Ciara Princess Wilson is an American singer and songwriter. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, Goodies (2004). Its namesake lead single peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, while the follow-ups, "1, 2 Step" and "Oh", both peaked at number two on the chart. The album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and received two nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. Ciara also guest appeared on the 2005 singles "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott and "Like You" by Bow Wow, both of which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band Culture Club. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, Kissing to Be Clever (1982), this ballad was the band's first major hit and first UK No. 1 hit. In the United States, the single was released in November 1982 and also became a hit, reaching No. 2 for three weeks.
"Not Ready to Make Nice" is a song co-written and performed by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was released on March 20, 2006, as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, Taking the Long Way. The Dixie Chicks wrote the song in response to the backlash they experienced in 2003 after criticizing President George W. Bush.
"Baby" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber featuring American rapper Ludacris. It was released as the lead single on Bieber's debut studio album, My World 2.0. The track was written by the artists alongside Christina Milian and producers Tricky Stewart and The-Dream.
Rucka Rucka Ali is an Israeli-American rapper, singer, radio personality, comedian, YouTuber, and parodist. He is best known for his dark humor, political and topical song parodies on YouTube. Much of his content pokes fun at ethnic, racial, and religious stereotypes. As of 2024, he has amassed 450+ million views and about 1.76 million subscribers on his music channel on YouTube. He has released eight independent studio albums, four of which have charted in the Billboard Top Comedy Albums.
"Friday" is the debut single by American pop singer Rebecca Black, written and produced by Los Angeles record producers Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson. The song's music video was released on February 10, 2011; it was officially released as a single on the iTunes Store on March 14, 2011. The song features a rap verse from Wilson, which was uncredited on the single. Its music video caught a sudden surge of hits after Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax comedian Michael J. Nelson called it "the worst video ever made" on Twitter and the song was featured on the Tosh.0 blog. The song's reception was highly negative, and it was parodied by numerous artists and comedians.
Ark Music Factory was a musical composition and production company based in Los Angeles, California. The company was co-founded in 2010 by Patrice Wilson, who partnered with producer/composer and multi-instrumentalist Clarence Jey.
Rebecca Renee Black is an American singer, songwriter, and YouTuber. She gained extensive media coverage when the music video for her 2011 debut single "Friday" went viral on YouTube and various social media sites. The song had a polarizing reaction as while it peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was also panned by audiences and music critics, many of whom considered it "among the worst songs ever made". In 2013, Black released a follow up single "Saturday" to similar commercial success and marginally improved reception. Her debut studio album Let Her Burn—preceded by two extended plays—was released in February 2023 to generally favorable reviews.
Patrice Iteke Wilson, also known by his stage name Pato, is a Nigerian-American record producer, songwriter, and singer. He co-founded the ARK Music Factory in 2010, a record label which specialized in young pop artists. Wilson is credited with signing American singer Rebecca Black prior to the release of her 2011 debut single "Friday," which peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wilson and Jey wrote and produced the song, as well as most songs performed by artists of whom signed to the label; ARK shut down in 2012.
Park Jae-sang, better known by his stage name Psy, is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter. Known domestically for his humorous music videos and performances and internationally for his hit single "Gangnam Style", he has received numerous accolades, including an American Music Award, ten MAMA Awards, and a World Music Award.
Davin Tong, better known by his alias Peter Chao, is a Canadian actor, comedic vlogger, and YouTube personality known for his unconventional portrayals of Asian stereotypes, which alongside other comedic videos have amassed a following of over 1.2M followers on TikTok and almost 800,000 subscribers on YouTube. Born and raised in New Brunswick, Canada, Tong is the second son of "Chinese immigrants", while his character Chao was born and raised in Hong Kong. Tong is bilingual, speaking both fluent English and Cantonese.
Avril Lavigne is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. It was released on November 1, 2013, through Epic Records in North America and Sony Music Entertainment worldwide. Lavigne collaborated with numerous producers including Martin Johnson, Peter Svensson, David Hodges, Matt Squire, and Chad Kroeger. In both musical and lyrical aspects, the album represents a departure from the acoustic-oriented production of her previous album Goodbye Lullaby (2011), featuring a more uptempo pop sound juxtaposed with power and piano ballads. Avril Lavigne also incorporates electronic music, industrial and punk rock. The album features two vocal collaborations: Kroeger and American industrial metal singer Marilyn Manson, making Avril Lavigne Lavigne's first album to contain featured vocalists. The album marks her first and only release through Epic Records, and is her second and final studio album with Sony Music, to which, from BMG, she first signed in 2000, before being moved to Sony Music following their acquisition of all BMG labels.
Allison Gorshkov, known professionally as Allison Kove, and formerly as Alison Gold, is an American actress and former pop singer. She is best known for her music career under the stage name, "Alison Gold", in which she released the single "Chinese Food" in 2013 through PMW Live, which peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. She has since pursued an acting career under the alias, "Allison Kove", starring in several films such as Rotten (2016), The Experience (2019) and Continental Split (2024).
"Saturday" is a song by American singer Rebecca Black and American musician and YouTube personality Dave Days. The single was released on December 3, 2013, with its accompanying music video released the following Saturday, December 7. It acts as a follow-up to her first single "Friday".
Clarence Ranjith Jeyaretnam, known professionally as Clarence Jey, is a Sri Lankan born American record producer and songwriter. He co-founded ARK Music Factory with record producer Patrice Wilson in 2010. The label signed American singer Rebecca Black; Jey and Wilson wrote and produced her 2011 single "Friday", which peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Hello Kitty" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne, taken from her self-titled fifth studio album, Avril Lavigne (2013). It was written by Lavigne, Chad Kroeger, David Hodges and Martin Johnson. Production was handled by Kroeger and Hodges, with additional production by Brandon Paddock and Kyle Moorman. Musically, "Hello Kitty" is a J-pop, dubstep, and EDM song, featuring an electro-influenced drop. The song was influenced by Lavigne's affinity to the Japanese brand Hello Kitty, and has some sexual content.
"The Story of O.J." is a song by American rapper Jay-Z from his thirteenth studio album 4:44. It was produced by Jay-Z and No I.D. Following the release of the album, the song charted in a couple of regions, entering and peaking at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as charting at number 88 on the UK Singles Chart. It received three nominations at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video. The song features samples from Nina Simone's song "Four Women". The song's instrumental was used by American rapper Pusha T in his 2018 diss track against Canadian rapper and singer Drake. American rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again also remixed the song in 2020.
"If I'm Lucky" is a song by American singer and songwriter Jason Derulo, released on September 1, 2017. The song was written by Derulo and Justin Tranter, while the production was handled by Mattman & Robin.
"Freaky Friday" is a song by American rapper Lil Dicky featuring American singer Chris Brown and uncredited vocals from Ed Sheeran, DJ Khaled, and Kendall Jenner. Written alongside Ammo and Nicholas Audino and produced by Mustard, Benny Blanco and Twice as Nice, it was released by Dirty Burd on March 15, 2018, alongside its music video.
"Happy Ending" is a song by American rapper Hopsin. It was released on October 13, 2017 along with an accompanying music video as the second single from his fifth studio album No Shame. The video was originally taken down from YouTube due to featuring nudity. The song and video, which chronicle Hopsin's experience paying for sexual services at an Asian massage parlor, received nearly universally negative reviews from music critics and drew backlash for its racist and sexist depiction of Asian women.
