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Hard Candy (Madonna Album)
''Hard Candy'' is the eleventh studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on April 19, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was her final studio album with the record company, marking the end of a 25-year recording history. Madonna started working on the album in early 2007, and collaborated with Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, the Neptunes and Nate "Danja" Hills. ''Hard Candy'' is primarily a dance-pop record, incorporating hip hop, electropop, disco, electro, funk and R&B. The Pet Shop Boys were also asked to collaborate with Madonna on the album by Warner Bros., but the record company later changed their mind and withdrew their invitation. The singer became interested in collaborating with Timberlake after hearing his 2006 album ''FutureSex/LoveSounds''. Together they developed a number of songs for the album, but the basis of the development was Pharrell Williams's demos. Madonna had a number of songs written down for the album, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, and visual presentation. She has pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in mainstream music, while continuing to maintain control over every aspect of her career. Her works, which incorporate social, political, sexual, and religious themes, have generated both controversy and critical acclaim. A prominent cultural figure crossing both the 20th and 21st centuries, Madonna remains one of the most "well-documented figures of the modern age", with a broad amount of scholarly reviews and literature works on her, as well as an academic mini subdiscipline devoted to her named Madonna studies. At 20 years old, Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, while Hugo tends to stay behind the scenes. The Neptunes have produced hit songs for a multitude of artists, including N.O.R.E., Clipse, Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Mystikal, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Usher, Nelly, Gwen Stefani, and Snoop Dogg. In 2009, '' Billboard'' ranked the Neptunes number one on their list of the top 10 producers of the decade. In January 2020, the Neptunes were announced to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class, and in May 2021, Hugo and Williams received Honorary Doctorates from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. History Williams and Hugo met at a summer camp for the school of the Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where Williams pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Single (music)
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. In other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. Despite being referred to as a single, in the era of music downloads, singles can include up to as many as three tracks. The biggest digital music distributor, the iTunes Store, accepts as many as three tracks that are less than ten minutes each as a single. Any more than three tracks on a musical release or thirty minutes in total running time is an extended play (EP) or, if over six tracks long, an album. Historically, when mainstream music was purchased via vinyl records, singles would be released double-sided, i.e. there was an A-side and a B-side, on which two songs would appear, one on each si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Madonna
The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found both in Catholic and Orthodox countries. The paintings are usually icons which are Byzantine in origin or style, some of which were produced in 13th- or 14th-century Italy. Other examples from the Middle East, Caucasus or Africa, mainly Egypt and Ethiopia, are even older. Statues are often made of wood but occasionally made of stone, painted, and up to tall. They fall into two main groups: free-standing upright figures or seated figures on a throne. There are about 400–500 Black Madonnas in Europe, depending on how they are classified. There are at least 180 ''Vierges Noires'' in Southern France alone, and there are hundreds of non-medieval copies as well. Some are in museums, but most are in churches or shrines and are venerated by believ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he has produced songs for various recording artists. In 1999, he became lead vocalist of the band N.E.R.D., which he formed with Hugo and drummer Shay Haley. Williams has been widely referred to as one of the most influential and successful music producers of the 21st century, having had a significant impact on the sound of modern popular music. Williams released his debut solo album, '' In My Mind'', in 2006. In 2013, he produced and was featured alongside T.I. on the song " Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke and his song " Happy" was the lead single for the soundtrack of the film ''Despicable Me 2''. In the same year, he was featured on Daft Punk's single " Get Lucky", which won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FutureSex/LoveSounds
''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake, released on September 8, 2006 by Jive Records and Zomba. Following a three-year writing hiatus, Timberlake conceived the album in collaboration with producer Timbaland and the latter's colleague Danja primarily at Timbaland's Thomas Crown Studios. By comparison with Timberlake's debut album '' Justified'' (2002), ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' was influenced by a wider range of genres including techno, electro-funk, trance, and rock. It features reprises and interludes interspersed with the album's full songs. ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' received mostly positive reviews from critics, who noted its wide range of influences and eclectic sound. The album produced six singles that attained chart success; including US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles: "SexyBack", " My Love", and " What Goes Around... Comes Around". With " Summer Love", the album achieved four US Mainstream Top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music history in the 1999 edition of ''The Guinness Book of Records''. Three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, since 1984 they have achieved 42 top 30 singles, 22 of these being top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart, including four UK number ones: "West End Girls" (also number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100), "It's a Sin", a synth-pop version of " Always on My Mind", and "Heart". Other hit songs include a cover of " Go West", and their own "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", and " What Have I Done to Deserve This?" in a duet with Dusty Springfield. With five US top ten singles in the 1980s, they are associated with the Second British Invasion. At the 2009 Brit Awards in London, the Pet Shop Boys recei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythms, pitch corrected vocals, and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement. Electronic influences are becoming an increasing trend and the use of hip hop or dance-inspired beats are typical, although the roughness and grit inherent in hip hop may be reduced and smoothed out. Contemporary R&B vocalists often use melisma, and since the mid-1980s, R&B rhythms have been combined with elements of hip hop culture and music and pop culture and pop music. Pre-history According to Geoffrey Himes speaking in 1989, the progressive soul movement of the early 1970s "expanded the musical and lyrical boundaries of &Bin ways that haven't been equaled since". This movement was led by soul singer-songwriter/producers such as Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mid-20th century. It de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bassline played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a percussionist, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Funk typically consists of a complex percussive groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that create a "hypnotic" and "danceable" feel. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths. Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized the downbeat—with a heavy emphasis on the first bea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electro (music)
Electro (or electro- funk)Rap meets Techno, with a short history of Electro Globaldarkness.com. Retrieved on July 18, 2011. is a of and early hip hop directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars. Disco started as a mixture of music from venues popular with Italian Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans and Black Americans "'Broadly speaking, the typical New York discothèque DJ is young (between 18 and 30) and Italian,' journalist Vince Lettie declared in 1975. ..Remarkably, almost all of the important early DJs were of Italian extraction .. Italian Americans have played a significant role in America's dance music culture .. While Italian Americans mostly from Brooklyn largely created disco from scratch .." in Philadelphia and New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco can be seen as a reaction by the 1960s counterculture to both the dominance of rock music ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electropop
Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a revival of popularity and influence in the late 2000s. History Early 1980s During the early 1980s, British artists such as Gary Numan, the Human League, Soft Cell, John Foxx and Visage helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers. 21st century Britney Spears' influential fifth studio album '' Blackout'' (2007) incorporated elements of the genre, catapulting electropop to mainstream significance. The media in 2009 ran articles proclaiming a new era of different electropop stars, and indeed the times saw a rise in popularity of several electropop artists. In the Sound of 2009 poll of 130 music experts conducted for the BBC, ten of the top fifteen artist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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