goodie
this weeks #1 on goodie's chart: uptown funk - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
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Post by goodie on Sept 2, 2007 7:40:38 GMT -5
#53. Busta Rhymes
Biggest Hit of the 00s: I Know What You Want (with Mariah Carey featuring The Flipmode Squad)
Biggest Album of the 00s: Genesis
Other Singles from the 00s: Break Ya Kneck, Pass The Courvoisier (featuring P. Diddy & Pharrell), Make It Clap, Fire (Yes Yes Y'all) (with Joe Budden), Light Your Ass On Fire, Get Low (with Lil Jon), Victory 2004 (with P. Diddy, Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent & Lloyd Banks), Where's Your Money, Don't Cha (with Pussycat Dolls), Touch It, I Love My Chick (featuring Will.I.Am & Kelis), New York Slut & In The Ghetto.
Biography of the 00s: Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr. better known as Busta Rhymes, is an American hip hop musician and actor.
Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the name Busta Rhymes (from former NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes) after watching him perform. He is also a follower of Islam. Busta Rhymes was a member of Leaders of the New School and released two albums with the group before breaking out with a 1996 solo hit single, "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check."
After leaving Elektra, Smith signed to J Records, a new label started by recently ousted Arista Records chief and founder Clive Davis. In 2001 he released a greatest hits record alongside a new album of original work. Continuing the Biblical theme of his previous albums, he titled his record Genesis.
In 2002, Smith released his sixth studio album It Ain't Safe No More. The album was moderately successful, with a hit song featuring Mariah Carey and the Flipmode Squad called "I Know What You Want." After its release, he left J Records. In 2004, he signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment.
In November 2005, Smith cut off his trademark dreadlocks during a photo shoot in a New York barbershop owned by producer Cory Rooney. The shop is featured on an MTV show titled The Shop. "I started growing [my hair] in December '89. I was 17," he said. "I signed my [record] deal and said I ain't combing my hair no more. I don't have to." He says the haircut was symbolic of a change in his music and the new record deal.
His seventh studio album, The Big Bang, became the first #1 album of his career. The CD sold over 209,000 copies in its first week to earn the top spot on The Billboard Top 200. The album also became his highest charting album in the UK, peaking at #19 there. Some of the album was leaked on the Internet, and as a result several songs were left off the album and new ones added. The Big Bang featured more production by Dr. Dre than Smith's previous releases, as well as appearances by Raekwon and Nas. The singles that have been released from the album are, "Touch It," "I Love My Bitch," featuring Kelis and will.i.am, "New York Shit," and "In The Ghetto." Smith also had a stint opening for Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour. Also, Smith performed with Eminem on "Touch It Remix Part 5". Others such as Jae Millz and Ne-Yo appeared as well.
On March 30, 2006, Smith was accused of homophobia after he lashed out at a gay fan while at a diner in Miami.
On August 20, 2006, he was arraigned for charges of third-degree assault after attacking a man who reportedly spat on his car in New York City on August 12 after the AmsterJam Music Festival on Randalls Island. On October 24, 2006, he appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court as the district attorney's office attempted to amend previous charges against him to include weapons possession for a machete found in his car. The judge, ShawnDya Simpson, refused to add the charge and adjourned the case.
On February 20, 2007, Smith refused a plea deal offered by the prosecutors office for the assault of his former driver, Edward Hatchett. The deal would have entailed six months in jail and pleading guilty to two assaults, the attack on Hatchett, and the attack on the former fan. The dispute with Hatchett is believed to have been originated over back pay Hatchett felt he was owed. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Tanya Kennedy offered Smith another option, pleading guilty to third-degree assault. The conditions of the proposed sentence would include: five days of community service, two weeks of youth lectures and six months of anger management classes, as well as three years of probation.
On May 3, 2007, according to the UK's 1Xtra TXU news broadcast, Smith was arrested on a drunk driving charge in New York City. Officers stopped him at about 12:40 a.m. because the sport utility vehicle he was driving had overly tinted windows, officers then smelled alcohol on his breath and he was subsequently arrested. An arraignment was expected later that day.
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goodie
this weeks #1 on goodie's chart: uptown funk - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Posts: 8,188
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Post by goodie on Sept 5, 2007 7:55:50 GMT -5
#52. Hilary Duff
Biggest Hit of the 00s: Come Clean
Biggest Album of the 00s: Metamorphosis
Other Singles from the 00s: Why Not, So Yesterday, Fly, Little Voice, Our Lips Are Sealed (with Haylie Duff), Wake Up, Beat Of My Heart, Play With Fire, Stranger & With Love.
Biography of the 00s: Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, pop singer and entrepreneur. She has an older sister, Haylie Duff, who is also an actress/singer.
After gaining fame for her starring role on the television show Lizzie McGuire, Duff went on to have a film career, and her most commercially successful pictures include Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and A Cinderella Story (2004). She reportedly earned $15 million in 2005. Duff has expanded her repertoire into pop music, with three RIAA certified-platinum albums and over thirteen million albums sold worldwide, and she has launched a clothing line, Stuff by Hilary Duff, and an exclusive perfume with Elizabeth Arden.
Her upcoming films include the 2007 action thriller War, Inc. and animated comedy Foodfight!. Duff's latest studio album, Dignity, was released in April 2007.
In 2002, Duff recorded a cover of Brooke McClymont's "I Can't Wait" for the original television soundtrack for Lizzie McGuire, and "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" for the first DisneyMania compilation album.
Her first album was Santa Claus Lane (2002), a collection of Christmas songs that included duets with Lil' Romeo, Christina Milian, and her sister Haylie. Accompanied by the Disney Channel-only single "Tell Me a Story (About the Night Before)", it reached the lower half of the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and was certified gold. The track "Santa Claus Lane was included on the soundtrack to The Santa Clause 2 and another song, "What Christmas Should Be", was used in Cheaper by the Dozen. Duff sang several tracks for the 2003 soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie (see The Lizzie McGuire Movie (soundtrack)), including "Why Not", which became a top twenty hit in Australia.
Duff's second album and first studio album, Metamorphosis (2003), reached number one on the U.S. and Canadian charts. It became one of the biggest selling albums of the year in the U.S. and has since gone to sell over 3.7 million copies. The lead single, "So Yesterday" (co-written and produced by The Matrix), was a top ten hit in several countries and its music video received heavy airplay on MTV; its follow-up, the Laguna Beach theme song "Come Clean", became Duff's first top forty U.S. hit and reached the top twenty elsewhere. The third single, "Little Voice", was not released in the U.S. and was a minor hit in Canada and Australia. In late 2003, Duff embarked on her first concert tour, the Metamorphosis Club Tour, and later the Most Wanted tour. Most shows in the major cities included on the tour were sold out.
The second DisneyMania disc, DisneyMania 2, was released in January 2004 and contained a duet with her sister, "The Siamese Cat Song". Another song, "Circle of Life", featured Duff and other Disney Channel stars. Duff and her sister recorded a cover of The Go-Gos' "Our Lips Are Sealed" for the soundtrack to A Cinderella Story, which included two other songs by Duff. The video for "Our Lips Are Sealed" was popular on MTV's TRL, but the song failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Duff co-wrote tracks on her third album, the self-titled Hilary Duff, which she said had an edgier, rock feel than Metamorphosis. It was released on her seventeenth birthday (in September 2004) and debuted at number two in the U.S. and at number one in Canada. The album sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. in eight months, but its only U.S. single, "Fly", failed to chart on the Hot 100, despite being accompanied by a popular video. "Fly" reached the top forty in Australia, where the album produced a second top forty single, "Someone's Watching over Me", which was the theme song of the film Raise Your Voice. Duff contributed the song "(I'll Give) Anything but Up!" for the 2004 album Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long (2004), before continuing nine more months of the Most Wanted Tour.
Duff's fourth album, Most Wanted (2005), comprised her favorite tracks from her previous two albums, remixes, and new songs inspired by pop-rock musicians such as The Killers and Muse. Duff stated that it was not a greatest hits album, but that her label told her it was time to release a new album. She had more creative control over Most Wanted compared to her previous releases, co-writing the new material with producers Joel Madden and his brother, Benji, both of the band Good Charlotte. The lead single, "Wake Up", became Duff's highest peaking single on the U.S. Hot 100 at the time, and its video received heavy rotation on MTV. The video for the second single, "Beat of My Heart", was also popular, but the single itself did not chart in the U.S. The album itself debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became her third number-one debut in Canada. An Italy-only compilation, 4Ever, was released in 2006. Duff recorded new songs for her Madonna-produced film Material Girls, including a Timbaland-produced cover version of Madonna's "Material Girl" with her sister.
For Duff's third studio album, Dignity, she co-wrote material with Kara DioGuardi, who co-produced the album with Rhett Lawrence, Richard "Humpty" Vission, Tim & Bob and others. Duff said that compared to her previous music it would be "more dancey" and make use of more real instruments. "I don't know exactly how to explain what we're doing, but it's fun and funky and different, something new for me. It's really cool", she said. She has also described the album's sound as "a little less pop-rock and more electronic-sounding". The first single, "Play with Fire", became a minor club hit but failed to chart in the U.S.; the second single, "With Love", was more successful, becoming Duff's biggest U.S. Hot 100 hit and topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The music video for "With Love" was used as the commercial for Duff's first fragrance, With Love... Hilary Duff, which was launched in September 2006; the video reached number one on Total Request Live. Initially slated for release in late 2006, the album was released in April 2007 in North America and earlier elsewhere. It reached the top five in the U.S. and Canada, the top twenty in Australia and the top forty in the UK. The Dignity tour began in mid 2007. A third single, "Stranger", was a number-one U.S. club hit
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goodie
this weeks #1 on goodie's chart: uptown funk - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Posts: 8,188
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Post by goodie on Sept 6, 2007 8:44:23 GMT -5
#51. Robbie Williams
Biggest Hit of the 00s: Rock D.J.
Biggest Album of the 00s: Swing When You're Winning
Other Singles from the 00s: Better Man, Supreme, Somethin' Stupid (with Nicole Kidman), Kids (with Kylie Minogue), Come Undone, Feel, Sexed Up, Radio, Misunderstood, Tripping, Advertising Space, Sin Sin Sin, Lovelight & Rudebox.
Biography of the 00s: Robbie Williams (born Robert Peter Williams) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is also one of the few pop acts to have been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Williams' career began as a member of the pop band Take That in 1990, which he left in 1995 to begin his solo career, the band having sold more than 25 million records. Since then, Williams has sold more albums in the United Kingdom than any other British solo artist in history, and has sold 53 million albums and 15 million singles worldwide, over the course of his solo career.
Williams made it to The Guinness Book of World Records when 1.6 million tickets were sold in a single day shortly after he announced his World Tour in 2006
In the middle of promotion and the tours in 1999, becoming an established pop star around the world, Williams found time to start the work on what would be his third studio album, this time he had finally found his confidence, not only to be more brash, but also vulnerable.
The first single taken from the album was "Rock DJ", a song inspired by Williams' UNICEF mentor, the late Ian Dury. The video was censored by Top Of The Pops for its gore content, many other channels followed the suit and it caused a controversy in the United Kingdom and many other countries. The video showed Williams tearing chunks of skin and muscle from his body while performing a strip show in an attempt to get noticed by a group of women, the track became an instant hit around the globe, hitting number-one in the United Kingdom, becoming his third number-one single as a solo artist and exactly a year after his sell-out concert at the Slane Castle, the song also reached number-one in Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico,Nepal & Argentina and hit top ten placings all over Europe, Australasia and Latin America, despite of the worldwide success, the song failed to break in the United States charts, it did get some TV Airplay in channels such as MTV and VH1. The song went on to win several awards, among them, "Best Song of 2000" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, "Best Single of the Year" at the BRIT Awards and an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects, the single went on to sell over 600,000 copies in the UK alone, being certified Platinum by the BPI.
When the album, Sing When You're Winning was released in August 2000, it became a smash hit all over the world, débuting at number-one in the United Kingdom being certified 2x Platinum on its first week of release, the album also topped the charts in New Zealand, Ireland and Germany, and secured top ten placings in Argentina, Austria, Australia, Finland, Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland among many others. Snapped by photographer Paul M. Smith, the album artwork - along with Williams' complete football strip (including a signed jockstrap) - was later sold at Williams' Bid It Sum auction to raise money for his charity, Give It Sum.
The second single, a collaboration with Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue, "Kids", the track was written when Minogue approached Williams to write her some songs for what would be her first album under Parlophone, Light Years, it was then, when Williams felt the chemistry and decided to include the track on his album and release it as a single, it was an instant hit when it was released in October of that year, hitting number-two in the United Kingdom and reached top 10 placings in Australia, New Zealand, Latvia, Mexico and other countries becoming one of the biggest hits of that year selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone being certified Silver.
Williams toured the United Kingdom with Minogue in October and November of 2000 selling-out in every venue.
Further singles, such as "Supreme" (which Williams recorded in French), "Let Love Be Your Energy" and "Better Man" (which Williams recorded in Spanish) became big hits reaching the top ten around the world.
"Eternity", a track that was not featured on the album, was released in the summer of 2001 backed with "The Road to Mandalay", the former was written by Williams in what he called "the most amazing summer", after years of non-stop work he took a month off and recorded this track, when it was released it became his fourth number-one single in the United Kingdom, selling over 70,000 copies in its first week in the UK alone, and also hit the top ten hit all over Europe.
Williams toured around the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe in the summer of 2001.
The album had spent 91 weeks inside the UK Charts, going on to sell 2.4 Million copies in the UK alone being certified 8x Platinum by the BPI, the album became the best selling album of 2000 in the country and the 51st Best Selling album in UK Music History. The album went on to sell over 6 million copies Worldwide.
After the success of his third album, Williams wanted to take another musical direction, he took two weeks of his tour to record what would be his fourth studio album, the big band album he had always dreamed of making.
Born from his life-long love for Frank Sinatra - combined with the success of the track "Have You Met Miss Jones?" that he recorded for the film Bridget Jones's Diary in early 2001 - the album was recorded at the Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, California.
Williams took the chance to duet with his long-time friend Jonathan Wilkes, Little Voice star Jane Horrocks, Rupert Everett and the Academy Award winning actress Nicole Kidman.
Williams was able to fulfill a lifetime's dream by appearing in a one man showcase at London's Royal Albert Hall.
The first single released from the album was a duet with Kidman, on "Somethin' Stupid". Originally a hit for Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the song became Williams' fifth number-one hit in the United Kingdom, selling almost 100,000 copies in its first week of release, as well hitting the top spot in Argentina, New Zealand, Latvia and scoring top ten placings all over Europe becoming one of the biggest hits of 2001 selling over 200,000 copies in the UK alone after spending three weeks at the top of the charts being certified Silver in January 2002.
When the album, Swing When You're Winning (in reference to his 2000 studio album Sing When You're Winning) was released in late 2001, it became an instant number-one hit in the United Kingdom (spending six consecutive weeks at number-one), Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Germany & Switzerland and it reached the top ten in the rest of the world going on to sell over 2 million copies by the end of 2001 and over 7 million altogether.
A second single was released from the album, a double a-side "Mr. Bojangles/I Will Talk And Hollywood Will Listen", however it was only released in Central and Eastern Europe only. "Mack The Knife" was released as a radio single in Mexico.
The album spent 57 weeks inside the UK Charts selling over 2.1 million copies being certified 7x Platinum in the United Kingdom and becoming the 49th Best Selling Album in UK Music History.
"Beyond the Sea" was put in the credits of the film Finding Nemo in 2003 and was also released on the album's Academy Award nominated soundtrack.
A DVD called Robbie Williams Live at the Albert Hall was released in December of that year, so far, it has become one of the best selling music DVDs in Europe, being certified 6x Platinum in the United Kingdom and 2x Platinum in Germany.
In 2002, Williams signed a record-breaking £80 million contract with EMI. The contract featured a number of provisos, including the label ceding greater creative control to the artist and a commitment to breaking Williams in the US market. In return, EMI affirmed they would benefit from a cut of Williams' non-recording activities, including touring, publishing, and merchandising, thus protecting the company from any commercial downturn in the singer's album sales. So far it has become the biggest music deal in British history.
Williams began working on what would be his fifth studio album, after a year out recording, the album heralded a new era for Williams; he had taken a more active role in the making of this album giving an indication of his growing confidence in the studio, and "One Fine Day". "Nan's Song" and "Come Undone" were the first songs that Williams wrote without the Guy Chambers input. Most of the songs were recorded in Los Angeles.
The album's first single, "Feel", written by Williams and Chambers, was recorded as a demo; when they started working on the album and trying to re-record the vocals, Williams felt unsatisfied with it, so he decided to include the demo version and then release it as the first single. When the single was released in late 2002, it became Williams' biggest international hit, selling over 4 million units worldwide and reaching the top ten in every single European country. It also topped the charts in Argentina, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Mexico and The Netherlands. The success of the song was so massive that it spent 54 weeks inside the Canadian charts reaching a peak of number 10. The video for the song received attention in the United States, because it featured the Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah as his love interest. The track eventually peaked inside the top forty in the Billboard adult contemporary charts.
When Williams' fifth studio album, Escapology was released in late 2002, it hit number-one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Austria, elsewhere, it made the top ten, however in the United States failed to make as big of an impact, reaching only number forty-three on the Billboard Albums Chart.
Album's second single, "Come Undone" became a top ten hit around the world, due to its controversial video, it was heavily censored by MTV Networks Europe for depicting a debauched (but fully-clothed) Williams having three-way sex with two women. The video also showed unsettling images of insects and reptiles, however, the uncensored version of the video was released on DVD Single in Europe and was also included on the Enhanced CD Single. BBC Radio 2 also banned the song for its explicit content. During such furores at this time, it was confirmed that Williams and Guy Chambers were to officially part ways.
The third single taken from the album was "Something Beautiful", the song was written in Barbados, the song was first offered to Tom Jones, but it was then reworked and for its inclusion on Williams' album, when the single was released in the summer of 2003, it hit the top ten in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland and Denmark, it failed to make an impact in the world charts. The video featured a casting in which people from all over Europe contested to win the chance to perform as Robbie Williams at the end of the same video, the three winners had the chance to meet Williams, three different versions of the video were released to different parts of the world featuring a different winner.
Williams started his world tour in the summer of 2003, and he was about to do three live concerts in Knebworth, The three shows attracted a total of 375,000 fans breaking the record for most attendance in this venue.
Escapology ended 2002 as the best selling album of the year in the United Kingdom with 1.4 million copies sold, by the end of 2003 the album had sold almost 2 million copies being certified 6x Platinum by the BPI, becoming the 60th Best Selling album in UK Music History. Worldwide the album went on to sell 7 million copies.
In October of 2003, Williams released his first live album, Live at Knebworth, including tracks from his record-breaking shows recorded in August of that year, the album became the fastest selling live album in the United Kingdom with 120,000 copies sold in its first week, it gave a finale two finger salute to Oasis who sold half that amount and held that title with their own live album, peaking at number-two (Dido's Life For Rent was at number-one), however, the album reached the top position in Germany and Austria and became a top ten album throughout Europe, Australasia and Latin America. The live record ended up selling a little over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI and a total of 3 million in Europe alone altogether, the album sold 3.5 million worldwide.
A Year after the release of his live album, in October 2004, Williams' decided that it was time to make a retrospective of his career, and also, to reveal the new tracks he had been working on with the then, new collaborator, Stephen Duffy.
"Radio", the compilation's first single, was released in October 2004, which debuted at number-one of the UK Singles Chart (becoming Williams' sixth number-one hit) selling 41,732 copies, the song was also a number-one hit in Denmark and Portugal, and it hit the top ten around the world.
When the compilation was released two weeks later, Greatest Hits went on to sell 320,000 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom debuting at number-one becoming the fastest selling 'Greatest Hits' album in the country, the album hit the top spot in no less than 18 countries, Arabia, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the aforementioned United Kingdom, Argentina, Colombia, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Lebanon among others.
The album's second single, the ballad, "Misunderstood", being the soundtrack of the film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason hit the top ten around the world in December of that year, making the album the best selling album of the year in the United Kingdom, becoming the 61st Best Selling Album in UK Music History, with sales over the 2 million copies being certified 6x Platinum by the BPI. The album, also became the best selling album of the year in Europe being certified 5x Platinum for over 5 million copies sold, worldwide, the album ended up selling a little under 8.5 million copies becoming his best selling album ever.
Eight years after the release of "Angels", in February 2005 British public voted it as the 'Best Single of the past Twenty Five Years' at the 2005 BRIT Awards.
After touring Latin America in late 2004 for the promotion of hits Greatest Hits album, Williams started working on what would become his sixth studio album. Recorded in Robbie Williams' bedroom high in the Hollywood Hills, the album was co-written Stephen Duffy over the course of 24 months.
Inspired by the Human League's single "Louise", about a man who breaks off a relationship and realized he still has strong feelings for her.
The album's first single, "Tripping", was released in October 3 2005, it became an international success, topping the charts in Germany, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Argentina & Mexico, and more importantly, the United World Chart.
The album was launched in Berlin, Germany on the October 9. It was not shown on television, but broadcast to various locations around the world in cinemas and theatres, in a high-definition "cine-cast". It was shown on 22 October 2005 on Channel 4. During the album launch, Williams said he would like to be the new "King of Pop".
When Intensive Care was released in late October 2005, it became smash hit around the world, hitting number-one in the United Kingdom, selling 373,000 copies in its first week as well as topping the charts in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, New Zealand and many other countries, debuting at number-one in the United World Chart. The album became Williams' biggest international success in his career, selling over 2 million copies in only six weeks.
That November, Williams took home the MTV Europe Music Award for 'Best Male', but also, entered in the The Guinness Book of World Records when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling 1.6 million tickets in one single day. But After the success, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Howard Donald had agreed to reunite in Notting Hill, West London, for a preview screening of a documentary about the group, Take That. The documentary screened on ITV1 on Wednesday November 16 2005, Unfortunately, according to a source quoted by Sunday Mirror, "Robbie announced he wasn't coming. The rest of the band were gutted but felt the show had to go on".
By December, the second single from the album was released, the ballad "Advertising Space", becoming another international hit, reaching the top ten in Europe, Australasia and Latin America.
The album became the best selling album in Europe by the end of 2005 with sales over the 4 million copies. However, it only managed to be the third best selling album in the United Kingdom that year.
Williams' kicked off his Close Encounters World Tour in South Africa in April 2006, when he finished he's European leg of the tour, 2.5 million had seen the show, and after Latin America and Australia the numbers when up to 3 million.
After a long gap between singles, the third cut from the album was released in the summer 2006, "Sin Sin Sin" was the first song Williams and Duffy wrote together, the video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa right before the start of his tour, when the track was released it became Williams' first single to miss the UK Top 20, charting at number twenty-two, worldwide, the single did a lot better, hitting the top ten in Europe and Latin America.
By the end of the promotion of the album, it was announced that sold over 5 million copies in Europe alone being certified 5x Platinum by the IFPI, it also certified 5x Platinum in the United Kingdom becoming, at the time, his lowest selling studio album in the country, worldwide, the album went on to sell way over seven million copies becoming Williams' best selling studio album around the world.
Williams' seventh studio album was announced in early 2006, It was originally scheduled to be called 1974, the year Williams was born. A dance/electro album with collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Soul Mekanik, Joey Negro, Mark Ronson and more.
The first single, "Rudebox" was premiered on radio by Scott Mills on his show on BBC Radio 1, The event caused some controversy, as the record label's embargo date was broken, although the artist himself later backed the presenter for doing so. Right after the single was unleashed, it caused controversy due to Williams' radical change in direction from his other releases, British Newspaper The Sun named the song "The Worst Song Ever," Victoria Newton also stated that there were sure-fire hits on the then, forthcoming album, such as "Lovelight". When the song was released in September that year, it reached number-four in the UK Singles Chart, elsewhere the song did a lot better, hitting number-one in Argentina, Chile, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Lebanon and Turkey, charting at number-two in the Eurochart.
Williams released his much anticipated dance/electro album Rudebox on October 23, 2006. It received mixed reviews: The All Music Guide gave it a four star rating, the NME 8 out of 10, Music Week and MOJO was equally positive but it received much weaker reviews from some of the British press. Despite reaching the number one spot, sales were far below what was expected by his label EMI, and overall sales in UK were overtaken by his former band Take That's Beautiful World. The album has sold a little under 500,000 copies in the United Kingdom, becoming his lowest-selling album in the country, being certified 2x Platinum by the BPI. Elsewhere, the album was received with a warmer reception by the public, hitting number-one in fourteen countries including Argentina, Australia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain & Switzerland, and reaching number-two in the United World Chart selling 378,000 copies in its first week. On November 8 2006, IFPI certified the album 2x Platinum in Europe with sales of over 2 million making it the fastest platinum selling album of 2006. The album finished at number-eighteen in the list of 2006's best selling albums worldwide. It was also the best selling album outside the US, by a solo artist. It was announced that the album sold 4.5 million copies in early 2007 but now Rudebox has sold more than 5 million copies.
Promotion for the album was almost non-existent due to Williams Close Encounters Tour around Latin America and Australia.
The second single, "Lovelight" was unleashed right before the release of the album, and commercially released on November 13, the single reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and many other European countries, reaching number-two in the Eurochart. The track became also a hit in Latin America and Australia, but failing to reach the success of Williams' previous releases.
Williams finished 2006 as the 16th most played artist in Latin America and the third most played international artist.
During this time, Williams entered the The Guinness Book of World Records when he announced his World Tour for 2006, selling 1.6 million tickets in one single day.
The third single "She's Madonna" was released to European radio in late January to precede the commercial release which was scheduled to March 5, 2007. The track failed to be a massive success in the United Kingdom, reaching number-sixteen on the Singles Chart, but it did far better in Europe where Rudebox has enjoyed more success reaching the top position in the European Billboard Chart.The track rose to number one on the European Airplay Chart after spending four weeks at number-two, a feat his former band Take That failed to achieve. It was confirmed that this single was not going to be released in Latin America. Despite of this, the single was released as Digital Download in Mexico in four different formats. In August 2007, the single reached number 12 in the USA Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart
"Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus", a collaboration with British singer Lily Allen, was released as the third single in Latin America and other European countries, it was released to radio in January 2007, and as a Digital Download in February. It managed to chart in Mexico and Latvia.
To promote his Rudebox album Williams commissioned a series of short films. Goodbye to the Normals was directed by Jim Field Smith and features "Burslem Normals" by Robbie Williams.
Williams said in 2006 that he will release two albums in 2007, one being an original studio albums and the other being a follow up to his massive selling Swing When You're Winning album. In an interview with The Big Issue magazine in 2006, Williams' gave the interview a snippet of some new material, which was described as being "Guitar laden, but not overly rock".
It has been rumoured that for the album he will reunite with former song-writing parter Guy Chambers for the first time since their split in 2002. Recording is set to begin later this year. Music Producer Mark Ronson has confirmed he will be producing the album. In an interview with The Sun Newspaper,speaking about the album he said “His last album was a bit of an experiment but the new stuff will be brilliant.” Williams' actor friend Max Beesley also revealed that Williams is "buzzing with his music. He’s writing songs and enjoying being in the studio. He’s going to come back with some great new tracks. He really couldn’t be on better form.”
The first of these albums, a studio album in his normal style looks like it will not materialise; however the second album, a follow up to his 2001, 7 million selling Rat Pack covers album Swing When You're Winning is rumoured to be titled Let's Swing Again.
Rapper 50 Cent has confirmed reports that a duet with Williams is on the cards. He told The Sun Newspaper, "People should look forward to hearing 50 Cent and Williams together. He's keen to explore hip hop. He's got a very distinctive voice, and with the right song we could work well together."
Williams has recently produced a video for his probable new song, "Bodies". In the 2 minute video, Williams smokes a cigarette and sings to the tune.
In late July, Guy Chambers attended one of Robbie's LAVALE Soccer matches. On August 16th, Radio 1 announced they will release a compilation album celebrate it's 40th birthday. Robbie will be covering The Kinks classic Lola, which Radio 1 confirmed he had done it with Guy Chambers.
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goodie
this weeks #1 on goodie's chart: uptown funk - Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Posts: 8,188
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Post by goodie on Sept 7, 2007 5:27:47 GMT -5
#50. Craig David
Biggest Hit of the 00s: 7 Days
Biggest Album of the 00s: Born To Do It
Other Singles from the 00s: Woman Trouble (with Artful Dodger), Fill Me In, Walking Away, Rendezvous, What's Your Flava?, Hidden Agenda, Rise And Fall (with Sting), World Filled With Love & All The Way
Biography of the 00s: Craig Ashley David better known as Craig David, is an English R&B singer and songwriter who has sold about thirteen million albums worldwide as of 2007.
Craig David was born in Holyrood, Southampton, Hampshire to a Grenadian father and a Jewish-English mother and attended Bellemoor School.
His earliest exposure to recording came when he worked on a B-side to British R&B group Damage's cover of the Eric Clapton song Wonderful Tonight. He then started doing vocals for a few tracks with garage act The Artful Dodger, of which the song "Rewind", released off the Artful Dodger album It's All About the Stragglers, hit #2 on the UK charts in 2000, spending seventeen weeks in the top 75 and paving the way for a solo career. His first single, "7 Days", made him the youngest solo male artist to reach #1 in the UK (he was nineteen at the time). This was the first of a string of four top ten singles from his debut album, Born To Do It, which was released the same year and hit #1, going on to sell 1.8 million copies[citation needed].
The success of his debut, which was written almost entirely by Craig David and Mark Hill of The Artful Dodger, led to the US release of "Fill Me In" in May 2001, where it reached # 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Born To Do It was released in the US on July 17, 2001, peaking at #11 on the Billboard 200 and reaching platinum status, selling 1 million copies. "7 Days" reached the top ten in the US, although "Walking Away", which had reached the top three in the UK and the top five in Australia, missed the top forty in the US and was the last of his singles to chart there.
The follow-up album, Slicker Than Your Average, was released in 2002 and fared considerably less well than the debut. None of the six singles released from the album charted in the US. Although both "What's Your Flava" and "Rise and Fall" received airplay on both the Urban contemporary and/or Soft AC formats, they did not make the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart or the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. However, "What's Your Flava" made the Rhythmic Top 40 (#32), Top 40 Mainstream (#24) and the Top 40 Tracks peaking at #37. The albums' first four continued his streak of top ten hits in the UK, bringing his total to nine consecutive top ten hits until "World Filled With Love" hit #15 in 2003.
David signed on with Warner Music and put together his third album, The Story Goes..., which was released around the world in August 2005.
The first single, "All The Way", returned him to the top three, and 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 "Rewind", spending 15 weeks inside the UK top 75. The album's third single, "Unbelievable", debuted at #18 in March 2006.
David appeared on Live From Abbey Road on Channel 4 in the UK and the Sundance Channel in the USA. His performance at the studios took place on August 1st 2006.
He has recently collaborated with UK Rapper Kano on his upcoming album London Town for the single This Is The Girl. The single was released on August 27 2007 and debuted at #18 in the UK Charts.
Craig's new single, "Hot Stuff" includes a sample of David Bowie's "Let's Dance". His new album is set to be released November 2007.
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