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                                      Pasaules Muzika.

Pasaules Muzikas dziedataji kas izspilda labakas dziesmas.Sie Craig David ,Will Young,Us5,Bee gees,Sting,criss-Rea.Viens no Rnb Zvaigznem ir (Craig David ,kas ir uzstajies riga(New Wave(2006).Seven Day Dziesmu.Craig Davidam ir 6.albumi(Born to do It,Story of Goes,Trustme,Silcker Average,Great hits.).

                               will Yong.

Recording

Young's first single was a double A-side featuring Westlife's song "Evergreen" and "Anything Is Possible", a new song written for the winner of the show by Chris Braide and Cathy Dennis. In March 2002, this became the fastest-selling debut in UK chart history, selling 403,027 copies on its day of release (1,108,659 copies in its first week). It went on to sell over 1.7 million copies, and on the official list of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK issued later that year, it was ranked eleventh. In 2008, Official Charts Company released the Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles of the 21st Century (so far) in which Will's version of Evergreen topped the chart [3]. On 31 December 2009, Radio 1 confirmed that "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen" was the biggest selling single of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom.[3] "Anything Is Possible" won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

In October 2002, Young released his debut album, From Now On, which included "Evergreen" nominated in the Best single category in 2003 at the BRIT Awards and "Anything Is Possible". It produced three singles: "Light My Fire", "The Long and Winding Road" (a duet with Gareth Gates, released as a double A-side with Gates's song "Suspicious Minds") and "Don't Let Me Down"/"You and I" (released in aid of Children in Need). He won his first BRIT Award in February 2003 as Best Breakthrough Artist.[4]

Young's second album, Friday's Child, was released in December 2003. It features the singles "Leave Right Now", nominated in the Best British single category of the past 25 years at the 2005 BRIT Awards "Your Game" (which won Young his second BRIT Award in 2005)[5] and "Friday's Child" In November 2005, Young released his third album, Keep On, which included the single "All Time Love", nominated in the Best British Single category at the 2007 BRIT Awards. Other singles from the album were "Switch It On" and "Who Am I".

Young has been nominated for Ten BRIT Awards [4 x Best British Male - 4 X Best British single - Best pop Act- Best Breakthrough] . In May 2006, he was voted the UK's favourite artist ever in a poll conducted by commercial radio[citation needed]. In May 2007, he was voted the UK's favourite artist of all time for the second consecutive year[citation needed]. As of 13 December 2009, Will Young has more weeks at number 1 on the official UK Singles chart in the 2000s than any other solo artist with 15[citation needed]. Jay-Z also has 15 weeks in this position but this figure includes numerous collaborations rather than solo.

On 29 September 2008, Young's fourth album, Let It Go , was released it peaked at #2, preceded by the single "Changes" on 15 September it peaked at #10. His next single "Grace" was released on 1 December 2008, and peaked at #33 on the UK Singles Chart.[6] Will's third single taken from the album will be "Let It Go", was released on 2 March 2009 in the UK, and peaked at #58 on the UK Singles Chart[7][8]. The fourth and final single was "Tell Me the Worst", and was released on July 5, 2009 only in the UK. It served as a club promo, and featured some Fred Falke remixes[9].

On an interview with Digital Spy, he revealed that he was working on a Dance-Pop album, which might be released in late 2009. He also confirmed that he was working with British duo Groove Armada, Superbass, who remixed his UK Top 10 single "Changes", and Gregg Alexander, who has previously worked with British pop diva Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Geri Halliwell. He also confirmed that he is working on an album covering songs from Noel Coward, which is yet on the very early stages and he "doesn't know if it will end up".[10].

It has been confirmed that a greatest hits collection was released on November 16, 2009, and it includes two brand new songs, one of them the single "Hopes & Fears". The album was a success on the charts, being certified Platinum by the BPI.[11]. [edit] Performing

In early 2002, Young joined his fellow Pop Idol contestants in a nationwide arena tour. The final concert at Wembley was in aid of The Prince's Trust, of which Young is an ambassador, together with Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh, the runner-up and third-placed contestant in Pop Idol. In June 2002, Young performed at the Queen's Jubilee Concert in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, singing "We Are the Champions" with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor.[12]

During July 2002, Young sang at two concerts with the renowned songwriter Burt Bacharach at Hammersmith Apollo and at the Liverpool Summerpops event. In August 2002, he performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, singing "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" in the pouring rain. He was praised by the announcer, Grandmaster Flash, who said that it was not easy entering a talent show. November 2002 brought an appearance at the Royal Command Performance.[13] In November 2003, Young performed the wartime song "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square", accompanied by The Squadronaires, at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Following a sell-out theatre tour in 2004, Young appeared at The Olympic Torch Concert, performing a duet of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" with soul legend James Brown. Later that year, he embarked upon his first solo arena tour, another sell-out success. He toured again at outside festival venues in mid 2005. In July 2005, he performed at Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push, the final concert of Live 8, a charity concert in Edinburgh to raise awareness of the plight of Africa, where he duetted with James Brown once again and also sang with One Giant Leap, Neneh Cherry and Maxi Jazz. In November 2005, Young appeared in his second Royal Command Performance.[13]

In May 2006, he sang at The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday, which took place at the Tower of London.[14] From 12 September until 2 October 2006, Young toured the UK with his Keep On Live tour, which included the songs taken from his album Keep On and a selection of past songs. The official merchandise range for the tour, highlighted by the press, included a "tip and strip" pen which, when turned over, reveals Young in his underpants. In October 2006, Young sang at Nitin Sawhney's concert in the BBC Electric Proms series of concerts. He followed this by performing in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's Unite of the Stars charity concerts.[15]

In July 2007, he appeared at the Concert for Diana at the new Wembley Stadium. Young was the headline act at the Proms in the Park,[16] which took place in Hyde Park in September 2007 as part of the Last Night of the Proms. In September 2007, Young performed at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Vanguard Big Band. Young took part in the Little Noise Sessions, a series of intimate, acoustic gigs for the learning disability charity, Mencap. He performed in November 2007 with special guests at Islington's Union Chapel.

In April 2008, Young again appeared at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Vanguard Big Band. Young is to perform at various festivals during mid 2008, including Glastonbury, T In the Park[17] in Scotland and Bestival[18] on the Isle of Wight.

On 24 August 2008 Young appeared at the Olympic Party which took place in The Mall, London. He performed his latest single Changes and I Can See Clearly Now, which was originally sung by Johnny Nash.[19]

Young is also featured singing in trailers for the recording/film making group 1 Giant Leap's newest project "What About Me?"[20]

Young was the featured singer on the X-Factor programme on ITV1 on Saturday 1 November 2008. He also mentored the remaining contestants.[21]

Young performed in a sell-out theatre tour, commencing on 16 November 2008 and continuing until 13 December 2008 with two dates at The Roundhouse in Camden, London.

On 31 December 2008 Young was featured as a guest on Elton John's Live New Year show at the O2 Arena in London. He joined Sir Elton in the song Daniel.

Young will be performing at various festivals across the UK during the summer of 2009, starting with the Isle of Wight Festival on Saturday 13 June, including T4 On The Beach on Sunday 19 July.

Young was one of the performers at the BBC's Live at Blackpool programme on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday 5 September 2009.[22]

Young toured again in the UK at the end of 2009. He took to the stage at The Waterfront, Belfast on the opening night on 9 November, finishing up at the Brighton Centre on 6 Decembe

                                         Craig david

aig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English R&B singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums: Born To Do It, Slicker Than Your Average, The Story Goes..., Trust Me, a Greatest Hits album and the fifth studio offering Signed Sealed Delivered is due in March 2010. David has sold over 13 million albums worldwide.[1] Contents [hide]

   * 1 Early life
   * 2 Career
         o 2.1 2000–2001: Born to Do It
         o 2.2 2002–2003: Slicker Than Your Average
         o 2.3 2005–2006: The Story Goes...
         o 2.4 2007–2008: Trust Me
         o 2.5 2008–2009: Greatest Hits
         o 2.6 2009
         o 2.7 2010: Signed Sealed Delivered
   * 3 Discography
   * 4 Awards and nominations
   * 5 References
   * 6 External links

[edit] Early life

Craig David was born in Southampton, the son of a half-Jewish white mother and a Grenadian father.[2] His father George was a carpenter and also played bass in a reggae band called Ebony Rockers. As a teen, David began accompanying his father to local dance clubs, where DJs let him take the microphone. [edit] Career

David's earliest exposure came when he worked on a b-side to British group Damage's cover of "Wonderful Tonight". He then started doing vocals for a few tracks with garage act Artful Dodger. The song "Re-Rewind", from the Artful Dodger album It's All About the Stragglers, hit Number 2 on the UK charts in 1999; thus, paving the way for a solo career. David's first single, "Fill Me In", released on Colin Lester's and Ian McAndrew's Wildstar Records made him the youngest solo male artist ever to reach Number 1 in the UK (he was 19 years old at the time). This was the first of a string of four Top 10 singles from his debut album Born To Do It, which eventually sold more than seven million units worldwide, earning multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries.[3][4] The song "Key To My Heart", taken from the US version of the album, was also featured on the award-winning Warner Brothers animated film Osmosis Jones. [edit] 2000–2001: Born to Do It

The success of David's debut, which was written almost entirely by David and Mark Hill of Artful Dodger, led to the United States release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001. It reached Number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Born to Do It was released in the United States on 17 July 2001, peaking at Number 11 on the Billboard 200 and sold over one million copies. The single "7 Days" hit the Top 10 in the U.S.; although "Walking Away", which had reached Number 3 in the UK and Number 5 in Australia, missed the Top 40 in the U.S. and was the last of his singles to chart there.

In April 2009, MTV viewers voted Born To Do It as Number 2 on their "Greatest Album of All-Time" poll.[5] [edit] 2002–2003: Slicker Than Your Average

The follow-up album, Slicker Than Your Average, was released in 2002 and fared considerably less well than David's debut. The albums' first four singles continued his streak of Top 10 hits in the UK, bringing a total of nine consecutive Top 10 hits until "World Filled with Love" peaked at Number 15 in 2003. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the U.S.. Although "What's Your Flava?" and "Rise & Fall" (duet with Sting) received airplay on the Urban contemporary and Soft AC formats, they did not make the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Tracks chart or the Adult Contemporary chart. However, "What's Your Flava?" made the Rhythmic Top 40 (Number 32), Top 40 Mainstream (Number 24) and the Top 40 Tracks (Number 37). According to the RIAA Slicker Than Your Average reached Gold Status in the USA. [edit] 2005–2006: The Story Goes...

David later signed on with Warner Music and put together his third album, The Story Goes..., which was released worldwide in August 2005 (excluding the U.S. where it was never released). The first single, "All The Way", returned him to the Top 3. The second single, "Don't Love You No More (I'm Sorry)", tied with "7 Days" as his longest running single in the charts since "Re-Rewind", spending 15 weeks inside the UK Top 75. The album's third single, "Unbelievable", debuted at Number 18 in March 2006. [edit] 2007–2008: Trust Me

In 2007, David collaborated with UK rapper Kano on his upcoming album London Town, for the single "This is the Girl". The track was released on 27 August 2007 and debuted at Number 18 on the UK charts.

The first single "Hot Stuff" from his album Trust Me, was released on 5 November 2007 . The single was a top ten hit, whilst the album charted at Number 18 on the UK Albums Chart. "6 of 1 Thing", the second single to be taken from Trust Me, charted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his third-lowest charting single to date.

"Officially Yours" was released on 23 June 2008 and peaked at Number 158 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming his lowest-charting single to date and was the final single from Trust Me.

In July, a new track titled "Are You Up For This" started receiving airplay on various radio stations as part of a promo with Ice Cream Records, which also featured a remix with Witty Boy.

On 17 August, David performed at a birthday tribute concert for songwriter Don Black at the London Palladium. He performed the song "Ben", originally a hit for Michael Jackson.

David took part in Soccer Aid 2008 at Wembley Stadium on 7 September 2008. He picked up the "Man of The Match" award on the night and played in the same England side as ex-internationals such as Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and David Seaman, and played against the likes of Romário, Paolo Di Canio, Jaap Stam, and Luís Figo.

David received two 2008 UK Urban Music Award nominations for Best Album with Trust Me and Best R&B Act.[6]

On 7 November, David was recognised for his contribution to the music industry by receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Music, from Southampton Solent University at a graduation ceremony held at Southampton Guildhall.

On 29 December, a new mix of "Insomnia", titled "Up All Night Mix", was made available for digital download. [edit] 2008–2009: Greatest Hits

David released his first Greatest Hits album on 24 November 2008. In support of the release, David released two singles to promote the album. "Where's Your Love" featuring Tinchy Stryder and Rita Ora, a homage to his UK garage days, was digitally released on 10 November 2008. The second single, "Insomnia", produced by Jim Beanz from Timbaland productions, a dance track with hard bassline beats, was released the following week on 17 November 2008.

As part of the "Greatest Hits" compilation, David re-recorded "Walking Away" with four different artists across Europe, Monrose from Germany, Nek from Italy, Lynnsha from France and Alex Ubago from Spain.

The album debuted at Number 48 on the UK Albums Chart.

From February to April 2009, David toured Russia, the Far East and performed one show in Los Angeles as part of a Greatest Hits tour. He met fans at a meet and greet session at Singapore Changi Airport before his show[7].

In April 2009, Born to Do It came second in a poll by MTV for the Greatest Album ever, which received over 40,000 votes, beaten by Michael Jackson’s album 'Thriller'.[8].

On 14 May 2009, David participated in the Hillsborough Memorial football match at Anfield.

On 26 July 2009, David participated in the Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match at St. James' Park, playing alongside boyhood hero Alan Shearer. [edit] 2009

Friday 18 September 2009 saw an exclusive demo posted on his official website, a thirty second snippet covering Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours', said to be from Craig David's forthcoming album.

On 2 October, David revealed to his fans via Twitter and his website that he had signed a new record deal with Universal.[9]

The UK edition of Jay Sean's new album 'All or Nothing' which was released on 30 November 2009 features Craig on a track entitled Stuck In The Middle. [edit] 2010: Signed Sealed Delivered

The first single from Craig's fifth studio album "Signed Sealed Delivered" is "One More Lie (Standing In The Shadows)". It will be released in the UK on 15 March 2010,[10] with the album following one week later on 22 March 2010. [edit] Discography Main article: Craig David discography

Studio albums

   * Born To Do It (2000)
   * Slicker Than Your Average (2002)
   * The Story Goes... (2005)
   * Trust Me (2007)
   * Signed Sealed Delivered (2010)

Compilation albums

   * Greatest Hits (2008)

[edit] Awards and nominations

   * BET Awards
         o 2002: Best R&B Male Artist (Nominated)
         o 2002: Best New Artist (Nominated)

   * BRIT Awards
         o 2006: Best British Urban Act (Nominated)
         o 2003: Best British Urban Act (Nominated)
         o 2003: Best British Male Solo Artist (Nominated)
         o 2002: Best British Album: Born to Do It (Nominated)
         o 2002: Best British Dance Act (Nominated)
         o 2002: Best British Male Solo Artist (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best British Album: Born to Do It (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best British Dance Act (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best British Male Solo Artist (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best British Newcomer (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best British Single: "7 Days" (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best British Video: "7 Days" (Nominated)

   * Goldene Kamera
         o 2004: Pop International

   * Grammy Awards
         o 2003: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: "7 Days" (Nominated)
         o 2002: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: "Fill Me In" (Nominated)

   * Ivor Novello Awards
         o 2001: Best Contemporary Song: "7 Days"
         o 2001: Best Dance Single Award: "Woman Trouble", shared with Robbie Craig and Artful Dodger
         o 2001: Songwriter Of The Year, shared with Mark Hill

   * MOBO Awards
         o 2001: Best UK Act
         o 2001: Best R&B Act (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best Album: Born to Do It (Nominated)
         o 2000: Best R&B Act
         o 2000: Best UK Newcomer
         o 2000: Best UK Single of the Year: "Fill Me In"
         o 2000: Best Video: "7 Days" (Nominated)
         o 2000: Best UK Single of the Year: "Woman Trouble" (Nominated), shared with Robbie Craig and Artful Dodger

   * MTV Europe Awards
         o 2001: Best Male (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best New Act (Nominated)
         o 2001: Best R&B Act
         o 2001: Best UK & Ireland Act

   * MTV Video Music Awards
         o 2002: Best Male Video: "Walking Away" (Nominated)
         o 2001: MTV2 Award: "Fill Me In" (Nominated)

   * MTV Video Music Awards Japan
         o 2006: Best R&B Video: "All The Way" (Nominated)
         o 2003: Best Male Video: "What's Your Flava?"

   * Radio Music Awards
         o 2001: Most Requested Song: "Fill Me In" (Nominated)

   * Other awards and honors
         o Honorary Degree, Doctor of Music, Southampton Solent University, 7 Novem

Craig David by Jonathan Andel, 2009 Background information Birth name Craig Ashley David Born 5 May 1981 (1981-05-05) (age 28) Southampton, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom Genres Pop, R&B dance, UK garage,hip hop Occupations Singer-songwriter, MC Years active 1999 — present Labels Universal (2009-Present) Warner / Atlantic (1999-2009) Sire (1999-2009) Website www.craigdavid.com

Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English R&B singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums: Born To Do It, Slicker Than

                                      Ne-Yo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 (Redirected from Ne-yo)

Jump to: navigation, search This article is semi-protected due to vandalism. Ne-Yo

Background information Birth name Shaffer Chimere Smith Also known as Ne-Yo Born October 18, 1979 (1979-10-18) (age 30) Camden, Arkansas Origin Los Angeles, California Genres R&B, pop Occupations Singer–songwriter, record producer, actor Instruments Vocals, piano Years active 1999–present Labels Def Jam Associated acts Keri Hilson, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Rihanna, Stargate, Beyoncé, Chrisette Michele, The Game, Ciara, Leona Lewis, Keisha Buchanan, Jadakiss, Alexandra Burke, Fabolous, Michael Jackson Website www.yearofthegentleman.com

Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer–songwriter, record producer, actor, and occasional rapper. Since his debut, Ne-Yo has had five top ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist and two number-one albums on the Billboard 200. Ne-Yo has also amassed a catalog of chart-topping songs that he has written for other artists.

Ne-Yo broke into the recording industry as a songwriter, penning the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario. The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head, and signing a recording contract.

In 2006, he released his debut album, In My Own Words, which contained the US number one hit "So Sick". Then in 2007, he released his sophomore album, Because of You which contained the US top 3 hit, "Because of You". In 2008, he released his third album, Year of the Gentleman, which contained the top 10 hits "Closer" and "Miss Independent". Contents [hide]

   * 1 Early life
   * 2 Career
         o 2.1 2000-2005: Career beginnings
         o 2.2 2006-2007: In My Own Words and Because of You
         o 2.3 2008-2009: Year of the Gentleman and Greatest Hits
   * 3 Other ventures
         o 3.1 Songwriting and production
         o 3.2 Film appearances
   * 4 Personal life
   * 5 Discography
   * 6 Filmography
   * 7 See also
   * 8 References
   * 9 External links

Early life

Ne-Yo was born in Camden, Arkansas, and baptized as Shaffer Chimere Smith.[1] His father is African American and his mother is of mixed African American and Chinese American descent;[2] both were musicians.

As a young child, he was raised by his mother alone after she separated from his father.[3] In hopes of better opportunity, his mother relocated the family to Las Vegas, Nevada. Career 2000-2005: Career beginnings Ne-Yo performing in July 2005

Ne-Yo emerged into the recording industry as member of the Las Vegas-based quartet Envy.[4] After the group disbanded in 2000, Ne-Yo was signed to Columbia Records, but, after recording his first album, was dropped from the label before he could even release it.[5] American singer Marques Houston happened to hear one of Ne-Yo's tracks, "That Girl", which was supposed to be the latter's debut single off his then-unreleased album. Houston rerecorded "That Girl" and released it as a single to his 2003 album MH.[4] The release of the song led to Ne-Yo being recognized as a top songwriter.[4]

For the next two years, Ne-Yo continued writing songs, some of which have not been officially released.[4] He contributed songs to American singer Teedra Moses's 2004 album Complex Simplicity, Christina Milian's It's About Time, and the American boy band Youngstown,[6] though all of which failed to give Ne-Yo much attention from the mainstream.[4] Ne-Yo has also contributed songs to American singer Mary J. Blige, B2K, Faith Evans and Musiq, among others.[7]

Ne-Yo broke into the industry after "Let Me Love You", a song he wrote for American singer Mario, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and later stayed on the top spot for nine weeks.[6][8] After the successful release, Tina Davis, former A&R representative for Def Jam Recordings, arranged an informal meeting with label head L.A. Reid.[4] Originally, Ne-Yo was not seeking a new contract, but, after he had performed to them, he was signed by American hip hop artist Jay-Z, then-CEO of Def Jam.[5][7]

"Ne-Yo" was coined by a producer Ne-Yo once worked with, Big D Evans,[9] because Evans claimed that Ne-Yo sees music as Neo sees the matrix.[10] As a joke, Evans started calling him Ne-Yo until everybody was accustomed to it.[3] 2006-2007: In My Own Words and Because of You

In early 2006, Ne-Yo released his debut album, In My Own Words, through Def Jam. Boosted by its popular second single, "So Sick", the album debuted at number one on Billboard 200, selling over 301,000 copies in the first week.[11] During the same week, the single had reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[8] Later singles released were "When You're Mad" and "Sexy Love", which peaked at number 15 and number 7, respectively.[12] The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for a shipment of over one million units.[13]

His sophomore album, Because of You, was released on May 1, 2007, and, fueled by its lead single, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 251,000 copies in the United States; the feat gave Ne-Yo his second number-one album.[14] The first single from the platinum-selling album was the title track, which peaked at the number-two spot.[12] Despite the success of "Because of You", later singles released charted lower and were unable to reach the Top 20.[12] The album has been certified platinum by RIAA for a shipment of over one million units.[13] In December 2007, Ne-Yo and the Goo Goo Dolls performed at a fund-raising concert for the then presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.[15] 2008-2009: Year of the Gentleman and Greatest Hits

Ne-Yo's third album, Year of the Gentleman, was first released on September 11, 2008, in Japan. The album sold 250,000 copies in its first week in the United States, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number two.[16] Reviews for the album were positive: in one of which, Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Year of the Gentleman is "actually a superb concept album about what a great boyfriend he [Ne-Yo] can be".[17]

The first two singles, "Closer" and "Miss Independent", have peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards, "Closer" for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and "Miss Independent" for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.[18] Year of the Gentleman has been certified platinum by RIAA for a shipment of more than one million copies.[13] The third single, "Mad", peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In September 2 2009, Ne-Yo released greatst hits album Ne-Yo: The Collection in Japan.[19] The album was also released with a limited edition CD+DVD edition complete with the music videos of singles.[20] It debuted at number four on Japan Oricon weekly albums chart, selling 55,625 copies in the first week.[21] Other ventures Ne-Yo promoting Because of You in 2007 Songwriting and production

Ne-Yo frequently co-writes with Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen of the Norwegian production team Stargate. Ne-Yo met them in a hallway at Sony Music Studios in New York, and having known the team produces R&B records, he decided to collaborate with them. The collective's early works were tracks off In My Own Words including "So Sick".[22]

Aside from working on his own album, Ne-Yo also collaborates with several other artist. His works include: Rihanna's top-ten single "Unfaithful" and later her number-one hit "Take a Bow" in 2008, Mario Vazquez's "Gallery", Paula DeAnda's "Walk Away (Remember Me)", and Beyoncé Knowles' Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Irreplaceable", which stayed on the chart for ten consecutive weeks.[1] He wrote the song "I'm You" for Leona Lewis's debut album Spirit, and is currently writing songs for her next album and for the debut album of fellow X Factor winner Alexandra Burke. He has also been working with Sugababes for their seventh album, with member Keisha Buchanan confirming that Ne-Yo had written a song called 'No More You' for their album.[23]

Ne-Yo has also written songs for Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Anastacia, Ciara, Corbin Bleu, and Enrique Iglesias.[1][24] He also collaborated with Lindsay Lohan on her new material, having already finished "Bossy", a pre-single for her new album Spirit in the Dark.[25] Ne-Yo confirmed that he had been contacted by producer will.i.am to work on what would have been Michael Jackson's new album.[26] However, at the time of Jackson's death, Ne-Yo's collaborations with him had yet to move past the writing stage.[27] In 2009, he wrote "Truth～最後の真実～" for Japanese pop group w-inds..[28]

Ne-Yo ventured out to open his own recording studio called Carrington House in Atlanta, Georgia.[29] He also had started his own production company, Compound Entertainment, in 2007, and has hired several producers and songwriters in hopes of turning it into a full-pledge record label. It successfully became a label, and artists such as Paula Campbell, Sixx John, and Shanell are now associated with Compound.[5][29] Film appearances

Ne-Yo appeared in two films. He debuted on the silver screen with Save the Last Dance 2 in 2006 and later with Stomp the Yard in 2007. He contributed songs to the soundtracks to both films.[30] Ne-Yo is set to star in, executive produce and write the soundtrack to the film Venice Beach.[31] Personal life

Ne-Yo's then-girlfriend had a son in 2005, naming him Chimere after Ne-Yo's middle name.[1] Though Ne-Yo believed he was the father, he later discovered the child was not his. He is now in litigation with the child's mother.[32]

Ne-Yo was arrested for reckless driving on February 19, 2008, while driving through Cobb County, Georgia. He was driving at over 100 mph in his 2006 Range Rover and did not have a valid license. It was reported that he was doing about 105 mph, 50 mph over the speed limit. According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Ne-Yo was sentenced to 24 hours community service by a judge on June 2, 2008, after he pleaded guilty to driving without a license and pleaded no contest to the reckless driving charge.[33] Discography Main article: Ne-Yo discography

   * In My Own Words (2006)
   * Because of You (2007)
   * Year of the Gentleman (2008)

Filmography Year Movie Role Other notes 2007 Save the Last Dance 2 Mixx 2007 Stomp the Yard Rich Brown 2009 Red Tails Andrew 'Smoky' Salem Post-production 2011 Battle: Los Angeles TBA Filming 2011 4Chosen Keshon Moore Pre-production See also

   * List of awards and nominations received by Ne-Yo

                                   Sting (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Please consider splitting content into sub-articles and using this article for a summary of the key points of the subject. (December 2009) Sting

Sting at the 2009 premiere of Moon Background information Birth name Gordon Matthew Sumner Also known as Sting Born 2 October 1951 (1951-10-02) (age 58) Wallsend, England Genres Rock, pop, adult contemporary Occupations Musician, Singer-songwriter, Producer, Actor, school teacher. Instruments Vocals, Bass guitar, Guitar, Double bass, Keyboards, Saxophone, Lute Years active 1971–present Labels A&M Records Deutsche Grammophon Universal Music Group Associated acts The Police Website Sting Notable instruments Fender Precision Bass,

Fender Jazz Bass

Sting, CBE (born Gordon Matthew Sumner; 2 October 1951) is a British musician, activist, actor and philanthropist.

Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock music band The Police. As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has received sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, and receiving an Oscar nomination for best song. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Contents [hide]

   * 1 Early life
   * 2 The Police
   * 3 Early solo work
   * 4 1980s
   * 5 1990s
   * 6 2000s
   * 7 Acting
   * 8 Activism
   * 9 Personal life
   * 10 Views and advocacy
   * 11 Discography
   * 12 Bibliography
   * 13 Awards and nominations
   * 14 See also
   * 15 References
   * 16 External links

[edit] Early life

Sumner was born in Wallsend, England, near Newcastle upon Tyne,[1] the eldest of four children born to Audrey (née Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, a milkman and engineer.[2] His parents had three more children: Philip, Angela and Anita. Young Gordon would often assist his father with the early-morning milk-delivery rounds and his "best friend" was an old Spanish guitar with five rusty strings which had been left behind by an uncle who had emigrated to Canada.[3]

He attended St. Cuthbert's High School in Newcastle upon Tyne. He would often sneak into nightclubs like the Club-A-Go-Go, where he would watch acts such as Cream and Jimi Hendrix, artists who would later influence his own music. After jobs as a bus conductor, a construction labourer, and a tax officer, he attended Northern Counties College of Education, (which later became part of Northumbria University) from 1971 to 1974 and qualified as a teacher.[4] He then worked as a schoolteacher at St. Paul's Middle School in Cramlington for two years.

His first music gigs were wherever he could get a playing job. He performed evenings, weekends, and during breaks from college and from teaching in jazz groups. He played with local jazz bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit. He gained his nickname after he performed wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes while onstage with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought that the sweater made him look like a wasp, which prompted the nickname "Sting". In a press conference filmed in the movie Bring on the Night, he jokingly stated when referred to by a journalist as Mr. Sumner, "My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?"[5] [edit] The Police Main article: The Police

In January 1977, Sting moved from Newcastle to London, and soon thereafter he joined Stewart Copeland and Henry Padovani (who was soon replaced by Andy Summers) to form the New Wave band The Police. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five chart-topping albums and won six Grammy Awards. Although their initial sound was punk inspired, The Police soon switched to reggae-tinged rock and minimalist pop. Their last album, Synchronicity, which included their most successful song, "Every Breath You Take", was released in 1983. While never formally breaking up, after Synchronicity the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, particularly Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming. In 2007, however, the band reformed and undertook a world tour. [edit] Early solo work

In September 1981, Sting made his first live solo appearance, performing on all four nights of the fourth Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman's Other Ball at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis. He performed solo versions of "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle". He also led an all-star band (dubbed "The Secret Police") on his own arrangement of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released". The band and chorus included Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, all of whom except Beck later worked together on Live Aid. His performances were featured prominently in the album and movie of the show and drew critical attention to his work. Sumner's participation in The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the beginning of his growing involvement in raising money and consciousness for political and social causes. In 1982 he released a solo single, "Spread a Little Happiness" from the film version of the Dennis Potter television play Brimstone and Treacle. The song was a re-interpretation of a song from the 1920s musical Mr. Cinders by Vivian Ellis, and was a surprise Top 20 hit in the UK. [edit] 1980s

His first solo album, 1985's The Dream of the Blue Turtles, featured a cast of accomplished jazz musicians, including Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones, Omar Hakim, and Branford Marsalis. It included the hit single "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free". The single included a fan favourite non-LP track titled "Another Day". The album also yielded the hits "Fortress Around Your Heart", "Russians", and "Love Is the Seventh Wave". Within a year, it reached Triple Platinum. This album would help Sting garner a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The film Bring on the Night, directed by Michael Apted, documented the formation of the band and its first concert in France. Sting performing in 1985

Also in 1985, he sang the introduction and chorus to "Money for Nothing", a groundbreaking song by Dire Straits (he was given co-writer status and receives royalties based on his somewhat minor performance, supposedly because he reused his melody from The Police hit "Don't Stand So Close to Me" for his vocal parts. It is one of only two shared songwriting credits on any Dire Straits album). He performed this song with Dire Straits at the Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium. He also provided a short guest vocal performance on the Miles Davis album You're Under Arrest. He also sang backing vocals in Arcadia's single "The Promise" from their only album, So Red the Rose. He also contributed a version of "Mack the Knife" to the Hal Willner-produced tribute album Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill. In 1984 he performed a song with a band called Band Aid. The song was, Do They Know It's Christmas for the relief of poverty in Africa.

He released ...Nothing Like the Sun in 1987, including the hit songs "We'll Be Together", "Fragile", "Englishman in New York", and "Be Still My Beating Heart", dedicated to his recently-deceased mother. It eventually went Double Platinum. The song "The Secret Marriage" from this album was adapted from a melody by German composer Hanns Eisler, and "Englishman In New York" was about the eccentric writer Quentin Crisp. The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.

Soon thereafter, in February 1988, he released Nada como el sol, a selection of five songs from Sun sung (by Sting himself) in Spanish and Portuguese. He was also involved in two other recordings in the late 1980s, the first in 1987 with noted jazz arranger Gil Evans who placed Sting in a big band setting for a live album of Sting's songs (the CD was not released in the U.S.), and the second on Frank Zappa's 1988 Broadway the Hard Way album, where Sting performs an unusual arrangement of "Murder By Numbers", set to the tune "Stolen Moments" by jazz composer Oliver Nelson, and "dedicated" to fundamentalist evangelist Jimmy Swaggart. October 1988 saw the release of Igor Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale with the London Sinfonietta conducted by Kent Nagano. It featured Vanessa Redgrave, Sir Ian McKellen and Sting in the role of the soldier. [edit] 1990s

His 1991 album The Soul Cages was dedicated to his recently deceased father and included the Top 10 song "All This Time", which reached #5 on the U.S. Pop chart, and the Grammy-winning "The Soul Cages". The album eventually went Platinum. The following year, he married Trudie Styler and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in music from Northumbria University. In 1991, Sting appeared on "Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin ", an album dedicated to the singer/songwriter duo. Sting performed "Come Down in Time", for the album which also features other popular artists and their renditions of John/Taupin Songs. The album was released on 22 October 1991 by Polydor. In 1993, he released the album Ten Summoner's Tales, which went Triple Platinum in just over a year. Ten Summoner's Tales was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1993 and nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1994. The title is wordplay on his surname, Sumner and The Summoner's Tale, one of The Canterbury Tales. The single, "Fields of Gold" had moderate success on radio airways. Concurrent video albums were released to support Soul Cages (a live concert) and Ten Summoner's Tales (recorded during the recording sessions for the album).

In May 1993, he released a cover of his own classic Police song from the Ghost in the Machine album, "Demolition Man" for the Demolition Man film. Together with Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting performed the chart-topping song "All for Love" for the film The Three Musketeers. The song stayed at the top of the U.S. charts for five weeks and went Platinum; it is to date Sting's only song from his post-Police career to top the U.S. charts. In February, he won two more Grammy Awards and was nominated for three more. The Berklee College of Music gave him his second honorary doctorate of music degree in May. In November, he released a greatest hits compilation called Fields of Gold: The Best of Sting, which eventually was certified Double Platinum. That same year, he was featured in a duet with Vanessa Williams on the song "Sister Moon," which appeared on her album The Sweetest Days.

His 1996 album, Mercury Falling debuted strongly with the single "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot", but it dropped quickly on the charts. He reached the Top 40 with two singles the same year with "You Still Touch Me" (June) and "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" (December) (which became a country music hit the next year in a version recorded with American country singer Toby Keith). During this period, Sting was also recording music for the upcoming Disney film Kingdom of the Sun, which went on to be reworked into The Emperor's New Groove. The film went through drastic overhauls and plot changes, many of which were documented by Sting's wife, Trudie Styler. She captured the moment he was called by Disney who then informed him that his songs would not be used in the final film. The story was put into a final product: The Sweatbox, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Disney currently holds the rights to the film and will not grant its release. That same year Sting also released a little-known CD-ROM called All This Time, which provided music, commentary and custom computer features describing Sting and his music from his perspective.

Also in 1996, he provided some vocals for the Tina Turner single "On Silent Wings" as a part of her Wildest Dreams album. Sting has also cooperated with Greek popular singer George Dalaras, giving a common concert in Athens. "Moonlight", a rare jazz performance by Sting for the 1995 remake of Sabrina, written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and John Williams, was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. [edit] 2000s Sting live in Budapest, 2000

The Emperor's New Groove soundtrack was released with complete songs from the previous version of the film, which included Rascal Flatts and Shawn Colvin. This is seen by many[who?] as a move on Disney's part to soothe the relationship with Sting and to keep open the door for future projects. The final single used to promote the film was "My Funny Friend and Me". Sting's September 1999 album Brand New Day included the Top 40 hits "Brand New Day" and "Desert Rose". The album went Triple Platinum by January 2001. In 2000, he won Grammy Awards for Brand New Day and the song of the same name. At the awards ceremony, he performed "Desert Rose" with his collaborator on the album version, Cheb Mami. For his performance, the Arab-American Institute Foundation gave him the Khalil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Award. However, Sting was criticized for appearing in a Jaguar advertisement using "Desert Rose" as its backing track, particularly as he was a notable environmentalist.

In February 2001 he won another Grammy Award for his rendition of "She Walks This Earth (Soberana Rosa)" on A Love Affair: The Music Of Ivan Lins. His song "After The Rain Has Fallen" made it into the Top 40. His next project was to record a live album at his Tuscan villa, which was to be released as a CD and DVD, as well as being simulcast in its entirety on the internet. The CD and DVD were to be entitled On such a night and was intended to feature re-workings of Sting favourites such as "Roxanne" and "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free." The concert, scheduled for 11 September 2001, was altered in various ways due to the terrorist attacks in America that day. The webcast was shut down after one song (a reworked version of "Fragile"), after which Sting let it be up to the audience whether or not to continue with the show. Eventually they decided to go through with the concert, and the resultant album and DVD was released in November under a different title, ...All This Time. Both are dedicated "to all those who lost their lives on that day". He performed a special arrangement of "Fragile" with Yo-Yo Ma and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 2002 he won a Golden Globe Award for the song "Until..." from the film Kate and Leopold. Written and performed by him, "Until..." was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Song. In June he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In the summer, Sting was awarded the British honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 2003 he released Sacred Love, a studio album featuring collaborations with hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige and sitar performer Anoushka Shankar. He and Blige won a Grammy for their duet, "Whenever I Say Your Name". The song is based on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Praeambulum 1 C-Major (BWV 924) from the Klavierbuechlein fuer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach though Sting gave little comment on this adaptation.[6] The album did not have the hit singles like his previous releases. The first single, "Send Your Love" reached only #30 and reviews were mixed. However, the album did reach platinum status by January 2004.

His autobiography Broken Music was published in October. He embarked on a Sacred Love tour in 2004 with performances by Annie Lennox. Sting went on the Broken Music tour, touring smaller venues, with a four piece band starting in Los Angeles on 28 March 2005 and ending this "College Tour" on 14 May 2005. Sting appears as a guest on the 2005 Monkey Business CD by American hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas, adding vocals to the track "Union" which makes heavy use of samples from his Englishman in New York. Continuing with his involvement in Live Aid, he appeared at Live 8 in July 2005. During 2006, Sting collaborated with Roberto Livi in producing a Spanish language version of his cult classic "Fragile" entitled "Fragilidad" on the album Rhythms Del Mundo by Latino recording legends "The Buena Vista Sound" (previously known as the Buena Vista Social Club) available via www.apeuk.org. Sting with The Police at Madison Square Garden, New York, 1 August 2007 Photo: Lionel Urman)

In October 2006, he released an album, to mixed reviews, entitled Songs from the Labyrinth featuring the music of John Dowland (an Elizabethan-era composer) and accompaniment from Bosnian lute player Edin Karamazov. As a part of the promotion of this album, he appeared on the fifth episode of Studio 60 during which he performed a segment of Dowland's "Come Again" as well as his own "Fields of Gold" in the arrangement for voice and two archlutes. Reports surfaced in early 2007 that Sting would reunite with his former Police band mates for a 30th anniversary tour. These rumours were confirmed by posts on the popular fanzine Stingus and on various other news websites such as De Standaard, Yahoo! etc. In May 2007, Deutsche Grammophon releases the opera Welcome to the Voice (composer Steve Nieve), with Sting portraying Dyonisos.

On 11 February 2007, he reunited with the other members of the Police as the introductory act for the 2007 Grammy Awards, singing "Roxanne", and subsequently announced The Police Reunion Tour, the first concert of which was held in Vancouver on 28 May in front of 22,000 fans at one of two nearly sold-out concerts. The Police toured for more than a year, beginning with North America and eventually crossing over to Europe, South America, Australia & New Zealand and Japan. The last concert was at Madison Square Garden on 7 August 2008, during which his three daughters appeared with him onstage. In 2007 he recorded a song called "Power's Out" with Nicole Scherzinger (lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls) the song is featured on her debut album Her Name Is Nicole which she was prepared to release in the beginning of 2008. On 1 February 2008, "Power's Out" was added on Nicole's official website and now "Power's Out" will be the official second single off Her Name Is Nicole. He also works with his sound enginere Ian Newton, and Newton's daughter, Jenny Newton, a singer.[citation needed]

He is featured as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.[7] "Brand New Day" was the final song of the night for the Neighborhood Ball, one of ten inaugural balls honouring President Barack Obama on Inauguration Day, 20 January 2009. Sting was joined by Stevie Wonder on harmonica. According to an article posted on his official website, Sting entered the studio in early February 2009 to begin work on a new album "If on a Winter's Night...",[8] released on October 2009.[9] Initial reviews by fans that had access to early promotional copies were mixed, and some questioned Sting's artistic direction with this album.[10] [edit] Acting

Sting occasionally has ventured into acting. Film and television roles include:

   * The Ace Face, the King of The Mods, a.k.a. The Bell Boy in the movie adaptation of The Who album Quadrophenia (1979)
   * Radio On : Just Like Eddie (1980)
   * The angel Helith in the BBC TV film Artemis 81 (1981)
   * Martin Taylor, a drifter in Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
   * Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in the movie Dune (1984)
   * Mick, a black-marketeer in Plenty (1985)
   * Baron Frankenstein in The Bride (1985)
   * A "heroic officer" in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
   * Finney, a nightclub owner in Stormy Monday (1988)
   * Daniel, a British gentleman in Julia and Julia (1988)
   * Himself on The Simpsons episode "Radio Bart" (1992)
   * Himself on The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer Episode 5 (1995)
   * Fledge in The Grotesque (1995), in which he appears nude
   * Himself in The Larry Sanders Show episode "Where Is the Love?" (1996)
   * J.D., Eddie's father and owner of a bar, in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
   * Himself in Ally Mcbeal Season four episode Cloudy Skies, Chance of Parade (2001)
   * Himself in Live DVD The Police: Synchronicity Tour (2005)
   * Himself in Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out (2006)
   * Himself in Studio 60 on Sunset Strip 2006
   * Himself on the Vicar of Dibley Comic Relief special (2007)
   * Himself in Bee Movie (2007)
   * Himself, mistaken by Tom Baker for Stomp, the lead singer of "The Cops" in Little Britain USA (2008) He plays his own song, Fields of Gold
   * Himself in Brüno (2009)

Sting narrated the American premiere of the musical Yanomamo (1983), by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon outlining problems that existed in the Amazon rainforest. This was made into a film and later broadcast as Song of the Forest (currently available from WWF-UK). Other appearances on the stage and television include guest spots on Saturday Night Live and Ally McBeal. He also provided the voice of Zarm on the 1990s television show Captain Planet and the Planeteers. In 1989 he starred as Macheath (Mack the Knife) in the The Threepenny Opera, the classic 1928 German musical work by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in New York and Washington. He most recently appeared as a musical guest on the fictional series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Sting appeared on the television sitcom Ally McBeal as himself, being sued for appearing to sing to a fan by the fan's husband. [edit] Activism

While with the Police, Sting wrote "Driven to Tears", an angry indictment of apathy in the face of world hunger, and it preceded his work on Bob Geldof's "Feed The World" project. Sting sang on "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – a hit single from Geldof's pop music super-group called "Band Aid" which eventually led to the Live Aid Concert in July 1985, in which Sting also took part, performing with Branford Marsalis, Phil Collins and Dire Straits. Throughout the 1980s, Sting strongly supported environmentalism and humanitarian movements, such as Amnesty International. In 1986 he was interviewed by the BBC about the origins of his support for Amnesty International and he stated: "I've been a member of Amnesty and a support member for five years, due to an entertainment event called The Secret Policeman's Ball and before that I did not know about Amnesty, I did not know about its work, I did not know about torture in the world."[citation needed]

Sting's first involvement in the human rights cause occurred in September 1981 when he was invited by producer Martin Lewis to participate in the fourth Amnesty International gala The Secret Policeman's Other Ball following the example set at the 1979 show by Pete Townshend.[11] Sting performed two of his Police compositions as a soloist – "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle"' – appearing on all four nights of the show at the Theatre Royal in London. Sting also led an impromptu super-group of other musicians (dubbed The Secret Police) performing at the show including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Donovan, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in the show's grand finale – Sting's own reggae-tinged arrangement of Bob Dylan's I Shall Be Released. The event was the first time that Sting had worked with Geldof, Collins and Ure – an association that developed further with 1984's Band Aid and 1985's Live Aid. Sting's performance – his first live appearances as a solo performer – was prominently featured on the album of the show (being its lead tracks) and in the film. In 1986, Sting was one of the headline performers on Amnesty's A Conspiracy of Hope tour of the US. In late 1986, Sting visited Quentin Crisp in his New York City apartment and learned about what it was like for Crisp to grow up in the homophobic 1920s – 1960s. As a result, Sting dedicated the song "Englishman in New York" to Crisp.

A high point in his many contributions to human-rights causes came in 1988, when he joined a team of other major musicians – including Peter Gabriel and Bruce Springsteen – assembled under the banner of Amnesty International for the six-week world tour Human Rights Now! Tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 1988, he released the single "They Dance Alone" which chronicled the plight of the mothers, wives and daughters of the "disappeared", the innocent victims of the Pinochet regime in Chile. Unable to publicly voice their grievances to the government about their missing loved ones, for fear that they would "go missing" too, the women of Chile would pin photos of their "disappeared" relatives on their clothing, and dance in silent outrage against the government in public places.[citation needed]

With his wife Trudie Styler and Raoni Metuktire, a Kayapó Indian leader in Brazil, Sting founded the Rainforest Foundation to help save the rainforests. His support for these causes continues to this day, and includes an annual benefit concert held at New York's Carnegie Hall with Billy Joel, Elton John, James Taylor and other music superstars. A species of Colombian tree frog, Dendropsophus stingi, was named after him in recognition of his "commitment and efforts to save the rain forest".[12]

Sting and his wife Trudie Styler were awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience award in Sherborn, Massachusetts on 30 June 2000. Singer/song writer, documentary film producers for their commitment to the environment through the establishment of the Rainforest Foundation; to human rights in China through the documentary film on Tiananmen Square; and to peace and social justice through the powerful gift of song.[13] On 21 October 1991, Sting joined Don Henley and Billy Joel at New York's Madison Square Garden for a benefit rock show, The Concert for Walden Woods.

On 15 September 1997, Sting joined Sir Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, Phil Collins and Mark Knopfler at London's Royal Albert Hall for Music For Montserrat, a benefit concert for the Caribbean island that had recently been devastated by an eruption from a volcano. He also took part in the post-9/11 rock telethon to raise money for the families of the victims of terror attacks in the United States. On 2 July 2005, Sting performed at the Live 8 concert, the follow up to 1985's Live Aid Concert. In 2007, Sting joined Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland and played the closing set at the Live Earth Concert at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Joined by John Mayer and Kanye West, Sting and the Police fittingly ended the show singing "Message in a Bottle," as the event was dubbed "The SOS Concert." In 2008 Sting contributed to a music album called Songs for Tibet, to support Tibet and the current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso.[14]

Sting played a concert in Uzbekistan on October 2009, at the invitation of Gulnora Karimova, the daughter of the country's President-for-life Islam Karimov.[15] The minimum ticket price for Sting's concert was $250 upwards, which is several times the country's average monthly salary.[16] The concert was in the frames of local Art Week STYLE.UZ project and reportedly had a charity outcomes.[17] In addition to that Sting apparently agreed to award Special Grant Diplomas to 5 talented Uzbek kids, winners of the Yangi Avlod (New Generation) Children Creativity Festival.[18] [edit] Personal life Sting at Madison Square Garden in New York on 1 August 2007.

Sting married actress Frances Tomelty from Northern Ireland, on 1 May 1976. Before they divorced in 1984, the couple had two children: Joseph (born 23 November 1976) and Fuchsia Catherine (a.k.a. "Kate", born 17 April 1982). Joe Sumner is a member of the band Fiction Plane. In 1980 Sting became a tax exile and moved to Galway in Ireland. In 1982, shortly after the birth of his second child, Sting separated from Tomelty and began living with actress (and later film producer) Trudie Styler. The couple eventually married in 1992, on 20 August. Sting and Styler have four children: Bridget Michael (a.k.a. "Mickey", born 19 January 1984), Jake (born 24 May 1985), Eliot Pauline (nicknamed "Coco", born 30 July 1990), and Giacomo Luke (born 17 December 1995). Both of Sting's parents died from cancer in 1987. He did not, however, attend either funeral stating that the media fuss would be disrespectful to his parents.[19] 1995 found Sting preparing for a court appearance against his former accountant who had misappropriated several million pounds of his money.[citation needed]

Sting owns several homes worldwide, including Elizabethan manor house Lake House and its 60-acre country estate near Salisbury, Wiltshire; a country cottage in the Lake District; a New York City apartment; a beach house in Malibu, California; a 600-acre (2.4 km2) estate in Tuscany, Italy; and two properties in London: an apartment on The Mall, an 18th century terrace house in Highgate.[20] He also once owned a home in West Hempstead, New York. He also owns homes in the Caribbean, including one in the upscale community of Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic. According to an interview he did for German television broadcaster NDR in 1996, Sting chose a tree on the Lake House estate beside which he wishes to be buried.[citation needed]His net worth is estimated at $362.8 million according to Insider Money magazine. Kasparov and Sting, Times Square, New York.

To keep physically fit, for years Sting ran five miles (8 km) a day and performed aerobics. He participated in running races at Parliament Hill and charity runs similar to the British 10K. However, around 1990 he met Danny Paradise who introduced him to yoga, and he later began practising yoga regularly. His practice consisted primarily of an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga series, though now he practices many other forms. He wrote a foreword to the book, [21] written by Ganga White in 2007.

An avid chess player, Sting played Garry Kasparov in an exhibition game in 2000, along with four fellow bandmates: Dominic Miller, Jason Rebello, Chris Botti, and Russ Irwin. Kasparov beat all five simultaneously within 50 minutes.[22] Journalist Stefanie Markidis is currently researching Sting and collaborating with him for a new publication due for first release in early 2010, called "Stingformation Files". Sting has incorporated some aspects of vegetarianism into his diet, but now he eats meat that he raises.[23] Sting is a fan of Newcastle United football club and wrote their song for the 1998 FA Cup final defeat against Arsenal. [edit] Views and advocacy

Sting is a supporter of Britain’s involvement and further integration into the European Union and declared his support for the controversial Treaty of Lisbon in an interview in 2009:

   I‘ve lived in Europe for about 15 years, I live in Italy. So I feel very European. I think it‘s an inevitable thing that our future in the British Isles will be with Europe. We'll be part of Europe, we‘ll be better for it.[24]

Sting has been critical of the television series The X Factor, describing it as "appalling" and "a soap opera which has nothing to do with music":

   I watched it the other night for the first time, I've never seen it before. I was appalled. I wouldn't get on The X Factor because I don't sound like anyone they're after, I sound like myself. I think they are basically aping pre-existing stereotypes of what singers should do and they're not being themselves. There's no X Factor there. The music industry is a multi-million dollar business and the shop floor is not The X Factor. It's pubs and clubs up and down the country or you get in your van and you go up and down the M1 and you build an audience that way. That's how you build a backbone.[25]

   I am sorry but none of those kids are going to go anywhere, and I say that sadly. How appalling for a young person to feel that rejection. It is a soap opera which has nothing to do with music. In fact, it has put music back decades. Television is very cynical. They are either Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston or Boyzone and are not encouraged to create any real unique signature or fingerprint. That cannot come from TV. The X Factor is a preposterous show and you have judges who have no recognisable talent apart from self-promotion, advising them what to wear and how to look. It is appalling. The real shop floor for musical talent is pubs and clubs, that is where the original work is. But they are being closed down on a daily basis. It is impossible to put an act on in a pub. The music industry has been hugely important to England, bringing in millions. If anyone thinks the The X Factor is going to do that, they are wrong.[26]

[edit] Discography Main article: Sting discography See also: The Police discography Year Title Billboard album 200[27] UK Top 100[28] RIAA[29] BPI[30] 1985 The Dream of the Blue Turtles 2 3 3x Platinum 2x Platinum 1987 ...Nothing Like the Sun 9 1 2x Platinum Platinum 1991 The Soul Cages 2 1 Platinum Gold 1993 Ten Summoner's Tales 2 2 3x Platinum 2x Platinum 1996 Mercury Falling 5 4 Platinum Platinum 1999 Brand New Day 9 5 3x Platinum Platinum 2003 Sacred Love 3 3 Platinum Gold 2006 Songs from the Labyrinth 25 24 — — 2009 If on a Winter's Night... 6 15 Gold — [edit] Bibliography

   * 2009 The Words and Music of Sting, Christopher Gable, Praeger, ISBN 978-0-275-99360-3
   * 2007 Lyrics by – Sting, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-1-84737-167-6
   * 2003 Autobiography Broken Music, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7434-5081-7
   * 2005 Biography Sting and I, James Berryman, John Blake, ISBN 1-84454-107-X
   * 2000 Authorised biography A Sting in the Tale, James Berryman, Mirage Publishing, ISBN 1-90257-813-9
   * 1998 Biography Sting – Demolition Man, Christopher Sandford, Little, Brown and Company, ISBN 0-316-64372-6

[edit] Awards and nominations Main article: List of Sting awards [edit] See also

   * List of number-one hits (United States)
   * List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
   * List of number-one dance hits (United States)
   * List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
   * Mononymous persons

July 2018

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