Martika (album)
''Martika'' is the debut studio album by former child actor and teen pop singer Martika, released October 18, 1988 through CBS Records. Background The album marked the solo debut for Martika, and spawned the American #1 single "Toy Soldiers". The song is about drug addiction, but can sound like a break-up ballad. The song was later sampled by rapper Eminem for his 2004 song "Like Toy Soldiers" featuring Martika as the chorus singer. Songs that charted internationally included "More Than You Know", "Water", and "I Feel the Earth Move", a Carole King cover that cracked the American Top 25. Stylistically the music was strictly pop, despite exploring some adult topics lyrically. The song "Water" is partially sung in Spanish, a homage to Martika's Cuban ancestry. Other songs were re-recorded fully in Spanish for international release. The album was successful in the United States; it managed to peak at #15 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA, making it her bes ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Martika
Marta Marrero (born May 18, 1969), better known by her stage name Martika ( ), is an American pop singer and actress. She released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which sold over four million copies worldwide. Her biggest hit was " Toy Soldiers", which peaked at #1 for two weeks on the American chart in mid-1989. She is also known for her role as Gloria on ''Kids Incorporated''. Early life, family and education Martika was born in Whittier, California to Cuban parents from Havana. Career Early career She entered mainstream show business in an uncredited role as one of the girls in the 1982 motion picture '' Annie''. This led to her being cast as Gloria on the long-running children's show ''Kids Incorporated'' as one of a group of neighborhood children who rise to local fame by singing staged productions at a corner malt shop. Once the second season began, she formally adopted her stage name Martika Marrero before shortening it to the mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Eminem's global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him widely controversial, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as an influence for many artists of various genres. After the release of his debut album ''Infinite'' (1996) and the extended play ''Slim Shady EP'' (1997), Eminem signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and subsequently achieved mainstream popularity in 1999 with ''The Slim Shady LP''. His next two releases, ''The Marshall Mathers LP'' (200 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cross My Heart (Eighth Wonder Song)
"Cross My Heart" is a song recorded by English pop band Eighth Wonder. It was the second single from the album ''Fearless'' and the group's sixth single. It proved to be almost as successful chartwise as "I'm Not Scared", reaching the top ten in Italy, Norway and Switzerland, and the top twenty in France, Germany and United Kingdom. It was a minor success in the US, peaking at number 56, but remains the band's only American top 75 hit single. The video was directed by Dieter 'Dee' Trattmann. The song was also notably recorded by American singer Martika. Overview Songwriter Michael Jay says the track was originally written for Martika, who he was planning to produce and launch as a pop star. However, his publishing deal at the time required that his songs not be withheld exclusively for one artist, and were to be shopped around for placement with other acts. Eighth Wonder's version of "Cross My Heart" followed Tracie Spencer's January 1988 version which featured on her self-titl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Greg Smith (American Musician)
Gregory Smith is an American bassist and vocalist. He has collaborated with Billy Joel, Wendy O. Williams, Alice Cooper, Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult, Dokken, Vinnie Moore, Joe Lynn Turner, Ted Nugent, Tommy James & the Shondells, Alan Parsons, The Turtles, Felix Cavaliere, Chuck Negron, Joey Molland, Denny Laine, Glenn Frey, and The Wizards of Winter. Smith appears in the film ''Wayne's World'' as a member of Alice Cooper's band, performing "Feed My Frankenstein "Feed My Frankenstein" is a song originally written and originally by British hard rock band Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction for their album '' Hoodlum Thunder''. American singer Alice Cooper covered it on his 19th solo studio album, ''H ...". References External links * Ted NugentGreg Smith Interview at GuitarVideoChannel.com 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians American male ba ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Big Fun (band)
Big Fun was a British boy band that was active between 1988 and 1994. The band consisted of Phil Creswick, Mark Gillespie and Jason John (a.k.a. Jason Herbert). They were produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. Career Before they were Big Fun, Creswick and John were in another regroup of Ian Levine's boy band Seventh Avenue with Mark Long. The other member of the group at that time was Steve Crawley who provided lead vocals for the group, and sang live at nightclub appearances across the UK. Other original Big Fun members included Keith Davies from Stretford in Manchester, who went on to star in ''Coronation Street''. Their only album, '' A Pocketful of Dreams'' was released in 1990, and reached the top 10 in the UK Albums Chart. Singles released from the album included "Blame It on the Boogie", a cover version of The Jacksons' 1978 hit, "Can't Shake the Feeling", and " Handful of Promises". "I Feel the Earth Move" was intended to be their first single (and promo copies were cir ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eighth Wonder (band)
Eighth Wonder were an English pop band, formed in 1983 in London, initially composed of singer/model/actress Patsy Kensit, her brother Jamie Kensit, Steve Grantley, Geoff Beauchamp, Nigel Davis, Jake Walters and Lawrence Lewis. The band first enjoyed major success in Japan and Italy in 1985–87, before finally breaking through in the UK and across Europe in 1988, thanks to their hit single "I'm Not Scared". Biography Early years Eighth Wonder's roots are with a band called Spice. In 1983, Jamie Kensit auditioned his sister Patsy Kensit, then aged 15, for the vacant job of lead singer in his new band. The line-up consisted of her on vocals, Jamie Kensit and Geoff Beauchamp on guitar, Lawrence Lewis on bass, Jake Walters on drums and Nigel Davis on percussion. Spice made their live debut in autumn 1983, and then spent the next year playing further gigs, hoping to gain some attention from record labels. In late 1984, Davis left to start the band 'Slipstream' and keyboard-player ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Recording Industry Association Of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legally sold recorded music in the United States". RIAA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. RIAA was formed in 1952. Its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the stereophonic record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3, 45, and 78 rpm records. RIAA says its current mission includes: #to protect intellectual property rights and the First Amendment rights of artists #to perform research about the music industry #to monitor and review relevant laws, regulations, and policies Between 2001 and 202 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic Ocean meet. Cuba is located east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the American state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola ( Haiti/Dominican Republic), and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The official area of the Republic of Cuba is (without the territorial waters) but a total of 350,730 km² (135,418 sq mi) including the exclusive economic zone. Cuba is the second-most populous country in the Caribbean after Haiti, with over 11 million inhabitants. The territory that is now Cuba was inhabited by the Ciboney people from the 4th millennium BC with the Gua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |