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Tamyra Gray
Tamyra Monica Gray (born July 26, 1979) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, who finished fourth place on the first season of the musical reality competition ''American Idol'' in 2002. Post ''American Idol'', Gray has begun acting on Broadway and television. She had a recurring role on the third season of the drama series ''Boston Public'' in early 2003. Personal life Gray was born in Takoma Park, Maryland and later moved to Norcross, Georgia. She graduated from Stone Mountain High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia in 1997. She began singing at an early age. She competed in several beauty pageants and was named Miss Atlanta in 1998. Gray attended Georgia State University, majoring in business law and entertainment management. Prior to ''American Idol'', she worked a variety of jobs including daycare worker, party motivator, telemarketer, waitress, and running her own cleaning service. She also filmed Coca-Cola commercials and worked with artists like her friend Lisa "Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone. A planned commuter suburb, it is situated along the Metropolitan Subdivision, Metropolitan Branch of the historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, just northeast of Washington, and it shares a border and history with the adjacent D.C. neighborhood of Takoma (Washington, D.C.), Takoma. It is governed by an elected mayor and six elected councilmembers, who form the city council, and an appointed city manager, under a Council-manager government, council-manager style of government. The city's population was 17,629 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Since 2013, residents of Takoma Park can vote in municipal election#United States, municipal elections when they turn sixteen. It was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Watters
Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I Adore Mi Amor", and "All 4 Love". Watters has also written and produced songs for Grammy-winning and nominated artists such as ''American Idol'' winners Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks, and other superstars such as Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, and Anastacia. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways including fellow hitmakers Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello. Music career Color Me Badd Watters formed what later would be known as the R&B singing group Color Me Badd in high school along with fellow members Mark Calderon, Kevin Thornton, and Bryan Abrams. After forming, the group was soon discovered by Robert "Kool" Bell of Kool and the Gang fame. Bell intro ... [...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] |
I Believe (Fantasia Song)
"I Believe" is the debut single of American Idol (season 3), ''American Idol'' season three winner Fantasia Barrino, Fantasia. The song was co-written by Louis Biancaniello, Sam Watters, and former ''American Idol'' contestant Tamyra Gray. Released in the United States on June 15, 2004, "I Believe" debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 142,000 copies during its first week and winning three ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' awards. The song also reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart and number four on Australian ARIA Singles Chart. It was included on Fantasia's debut album, ''Free Yourself'', released on November 23, 2004. Background Fantasia Barrino, Fantasia sang "I Believe" on the third-season finale of ''American Idol (season 3), American Idol'' as her last performance within the competition. Diana DeGarmo, the runner up of ''American Idol'' season three, sang the song first, also on the finale, for her first performance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations and additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Media Center in Tempe. Launched as a competitor to the Big Three television networks ( ABC, CBS, and NBC) on October 9, 1986, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network. It was the highest- rated free-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and again in 2020, and was the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season. Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, but these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U.S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U.S.-based Fox affiliate, either ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruben Studdard
Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar". In the years following ''Idol'', Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, '' Soulful'', and the top-selling gospel follow-up, ''I Need an Angel''. He is most well known for his recording career, which has produced hits including "Flying Without Wings", "Sorry 2004", and " Change Me", but he has also segued into television and stage work. Most notably, he starred as Fats Waller in a national tour revival of '' Ain't Misbehavin''',Ruben Studdard tours with Rob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In 2007, ASCAP ranked it the third most performed Christmas song during the preceding five years that had been written by ASCAP members. In 2004 it finished at No. 76 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs rankings of the top tunes in American cinema. ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' The song was written in 1943 for the then-upcoming film ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', for which MGM had hired Martin and Blane to write several songs. Martin was vacationing in a house in the neighborhood of Southside in Birmingham, Alabama that his father Hugh Martin had designed for his mother as a honeymoon cottage, located just down the street from his birthplace, and which later became the home of Martin and his family in 1923. The song first appeared in a scene in which a fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silent Night (song)
"Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song was first recorded in 1905 and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. History "" was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young Catholic priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, he had written the poem "" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau region, where Joseph had worked as an assistant priest. The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on the British television talent competition series ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK'' (2004–2010, 2014–2018) and ''Britain's Got Talent'' (2007–present), and the American television talent competition series ''American Idol'' (2002–2010), ''The X Factor (American TV series), The X Factor US'' (2011–2013), and ''America's Got Talent'' (2006–present). Cowell is the founder and sole owner of the British entertainment company Syco. After some success in the 1980s and 1990s as a record producer, talent scout and consultant in the UK music industry, Cowell came to public prominence in 2001 as a judge on ''Pop Idol'', a talent television show which he and its creator Simon Fuller successfull ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A House Is Not A Home (song)
"A House Is Not a Home" is a 1964 ballad written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name, starring Shelley Winters and Robert Taylor. The song was recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and was a modest hit in the United States for the singer, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)". Another version of the song, by Brook Benton, which was the version that appeared in the film, was released at nearly the same time. It debuted two weeks earlier on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Benton's version split airplay with Warwick's, and ultimately peaked at #75. Warwick's version of "A House Is Not a Home" fared better in Canada, where it was a top 40 hit, peaking at #37. The ballad made the R&B top 10 in Cashbox by both Warwick and Benton, with neither artist specified as best seller. Despite its modest initial success, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Grammy Award winner and three-time Academy Award winner, Bacharach's songs have been recorded by more than 1,000 different artists. , he had written 73 US and 52 UK Top 40 hits. He is considered one of the most important composers of 20th-century popular music. His music is characterized by unusual chord progressions, influenced by his background in jazz harmony, and uncommon selections of instruments for small orchestras. Most of Bacharach and David's hits were written specifically for and performed by Dionne Warwick but earlier associations (from 1957 to 1963) saw the composing duo work with Marty Robbins, Perry Como, Gene McDaniels and Jerry Butler. Following the initial success of these collaborations, Bacharach went on to write hits for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular culture. The magazine debuted on February 16, 1990, in New York City. Different from celebrity-focused publications such as ''Us Weekly'', ''People'' (a sister magazine to ''EW''), and ''In Touch Weekly'', ''EW'' primarily concentrates on entertainment media news and critical reviews; unlike ''Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', which were primarily established as trade magazines aimed at industry insiders, ''EW'' targets a more general audience. History Formed as a sister magazine to ''People'', the first issue of ''Entertainment Weekly'' was published on February 16, 1990. Created by Jeff Jarvis and founded by Michael Klingensmith, who served as publisher until October 1996, the magazine's original television advertising soliciting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
