Linkin Park

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries. Its following studio album, Meteora, continued the band's success, topping the Billboard 200 album chart in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world. In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth greatest band of the music video era and the third best of the new millennium behind Oasis and Coldplay. Billboard ranked Linkin Park #19 on the Best Artists of the Decade chart.

Having adapted the nu metal and rap metal genres to a radio-friendly yet densely layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the band explored other genres in their next studio album, Minutes to Midnight, which was released in 2007. The album topped the Billboard charts and had the third best debut week of any album that year. The band has collaborated with several other artists, most notably with rapper Jay-Z in their mashup EP Collision Course, and many others included on Reanimation.The band's most recent work, the concept album A Thousand Suns, was released on September 8, 2010. Linkin Park has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards.

Musical style

Both Hybrid Theory and Meteora combine the alternative metal, nu metal, and rap rock sound with influences and elements from hip-hop, alternative rock, and electronica, utilizing programming and synthesizers. William Ruhlmann from Allmusic regarded it as "a Johnny-come-lately to an already overdone musical style," whereas Rolling Stone described their song "Breaking the Habit" as "risky, beautiful art".

In Minutes to Midnight the band experimented with their established sound and drew influences from a wider and more varied range of genres and styles, a process Los Angeles Times compares to a stage in U2's work. In it, only two of the songs feature rapping, and the majority of the album can be considered alternative rock. NME magazine's Dan Silver criticized the band's approach, calling it the "sound of a band trying and failing to forge a new identity", and referring to the song "Hands Held High", a song about terrorist attacks and war, as "far and away the funniest thing you will hear all year".

The vocal interplay between Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda plays as a major part within Linkin Park's music, with Bennington being the lead vocalist and Shinoda as the rapping vocalist. On Linkin Park's third album, Minutes to Midnight, Shinoda sings lead vocals on "In Between", "Hands Held High", and on the B-side "No Roads Left". On numerous songs from band's fourth album, A Thousand Suns, such as the album's four singles, both Shinoda and Bennington sing. On most of the record's tracks, the band notably used electronic drumbeats along with outro drumbeats. The album has been regarded as a turning point in the band's musical career by notable critics. James Montgomery, of MTV compared the record to Radiohead's Kid A, while Jordy Kasko of Review, Rinse, Repeat likened the album to both Kid A and Pink Floyd's landmark album The Dark Side of the Moon. Shinoda stated that he and the other band members were deeply influenced by Chuck D and Public Enemy. He elaborated: "Public Enemy were very three-dimensional with their records because although they seemed political, there was a whole lot of other stuff going on in there too. It made me think how three-dimensional I wanted our record to be without imitating them of course, and show where we were at creatively". One of the record's political elements is its samples of notable speeches by American political figures.

Band members

Current members Rob Bourdon – drums (1996-present) Brad Delson – lead guitar, backing vocals (1996-present) Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar, backing vocals (1996–1998, 1999, 2001-present) Joe Hahn – turntables, keyboard, samples, backing vocals (1996-present) Mike Shinoda – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard, production (1996-present) Chester Bennington – vocals (1999-present)

Former members Mark Wakefield – vocals (1996–1998)

Discography

Studio albums

• Hybrid Theory (2000)
• Meteora (2003)
• Minutes to Midnight (2007)
• A Thousand Suns (2010)

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Bruno Mars

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. After performing in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood, he decided to pursue a musical career and moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school. Mars began producing songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.

After an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, Mars signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. He was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".

Mars' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many different musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from different genres; Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."

Musical style

Mars' music has been noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, including pop, rock, reggae, R&B, soul, and hip hop. Although Mars has been referenced as "soft" because of his penchant for using a falsetto voice, his co-producer Philip Lawrence says, "What people don't know is there's a darker underbelly to Bruno Mars." Mars himself says, "I blame that on me singing to girls back in high school." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called him "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop, with a light, soul-influenced voice that’s an easy fit in a range of styles, a universal donor." Mars was initially influenced by R&B artists such as Keith Sweat, Jodeci and R. Kelly, as well as 1950s rock 'n' roll and Motown. In high school, he began listening to classic rock groups such as The Police, Led Zeppelin, and the Beatles. All of these genres of music have influenced Mars' musical style; he observed that "It’s not easy to [create] songs with that mixture of rock and soul and hip-hop, and there’s only a handful of them." Mars also stated that he is a fan of Alicia Keys, Jessie J, Jack White and The Saturdays.

In addition, Mars claims that his work with other artists influenced his musical style, saying that "'Nothin' on You' had a Motown vibe, 'Billionaire' was a reggae acoustic guitar-driven song, though one of my favorites is the Cee-Lo [Green] song ['Fuck You!']. I don't think anyone else could've sung that song. And there's 'Just the Way You Are.' If you know my story, you know I love all different genres of music." He cites doo-wop as a major influence on his music, referring to the genre as "just straightforward love songs – so charming and simple and romantic." In addition, Mars states that growing up in Hawaii influenced his music, giving the songs a reggae sound. He explains that "In Hawaii some of the biggest radio stations are reggae. The local bands are heavily influenced by Bob Marley. That music brings people together. It's not urban music or pop music. It's just songs. That's what makes it cross over so well. The song comes first." Lyrically, many of Mars' songs have been described as "feel-good", carefree, and optimistic, however, darker subjects are addressed in songs such as "Grenade", "Liquor Store Blues", and "Talking to the Moon", which detail failed relationships and self-destructive behavior.

Discography

• Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010)

 

 

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Bondan Prakoso & Fade 2 Black

Bondan Prakoso (born May 8, 1982) is an Indonesian singer-songwriter, bass guitarist, and record producer. He is known as the former bassist of rock band Funky Kopral (1999–2003) and the lead singer of the rap rock collaboration band, Bondan Prakoso & Fade 2 Black (2005–present). He has won several awards from Indonesian Music Awards with both Funky Kopral and his collaboration band, Bondan Prakoso & Fade 2 Black.

Biography

Early life

Bondan Prakoso was born on May 8, 1982. He is the second child of three children. Since 8 years old, Bondan had already exposed to the music industry as a child singer. He emerged as a famous young popstar in early 90's. Bondan released 8 albums in 1988-1995.

Bondan Prakoso & Fade 2 Black

This is music project collaboration between a musician, named Bondan Prakoso and a Rap hiphop group, Fade2Black; the members are Tito a.k.a Titz, Ari a.k.a Santoz, Eza a.k.a Lezzano.

In the early 2002, Bondan Prakoso who is also well known by public as a great talented bass player, who was also a former bass player in a Funk Stream band called Funky Kopral, and Tito a.k.a Titz who is known as a rapper and has group called Fade2Black, are often share their thoughts and idea to each others about music. They both came from different backgrounds of music, Bondan Prakoso plays more likely in Funk and Rock music and Titz in Rap/Hiphop. These 2 campus mates from Faculty of Culture and Humaniora, deepin' in Dutch literature, are college friends on University of Indonesia, Depok.

By the late 2003, because of the needs and his desire in acknowledging music are getting more mature, deeper and freedom in creating this art, Bondan Prakoso has decided to go further as he decided to retired from their former band, Funky Kopral.

2004 was the year where Bondan came up with an idea to merge a different kind of musics and combine them in a new package form of music, as in that mid year, he has asked Titz to join in a music project. Titz thought that it will be more strong with his group, Fade2Black in joining in.

The situation is getting more varieties and more colorfull as Bondan approved to involve this Hiphop group from Bogor, Fade2Black, in this project. Instead of only 1 rapper, this music project is combining 3 rappers, Tito a.k.a Titz, Ari a.k.a Santoz and Eza a.k.a Lezano.

By the late 2004, they were starting to go further with this project and created various kind of music with the touch of Rap, Rock, Funk as the elements. Bondan Prakoso is in-charge for the music instruments, looping, and arranging, while Fade2Black get more close to the lyrics.

The process took only 4 months to complete and in August 2005, their 1st album with the title "RESPECT" released under the Sony BMG Music Indonesia. Since then, the album which contains not only 1 type of music, but many types of musics with rap as the basic vocal by TITZ, SANTOZ and LEZANO, while in other songs also joined BONDAN PRAKOSO on vocal in singing.

With this piece of arts, they managed to received contribution and awards, such as:

- MTv Indonesia Exclusive artist in November, 2005 - MTv Advance Warning award in November, 2005 - Indonesian Music Award (AMI) 2006 , as the best Rap album production.

and in 2008, they were ready to break the Indonesian Music Industry with their more hard, impulsive, innovative forms of music. With their 2nd album, named "UNITY", and with their breakthrough single hit, KERONCONG PROTOL.

With this new debut from their second album, they've won the 2008 Indonesian Music Award (AMI) for the second time in a row for the best Rap album Production.

In 2010, they're back with their 3rd album, "FOR ALL". Hitting back the local music industry with the hits single 'Ya Sudahlah'.

Their 3rd album, "FOR ALL" gave them more chances to reach more to the TOP of Indonesian music industry. Along with their hits single "Ya Sudahlah", Bondan Prakoso & Fade2Black succeed on gaining more eyes from the public over their existence by receiving 4x Platinum Award for RBT (Ring Back Tone) download and 5 times on the Twitter Trending Topics. With that also, they have won several local awards, such as:

- Most popular song 2011 on Anugerah Music TerDahsyat 2011 (local TV music program awards), "Ya Sudahlah".

- Most popular Artis/Grup R&B/Rap/Dance on Indosat Award 2011.

- Most popular R&B/Rap/Dance song on Indosat Awards 2011, "Kita Slamanya".

On their 3rd album, they're already launching 3 singles, "Ya Sudahlah", "Kita Slamanya" and their most latest single "Tetap Semangat".

Now, on 2011, they are developing their skills and creativity on finishing their 4th album.

Discography

Bondan Prakoso & Fade 2 Black

• 2005: Respect
• 2007: Unity
• 2010: For All 

 

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The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are an American hip hop group, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide.Their first worldwide song was "Where Is the Love?" in 2003, which topped 13 charts worldwide. Another single was the European hit "Shut Up". Their next album Monkey Business, was a worldwide success, certified 4× Platinum in the U.S., and spawning two singles, "My Humps" and "Don't Phunk with My Heart".

In 2009, the group became one of only 11 artists to have simultaneously held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, with their singles "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling", with the next single "Meet Me Halfway" achieving similar success, from the album The E.N.D.. These three singles topped the chart for an unprecedented 30 consecutive weeks in 2009. The album later produced a third Hot 100 number-one placement with "Imma Be", making the group one of few to ever place three number one singles on the chart from the same album before being followed with "Rock That Body" which managed to peak in the Top 10 of Hot 100. "I Gotta Feeling" became the first single to sell more than 1 million downloads in the United Kingdom.

The Black Eyed Peas were ranked 12th on the Billboard's Decade-End Chart Artist of the Decade, and 7th in the Hot 100 Artists of the Decade. The group has been nominated for "Most Popular International Artist" in the ARIA Music Awards. In November 2010, they released the album The Beginning. The first single of the album was "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and topped the charts in many countries. In February 2011, the group performed at the Super Bowl XLV halftime show. The album's second single was "Just Can't Get Enough" and was released in February 2011. The music video was filmed in Japan one week before the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The third single "Don't Stop the Party" was released in May 2011. In July 2011 the group announced that they are taking a break and have denied breakup rumors.

History

1988–2000: Origins, formation, Behind the Front, and Bridging the Gap

The Black Eyed Peas date back to 1988, when eighth-graders William Adams (will.i.am) and Allan Pineda (apl.de.ap) met and began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles. The pair signed to Ruthless Records (run by Eazy-E) in 1992, catching the attention of Eazy-E manager, Jerry Heller's, nephew. Along with another friend of theirs, Dante Santiago, they called their trio Atban Klann (ATBAN: A Tribe Beyond a Nation). Will 1X (aka will.i.am), apl.de.ap, Mookie Mook, DJ Motiv8 (aka Monroe Walker), and Dante Santiago formed Atban Klann. Their debut album, Grass Roots, was never released because Ruthless founder Eazy-E had died.

After Eazy-E died in 1995, Atban Klann reformed and changed their name to Black Eyed Pods, and then Black Eyed Peas. Dante Santiago was replaced with Jaime Gomez (Taboo), and Kim Hill became a steady background singer. Unlike many hip-hop acts, they chose to perform with a live band and adopted a musical and clothing style that differed wildly from the "Gangsta Rap" sounds of Los Angeles-based hip-hop acts at the time. After being signed to Interscope Records and releasing their debut, Behind the Front (1998) the group (and their accompanying live band) earned critical acclaim. One of the singles from the album was "Joints & Jam", and was featured on the Bulworth soundtrack. Their second album was Bridging the Gap (2000), which had the single "Request + Line" featuring Macy Gray.

Discography

• Behind the Front (1998)
• Bridging the Gap (2000)
• Elephunk (2003)
• Monkey Business (2005)
• The E.N.D. (2009)
• The Beginning (2010)

 

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Gorillaz

Gorillaz are an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of the Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters. This band is composed of four animated members: 2D (lead vocalist, keyboard, and melodica), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar and drum machine), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and occasional vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Their fictional universe is explored through the band's website and music videos, as well as a number of other media, such as short cartoons. The music is a collaboration between various musicians, Damon being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is a composition of multiple musical genres, with a large number of influences including: alternative rock, dub, hip hop, electronic, and pop music.

The band's 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize 2001, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band's request. Their second studio album, Demon Days, released in 2005, went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the United States, earned five Grammy Award nominations for 2006 and won one of them in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category. Gorillaz have also released two B-sides compilations and a remix album. The combined sales of Gorillaz and Demon Days had, by 2007, exceeded 15 million albums. The band's third studio album, Plastic Beach, was released in March 2010. Their latest album, The Fall, was released in December 2010 as a free download for sub-division members, then in April 2011 as a physical release.

History

Formation and early years (1998–1999)

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett created Gorillaz in 1997 when they were living together in a flat on Westbourne Grove. The idea to create the band came about when the two were watching MTV, "if you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell – there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that," Hewlett said. The band originally identified themselves as "Gorilla", and the first song they recorded was "Ghost Train", later released as a B-side on their single "Rock the House" and the B-side compilation G Sides. The trio of musicians behind Gorillaz' first incarnation included Damon Albarn, Del the Funkee Homosapien and Dan the Automator, who had previously worked together on the track "Time Keeps on Slipping" for Deltron 3030's eponymous debut album. The song can be seen as the genesis of the musical style that continued into Gorillaz' first album.

Band members

 Virtual personnel

• Stuart "2D" Pot – lead vocals, keyboards, melodica, rhythm guitar (1998–present)
• Murdoc Niccals – bass guitar and drum machine (1998–Present)
• Noodle – lead guitar, backing vocals (1998–2006, 2010–present)
• Russel Hobbs – drums, percussion (active 1998–2006)
• Cyborg Noodle – lead guitar (2010–present)

Discography

Studio albums

• Gorillaz (2001)
• Demon Days (2005)
• Plastic Beach (2010)
• The Fall (2010)

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