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Free Yourself
''Free Yourself'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Fantasia, which was released on November 23, 2004. The album sold 240,000 units in its first week, reaching number eight on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album is certified platinum in the United States and has been nominated for ten awards, including three Grammy Awards. Background and development After winning ''American Idol,'' Fantasia signed to J Records with 19 Entertainment and began work on her debut album. The album was released on November 23, 2004. Its first single, "Truth Is," was released in December 2004. On June 29, 2004, her debut single "I Believe" was released and included as the closing track on ''Free Yourself''. The album was recorded in 2003 and 2004, while Fantasia was a contestant on ''American Idol.'' She worked with various producers, including Louis Biancaniello, Craig Brockman, Bryan-Michael Cox, Clive Davis, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Sean Garrett, Jazze Pha, Darkchild, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series ''American Idol'' in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, " I Believe", which debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Subsequently, she released her debut album, ''Free Yourself'', which went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA and earned Barrino three Grammy nominations in 2006. In 2006, she released her second album, ''Fantasia'', which featured the single "When I See U" which topped the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eight weeks. This album was certified Gold by the RIAA and received three Grammy nominations in 2008. She then played the part of Celie in the Broadway musical ''The Color Purple'', for which she won a 2007 Theatre World Award. Her third studio album, '' Back to Me'', was released worldwid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soulshock & Karlin
Soulshock & Karlin is a duo of Danish record producers and songwriters, Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin. They have produced many successful songs, including Monica's "Before You Walk out of My Life", Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel", JoJo's "Leave (Get Out)", and Toni Braxton's "I Love Me Some Him". In a reference to a famous commercial, Arena Magazine called the team, "''Probably the best R&B producers in the world''" (March 2001). Soulshock & Karlin have written and produced hits for many artists such as Brandy, Usher, Monica, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Craig David and Sting in " Rise & Fall", and 2Pac in "Do For Love", "Me Against The World", "I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto", "Old School", and "Baby Don't Cry." Their remix credits include Usher's "U Got It Bad," and "Brokenhearted" by Brandy and Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men. The duo took a break from working together in 2010 when Soulshock was asked to become a judge on the Danish version of ''The X Factor'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as CDs replaced LPs as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he researched using metadata to create a music guide. In 1990, in Big Rapids, Michigan, he founded ''All Music Guide' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Underdogs (production Team)
The Underdogs are an American R&B/ pop production duo composed of Harvey Mason Jr. and Damon Thomas. Biography Harvey Mason Jr. is the son of session drummer Harvey Mason Sr. Damon Thomas was a songwriting and production partner for R&B producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds during the late 1990s, and worked with Babyface on hits such as Dru Hill's "These Are the Times", Faith Evans' " Never Gonna Let You Go", and Pink's " Most Girls". Harvey Mason Jr. was part of the Darkchild crew working alongside Rodney Jerkins before teaming up with Thomas. Mason and Thomas began working together in 1999, with their first major production being Tyrese's single "I Like Them Girls". Since then, the duo has worked with a number of R&B performers, among them Lionel Richie, Omarion, J. Valentine, Justin Timberlake, Victoria Beckham, Joe, Donell Jones, Olivia, Mario, JoJo, Mario Vazquez, Stacie Orrico, R. Kelly, Jessica Mauboy, Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks, Marques Houston, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darkchild
Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among his most successful productions are " The Boy Is Mine" and " What About Us?" by Brandy, "I Can Love You" and "Enough Cryin" by Mary J. Blige, " Daydreamin'" by Tatyana Ali, "Angel of Mine" by Monica, "It's Not Right but It's Okay" by Whitney Houston, "Say My Name" and "Cater 2 U" by Destiny's Child, "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez, "He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton, "You Rock My World" by Michael Jackson, " One Wish" by Ray J, "Déjà Vu" by Beyoncé, "Telephone" by Lady Gaga, and " As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber. Early life Jerkins' father, Frederick, is an Evangelical pastor and his mother was an housekeeper. Jerkins began playing piano at age five. He would follow his brother and father, who both played at church ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment is a producer of entertainment properties for television with a focus on music. Founded by Simon Fuller in London in 1985, the company co-produced ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom with Thames Television in 2001. The ''Idol series'' has since become one of the most successful entertainment formats, sold to more than seventy countries around the world, including ''American Idol'' in the United States. 19 Entertainment is also responsible for the production of ''So You Think You Can Dance''. Background and history Founded in London, England in 1985, 19 Entertainment was named after the Paul Hardcastle song which was one of Simon Fuller's first notable successes while working as an A&R man for Chrysalis Records. In 2001 the company co-produced ''Pop Idol'' in the United Kingdom with Thames Television. An immense success, Maggie Brown in ''The Guardian'' states, "the show became a seminal reality/entertainment format once on air that autumn". In 2009 the company anno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the music industry worldwide. It was originally called the Gramophone Awards, as the trophy depicts a gilded gramophone. The Grammys are the first of the Big Three networks' major music awards held annually, and is considered one of the four major annual American entertainment awards, alongside the Academy Awards (for films), the Emmy Awards (for television), and the Tony Awards (for theater). The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honor the musical accomplishments of performers for the year 1958. After the 2011 ceremony, the Recording Academy overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. History The Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its " number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the ''Billboard'' Top LPs (1961–1972), ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), ''Billboard'' Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums (1985–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday (to coinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Yourself (song)
"Free Yourself" is a song by American singer Fantasia. It was written by rapper Missy Elliott, Craig Brockman, and Nisan Stewart for her debut album of the same name (2004), while production was helmed by Elliott, with Brockman credited as co-producer. The song was released as the album's fourth single on June 1, 2005 in United States where it peaked at number forty-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number one on the Adult R&B Airplay chart. "Free Yourself" was nominated for two Grammy Awards (''Best R&B Song'' and ''Best Female R&B Vocal Performance''), and is the winner of an ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Award. Commercial performance "Free Yourself" was released as the fourth single from Fantasia's debut album ''Free Yourself'' on June 1, 2005 in United States. It peaked at number forty-one on US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number three on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number one the US Adult R&B Airplay chart. It received two Grammy nominations in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baby Mama (Fantasia Song)
"Baby Mama" is a song by American singer Fantasia from her debut studio album, ''Free Yourself'' (2004). It was written by Vito Colapietro, Neely Dinkins, Harold Lilly, and produced by Lilly and duo Colapietro and Dinkins under their production moniker The Co-Stars. The song samples from "There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated at the Conference Table)" by American vocal quartet The Chi-Lites. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Eugene Record and Barbara Acklin are also credited as songwriters. The song was released on May 3, 2005, as the third single from the album. "Baby Mama" was a moderate commercial success in the United States, peaking at number sixteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number sixty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Critical reception The song is very meaningful to Fantasia because it was written as an anthem to inspire single mothers across the United States to follow their dreams. Fantasia has stated that "Baby Mama" is dedicated to "all of those si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Truth Is (Fantasia Song)
"Truth Is" is the first single released by Fantasia from her debut album, ''Free Yourself''. The song peaked at number twenty-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and had great success on the US R&B 100 chart, peaking at number two and setting a record for the longest stay at number one for a female artist on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart, with fourteen consecutive weeks. In 2006, Truth Is, along with "Free Yourself", won an ASCAP R&B/Hip-Hop award. The song's distinctive piano line is sampled from "Highways of My Life" by The Isley Brothers. The song appears in the game Karaoke Revolution Party. Release and promotion Single was released on December 7, 2004, for digital download, CD and 12" vinyl. On 7" vinyl, its B-side was "Baby Mama" while on 12" vinyl and some CD versions "It's All Good" was its B-side. It was released in a digital remix EP format (Dance Vault Mixes) on March 29, 2005. It was promoted by a music video, which was released in 2004 and numerous live perfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasia (Fantasia Barrino Album)
''Fantasia'' is the second studio album by American recording artist Fantasia, released by J Records on December 12, 2006. In its first week of sales, ''Fantasia'' entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number nineteen, with 133,000 copies sold. In June 2007, ''Fantasia'' was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies. Background and recording Missy Elliott returned as one of the writers on the album, joining Big Boi of Outkast and Diane Warren as contributors. Production duo Midi Mafia, best known for their 50 Cent hit "21 Questions", also contributed five tracks to the project. The beat for "Baby Makin' Hips" was created by Don Cheegro and Dirty Harry, new producers working under the guidance of Dre & Vidal, producers of Ludacris' song "War with God". Her second single "When I See U" peaked at number thirty-two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at number-one for eight weeks on the Urban charts. The music video for When I See U was shot by Lenny Bass on March 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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