Biographies Of the Music Stars
Britney Spears At 17, Britney Spears enjoys being a girl. She loves colors that pop and shopping till you drop, romance novels and idyllic days at the beach. Untamed and untarnished as they come, the bright beautiful teen from Kentwood, Louisiana (pop:1200), is poised to liven up the pop world with the irresistible collection of songs on her Jive Records self-titled debut release.
Produced by Eric Foster White (Whitney Houston, Hi-Five) and Max Martin (Robyn, Backstreet Boys, Ace of Base), the album showcases Britney's unbridled effervescence and musical curiosity. From the sweet melody of "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart," to the driving funk of "One More Time," to the funky reggae beats of "Soda Pop," to her soulful take on the Jets hit "You've Cot It All," Britney's lively, assured vocal style is intoxicating. "I want to be an artist that everyone can relate to, that's young, happy and fun," she says.
Despite a refreshingly adolescent attitude, Britney's life has hardly been traditional. "I've done the prom thing, but it's only once a year," she notes about her unconventional teenage lifestyle. "I need to sing and I love to travel."
Performing since early childhood in local dance reviews and church choirs, she auditioned for the Disney Channel's "Mickey Mouse Club" series at age eight in Atlanta. Too young for her series, but too talented to dismiss, a producer on the show helped Britney secure an agent in New York City, where she spent the next three summers studying at the renowned Off-Broadway Dance Center and at the Professional Performing Arts School. She also began appearing in national commercials and Off-Broadway shows including the 1991 comedy, "Ruthless," based on the 1956 thriller "The Bad Seed." "At 10 I was playing this really bad child who seems real sweet but she's evil too. It was so much fun," she recalls.
Finally old enough at age 11, Britney earned a coveted place in "Mickey Mouse Club." After two years performing on the popular children's TV show filmed in Orlando, Britney returned to Kentwood for one completely normal year of high school at age 14. "It was fun for awhile but I started getting itchy to get out again and see the world," she says.
A devoted fan of pop music- her favorites include Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston- Britney once again went to New York to pursue her dream. "I had always wanted to be a singer," she says. "It's what I always wanted to do since I was little." Now a seasoned performer at age 15, an audition for an all girl vocal group led to her developing a solo career as a pop singer as well as continuing her high school studies with tutors. "I need a lot of help in geometry and Spanish!" she admits.
Recording with Martin in Sweden this past spring and in New Jersey with Foster White, Britney's ready to make her own special mark on the world. "I love performing more than anything and having people hear my music. I know I've had to give some stuff up to do this, but I don't miss high school. When I was home two years ago, every weekend we'd go out and do the same thing. It's wonderful as long as you love what you're doing, but I'd rather be doing this!"
Mariah was the third and final child born to Patricia, an Irish-American mezzo soprano opera singer/vocal coach, and Alfred Roy Carey, a Venezuelan-black aeronautical engineer. She was born on Friday March 27th 1970 in New York. She was raised on Long Island, New York with her sister Alison, and brother Morgan
Her family faced a fair amount of prejudice due to its mixed heritage. Mother, Patricia was disowned by her family when she married Alfred Roy Carey. Over the years, the couple had various atrocities waged against them by bigots, including having their cars blown up and their dogs poisoned. The marriage crumbled under the strain of such malicious events, and the couple divorced when Mariah was three years old. Mariah's older sister moved in with their father, and her older brother was soon off to college, leaving just Mariah at home with a mother who struggled to make ends meet.
Patricia Carey's vocation qualified her to truly "discover" her daughter's talent. At just two-and-a-half years of age, Mariah first demonstrated her vocal talent by singing part of the Italian opera 'Rigoletto' while her mother was practising. "From the time Mariah was a tiny girl," Patricia recalled, "she sang on true pitch. She was able to hear a sound and duplicate it exactly." The proud mother nurtured her daughter's talent by coaching her at home, all the while trying not to force the issue too much, and in 1976 Mariah made her public debut in talent shows and at folk-music festivals
Mariah always "knew" that, without a doubt, she would be a singing star. When asked by her teachers to do her homework, she'd reply that it was unnecessary- she'd never need to go to college for her career as a superstar. Her mother's request to clean her room was answered similarly: when Mariah was a superstar, she'd have a maid. Mariah, you see, might be the last person in the world to admit that her stardom was not inevitable.
As a teenager, she was already devoting an inordinate amount of time to singing- so much so that her nickname in high school was "Mirage." From about age 14, she sang on demo tapes at various recording studios around Long Island. Mariah began writing songs with her friend Ben Margulies at about age 16, and in 1986 cut her first demo with her brother.
After graduating from high school in 1987, and leaving home to pursue her ambitions, Mariah spent some time as a waitress, beauty salon janitor, and hat check girl in New York. An astonishingly bad one, to hear her tell of it. She went through any number of waitressing jobs during those years, getting fired from a number of them- many times for her 'attitude,' possible meaning her attitude that waiting tables was not as important as recording music.
Eventually she got the chance to audition as a concert background vocalist for Brenda K Starr, and that turned out to be the break she needed. While attending a recording industry party with Starr in 1988, she was introduced to CBS Music president Tommy Mottola , and the demo cassette she handed him was her ticket to a recording contract with the label.
The next few years were a rush of cross-continental album production. Her first album, Mariah Carey, was produced by Narada Michael Walden, whose work with Whitney Houston and George Michael was some of their most popular work. One track was also produced by Walter Afanasieff, then fairly unknown, but later to become quite important to Mariah. The debut album created quite a stir, largely because of the incredible virtuosity of her voice, which many say is rivaled only by that of Whitney Houston. Critics babbled on and on about her remarkable octave-dancing (Carey has a vocal range of between five and seven octaves, based on varying reports)
The album produced four number one singles in a row. This is interesting not only because it's fairly unique, but because Sony has always made a big deal about Mariah's 'number one's,' even to the point of seeming disappointed about one single only hitting #2. The four singles, "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Some Day," and "I Don't Wanna Cry," all reflect Mariah's lyrical base in romance. It's by far the most popular subject for Mariah's songs. She says that she thinks "that everyone can pretty much relate to songs about love... Love is something that everyone has experienced."
She released her second album, Emotions , the following year. She had her fifth consecutive number one single. Emotions was partially produced by Walter Afanasieff and partially by the team of Clivilles and Cole (the C&C behind the Music Factory). The album included a number of dance numbers that pushed her ability to emote, rather than her ability to hit the 'high stuff.' And she began to test the waters on touring.
Mariah has always had a different relationship to touring than most artists. She has performed what might be called boutique concerts- avoiding the grueling schedules and long periods away from home that the music business demands of many artists. So her concert tours are always very short, very well rehearsed and to the point, and always sold out.
Her most spectacular and successful live performance was not a huge stage show, but an intimate audience show. MTV Unplugged provided Mariah with the opportunity to perform live the way she wanted to. And with the success of the show, the video, the album, and especially her version of the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There," Mariah's career was confirmed.
Her wedding with Tommy Mottola in June 1993 was a bit like a Royal wedding, as Mariah modelled it on the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Her excuse for using the Royal wedding as a basis for her own was that she never really had much interest in weddings as a girl, and she wanted to know what such a gala affair should be like.
Even the tiara she wore, a family heirloom, was redesigned to look like the Princess's. Her wedding dress was an ivory-silk duchess satin gown designed by Vera Wang, with a 8.25 m (27') train and matching satin pumps.
The whole affair cost almost $US0.5M, not including the 1893 sixpence Mariah wore in one of her shoes for luck. Fifty flower girls, an eight-piece orchestra, and a boys' choir convened with three-hundred VIPs. The two were married in a Manhattan church in front of Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Robert DeNiro. Carey remembers: "When I look back and think about it, it's so unbelievable! I mean, it really is like Cinderella."
Her next album, Music Box, was different from the earlier Emotions, in her decreasing reliance on studio production, and a move to a more spare sound. You wouldn't go so far as to say the album had a raw, live sound. But with the number of producers and writers who worked on the album (including Afanasieff, Babyface, and Clivilles and Cole), the fact that it hangs together as a whole says that no single influence pushed her too far.
But the album didn't please critics. Where they had loved the Unplugged album, they found this one 'passionless,' or 'limp.' It didn't stop the album from being a success, nor from it meaning a great deal to people.
As a Long Island girl, she was profoundly affected by the LIRR shootings that year, and dedicated "Hero," the second single, to the victims. As she says of "Hero," "One person could say 'Hero' is a schmaltzy piece of garbage, but another person can write me a letter and say, 'I've considered committing suicide every day of my life for ten years until I heard that song and I realized after all I can be my own hero.' ...it meant something to someone."
Merry Christmas, her November 1994 release, balanced old Christian hymns and new songs: it was, in fact, two original songs which were the singles from the album. "Miss You Most At Christmastime" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
And in 1995, she released Daydream- a break with past albums. For one thing, it contained a number of collaborations that weren't simply song "writing" efforts. Her duet with Wu-Tang rapper Old Dirty Bastard, "Fantasy" hit number one (she directed the video for that one herself), and the Boyz II Men collaboration "One Sweet Day" soon followed.
In the same year, Mariah donated $1 million to a New York camp that provides summer vacations for disadvantaged inner-city kids. The camp was subsequently renamed Camp Mariah.
In 1996 Mariah establishes her very own record label, Crave
On May 22 1997 Mariah wins a trial in which a former bodyguard of hers claims that she stole the song Hero. It ends up that the bodyguard, Christopher Seletti, was fined $5000 for a waste of the court's time.
On May 30 1997 After many rumors, Tommy Mottola and Mariah finally file for divorce, after 4 years of marriage.
Mariah's latest release, Butterfly, features 11 new tracks written by Carey and a host of music's most illustrious collaborators including Sean "Puffy" Combs, David Morales; guest musicians Mase & The Lox and Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone from Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony and covers The Artist's "The Beautiful Ones." "Honey," the first single from Butterfly, debuted on "Billboard's" Hot 100 at No. 1 giving Carey the most chart toppers of any solo female artist in the rock era. According to "Billboard's" Hot 100, only six singles have debuted at No. 1 and Mariah Carey owns half of them. 		Mariah Carey
Christina Aguilera Christina Aguilera's story is a Hollywood dream come true. The daughter of a father in the military and a violinist/pianist mother who toured Europe with the Youth Symphony Orchestra, this 18-year-old has traveled the world, living for a time in Japan, Florida, Texas and New Jersey, before settling in Wexford, PA, a suburb of Pitssburgh.
"I wanted to perform as long as I could remember" says the blonde, blue eyed high school senior. Christina first begean performing in school talent shows.As an eight-year-olk she appeared on the nationally syndicated "Star Search", at age tne she sang the National Anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins, and then, at age 12 landed a spot on the "New Mickey Mouse Club" appearing on the Orlando-based show along with several other future stars, including Britney Spears, J.C. and Justin of 'N Sync and the star of Felicity, "Keri Russel".
After two years on the weekly Disney show, Christina traveled overseas to further hone her musical skills. she recorded a duet, "All I Wanna Do", with Japanese pop star Keizo Nakanishi, appeared in the video and toured in Japan. Later that year, the young show biz veteran almost caused a riot at the Golden Stag Festival in Transylvania, Romania when she waded into the crowd of 10,000 while performing her two-song set on a bill which included Sheryl Crow and Diana Ross.
On her return to the States in early 1998, Christina was invited to audition to record, "Reflection", for the Disney animated film "Mulan". The studio's search for a powerful voice with a wide vocal range quickly ended. They needed someone "who could hit a high "E" above middle "C", according to Christina. At her manager's request, Christina cut a one take demo on her boombox in her living room singing to a karaoke tape of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Run To You".
The demo was FedExed to Disney - they loved it- and within 48 hours, the young girl with the unique mature voice was in a Los Angeles studio recording "Reflection". That very same week RCA Records signed her to a record contract. Mulan premiered in June, 1998 and "Reflection" turned into a Top 15 A/C single, with Christina performing it live on "CBS This Morning" and the "Donnie & Marie Show". "The song's theme -- the struggle to establish your identity - was something I could really relate to as a teenage girl myself", says Christina. The song also related well to critics, garnering a Golden Globe Nomination for best original song in a motion picture.
On her debut album for RCA, Christina continues to define herself and showcase her special voice. From the sparkling upbeat dance-pop of the first single, "Genie In A Bottle", to the guitar driven, heartfelt fun of "What A Girl Wants", to the soulful gospel strains of "So Emotional" and the truly awe-inspiring ballad, "I Turn To You", Christina's powerful affecting voice intertwined the themes of finding your own identity with the uncertainties of growing up.
"I was trilled to work with so many great producers on this album", gushes Christina. Recent hitmakers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers ('N Sync, Boyzone, Brand New Heavies) contribute a pair of tracks - the pop-soul "Love For All Seasons" and the rousing dance-floor smash "Love Will Find A Way". "Genie In A Bottle" was produced by ex-System member David Frank and Steve Kipner.
The uncomplicated, heartfelt "Blessed" was penned and produced by Travon Potts (co-writer of Monica's chart topping "Angel of Mine"). Christina is especially proud of her ballads, including the Matthew Wilder (No Doubt) produced "Reflection" and the spine-tingling Diane Warren ballad "I Turn To You", produced by Guy Roche (Brandy, Dru Hill, Aaliya, K-Ci & Jo Jo). Her soaring uptempos and thrilling ballads serve as ample proof that Christina is not just a new kid on the block, but a prime candidate for the for the Voice of her generation. This debut album marks another huge step for Christina the road of commercial and critical succes.
With numerous television appearances to her credit, it is not surprising that Christina has recently been approached by a number of directors for roled in films going into production this summer. But, this blond beauty with dazzling blue eyes is going to wait a bit before pursuing more time in front of the camera. "Right now, I'm continuing ro focus on my singing", says Christina, "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life".
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