Sinclar started DJing in 1986, when he was 18 years old, specialising in funk and hip-hop music, with the name Chris The French Kiss. His first club hit was “Gym Tonic”, which was co-produced by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, featuring vocals illegally taken from a Jane Fonda fitness tape. The Bob Sinclar persona was based on a character from Philippe de Broca’s film Le Magnifique. Le Friant is famous for popularising the “French touch” of house music[citation needed], with heavy use of sampled and filtered disco strings. His track “I Feel For You”, a tribute to French musician Cerrone, from his second album Champs Elysées, hit #9 in the UK Top 40. On track “Darlin’”, he worked with vocalist James “D-Train” Williams.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bob Sinclar

One of the most recognizable characters in modern-day R&B, Beyoncé first rose to fame as the siren-voiced centerpiece of Destiny’s Child before embarking on a multi-platinum solo career in 2001. Booming record sales, Grammy awards, movie roles, and a romance with rapper/CEO Jay-Z combined to heighten her profile in the 2000s, making the singer a virtual mainstay in the entertainment world. While some media outlets derisively championed Paris Hilton as “the next Marilyn Monroe,” Beyoncé was a much better contender for the role, her glittering pop culture persona only matched by her success onscreen and on record.

Born in Houston in September 1981, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles began performing at age seven, winning upwards of 30 local competitions for her dancing and vocal abilities. She also joined her cousin Kelly Rowland and classmates LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett in forming an adolescent vocal group. Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé’s father and Rowland’s legal guardian, signed on to be the girls’ manager, eventually quitting his full-time job to focus on their efforts. This situation would ultimately lead to the creation of one of the most popular female R&B groups of all time — Destiny’s Child.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Beyoncé

“Inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll,” says Robin Antin, the innovator behind the singing-and-dancing ensemble that has risen from underground cool to major label hot. “It’s about female empowerment, about being confident with who you are. It’s about singing and dancing in front of a mirror by yourself and having fun.” With their debut album, PCD, set for release by A&M Records on September 13, 2005 (led by the #1 smash “Don’t Cha,” a duet with Busta Rhymes and produced by Cee-Lo), The Pussycat Dolls go beyond being extraordinarily beautiful. With tremendous voices, and after working with today’s top songwriters and producers (including Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas, Timbaland, Rich Harrison, Sean Garrett and Ron Fair), The Pussycat Dolls are ready to stamp their mark on music and on attitudes.

“To me, a Pussycat Doll is fearless but also vulnerable,” says lead singer Nicole Scherzinger. “We’re strong but we like to play too. The line in ‘Don’t Cha’–’don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me’–is meant to be empowering. The Pussycat Dolls are not about just being hot but also about saying something with real feeling.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Pussycat Dolls

Tiësto’s career is punctuated by landmark achievements – the first DJ in the world to sell out a solo stadium event for over 25,000 people 2 nights in a row, he scored a number one hit with his single Traffic, the first instrumental track to reach the top spot in his homeland of Holland in 23 years. His remix of Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan’s Silence was the first house track ever broadcast on daytime radio in North America, (it became an international dancefloor anthem and also spent eight weeks in the UK top 10 chart). He played live in front of billions of people during the Parade of the Athletes at the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. But despite his meteoric success, Tiësto remains grounded about his achievements and clearly loves making and playing music above the accolades it brings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Dj Tiësto