2Pac
2Pac was born on June 16, 1971 in the East Harlem section of Manhatten. He is often referred to by his stage names which include 2Pac and Makaveli. Shakur’s professional entertainment career began in the early 1990s, when he debuted his rapping skills on “Same Song” from the Digital Underground album “This is an EP Release”. In November of 1991 2Pac released his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now. It never topped higher than the number 34 spot on the Billboard 200. 2Pacalypse Now can be found in the Vinyl Countdown and in the instruction manual for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
From 1993-1996 2Pac released four albums, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z, Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He died several days later on September 13,1996. After his death five of his albums were released posthumously. These included Until the End of Time, Better Dayz and Loyal to the Game. Four of these albums went platinum. According to Forbes, in 2008 the estate of 2Pac made $15 million off of Tupac related sales.
Paramore
Paramore is a band that was formed in 2004 in Franklin, Tennessee. It consist of five members, Hayley Williams-lead vocals and keyboard, Josh Farro-led guitar, Jeremy Davis-bass guitar, Taylor York-rythm guitar and Zac Farro-drums and percussion. In 2002, at the age of 13, vocalist,Hayley Williams moved from her hometown Meridian, Mississippi to Franklin, Tennessee where she met two brothers Josh and Zac Farro while she was attending a private school. The band’s first song written together was “Conspiracy”, which was later used on their debut album. In September of 2005 they released their debut album entitled All We Know Is Falling.
Although failing to chart on the Billboard 200, the album has reached number eight on the U.K Rock Chart. In June of 2007, Paramore released their sophomore album, Riot!. The album was certified platinum in July 2008 by the RIAA in the U.S. and went gold in the U.K. Paramore’s second album spawned four singles, That’s What You Get, Hallelujah, Misery Business and Crushcrushcrush. Paramore has been nominated and have won several awards including MTV Video Music Brasil Award For Best International Artist, Teen Choice Awards For Best Rock Track and the Shockwaves NME Awards 2009 For Sexiest Female In A Rock Group.
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook was born in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York on January 25, 1981. She is better known by her stage name Alicia Keys. At the age of four, Alicia Keys made her television debut on the popular sitcom The Cosby Show. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. On June 5, 2001 Alicia Keys released her debut album entitled Songs in A Minor. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over a quarter million units. To date the album has sold over eleven million units worldwide.
In 2003, she released her sophomore album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. It garnered the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2005 and was nominated for Album of the Year. She went on to release her third album in 2007 entitled “As I Am”. It sold over 700,000 copies it’s first week. Alicia Keys also had roles in the movies Smoking Aces and the Nanny Diaries during that year. In 2008 she continued her acting work with the role of June Boatwright in The Secret Life of Bees.
Fergie
Fergie was born Stacy Ann Ferguson on March 27, 1975 in Hacienda Heights, California. Through dance school, her mom found young Fergie an agent. The agent landed her voice over work on the popular cartoon Peanuts. Than from 1984 to 1989, she spent summers performing on the television show Kids Incorporated. Until she released her solo career she was a member of The Black Eyed Peas. In 2006, Fergie released her debut album, The Dutchess. The album produced 5 top five singles in the U.S including three number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. These singles were London Bridge, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Glamorous.
All five of the singles off of the album sold over two million digital downloads each in the U.S. This is an all time record for the digital sale of music to date. The album has currently sold over six million copies worldwide. In 2007 Fergie starred in Robert Rodriguez’ movie Planet Terror. In 2009 she starred in the movie entitled Nine. Fergie has one numerous awards including MTV Australian Video Music Awards for Sexiest Video and the American Music Awards award for Best Pop Female Artist. She was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song “Big Girls Don’t Cry”.
Jesse McCartney
Jesse Abraham Arthur McCartney, known simply by Jesse McCartney was born on April 9, 1987 in Ardsley, New York. At the age of ten he joined the national tour of The King and I before moving to Los Angeles at the age of eleven to pursue an acting career. From 1998–2001, JesseMcCartney played Adam Chandler Jr. in the ABC soap opera All My Children, a role for which he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination. In 1999, McCartney joined the pop boy band named Dream Street, and was a member until he left in early 2002. Than in September of 2004 he released his debut album, Beautiful Soul.
The album made it to the 15th spot on the Billboard 200 and has spawned 4 singles. To date the album has gone platinum. In 2006 he released his second albu entitled Right Where You Want Me. The album has sold over four hundred thousand copies and debuted at the number fifteen spot on the Billboard 200. On May 20, 2008 Jesse McCartney released his third album, Departure. The album has sold over a quarter million copies to date. The album was re-released on April 7, 2009 under the name “Departure: Recharged”.