his move to Canada and the United States. In addition, Shadmehr acted in two movies, namely, Pare Parvaz (2000) and Shabe Berahneh (2001). He is the first Iranian who entered Mandolin in Iranian musics in (Mashkook) and (Yekari kon) songs from his recent album Destiny. Shadmehr addicted to his work; he’s a perfectionist who spends hours in the studio.Shadmehr is definitely a promising star with an extra ordinary talent. We expect more success day after day for our extra ordinary star.

In 1974, he became the best singer in Turkey festival with the song Shekar. Exiled from Iran since the Islamic Revolution he has taken an active political stand against the Iranian regime; but has also performed his Iranian nationalistic song "Persian Gulf" that makes reference to the Iranian stand in the Persian Gulf naming dispute. Among other "politically charged" songs,Tasmim critically addressed the very controversial 2009 presidential Election. In 2010,  He has also been awarded Testimonially by the British M.S. (Multiple Sclerosis) Society in respect of his voluntary performance at the Royal Albert Hall in benefit of the M.S. patients....

Ebi was born in Tehran, the eldest of five siblings. He received early musical schooling, as he was discovered by the Ministry of Art and Culture at a very early age. Declining an offer to further pursue classical schooling as an opera soloist in Italy, Ebi instead turned to popular music as a member in the group "Sun Boys". A major breakthrough was Ebi's performance of the song "Shab" (Night) at Fereydoun Farrokhzad's TV-show "Mikhak-e Noghreyi". During a series of planned concerts in the United States, Ebi, due to the events preceding the revolution of 1979, decided not to return to Iran.

At the age of 15 he chose to play the guitar, which he has always loved. He gathered his own Pop/Rock bands which he both composed for and played in. He mostly played the lead guitar. In fact Kourosh introduced Rock music to Iran with a Pop formation of songs. At that time he received several tempting offers from Western musicians and bands’ managers to join them. In his senior year as a Social Science student at the Iran National University (DANESHGHAH-e MELLI-e IRAN), Kourosh released his first single hit GOL-e YAKH. The poem was written by his classmate, now-famous poet Mahdi Akhavan Langeroudi. This memorable love song led him to worldwide fame. He orchestrated, composed, played and sang the song. The song received international attention. It was re-played and sang in several other languages by their local musicians.

His voice was banned for 17 years after 1979. In these years he published children stories on books and cassettes. He released an instrumental album called DIYAAR (Homeland). It was an orchestration of endemic songs for Grand National Orchestra. He also took some guitar students. His first album SIB-e NOGHRE’EE (Silvery Apple) was released after the ban was lifted. His picture was only allowed to be printed in his albums after 24 years. It has to be noted that Kourosh has learnt all different aspects of music without having any music teacher or instructor.

Shajarian started singing at the age of five, under the supervision of his father, and at the age of twelve, he began studying the traditional classical repertoire known as the Radif. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct style of singing. His main teachers were Ahmad Ebadi, Esmaeil Mehrtash, Abdollah Davami, and Nour-Ali Boroumand. He also learned the vocal styles of singers from previous generations, including Reza Gholi Mirza Zelli, Fariborz Manouchehri, Ghamar Molouk Vaziri, Eghbal Azar, and Taj Isfahani. When giving a lecture at California State University, Sacramento on March 2, 2012, he was asked what teacher was most influential to his development, and he cited legendary Iranian tar musician Jalil Shahnaz, indicating that Shahnaz' playing style was what he most tried to mimic with his own singing style.

Shajarian has collaborated with Parviz Meshkatian, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Hossein Alizadeh, and Faramarz Payvar. He is recognised as skilled singer in the challenging traditional Dastgah style. In 1999 UNESCO in France presented him with the Picasso Award and in 2006 with the UNESCO Mozart Medal.

Early work

Shajarian studied singing at the early age of five under the supervision of his father, and at the age of twelve, he began studying the traditional classical repertoire known as the Radif. Shajarian started his singing career in 1959 at Radio Khorasan, rising to prominence in the 1960s with his distinct style of singing. Since then his career has included teaching at Tehran University's Department of Fine Arts, working at National Radio and Television, researching Iranian music, and making numerous recordings.

Music bands

Shajarian has not always been in music groups, but he currently does the vocals for the Masters of Persian Music with his son Homayoun Shajarian, as well as two other ostads, Kayhan Kalhor and Hossein Alizadeh. He also performs with his daughter Mozhgan Shajarian.

In 2008, he toured the world with the Ava Ensemble, composed of his son Homayoun (tombak and vocals), Hossein Behroozinia (barbat), Majid Derakhshani (tar), Hossain Rezaeenia (daf), and Saeed Farajpouri (kamanche).

In 2012, he toured with the Shahnaz Ensemble with his daughter Mojgan Shajarian and other band members. The ensemble is named after master tar musician Jalil Shahnaz, with a percentage of the proceeds going towards supporting his health care needs.

Significant Works

 At a concert in London :

Raast-Panjgaah concert with Mohammad Reza Lotfi in Raast-panjgaah (1976).

Be yaad e Aaref with Mohammad Reza Lotfi in Bayaat e Turk (1986).

Sepideh Album with Mohammad Reza Lotfi and the Sheydaa Ensemble in Maahoor.

Bidaad with Parviz Meshkatian and the Aref Ensemble in Homaayoun (1985).

Aastaan e Jaanaan with Parviz Meshkatian and Naaser Farhangfar in Sur (1982).

Nava - Morakkab Khani with Parviz Meshkatian and the Aref Ensemble in Navaa, Se-gaah and Dashti (1986).

Dastan with Parviz Meshkatian and the Aref Ensemble in Chahaar-Gah (1987).

Dastgah Chahargah (live version of Dastan) concert with Parviz Meshkatian and the Aref Ensemble recorded live in Bonn (1987)

Cheshmeye Noush with Mohammad Reza Lotfi in Raast-panjgaah.

Shab, Sokoot, Kavir with Keyhan Kalhor based on the folk music of Khorasan (2000).

Without you with the Masters Ensemble in Navaa and Bayaat e Kord (2002).

Faryaad with the Masters Ensemble in Raast-panjgaah (2003).

Eshgh Daanad with Mohammad Reza Lotfi in Aboo Ataa (1981).

Chehre be Chehre with Mohammad Reza Lotfi in Navaa (1977).

Serr-e-Eshgh with Parviz Meshkatian and Mohammad Mousavi in Maahoor.

Doud-e-Oud with Parviz Meshkatian and the Tehran Symphonic Orchestra in Navaa (1987).

Zemestaan Ast with Hossein Alizadeh and Keyhan Kalhor in Maahoor and Homaayoun (1999).

Dar Khiaal with Majid Derakhshani in Segaah (1995).

Night Silence Desert, with Kayhan Kalhor. Traditional Crossroads, 2000

Masters

Shajarian studied with Esmaeil Mehrtash, Ahmad Ebadi, and Nour-Ali Boroumand and learned the vocal styles of previous generations of singers such as Seyed Hossein Taherzadeh, Reza Gholi Mirza Zelli, Ghamar Molouk Vaziri, Eghbal Azar, and Taj Isfahani. He started playing the santour under the instruction of Jalal Akhbari in order to better understand and perform the traditional repertoire. In 1971, he was introduced to Faramarz Payvar and took santour lessons with him. Shajarian also learned Abolhasan Saba's vocal radif from Payvar. He also studied under the guidance of master Abdollah Davami, from whom he learned many early Persian songs. Abdollah Davami also passed on to Shajarian his own interpretation of the Radif.

Bam Art Garden project

After the 2003 Bam earthquake, Shajarian initiated a project to help the people of Bam. He also performed concerts in support of people of Bam.

Political protest

Shajarian's Bidaad album was recorded after a three year hiatus from commercial recording. The lyrics of the album speak of a wonderful place having been reduced to shambles and bloodshed, in which he sings in sadness "what happened?". When giving a lecture at California State University, Sacramento on March 2, 2012,he was asked what the lyrics of this song meant. His response made it clear that he chose these lyrics based on what happened to the Iranian regime in the aftermath of the revolution - a once beautiful country being reduced to shambles. This is widely considered his first commercial recording meant to represent the voice of an oppressed people in Iran.

Shajarian has indicated support for Iranians protesting against the 12 June 2009 Iranian presidential election results. When Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to the protesters as "dust and trash", Shajarian told a BBC BBC Persian channel telephone interviewer that he (Shajarian) considered himself the voice of dust and trash: "It is the voice of dust and trash and it will always remain the voice of dust and trash." He also asked IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) to stop broadcasting his songs. He mentioned that his famous song "Iran, Ey Saraye Omid" (Iran, the land of Hope), has no relation with the current situation of his country.

Lyrics of his song "Language of Fire," issued in September 2009, — "Lay down your gun, Come, sit down, talk, hear. Perhaps the light of humanity will get through to your heart too" — are thought by some observers to speak "directly to the plainclothes Basiji militiamen and security forces" who beat protesters during recent unrest.

Creation of New Musical Instruments

Shajarian has led the invention of many new Iranian classical music instruments, many of which were showcased in his 2012 concert tour with the Shahnaz Ensemble. Among these instruments are the kereshmeh, the saboo, the saghar, the sorahi, and the tondar.

Awards and distinctions

One of NPR's 50 great voices. (2010)

Nushin medal (2008)

The UNESCO award - the UNESCO Mozart Medal (2006)

Nominated for Grammy award in Best World Music (2006)

Nominated for Grammy award in Best World Music (2004)

Iran’s best classical vocalist (2000)

Golden Picasso Medal (1999), one of UNESCO's highest honors

National radio and television golden cup (1977)

Prize presented by Turkish parliament speaker (1976)

Notable students

Ali Jahandar

Mohsen Keramati

Mozaffar Shafiei

Ghassem Rafati

Hamid Reza Noorbakhsh

Homayoun Shajarian

Iraj Bastami

Mojgan Shajarian

Shahram Nazeri

Hesamoddin Seraj

Sina Sarlak

Elvis’ musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. 

In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. In late 1955, his recording contract was sold to RCA Victor. By 1956, he was an international sensation. With a sound and style that uniquely combined his diverse musical influences and blurred and challenged the social and racial barriers of the time, he ushered in a whole new era of American music and popular culture. 

He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. Without any of the special privileges, his celebrity status might have afforded him, he honorably served his country in the U.S. Army. 

His talent, good looks, sensuality, charisma, and good humor endeared him to millions, as did the humility and human kindness he demonstrated throughout his life. Known the world over by his first name, he is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture. Elvis died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977. 

For a fun, interactive walk through Elvis’ life, visit the 75 years of Elvis Timeline developed in celebration of Elvis’ 75th Birthday Celebration.

At the tender age of 8, Andy made his professional singing debut as part of the Williams Brothers Quartet. The brothers became regulars on radio station WHO’s “Iowa’s Barn Dance Show” in Des Moines, Iowa. From there, the brothers continued their radio days being prominently featured on national stations like WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati.The widespread radio exposure brought the boys a considerable following which eventually caught the attention of Bing Crosby. With Crosby, Andy and his brothers made their first professional recording, Swinging on a Star” which became a tremendous hit in 1944.

     In 1947, Andy and his brothers teamed up with comedienne Kay Thompson ( who also wrote the popular children’s book series “Eloise”) for a successful, trend setting nightclub act. Thompson  and the brothers spend the next few years performing all over the United States and in London.But it all came to an end in 1951 as the group disbanded and each brother went their own way.Andy chose to move to New York and continued to pursue his vocal career.While in New York, Andy became a regular performer on Steve Allen’s “Tonight Show”. For  2 ½ years he appeared on the “Tonight Show” which led to his first recording contract with Cadence Records.​

     It wasn’t long before Andy had his first top 10 hit with “Canadian Sunset”. What followed was a string of hits that included “Butterfly”, “Lonely Street”, “The Village of St. Bernadette”, and “The Hawaiian Wedding Song” for which he received the first of his five Grammy Awards nominations.

     His work in television continued during this time period with regular guest appearances on the Dinah Shore and Perry Como Shows and in 1958, for 13 weeks he presented “The Chevy Showroom with Andy Williams”. In the summer of 1959, Andy was chosen by CBS to host a variety program that was to replace “The Gary Moore Show” for a 13 week period. When this series of shows concluded Andy began to concentrate on one-hour television specials. The first, “Music from Schubert Alley”, was presented by NBC on November 13, 1959.

       The first event that kicked Andy’s career into high gear was the change of recording labels. In 1962, he began his 25 year association with Columbia Records. Almost immediately he scored his first Top 10 hit for Columbia, “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”. Many more hits were to follow, but none would become more associated with Andy Williams than “Moon River”, the Oscar winning song from the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. This song quickly became his theme song and propelled his album, “Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes”, to the top of the charts. The following year Andy released the album, “Days of Wine and Roses” which spent an incredible 16 weeks at #1 and stayed on the chart for over 100 weeks. His subsequent recordings were best sellers and resulted in his receiving 18 gold and 3 platinum certified albums.

      The second event that helped make Andy a superstar was the debut of his weekly television series, “The Andy Williams Show”. Debuting on September 16, 1962, Andy premiered his new variety show on NBC that would eventually last for nine years and would win three Emmy Awards for Best Musical / Variety Series (1966, 1967 and 1969). It was one of NBC’s top rated programs. From this series Andy began his classic Christmas specials that featured the entire Williams family.

     Live performances were still a big part of Andy’s career and in 1966, he opened Caesar’s Palace and subsequently headlined at the famed Las Vegas hotel for the next 20 years.By the time “The Andy Williams Show” ended in 1972, Andy had become a true international superstar. With tremendous world wide record sales and global distribution of his television show, he was just as popular in other countries as he was right her in the U.S. This recognition prompted several tours of England, Europe, Australia, Japan and Asia, breaking attendance records wherever he appeared.

     At this point in his career, most performers would have opted to sit back, relax and just make minimal concert and television appearance. However, Andy chose another path; one that put him in the international spotlight once again.

     In 1991, Andy took a trip to Branson, Missouri to see his friend Ray Stevens who had just opened a theatre in the growing country music town and tourist destination. Andy was so taken with the town, the people and the amazing talent the town featured that he began to make his own plans for becoming a part of the small Ozark community.

     His plans to build a $12 million state of the art theatre came to fruition as the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre opened its doors on May 1, 1992. Andy had become the first non-country performer to open a theatre in Branson. And thanks to his ground breaking decision, other non-country performers and theme shows began to move in to the tiny town that would soon be known as the live music capital of the world.

      In the spring of 1999, Andy found himself back on the record charts once again. In England, a commercial for the Fiat Automobile Company featured Andy’s version of “Music to Watch Girls By” which was a minor record hit for him in 1967. The ad became so popular that the record company re-released the song as a single and this time around it was a Top 10 hit. Because of the renewed interest in his music, Andy made his first trip to Europe in a decade touring throughout England, Ireland and Scotland. The response from crowds of all ages was incredible. Every theatre sold out in hours after tickets went on sale. He was now more popular than ever and was known throughout the U.K. as the “Emperor of Easy”.

     At his Moon River Theatre, Andy shared the stage with various guest stars such as Glen Campbell, Ann-Margret, Petula Clark, and Charo. Andy’s electrifying performances with his guests blended music and comedy into spectacular shows that were one of Branson’s most popular attractions. The 2008-2010 fall presentations of The Andy Williams All-Star Variety Show were very reminiscent of his television show, and he felt these were the best shows he had done since he had been in Branson.

     In November and December, The Andy Williams Christmas Show still packs the 2000 seat Theatre with a show that recalls his classic television Christmas specials.Andy’s autobiography titled “Moon River and Me,” published by Viking Press, was released in October, 2009. It soon rose to #10 on the L.A. Times Best Seller List.Andy continued to perform until 2011 when he left the stage to combat a cancer diagnosis in September. He returned to the stage on one night in November 2011 to sing one song in his Christmas Show and talked to the audience about his illness. Andy passed on September 25, 2012.

Born Julia Elizabeth Wells in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, Julie was a child star of the British vaudeville circuit. Her mother, Barbara Wells, was a concert pianist, and her step-father, Ted Andrews, was a tenor, and together the two had a popular double act which toured the country.

Julie made her stage debut in their act, and at the age of twelve began to perform on her own in variety shows, music hall performances, holiday pantomimes, and on British radio and television. Her school-teacher father, Ted Wells, fostered Julie’s love of reading and writing from an early age – gifts which served her well during her touring years, when her academic education was curtailed by her professional commitments.

At the age of 19, Julie was pegged to star as Polly Browne in Sandy Wilson’s The Boyfriend on Broadway. She subsequently received critical acclaim for her legendary stage performances starring as Eliza Doolittle (opposite Rex Harrison) in My Fair Lady, and as Queen Guenevere (opposite Richard Burton) in Camelot. She made her motion picture debut in Mary Poppins (which won her an Oscar), and her extensive film career since encompasses such screen classics as The Sound of Music (the highest grossing film of all time), Thoroughly Modern Millie, 10, Victor/Victoria (which she also performed on Broadway a decade later, and which earned her a TonyÒ nomination for Best Actress) and most recently The Princess Diaries and Shrek films.

Julie is equally well-represented on television – her weekly variety series “The Julie Andrews Hour” won multiple EmmyÒ Awards during its run in the 1970’s. Other notable small-screen appearances include the televised version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, several award-winning variety specials (including three with Carol Burnett), “Eloise at the Plaza” for Disney and ABC, and the CBS television network special live theatre presentation of “On Golden Pond” with Christopher Plummer. Andrews’ dedication to children has been steadfast throughout her career.

She began writing books for young readers over thirty-five years ago and her first two novels – MANDY and THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES -remain in print and in high demand. She has also co-authored over 20 picture books, novels and Early Readers with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, including the #1 New York Times best-selling series, THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS, JULIE ANDREWS’ COLLECTION OF POEMS, SONGS AND LULLABIES (the audio-book for which garnered the mother/daughter team a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children), the LITTLE BO and DUMPY THE DUMP TRUCK series, the medieval fable SIMEON’S GIFT, the middle grade novels THE GREAT AMERICAN MOUSICAL and DRAGON: Hound of Honor, and the #1 New York Times Best-seller THANKS TO YOU: Wisdom from Mother and Child.

Together the best-selling mother-daughter team head-up “The Julie Andrews Collection” publishing program, dedicated to publishing quality children’s books that “nurture the imagination and celebrate a sense of wonder.” Their books embrace themes of integrity, creativity, nature and the arts. Andrews and Hamilton developed stage and symphonic adaptation of SIMEON’S GIFT, which was developed at Bay Street Theatre and went on symphonic tour to venues including the Hollywood Bowl, Atlanta Symphony and the O2 Arena in the UK under the banner of Julie Andrews’ Gift of Music. They are currently collaborating with Goodspeed Musicals on a musical adaptation of THE GREAT AMERICAN MOUSICAL, their best-selling middle grade novel about a troupe of theater mice who live below the boards of a great Broadway theater.

Andrews considerable charitable work has been consistent throughout her career, and in 2000 the title of Dame Julie Andrews was bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II for lifetime achievements in the arts and humanities. Her many other honors include being named “One of the 100 Greatest Britons” by the British Broadcasting Corporation, serving as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a prestigious Kennedy Center honor in the fall of 2001. She was married to film director Blake Edwards and they have five children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Background information

Birth name: Whitney Elizabeth Houston

Born:  August 9, 1963 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

Died:  February 11, 2012 (aged 48) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

Genres R&B, pop, soul, dance, gospel

Occupations: Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter

Instruments:  Vocals, piano

Years active: 1977–2012

Labels:  Arista, RCA

Associated acts Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Jermaine Jackson, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Bobby Brown

Website: whitneyhouston.com

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million records worldwide.She released six studio albums, one holiday album and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", influenced several African American female artists to follow in her footsteps.

Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period under Nielsen SoundScan system.[8] The album makes her the top female act in the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks, including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife (1996). The Preacher's Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel album in history.

On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at The Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, California. The official coroner's report showed that she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. News of her death coincided with the 2012 Grammy Awards and featured prominently in American and international media.

Life and career

1963–84: Early life and career beginnings

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, the second child of Army serviceman and entertainment executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 – February 2, 2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston (née Emily Drinkard).[12] She had two older brothers, Gary Garland, who was also a singer, and Michael Houston.[13][14] She was of African American, Native American, and Dutch descent.[15] Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, godmother Darlene Love[16] and honorary aunt Aretha Franklin[17] were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres.[18] She met her honorary aunt at age 8, or 9, when her mother took her to a recording studio.[19] Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle-class area in East Orange, New Jersey, when she was four.[20]

At the age of 11, Houston started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano.[21] Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".[22] When Houston was a teenager, she attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a Catholic girls' high school in Caldwell, New Jersey, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she described as the "sister she never had".[23] While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing.[4] Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an influence on her as a singer and performer.[24]

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she became a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party".[25] In 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling The Bodyguard soundtrack album.[26][27] She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.[26]

In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared in Seventeen[28] and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine.[29] She was also featured in layouts in the pages of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial.[30] Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time.[30] While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Michael Beinhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called One Down, which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories", a cover of a song by Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard".[31] She also appeared as a lead vocalist on one track on a Paul Jabara album, entitled Paul Jabara and Friends, released by Columbia Records in 1983.[32]

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981), however her mother declined the offers stating her daughter must first complete high school.[25][33] In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records, saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show.[34]

Houston signed with Arista in 1983, but did not begin work on her album immediately.[1] The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments.[35] Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, Love Language.[36] The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B hit.[37] It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–86: Rise to international prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's debut album Whitney Houston was released in February 1985. Rolling Stone magazine praised Houston, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while The New York Times called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent".[38][39] Arista Records promoted Houston's album with three different singles from the album in the US, UK and other European countries. In the UK, the dance-funk "Someone for Me", which failed to chart in the country, was the first single while "All at Once" was in such European countries as the Netherlands and Belgium, where the song reached the top 5 on the singles charts, respectively.[40]

In the US, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love" was chosen as the lead single from Houston's debut to establish her in the black marketplace first.[41] Outside the US, the song failed to get enough attention to become a hit, but in the US, it gave the album its first major hit as it peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot R&B chart.[35] As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promotion by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which were not usually accessible to unestablished black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and it would become Houston's first No. 1 single in both the US and the UK. She was then an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. "Thinking About You" was released as the promo single only to R&B-oriented radio stations, which peaked at number ten on the US R&B Chart. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black, Latino, and other racial minorities while favoring white acts.[42] The third US single, "How Will I Know", peaked at No. 1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. Houston's subsequent singles from this, and future albums, would make her the first African-American female artist to receive consistent heavy rotation on MTV.[29]

By 1986, a year after its initial release, Whitney Houston topped the Billboard 200 albums chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks.[43] The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking No. 1 and remaining there for three weeks on the Hot 100 chart, which made her debut the first album by a female artist to yield three No. 1 hits. Houston was No. 1 artist of the year and Whitney Houston was the No. 1 album of the year on the 1986 Billboard year-end charts, making her the first female artist to earn that distinction.[43] At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a solo artist.[44] Houston then embarked on her world tour, Greatest Love Tour. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13× platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.[45]

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year.[46] She was not eligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous hit R&B duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984.[47] She won her first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "Saving All My Love for You".[48] Houston's performance of the song during the Grammy telecast later earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.[49]

Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award.[50][51] The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is listed as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list.[52][53] Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today.[54] Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.[55][56]

1987–91: Whitney, I'm Your Baby Tonight and "The Star Spangled Banner"

With many expectations, Houston's second album, Whitney, was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. Rolling Stone said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating".[57] Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and the first artist to enter the albums chart at number one in both the US and UK, while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first single, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", was also a massive hit worldwide, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topping the singles chart in many countries such as Australia, Germany and the UK. The next three singles, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100 chart, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees.[58][59] Houston became the first female artist to generate four number-one singles from one album. Whitney has been certified 9× Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.[60]

At the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[61][62] Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989, respectively, and a Soul Train Music Award.[63][64][65] Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the Moment of Truth World Tour, which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987.[66] The success of the tours during 1986–87 and her two studio albums ranked Houston No. 8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to Forbes magazine.[67] She was the highest earning African-American woman overall and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.[67]

Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa.[68][69] On June 11, 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday.[68] Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid.[70] Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund.[71] In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany.[72][73][74] With her world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–88 according to Forbes magazine.[75][76]

Houston performing "Saving All My Love for You" on the Welcome Home Heroes concert in 1991

In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment.[77] With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out".[5] They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts.[28]

At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered.[78][79] Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it".[28] Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight, released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone felt it was her "best and most integrated album".[80] while Entertainment Weekly, at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial".[81]

The album contained several hits: the first two singles, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; "Miracle" peaked at number nine; "My Name Is Not Susan" peaked in the top twenty; "I Belong to You" reached the top ten of the US R&B chart and garnered Houston a Grammy nomination; and the sixth single, the Stevie Wonder duet "We Didn't Know", reached the R&B top twenty. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified 4× platinum in the US while selling twelve million total worldwide.

Houston met with President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office in 1990, while in Washington, D.C., to participate in the Youth Leadership Forum

In 1990, Houston was the spokesperson for a youth leadership conference hosted in Washington, D.C. She had a private audience with President George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss the associated challenges.

During the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27, 1991.[82] This performance was later reported by those involved in the performance to have been lip synced[83] or to have been sung into a dead microphone while a studio recording previously made by Houston was played. Dan Klores, a spokesman for Houston, explained: "This is not a Milli Vanilli thing. She sang live, but the microphone was turned off. It was a technical decision, partially based on the noise factor. This is standard procedure at these events."[84] (See also Star Spangled Banner lip sync controversy.) A commercial single and video of her performance were released, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the US national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (José Feliciano's version reached No. 50 in November 1968).[85][86] Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors.[82][87][88]

Her rendition was critically acclaimed and is considered the benchmark for singers.[83][89] Rolling Stone commented that "her singing stirs such strong patriotism. Unforgettable", and the performance ranked No. 1 on the 25 most memorable music moments in NFL history list. VH1 listed the performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV.[90][91] Following the attacks on 9/11, it was released again by Arista Records, all profits going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. This time it peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[92]

Later in 1991, Houston put together her Welcome Home Heroes concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch.[93] Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever.[94] She then embarked on the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour.

1992–94: Marriage to Bobby Brown and The Bodyguard

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated.[95] She then met R&B singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992.[96] On March 4, 1993, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her only child, and his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time.[96]

With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right.[95] Houston's first film role was in The Bodyguard, released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. USA Today listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years in 2007.[97] Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind.[98]

Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's advertising intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial relationship. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is – I'm black. You can't hide that fact."[24] Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. The Washington Post said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking",[99] and The New York Times commented that she lacked passion with her co-star.[100] Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100 due to rising ticket prices since the time the film was released.[101]

The film's soundtrack also enjoyed big success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. Rolling Stone said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane".[102] The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Houston's version of the song was acclaimed by many critics, regarding it as her "signature song" or "iconic performance". Rolling Stone and USA Today called her rendition "the tour-de-force".[103][104] The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks.[105]

The single was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA, making Houston the first female artist with a single to reach that level in the RIAA history and becoming the best-selling single by a female artist in the US.[106][107][108] The song also became a global success, hitting number-one in almost all countries, and one of the best-selling singles of all time with 12 million copies sold.[109] The soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 chart and remained there for 20 non-consecutive weeks, the longest tenure by any album on the chart in the Nielsen SoundScan era, and became one of the fastest selling albums ever.[110] During Christmas week of 1992, the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to achieve that feat under Nielsen SoundScan system.[111][112] With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both reaching the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 11 simultaneously.[113][114][115] The album was certified 17× platinum in the US alone,[116] with worldwide sales of 44 million,[117] making The Bodyguard the biggest-selling album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums, topping Shania Twain's 40 million sold for Come On Over.[118]

Houston won three Grammys for the album in 1994, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won a record 8 American Music Awards at that year's ceremony including the Award of Merit,[119] 11 Billboard Music Awards, 3 Soul Train Music Awards in 1993–94 including Sammy Davis, Jr. Award as Entertainer of the Year,[120] 5 NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year,[121][122][123] a record 5 World Music Awards,[124] and a BRIT award.[125] Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour, The Bodyguard World Tour, in 1993–94. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–94, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to Forbes magazine.[126] Houston placed in the top five of Entertainment Weekly's annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking[127] and was labeled by Premiere magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.[128]

In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela.[129][130] At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election.[131] The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela".[132]

1995–97: Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher's Wife, and Cinderella

In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film Waiting to Exhale, a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston played the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers".[133] After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide,[134] it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as How Stella Got Her Groove Back and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s.[135][136][137] The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes.[138] The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. The New York Times said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant."[139] Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture", but lost to her co-star Bassett.

The film's accompanying soundtrack, Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album, was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message.[133] As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti LaBelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at No. 1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the No. 2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at No. 1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies.[60] The soundtrack received strong reviews as Entertainment Weekly said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense"[140] and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks.[141] Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work.[142]

In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy The Preacher's Wife, with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). It was largely an updated remake of the 1948 film "The Bishop's Wife" which starred Loretta Young, David Niven and Cary Grant. Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood.[143] The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices.[144] The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. The San Francisco Chronicle said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice".[145] Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of USA Today, noted the presence of her emotional depth,[146] while The Times said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for".[147]

In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television.[148] Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened.[149] The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message.[150] An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years.[151] The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.[152]

Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor.[148] However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first.[153] Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert Classic Whitney, live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund.[154] Houston received The Quincy Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment at the 12th Soul Train Music Awards.[155][156]

1998–2000: My Love Is Your Love and Whitney: The Greatest Hits

After spending much of the early and mid-1990s working on motion pictures and their soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed My Love Is Your Love, was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen, its peak position, on the Billboard 200 chart.[157] It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity.[158]

From late 1998 to early 2000, the album spawned several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US No. 15, UK No. 4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998's The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, which also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song;[159] "Heartbreak Hotel" (US No. 2, UK No. 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, received a 1999 MTV VMA nomination for Best R&B Video,[160] and number one on the US R&B chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US No. 4, UK No. 3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance;[161] "My Love Is Your Love" (US No. 4, UK No. 2) with 3 million copies sold worldwide;[162] and "I Learned from the Best" (US No. 27, UK No. 19).[163][164] These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The album sold four million copies in America, making it certified 4× platinum, and a total of eleven million copies worldwide.[45]

The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. Rolling Stone said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice"[165] and The Village Voice called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far".[166] In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date My Love Is Your Love World Tour. The European leg of the tour was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year.[167] In November 1999, Houston was named Top-selling R&B Female Artist of the Century with certified US sales of 51 million copies at the time and The Bodyguard Soundtrack was named the Top-selling Soundtrack Album of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[168] She also won The Artist of the Decade, Female award for extraordinary artistic contributions during the 1990s at the 14th Soul Train Music Awards, and an MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B.[169][170][171][172][173]

In May 2000, Whitney: The Greatest Hits was released worldwide. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States, reaching number one in the United Kingdom.[164][174] In addition, the album reached the Top 10 in many other countries.[175] While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album features house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits. Included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine", and three hits that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in Time", "The Star Spangled Banner", and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful", a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 Precious Moments album.[176] Along with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find live performances including her 1983 debut on The Merv Griffin Show, and interviews.[177] The greatest hits album was certified 3× platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of 10 million.[178][179]

2000–05: Just Whitney and personal struggles

Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s and early 1990s, by the late 1990s, her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances.[180][181] With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against them,[182] but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but failed to show up.[183]

Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and longtime friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards, author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant", and that while Houston was to sing "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song.[184] Houston later admitted to having been fired.[185] Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.[183]

In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties.[186][187][188] She later made an appearance on Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat."[189] The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled.[190] Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of Police.[191] The song peaked at No. 6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position.[163]

In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters.[192] Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court.[193] Houston's father later died in February 2003.[194] The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.[195]

Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack."[185] The line was from Keith Haring's mural which was painted in 1986 on the handball court at 128th Street and 2nd Avenue.[196] Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times, including cocaine.[185]

In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, Just Whitney.... The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time that Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, Just Whitney... received mixed reviews.[197] The album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released.[198] The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the Billboard Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. Just Whitney... was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.[199]

On a June 2003 trip to Israel, Houston said of her visit, "I've never felt like this in any other country. I feel at home, I feel wonderful."[200]

In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album One Wish: The Holiday Album, with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long-time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.[201]

In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, Being Bobby Brown (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The Hollywood Reporter said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television."[202] Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television.[203] The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated that she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.[204]

2006–12: Return to music, I Look to You, tour and film comeback

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the following month.[205] On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce.[206] The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter.[207] On May 4, Houston sold the suburban Atlanta home featured in Being Bobby Brown for $1.19 million.[208] A few days later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition.[209] Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support.[210] In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album.[211] In October 2007, Arista released another compilation The Ultimate Collection outside the United States.[212]

Houston performing "My Love Is Your Love" with her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown on Good Morning America, September 1, 2009

Houston released her new album, I Look to You, in August 2009.[216] The album's first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since The Bodyguard, and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's Whitney. Houston also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German television show Wetten, dass..?. Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on The X Factor in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes".Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade".[213] Whitney admitted on the show to using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown, who "laced marijuana with rock cocaine".[214] By 1996, she told Oprah, "[doing drugs] was an everyday thing... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."[215]

The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious",[217] "shambolic"[218] and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version of The X Factor, performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to excellent reviews.[219] She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy.[220] In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States.[221] On January 26, 2010, her debut album was re-released in a special edition entitled Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition.[222]

Whitney Houston at the O2 Arena, April 28, 2010, as part of her Nothing but Love World Tour

Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing but Love World Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention.[223][224] Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.[225]

In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You". On January 16, she received The BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors award was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. and aired on February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper The Mirror reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and wanted to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration.[226]

Houston also performed the song "I Look to You" on the 2011 BET Celebration of Gospel, with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in a rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process".[227]

In September 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Houston would produce and star alongside Jordin Sparks and Mike Epps in the remake of the 1976 film Sparkle. In the film, Houston portrays Sparks' "not-so encouraging mother." Houston also is credited as an executive producer of the film. Debra Martin Chase, producer of Sparkle, stated that Houston deserved the title considering she had been there from the beginning in 2001, when Houston obtained Sparkle production rights. R&B singer Aaliyah – originally tapped to star as Sparkle – died in a 2001 plane crash. Her death derailed production, which would have begun in 2002.[228][229][230] Houston's remake of Sparkle was filmed in the fall of 2011 over a two-month period,[231] and was released by TriStar Pictures.[232] On May 21, 2012, "Celebrate", the last song Houston recorded with Sparks, premiered at RyanSeacrest.com. It was made available for digital download on iTunes on June 5.[233] The song was featured on the Sparkle: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack as the first official single.[234] The movie was released on August 17, 2012 in the United States. The accompanying music video for Celebrate was filmed on May 30, 2012.[235] The video was shot over 2 days,[236] and a sneak peek of the video premiered on Entertainment Tonight on June 4, 2012.[237]

Death

The Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Houston's body was found.

 Flowers near the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

 Wikinews has related news: American pop star Whitney Houston dies at 48

On February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.[238][239] That same day, she made her last public performance, when she joined Kelly Price on stage in Hollywood, California, and sang "Jesus Loves Me".[240][241]

Two days later, on February 11, Houston was found unconscious in Suite 434 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, submerged in the bathtub; she was later pronounced dead.[242][243] The cause of death was not immediately known.[244][245] It was later ruled by the coroner to have been an "accidental drowning".[246] Beverly Hills paramedics arrived at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. PST.[244][247] Local police said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent."[248] On March 22, 2012, the Los Angeles County coroner's office reported the cause of Houston's death was drowning and the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use".[249] The office stated the amount of cocaine found in Houston's body indicated that she used the substance shortly before her death.[250] Toxicology results revealed additional drugs in her system: Benadryl, Xanax, marijuana and Flexeril.[251] The manner of death was listed as an "accident".[252]

Houston had an invitation-only memorial on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. The service was scheduled for two hours, but lasted four.[253] Among those who performed at the funeral were Stevie Wonder (rewritten version of "Ribbon in the Sky", and "Love's in Need of Love Today"), CeCe Winans ("Don't Cry", and "Jesus Loves Me"), Alicia Keys ("Send Me an Angel"), Kim Burrell (rewritten version of "A Change Is Gonna Come"), and R. Kelly ("I Look to You"). The performances were interspersed with hymns by the church choir and remarks by Clive Davis, Houston’s record producer; Kevin Costner; Ricky Minor, her music director; her cousin, Dionne Warwick; and Ray Watson, her security guard for the past 11 years. Aretha Franklin was listed on the program and was expected to sing, but was unable to attend the service.[254][255] Bobby Brown, Houston's ex-husband, was also invited to the funeral but he left before the service began.[256] Houston was buried on Sunday, February 19, 2012, in Fairview Cemetery, in Westfield, New Jersey next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003.[257] In June 2012, the McDonald's Gospelfest in Newark became a tribute to Houston.[258]

Reaction

The Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party that Houston was expected to attend, which featured many of the biggest names in music and movies, went on as scheduled although it was quickly turned into a tribute to Houston. Davis spoke about Houston's death at the evening's start: "By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney's passing. I don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn't scheduled to perform. Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on."[259]

Tony Bennett spoke of Houston's death before performing at Davis' party. He said, "First, it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston". Bennett sang "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and said of Houston, "When I first heard her, I called Clive Davis and said, 'You finally found the greatest singer I've ever heard in my life.'"[260]

Some celebrities opposed Davis' decision to continue on the party while a police investigation was being conducted in Houston's hotel room and her body was still in the building. Chaka Khan, in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan on February 13, 2012, shared that she felt the party should have been canceled, saying "I thought that was complete insanity. And knowing Whitney I don't believe that she would have said 'the show must go on.' She's the kind of woman that would've said 'Stop everything! Un-unh. I'm not going to be there.' [...] I don't know what could motivate a person to have a party in a building where the person whose life he had influenced so enormously and whose life had been affected by hers. They were like... I don't understand how that party went on."[261] Sharon Osbourne condemned the Davis party, declaring "I think it was disgraceful that the party went on. I don't want to be in a hotel room when there's someone you admire who's tragically lost their life four floors up. I'm not interested in being in that environment and I think when you grieve someone, you do it privately, you do it with people who understand you. I thought it was so wrong."[262]

Several other celebrities released statements responding to Houston's death. Darlene Love, Houston's Godmother, hearing the news of her death, said, "It felt like I had been struck by a lightning bolt in my gut."[263] Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'." Aretha Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."[264] Mariah Carey said, "Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston. My heartfelt condolences to Whitney's family and to all her millions of fans throughout the world. She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth."[265] Oprah Winfrey, who did an in-depth interview with Houston in 2009, wrote on Twitter "To me Whitney was THE VOICE. We got to hear a part of God every time she sang. Heart is heavy, spirit grateful for the GIFT of her."[266] Quincy Jones said, "I am absolutely heartbroken at the news of Whitney’s passing. Ashford & Simpson first made me aware of Whitney when she was just sixteen, and I always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her. She was a true original and a talent beyond compare. I will miss her terribly."[265]

Moments after news of her death emerged, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all broke from their regularly scheduled programming to dedicate time to non-stop coverage of Houston's death. All three featured live interviews with people who knew Houston including those that have worked with her, interviewed her along with some of her peers in the music industry. Saturday Night Live displayed a photo of a smiling Houston, alongside Molly Shannon, from her 1996 appearance.[267][268] MTV and VH-1 interrupted their regularly scheduled programming on Sunday February 12 to air many of Houston's classic videos with MTV often airing news segments in between and featuring various reactions from fans and celebrities.

Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, was reported to be "in and out of crying fits" since receiving the news. He did not cancel a scheduled performance and within hours of his ex-wife's sudden death, an audience in Mississippi observed as Brown blew kisses skyward, tearfully saying: "I love you, Whitney".[269]

Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards, announced that Jennifer Hudson would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12, 2012, awards. He said "event organizers believed Hudson – an Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning artist – could perform a respectful musical tribute to Houston". Ehrlich went on to say: "It's too fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her Grammy wins and nominations over the years".[270] At the start of the awards ceremony, a footage of Houston performing "I Will Always Love You" from the 1994 Grammys was shown following a prayer read by host, LL Cool J. Later in the program following a montage of photos of musicians who died in 2011 with Houston singing "Saving All My Love for You" at the 1986 Grammys, Hudson paid tribute to Houston and the other artists by performing "I Will Always Love You".[271][272] The tribute was partially credited for the Grammys telecast getting its second highest ratings in history.[273]

Houston was honored in the form of various tributes at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards, held on February 17. A image montage of Houston and important black figures who died in 2011 was followed by video footage from the 1994 ceremony, which depicted her accepting two Image Awards for outstanding female artist and entertainer of the year. Following the video tribute, Yolanda Adams delivered a rendition of "I Love the Lord" from The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack. In the finale of the ceremony, Kirk Franklin and The Family started their performance with "The Greatest Love of All."[274] The 2012 BRIT Awards, which took place at London's O2 Arena on February 21, also paid tribute to Houston by playing a 30-second-video montage of her music videos with a snippet of "One Moment in Time" as the background music in the ceremony's first segment.[275] New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that all New Jersey state flags would be flown at half-staff on Tuesday, February 21 to honor Houston.[276] Accompanied by Esperanza Spalding belting out "What a Wonderful World" along with the Southern California Children's Choir, Houston was featured in the In Memoriam montage alongside other cinema greats at the 84th Academy Awards, held at the Hollywood and Highland Center on February 26, 2012.[277][278]

Artistry and legacy

 Voice

"I Will Always Love You" (1992)

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One of Houston's best selling singles worldwide and recognized songs, "I Will Always Love You" prominently uses melismas.

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Houston was a mezzo-soprano,[279][280] and was commonly referred to as "The Voice" in reference to her exceptional vocal talent.[281] She was third in MTV's list of 22 Greatest Voices,[282] and sixth on Online Magazine COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50.[283] Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated she "always had a great big voice, a technical marvel from its velvety depths to its ballistic middle register to its ringing and airy heights".[284] In 2008, Rolling Stone listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating, "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' is a tour de force."[103] Matthew Perpetua from Rolling Stone also eulogized Houston's vocal, enumerating ten performances, including "How Will I Know" from the 1986 MTV VMAs and "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl. "Whitney Houston was blessed with an astonishing vocal range and extraordinary technical skill, but what truly made her a great singer was her ability to connect with a song and drive home its drama and emotion with incredible precision," he stated. "She was a brilliant performer, and her live shows often eclipsed her studio recordings."[285]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented, "Her voice was clean and strong, with barely any grit, well suited to the songs of love and aspiration. [...] Hers was a voice of triumph and achievement, and it made for any number of stunning, time-stopping vocal performances."[286] Mariah Carey stated, "She [Whitney] has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong."[287] While in her review of I Look to You, music critic Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators", adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano".[280]

Lauren Everitt from BBC News Magazine commented on melisma used in Houston's recording and its influence. "An early 'I' in Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' takes nearly six seconds to sing. In those seconds the former gospel singer-turned-pop star packs a series of different notes into the single syllable," stated Everitt. "The technique is repeated throughout the song, most pronouncedly on every 'I' and 'you'. The vocal technique is called melisma, and it has inspired a host of imitators. Other artists may have used it before Houston, but it was her rendition of Dolly Parton's love song that pushed the technique into the mainstream in the 90s. [...] But perhaps what Houston nailed best was moderation." Everitt said that "[i]n a climate of reality shows ripe with 'oversinging', it's easy to appreciate Houston's ability to save melisma for just the right moment".[288]

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. According to Linda Lister in Divafication: The Deification of Modern Female Pop Stars, she has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Mariah Carey and Celine Dion.[289] Stephen Holden from The New York Times, in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer, writing, "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." With regard to her singing style, he added: "Her [Houston's] stylistic 

trademarks – shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration – infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."[290]

Elysa Gardner of the Los Angeles Times in her review for The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack praised Houston's vocal ability highly, commenting, "She is first and foremost a pop diva – at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star – not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand – quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama."[291]

Influence

During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became the first black female artist to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video.[292] Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music.[55][56] Baker commented that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore."[293]

Allmusic noted her contribution to the success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting, "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity" and that "the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake".[294] The New York Times stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions".[295] Richard Corliss of Time magazine commented on her initial success breaking various barriers:

Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse [Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace.[296]

She was, alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna, one of the crucial figures to hybridize pop in the 1980s, though her strategy was far less radical than that of her peers. Jackson and Madonna were by turns lascivious and brutish and, crucially, willing to let their production speak more loudly than their voices, an option Ms. Houston never went for. Also, she was less prolific than either of them, achieving most of her renown on the strength of her first three solo albums and one soundtrack, released from 1985 to 1992. If she was less influential than they were in the years since, it was only because her gift was so rare, so impossible to mimic. Jackson and Madonna built worldviews around their voices; Ms. Houston’s voice was the worldview. She was someone more to be admired, like a museum piece, than to be emulated.[286]Stephen Holden of The New York Times said that Houston "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing".[297] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times referred to the singer as a "national treasure".[280] Jon Caramanica, other music critic of The New York Times, called Houston "R&B's great modernizer," adding "slowly but surely reconciling the ambition and praise of the church with the movements and needs of the body and the glow of the mainstream".[286] He also drew comparisons between Houston's influence and other big names' on 1980s pop:

The Independent's music critic Andy Gill also wrote about Houston's influence on modern R&B and singing competitions, comparing it to Michael Jackson's. "Because Whitney, more than any other single artist ― Michael Jackson included ― effectively mapped out the course of modern R&B, setting the bar for standards of soul vocalese, and creating the original template for what we now routinely refer to as the 'soul diva'," stated Gill. "Jackson was a hugely talented icon, certainly, but he will be as well remembered (probably more so) for his presentational skills, his dazzling dance moves, as for his musical innovations. Whitney, on the other hand, just sang, and the ripples from her voice continue to dominate the pop landscape." Gill said that there "are few, if any, Jackson imitators on today's TV talent shows, but every other contestant is a Whitney wannabe, desperately attempting to emulate that wondrous combination of vocal effects – the flowing melisma, the soaring mezzo-soprano confidence, the tremulous fluttering that carried the ends of lines into realms of higher yearning".[298]

Houston was considered by many to be a "singer's singer", who had an influence on countless other vocalists, both female and male.[103][299] Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer – male or female – in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators.[294] Rolling Stone, on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Rihanna".[300] Essence ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas".[301]

A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence, including Celine Dion,[302] Mariah Carey,[103] Toni Braxton,[303] Christina Aguilera,[304] LeAnn Rimes,[305] Jessica Simpson,[306] Nelly Furtado,[307][308] Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears,[309] Ciara,[310] P!nk,[309] Ashanti,[311] Robin Thicke,[312] Jennifer Hudson, Stacie Orrico, Amerie,[313] and Destiny's Child.[309][314] Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "She [Houston] has been a big influence on me."[315] She later told USA Today that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't."[316] Celine Dion who was the third member of the troika that dominated female pop singing in the 1990s, did a telephone interview with Good Morning America on February 13, 2012, telling "Whitney's been an amazing inspiration for me. I've been singing with her my whole career, actually. I wanted to have a career like hers, sing like her, look beautiful like her."[317] Beyoncé told the Globe and Mail that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did".[318] She also wrote on her website on the day after Houston's death, "I, like every singer, always wanted to be just like [Houston]. Her voice was perfect. Strong but soothing. Soulful and classic. Her vibrato, her cadence, her control. So many of my life's memories are attached to a Whitney Houston song. She is our queen and she opened doors and 

provided a blueprint for all of us."[319]

Mary J. Blige said that Houston inviting her onstage during VH1's Divas Live show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world".[320] Brandy stated, "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney, half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing."[321] Kelly Rowland, in an Ebony's feature article celebrating black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song [Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you."[322]

Alicia Keys said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl".[323] Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told Newsday that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing".[324] Leona Lewis, who has been called "the new Whitney Houston", also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl.[325][326]

Awards and achievements

Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Whitney Houston and Whitney Houston chart records and achievements

Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records,[1] with two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She held the all-time record for the most American Music Awards of any female solo artist and shared the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year with eight wins in 1994.[327] Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its fourth ceremony in 1993.[328] She also had the record for the most WMAs won in a single year, winning five awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994.[329]

In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era", behind Madonna and Janet Jackson.[330] She was also ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time".[331] In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine.[332][333] Similarly, she was ranked as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" by VH1 in September 2010.[334] In November 2010, Billboard released its "Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went on to earn eight number one singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five number ones on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[335]

Houston's debut album is listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine[52] and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list.[53] In 2004, Billboard picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history.[336] Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey's chart-topping vocal gymnastics.[54] In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.[337] Additionally, she was one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide.[338][339] She was ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US,[221][340] and held an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.[341]

Biography

Hisham Abbas was born in Cairo, Egypt. He had his primary education in Dar El Tefl school. Later on he enrolled in American University in Cairo as he graduated with a major in Mechanical Engineering. He decided to pursue art as his profession rather than Engineering.

Abbas took his first step as a professional singer being a member of "Pats Band" band with his partner in the band Aliaa Saleh and other friends. They covered a number of Egyptian and Arabic classing songs, such as "Halawet Shamsena", "Ala Remesh Oyonha", "El Wala Dah" and more. Then he met up with widely-known producer and singer Hameed El Shaery. They collaborated to produce successful songs that highlighted Abbas' position in the music scene. Songs like "Halal Aleik", "Allah Yesalem Halak", "Habetah", and "Saea Albak".

Abbas' career bloomed later on to release several songs. He rose in the early 1990s with successful hits like "Wana Wana Wana", "Eineha El Sood", "Ta'ala", "Ya Leila", "Shoofi" and his most successful hit, "Habibi Dah (Nari Narain)" featuring Indian singer Jayashri. Up to this day, he has 10 solo studio albums in his account. He received a number of awards, the most notable one was Orbit's Arabic Song Award in 1997.

He collaborated later on with Hamid El Shaery several times. Hamid featured him in the hit "Einy" which featured Lebanese model, now singer, Nicole Saba.

Studio Albums

Matbatalesh (2009)

Ta'ala Gamby (2007)

Sebha Tehebbak (2004)

Gowwa F Alby (2002)

Habibi Dah (2000–2001)

Kalam El Leil (1999)

Shoufi (1999)

Habaitha (1998)

Ya Leila (1997)

Gawabak (1996)

Zay El Aol (1995)

Ard El Sharq (1994)

Ta'ala (1994)

Hisham (1992)

Halah (1992)

Fainoh

Sahara

Collections/Compilations

Ahla Ma Ghanna Hisham Abbas / From The Best of Hisham Abbas

Atfal

Hisham Abbas Collection'

 Biography

Sattar was one of the six siblings born into an Abadani mother and Azeri father. His fame began at the age of 22 with the release of the theme song Khaneh Bedush for Morad Barghi, a popular television show in Iran. The show made him an instant star. His next hit came with the TV series "Ghesseye Eshq"" made by Mansour Poormand. His signature song is Hamsafar. With over 40 years of fame, Sattar has over 70 hits which include internationally known song of Gol-e Sangam.

Sattar in the 70s

Sattar has recorded over 350 songs and is among very few Persian singers who in addition to diverse sound of Pop, he performs both Persian Traditional and Classical music professionaly. Sattar has also recorded a number of cover songs in the English language such as 'Feelings', 'A time for us', 'Speak softly, Love' and 'I Believe' to name a few.

Discography

Single tracks

Khaneh Be Dooh (1972)

Shab o Divar (1972)

Shahre Gham (1972)

Hamsafar (1974)

Studio albums

40 Years of Memories (2013)

Ashk

Bani (1983)

Bazm Bahar

Bazm: Elaheh & Sattar

Bazm: Avaye Deldadegan

Bi Eshgh Hargez

Deltangi (1988)

Do Parande

Fasle Panjom

Gelayeh (2001)

Ghadam Ranje (1991)

Golbanoo

Gole Gandom

Gole Poone

Golhaye Ghorbat

Golhaye Rangarang

Hamsafar

Hekayat #3

Iran Iran (1981)

Kooche

Masti

Raghib (1984)

Sedaye Baroon

Setare Bazi

Shabe Asheghan

Shame Akhar

Shazde Khanoom

Tak Khal-Shenasname

Ziafat

Early life

Farhad was born in Tehran. His father was Reza Mehrad, an Iranian diplomat who worked in the Arabic countries for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Being the youngest child, he always behaved differently from his family members and everyone assumed he was trying to act like an adult.

When Farhad was three years of age, his love for music was noticed when he stayed outside his brother's room, listening to his violin lessons. His family bought Farhad a cello and he started taking lessons. After 3 lessons, his cello broke and as Farhad describes "the instrument broke into pieces so did my soul". That was the end of the cello for Farhad and his love and passion for music ended up to be only listening to his brother playing the violin.

When he went to school he found a passion for literature. He decided to study literature in high school but with the absence of his father, his uncle forced him to study science despite his weak results on all other subjects other than literature and English language. His interest being ignored; he quit high school in grade 11 because he had no love for what he was studying.

First band

After quitting high school he met an Armenian music band. Using their instruments, he learned music by experience and after a while he became the guitar player in the band. The band went to southern Iran to perform for the Iranian Oil Company Club – one of the biggest organizations in Iran with many foreign employees. Before the start of the first night's performance, the band made Farhad the singer, the excuse was the vocalist's absence. Farhad's attention and fuss for correct pronunciation of the words, and his knowledge of world literature came as a good advantage; when he performed a few songs in Italian, French and English, it was hard to believe his mother tongue was Persian. That led to the band's success and they performed for an extended number of nights.

Solo career

After a while Farhad quit the band and started his solo career. In 1964 he performed a few English songs on an Iranian TV show, where he captured the attention of more people.

Later, in an event sponsored by EtelaÃt Javanan, a popular youth magazine, he performed in "Amjadieh" Stadium. He played a few songs with the guitar which was followed by a huge crowd response.[verification needed] That was when Shahbal Shabpareh, the front man of the Iranian popular band "Black Cats" heard about Farhad.

Black Cats

In 1967 Sometime later after Shahbal and Farhad met, Farhad joined the Black Cats (band) as a vocalist, the guitar player and the piano player. The Black Cats members were Shahbal Shabpareh (percussion), Shahram Shabpareh (guitar), Hassan Shamaizadeh (saxophone), Homayoun Khajehnouri (guitar), and Manouchehr Eslami (trumpet). The band started playing in the Couchini Club.

Manouchehr Eslami called Farhad the most important member of the band saying: "Despite the fact that he couldn't read music sheets and had learned the music by listening and playing by experience, Farhad did not need to attend the practice sessions. By whispering the song a few times he could synchronize his voice and instrument with the other band members. In fact he attended the sessions only for the respect of other band members" said Eslami.

In the busiest and most successful time of the band, the first Persian song of Farhad, called Age Ye Jo shaans Daashti (With a little bit of luck) was used in dubbing the movie Banooye Zibaye Man (My Fair Lady) into Persian.

After a while Farhad left the Black Cats to take care of his sick sister in England. Farhad met a famous producer and he was offered a record deal by him. Farhad became ill and due to his illness and personal problems the deal never took place. The journey which was supposed to last for two months, took one year.

1969–1973

In 1969 Farhad sang "Marde Tanha" (A Lonely Man) for the movie Reza Motori (Reza, the Biker). The song was composed by Esfandyar Monfaredzadeh and the lyrics were written by Shahyar Ghanbari. After the release of the movie, the song was released on gramophone discs and Farhad became a well-known singer.

Farhad only sang songs which had a message and he believed in their messages. That's why after "Marde Tanha" he only released three singles during the years 1971 until 1973. Those were "Jomeh" (Friday), "Hafteye Khakestari" (The Grey Week) and "Ayeneh" (Mirror).

During the revolution

Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution and during the political conflicts of the 1970s in Iran, Farhad recorded six songs with revolutionary messages that became the Iranian's voice of unity.The day after the Iranian revolution, February 11, 1979, his song "Vahdat" (Unity) was broadcast on Iranian television in honor of revolution and freedom.

After the revolution

After revolution, the Islamic government turned its back on Farhad and refused to grant him permission to publish his album many times. Even the song "Vahdat" which once considered a song in honor of the revolution was refused permission to be released.[citation needed] The government's reason was the song is nothing new; but the fact was the Islamic Government was concerned about his popularity and his influence on people. The government wished Farhad to be forgotten.

Meanwhile, someone with strong connections within the Islamic government obtained official permission from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and released Farhad's singles which were recorded before the revolution as an album without Farhad's permission. He called the album Vahdat (Unity). Many Iranians bought the album to keep the memory of Farhad and his remarkable songs alive.

Comeback

In 1993, after 15 years of silence, Farhad was granted permission to release his first album Khab Dar Bidari (Sleep while awake) and it went straight to the top of the charts just after its release.

After this album Farhad lost hope in the Iranian government's grant of permission system and he released his next album Barf (Snow) in the United States in 1999. Barf was released in Iran a year later.

Last album

After Barf, Farhad decided to record an album with songs from different countries and in different languages. He decided to call the album Amin (Amen); he started recording, but he died before he could finish the album.

Death

Farhad's Grave, Thiais cemetery, Paris, France

In September 2000, after 2 years of treatment in Iran and France, Farhad's illness became serious. On August 31, 2002 he died of a malignant form of Hepatitis C in Paris.

His funeral was attended by many huge Iranian stars like Dariush[disambiguation needed], Ebi and many more famous Persian entertainers, and like all Iranians around the world mourned the death of this legend. Famous Persian lyricist Shahyar Ghanbari said that part of him died with Farhad. Farid Zoland said he was devastated by Farhad's death. Ebi said that he lost his best friend and favorite singer.Farhad was cremated and is buried in the Thiais cemetery just outside Paris.

From humble beginnings in a rural French Canadian home town, Celine Dion has risen to international superstardom like a shooting star. Celine has been called the premier contemporary pop vocalist of the Nineties. She has earned music industry accolades from around the world: Grammy Awards in the US, Juno and Felix Awards in Canada, and a World Music Award recognizing her status as the best-selling female artist of all time. The entire world has seen Celine Dion literally transform herself from a gifted pre-adolescent into an international superstar.

Born in Charlemagne (a small town 30 miles east of Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Celine is the youngest of 14 children of a highly musical family. Her parents, both musicians, operated a small club, and on weekends, the entire family performed and entertained the local population. From the tender age of 5, Celine sang with her siblings and quickly acquired the ability to perform live. At the age of twelve, together with her mother and one of her brothers, Celine composed a French song which would forever alter the course of her life. The demo tape containing the song was brought to the attention of René Angélil, a well respected personal manager. In January 1981, René was so taken by the voice of the young Celine, that he became determined to make her an internationally known talent - he even mortgaged his house to finance the recording of Celine's debut album! Celine began to receive recognition for her talent in 1982, winning the Gold Medal at the Yamaha World Song Festival in Tokyo, along with the coveted Musician's Award for Top Performer. In 1983, she became the first Canadian ever to receive a Gold Record in France. The streak of recognition had only just begun.

Awards

Over the course of her long career, Celine has received numerous awards in recognition of her music and success. Not only has Céline been highly recognized in her native Canada, she has received many awards all over the world.

2012

BAMBI Award – Germany
» Entertainment Category – In Recognition of Her Long-Standing Musical Career.

2008

Best Selling Canadian Artist - World Music Awards
» In recognition of being the top selling Canadian artist in 2008.

Honorary Félix Award - ADISQ Gala
» In recognition of having received more Félix awards than any other artist in the history of the gala.

Honorary Doctorate in Music Université Laval
» In recognition of her personal and professional achievements.

Companion of the Order of Canada 
» Appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in recognition of her worldwide musical influence as well as for her commitment to numerous humanitarian causes.

Legion of Honour - L’ordre national de la Légion d’honneur
» Appointed ‘Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur’ for her merits and contributions to France.

Walk of Fame - Poland
» Inducted into Poland’s Walk of Fame

2007

Legend Award - World Music Awards
» In recognition of a top recording artist for her global success and outstanding contribution to the music industry

Entertainer of the New Millennium – Nevada Commission on Tourism 
» For Contribution in the bettering of the quality of life for Nevada residents and for the immense success of A New Day...

2006

FIFI Award - The Fragrance Foundation - USA
» Best Packaging - Women's Popular Appeal for 'Belong'

2004

Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame - USA

Diamond Award - World Music Awards
» World’s Best Selling Female Artist of All Time

ELLA Award - Society of Singers - USA 
» For Contribution to Music and Humanitarian and Community Support

Woman of the Year - Nevada Ballet Theatre - USA
» For Significant Contribution to the Performing Arts

FIFI Award - The Fragrance Foundation - USA 
» Fragrance of the Year - Women's Popular Appeal for 'Celine Dion Parfums'

Dragon Award - Poland
» Female Artist of the Year - International

2003

American Music Award - USA (November)
» Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary

American Music Award - USA (January)
» Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary

Arion Music Award - Greece 
» Best Sales, International Album for ‘A New Day Has Come’

Dragon Award - Poland
» Female Artist of the Year – International

2002

Billboard Latin - USA
» Special Award for "My Heart Will Go On" as the first English-language song to top Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart

Victoire de la musique - France
» Original song of the Year - "Sous le vent" (duet with Garou)

Felix Award – Canada
» Most Successful Quebecois Artist in A Language Other Than French

2001

American Music Award - USA
» Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary

NRJ Music Award - France 
» Francophone group/duo for the duet "Sous le vent" with Garou

2000

Gold Disc Award - Japan 
» Pop Album of the Year - 'All The Way ... A Decade Of Song'

Gold Disc Award - Japan 
» Artist of the Year (International music category)

1999

Blockbuster Entertainment Award - USA
» Favourite Song From A Movie - "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic

Grammy Award - USA
» Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – “My Heart Will Go On”

Grammy Award - USA
» Record of the Year - “My Heart Will Go On”

Grammy Award - USA
» To James Horner & Will Jennings for Song of the Year – “My Heart Will Go On”

Grammy Award - USA
» To James Horner & Will Jennings for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or for Television – “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic

Golden Globe Award – USA
» To Carol Bayer, David Foster, Alberto Testa & Tony Renis for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture – “The Prayer”

American Music Award - USA
» Favourite Female Pop/Rock Artist

American Music Award - USA
» Favourite Adult Contemporary Artist

American Music Award – USA
» Favorite Soundtrack - “Titanic”

People's Choice Award - USA
» Favourite Female Music Performer

Performance Magazine Award- USA
» To René Angélil for Personal Manager of the Year

Juno Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist of the Year

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Album – ‘Let’s Talk About Love’

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) – ‘Let’s Talk About Love’

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Selling Francophone Album – ‘S’il suffisait d’aimer’

Juno Award – Canada
» International Achievement Award

Felix Award - Canada
» Félix de l’artiste québécois s’étant le plus illustré dans une autre langue que le français

Felix Award – Canada
» Most Successful Quebecois Artist in A Language Other Than French

Walk of Fame - Canada
» Inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame

Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame - Canada
» Inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame

Echo Award – Germany
» Most Successful International Female Artist

BAMBI Award – Germany
» For Sales of over 10 million CDs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Gold Disc Award – Japan
» Artist of the Year (International music category)

Gold Disc Award – Japan
» Song of the Year (International music category) – “My Heart Will Go On”

Gold Disc Award - Japan
» Pop Album of the Year – ‘These Are Special Times’

South African Music Award – South Africa
» Best Selling International Album – ‘Let’s Talk About Love’

World Music Award - Worldwide
» World’s Best Selling Female Pop Artistr

1998

American Music Award - USA
» Favourite Pop/Rock Female Artist

Performance Magazine Readers Poll Award - USA
» Best Pop Act

Golden Globe Award – USA
» To James Horner & Will Jennings for Best Original Song – “My Heart Will Go On”

Academy Award – USA
» To James Horner & Will Jennings for Best Original Song – “My Heart Will Go On”

BMI Pop Award – USA
» Song of the Year – “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”

VH1 Viewers Vote Award - USA
» Best Female Artist

VH1 Viewers Vote Award - USA
» Diva Of The Year

VH1 Viewers Vote Award – USA
» Artist of the Year

Billboard Music Award - USA
» Album Of The Year - 'Titanic'

Billboard Music Award - USA
» Female Album Of The Year - 'Let's Talk About Love'

Billboard Music Award - USA
» Soundtrack Album Of The Year - 'Titanic'

Billboard Music Award - USA
» Soundtrack Single Of The Year - "My Heart Will Go On"

Billboard Music Award - USA
» Album Artist Of The Year

Billboard Music Award - USA
» Adult Contemporary Artist Of The Year

Japan Record Award - Japan
» Special Achievement, International Artist – “My Heart Will Go On”

Japan Grand Prix – Japan
» Gold Disc Award for Best International Pop Album of the Year – ‘Let’s Talk About Love’

Japan Grand Prix - Japan
» Gold Disc Award for Artist of the Year – International music

Pop Corn Music Award – Greece
» Best Female Singer of the Year

Hungarian Record Industry Award – Hungary
» International Album of the Year – ‘Let’s Talk About Love’

The Order of Canada 
» Appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for outstanding contribution to the world of contemporary music

National Order of Québec - Canada
» Appointed Officer of the National Order of Québec

MuchMusic People’s Choice Award - Canada
» Video Award for Favourite Canadian Artist

South African Music Award – South Africa
» Best Selling International Album – ‘Falling Into You’

AMIGO Award - Spain
» Best International Female Artist

World Music Award – Worldwide
» World’s Best Selling Canadian Recording Artist of the Year

1997

World Music Award - Worldwide
» World's Best Selling Pop Artist of the Year

World Music Award - Worldwide
» World's Overall Best Selling Recording Artist of the Year

World Music Award - Worldwide
» World’s Best Selling Canadian Recording Artist of the Year

Félix Award - Canada
» Album Of The Year (Best Seller) - 'Live à Paris'

Félix Award - Canada
» Album Of The Year (Pop Rock) - 'Live à Paris'

Félix Award - Canada
» Most Successful Quebecois Artist Outside Quebec

Félix Award - Canada
» Most Successful Quebecois Artist in A Language Other Than French

Félix Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist Of The Year

Grammy Award - USA
» Album Of The Year - 'Falling Into You'

Grammy Award - USA
» Best Pop Album - 'Falling Into You'

Grammy Award – USA
»To Diane Warren for Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or For Television – “Because You Loved Me”

NARM Award – USA
» 1996/1997 Best Seller Award for Artist of the Year

NARM Award – USA
» 1996/1997 Best Seller Award for Recording of the Year – ‘Falling Into You’

NARM Award – USA
» 1996/1997 Best Seller Award for Pop Recording – ‘Falling Into You’

International Achievement in Arts Award – USA
» Entertainer of the Year for Distinguished Achievement in Music

Juno Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist Of The Year 

Juno Award - Canada

» Best Selling Francophone Album - 'Live à Paris'

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) - 'Falling Into You'

Juno Award - Canada

» International Achievement Award

Pop Corn Music Award – Greece
» Best Album of the Year – ‘Falling Into You’

Pop Corn Music Award – Greece
» Best Female Singer of the Year

Irish Recorded Music Award – Ireland
» Best International Female Artist Album – ‘Falling Into You’

Coca-Cola Full Blast Music Award – South Africa

» Most Popular International Artist of 1996

Malta Music Award – Malta
» Best Selling Female International Artist

FM Select Diamond Award – Hong Kong
» Top Female International Artist

Amigo Award – Spain
» Best International Female Artist

National TV2 Award – Denmark
» Best International Female Artist

1996

Félix Award - Canada

» Quebec artist achieving the most success outside the Province of Quebec

Félix Award - Canada
» Best Selling Album Of The Year – ‘D’Eux’

Félix Award - Canada
» Female Artist Of The Year

Félix Award - Canada
» Performance Of The Year

Félix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success in any language other than French

Médaille des Arts et Lettres (Medal of Arts and Letters) - France 
» Awarded Medaille des Arts et Lettres from France’s Minister of Culture recognizing her status as the best selling French-language artist in history

MIDEM Award - Europe
» Award for combined European sales of over 10 million units in 1995

MIDEM Award - Worldwide

» Award for sales of over 4 million units worldwide for the album 'D’eux'

IRMA Awards (Irish Recorded Music Awards) - Ireland
» Best International Female Artist Album

Victoires de la musique - France

» Best Song of the Year - "Pour que tu m’aimes encore"

Victoires de la musique - France
» Best Francophone Artist

Trophée Radio France International/Conseil Francophone de la chanson – France

» Awarded for the song “Pour que tu m’aimes encore”

VH1 Award - USA
» Artist Of The Year

BAMBI Award – Germany

» Top International Pop Star of the Year

Golden Disc Award – Japan
» International Music/Grand Prix Single Prize for “To Love You More”

World Music Award – Worldwide

» World’s best Selling Canadian Recording Artist of the Year

Malta Music Award – Malta
» Best Selling International Artist

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Selling Francophone Album of the Year – ‘D'eux'

1995

Ivor Novello Award – UK

» Song of the Year – “Think Twice”

Juno Award - Canada
» Album of The Year - 'The Colour of My Love'

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Selling Album (Foreign or Domestic) - 'The Colour of My Love'

World Music Award - Worldwide
» World’s Best-Selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year

Felix Award - Canada
» Pop/rock Album of the Year – ‘D’Eux’

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success outside the Province of Quebec 

Felix Award – Canada
» Most Popular Song of the Year – “Pour que tu m’aimes encore”

1994

Felix Award - Canada

» Quebec artist achieving the most success outside the province of Quebec

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success in a language other than French

Felix Award - Canada
» Female Artist of the Year

Juno Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist of the Year

Grammy Award – USA
» To David Foster & Jeremy Lubbock for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) – “When I Fall In Love”

1993

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success outside the province of Quebec

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success in a language other than French

Billboard Award - USA
» Billboard International Creative Achievement Award

Grammy Award – USA
» Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – “Beauty and the Beast”

Grammy Award – USA
» To Alan Menken & Howard Ashman for Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture Or For Television – “Beauty And The Beast”

Juno Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist of the Year

Juno Award - Canada
» Single of the Year - "Beauty and the Beast" (coincidentally nominated in the same category for "If You Asked Me To")

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Selling Francophone Album - 'Dion chante Plamondon'

Juno Award - Canada
» Best Dance Recording - "Love Can Move Mountains" (Club Mix)

1992

World Music Award - Worldwide
» World’s Best selling Canadian Female Recording Artist of the Year

Juno Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist of the Year 

Félix Award - Canada
» Best Selling Album of the Year - 'Dion chante Plamondon' 

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success in a language other than French 

Governor General’s Award
» Honoured with a medal of recognition on Canada's 125th Birthday from the Governor General for her contribution to Canadian culture 

MuchMusic Award - Canada
» Video Award for Best Adult Contemporary Video - "Je Danse dans ma Tete" 

Academy Award – USA
» Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “Beauty and the Beast”

1991

Juno Award - Canada

» Album of the Year – ‘Unison’ 

Juno Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist of the Year 

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success in a language other than French

1990

Billet platine - Canada
» Billet platine for the concert 'Celine Dion' 

MuchMusic Video Award - Canada
» Best Video for "Can't Live With You, Can't Live without You " (duet with Billy - Newton Davis)

1988

Eurovision Song Contest - Worldwide
» First Prize for “Ne Partez Pas Sans moi”

MetroStar Award – Canada
» Young Artist of the Year under 25 years of age

Felix Award - Canada
» Best Live Performance Of The Year for 'Celine Dion'' 

Felix Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist Of The Year

Felix Award - Canada
» Best Pop Song for "Incognito" 

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieveing the most success outside the province of Quebec _ Francophone Market

1985

Felix Award - Canada
» Album Of The Year - "Mélanie"

Felix Award - Canada

» Best Selling Album Of The Year - "Mélanie" 

Felix Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist Of The Year 

Felix Award - Canada
» Pop Song Of The Year - "Une colombe" 

Felix Award - Canada
» Best Selling Single of The Year - "Une colombe"

1984

Felix Award - Canada
» Best Selling Album - "Les chemins de ma maison" 

Felix Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist Of The Year

1983

Felix Award - Canada
» Best New Artist Of The Year 

Felix Award - Canada
» Pop Album of the year - "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" 

Felix Award - Canada
» Quebec artist achieving the most success outside the province of Quebec

Felix Award - Canada
» Female Vocalist Of The Year

1982

Yamaha World Song Festival
» Gold Medal - Yamaha World Song Festival, Tokyo Japan for Best Song - "Tellement J'ai D'Amour Pour Toi" 

Yamaha Symphony Orchestra Award
» Best Artist

Related Links 
Juno Awards
ASDIQ (Felix Awards)
Grammy Awards

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