Flo Rida. Sorry I couldn't find a picture.
Early Career With 2 Live Crew:Born Tramar Dillard December 16, 1979, Flo Rida grew up in the housing projects of the Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens, Florida. He has been a member of a home-grown group, the Groundhoggz, since 9th grade. At age 15, Flo Rida began working with his brother-in-law who was connected to Luther Campbell, aka Luke Skywalker, of 2 Live Crew. By 2001 Flo Rida was the promotion man for 2 Live Crew's Fresh Kid Ice when he headed out on a solo career.
Return to Florida:Through the music industry relationships he cultivated, Flo Rida met DeVante Swing of the group Jodeci and headed west to Los Angeles, California to pursue a music career. He left college to focus full-time on becoming a recording artist. "After basketball didn't work out, I knew this was what I was meant to do." After four years in California, Flo Rida returned to his home state of Florida and signed a contract with Miami hip hop label Poe Boy Entertainment in early 2006.
"Low":Flo Rida's first official single "Low" was released in October, 2007. It features vocals as well as writing and production from T-Pain. The song is featured in the soundtrack to the film Step Up 2: The Streets. It became a phenomenal smash hit hitting the top of the pop singles chart in January 2008. The song has now sold over 4.5 million digital copies, and so far is the bestselling digital single of all time. Billboard ranked the song as #23 all time in the summer of 2008.
Mail On Sunday - The Debut Album From Flo Rida:Mail on Sunday, the first full-length album from Flo Rida, was released in March 2008. It includes contributions from Timbaland, will.i.am, and J.R. Rotem among others. The singles "Elevator" and "In the Ayer" were additional top 40 pop hits.
"Right Round":Flo Rida previewed his second solo album by releasing the single "Right Round" in January 2009. It is built around the melody line of Dead or Alive's classic pop hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)." "Right Round" quickly headed to the top of the pop singles chart and set a new record for the most digital sales of a single in one week, 636,000 in the last week of February 2009.
Return to Florida:Through the music industry relationships he cultivated, Flo Rida met DeVante Swing of the group Jodeci and headed west to Los Angeles, California to pursue a music career. He left college to focus full-time on becoming a recording artist. "After basketball didn't work out, I knew this was what I was meant to do." After four years in California, Flo Rida returned to his home state of Florida and signed a contract with Miami hip hop label Poe Boy Entertainment in early 2006.
"Low":Flo Rida's first official single "Low" was released in October, 2007. It features vocals as well as writing and production from T-Pain. The song is featured in the soundtrack to the film Step Up 2: The Streets. It became a phenomenal smash hit hitting the top of the pop singles chart in January 2008. The song has now sold over 4.5 million digital copies, and so far is the bestselling digital single of all time. Billboard ranked the song as #23 all time in the summer of 2008.
Mail On Sunday - The Debut Album From Flo Rida:Mail on Sunday, the first full-length album from Flo Rida, was released in March 2008. It includes contributions from Timbaland, will.i.am, and J.R. Rotem among others. The singles "Elevator" and "In the Ayer" were additional top 40 pop hits.
"Right Round":Flo Rida previewed his second solo album by releasing the single "Right Round" in January 2009. It is built around the melody line of Dead or Alive's classic pop hit "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)." "Right Round" quickly headed to the top of the pop singles chart and set a new record for the most digital sales of a single in one week, 636,000 in the last week of February 2009.
Usher, Baby!!! (darth vader??? what's with that???)
Usher's Early Life:Usher Raymond IV was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee October 14, 1978. As a child he learned to sing in the church choir. By his junior high school years, Usher was winning local talent shows. His family decided to relocate to Atlanta to give him more opportunity for success with a career in music. At the age of 14, Usher was invited to audition for LaFace Records co-founder L.A. Reid.
Beginning of a Recording Career:Identified simply as Usher, the young recording artist released his first, self-titled album in 1994. It was co-produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs. The album peaked at 167 on the Billboard album chart. None of the 3 singles released from the collection managed to make the Billboard pop top 40. Usher completed his high school education and then set to work on a second album.
'My Way' Breakthrough:My Way, released in the fall of 1997, was a major breakthrough album for Usher. The album's lead single, "You Make Me Wanna," reached #2 on the pop singles chart and is one of the longest charting R&B hits of all time. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard album chart and eventually sold 6 million copies. A second single, "Nice & Slow," was a #1 hit.
'8701':It would be nearly 4 years before Usher's 3rd studio album, 8701, was released. In between, in 1999, a concert album titled simply Live appeared and was certified gold for sales of over 500,000. 8701 was released in August of 2001 and became an instant smash. The album hit #4 once again, sold over 4 million copies, and included the #1 singles "U Remind Me," and "U Got It Bad." Songs from the album won Usher Grammy Awards in consecutive years for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
'Confessions':"Yeah!" the lead single for Usher's 4th album Confessions, was #1 on the pop singles chart before the album ever appeared in stores in 2004. The album sold over a million copies in its first week of release, giving it one of the best single week sales totals of all time. At one point 3 singles from the album were in the pop top 10. Usher was only the 3rd artist, after the Beatles and Bee Gees, to accomplish that feat. 4 singles from the album, "Yeah!," "Burn," "Confessions, Part II," and "My Boo" reached #1. To date, Confessions has sold over 9 million copies in the US alone.
Usher's Singles That Have Reached the Pop Top 10:
Acting Career:Usher began his acting career with a recurring role in the TV comedy Moesha. He has appeared in a number of other TV shows and the films She's All That and Light It up. In 2006 Usher took over the role of Billy Flynn in the Broadway musical Chicago.
'Here I Stand' and the Future:Usher's 5th studio album Here I Stand is scheduled for release in late May 2008. It includes the hit single "Love In This Club" featuring Young Jeezy. The album includes production contributions from Jermaine Dupri and T-Pain.
Beginning of a Recording Career:Identified simply as Usher, the young recording artist released his first, self-titled album in 1994. It was co-produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs. The album peaked at 167 on the Billboard album chart. None of the 3 singles released from the collection managed to make the Billboard pop top 40. Usher completed his high school education and then set to work on a second album.
'My Way' Breakthrough:My Way, released in the fall of 1997, was a major breakthrough album for Usher. The album's lead single, "You Make Me Wanna," reached #2 on the pop singles chart and is one of the longest charting R&B hits of all time. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard album chart and eventually sold 6 million copies. A second single, "Nice & Slow," was a #1 hit.
'8701':It would be nearly 4 years before Usher's 3rd studio album, 8701, was released. In between, in 1999, a concert album titled simply Live appeared and was certified gold for sales of over 500,000. 8701 was released in August of 2001 and became an instant smash. The album hit #4 once again, sold over 4 million copies, and included the #1 singles "U Remind Me," and "U Got It Bad." Songs from the album won Usher Grammy Awards in consecutive years for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
'Confessions':"Yeah!" the lead single for Usher's 4th album Confessions, was #1 on the pop singles chart before the album ever appeared in stores in 2004. The album sold over a million copies in its first week of release, giving it one of the best single week sales totals of all time. At one point 3 singles from the album were in the pop top 10. Usher was only the 3rd artist, after the Beatles and Bee Gees, to accomplish that feat. 4 singles from the album, "Yeah!," "Burn," "Confessions, Part II," and "My Boo" reached #1. To date, Confessions has sold over 9 million copies in the US alone.
Usher's Singles That Have Reached the Pop Top 10:
- 1997 - "You Make Me Wanna" - #2
- 1998 - "Nice & Slow" - #1
- 1998 - "My Way" - #2
- 2001 - "U Remind Me" - #1
- 2001 - "U Got It Bad" - #1
- 2002 - "U Don't Have to Call" - #3
- 2004 - "Yeah!" - #1
- 2004 - "Burn" - #1
- 2004 - "Confessions, Part II" - #1
- 2004 - "My Boo" - #1
- 2005 - "Caught Up" - #8
- 2008 - "Love In This Club" - #1
Acting Career:Usher began his acting career with a recurring role in the TV comedy Moesha. He has appeared in a number of other TV shows and the films She's All That and Light It up. In 2006 Usher took over the role of Billy Flynn in the Broadway musical Chicago.
'Here I Stand' and the Future:Usher's 5th studio album Here I Stand is scheduled for release in late May 2008. It includes the hit single "Love In This Club" featuring Young Jeezy. The album includes production contributions from Jermaine Dupri and T-Pain.
