"Black Velvet" is a song written by Canadian songwriters Christopher Ward and David Tyson, and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Alannah Myles. It was released in January 1990 as one of four singles from Myles' 1989 eponymous album from Atlantic Records. It became a number-one hit for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1990 and reached number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart, as well as number ten in her native Canada and number two on the UK Singles Chart. The power ballad also reached number one in Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland and was a major success in several other countries. It contains blues verses with a rock chorus.
Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll, known professionally as Kygo, is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 2014 single "Firestone". In late 2015, he reached 1 billion streams on Spotify faster than any other artist, and by June 2016, he had reached 2 billion streams.
Hanne Margrethe Fredriksen Sørvaag is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. For many years she was based in Stockholm, Sweden, mostly composing for other artists via Universal. Today she works from Oslo, Norway and has a career as a recording and performing artist.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours" written by Hanne Sørvaag and Fredrik Kempe. The song was performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen. In addition to participating in the contest, the Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. NRK organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2010 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo. 21 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 6 February 2010 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "My Heart Is Yours" performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from four regional jury groups and a public televote.
Didrik Solli-Tangen is a Norwegian singer who represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours".
"Don't Wanna Lose You Again" is a song by British-Norwegian boy band A1, released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Waiting for Daylight (2010).
Alexis Jordan is an American former singer and actress from Columbia, South Carolina. Jordan rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of America's Got Talent in 2006 at the age of 14. After being eliminated from the show, she began to upload cover songs to YouTube, which received millions of views. The exposure led Jordan to the attention of Norwegian production team Stargate and American rapper Jay Z, who both went on to sign her to their joint label, StarRoc.
Best Kept Secret is a 2010 single release by Norwegian recording artist Didrik Solli-Tangen, released as the second single from his first studio album Guilty Pleasures (2010). The song features the Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth.
Guilty Pleasures is the first album by Norwegian recording artist Didrik Solli-Tangen, and was released on November 1, 2010. The album's lead single, "My Heart Is Yours", was released on January 20, 2010. On 6 February 2010, it was selected as the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo in May 2010. The second single, "Best Kept Secret" featuring the Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth, was released on September 3, 2010. At an interview on the day of the album's release date, Solli-Tangen confirmed that "Compass" would be the third single.
"Skyscraper" is a song recorded by American singer Demi Lovato for her third studio album Unbroken (2011). It was released on July 12, 2011 by Hollywood Records, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Toby Gad, Lindy Robbins and by the Estonian singer Kerli and produced by Gad. American singer Jordin Sparks sang background vocals on the track. It was inspired by a picture of the apocalypse, in which the world was in ruins and among collapsed buildings, one skyscraper was still standing. When the song was recorded, Lovato was very emotional which triggered outbursts and caused her to start crying. On November 1, 2010, Lovato entered a treatment facility to deal with her personal struggles. Lovato was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Karmin was an American pop duo consisting of Amy Renee Noonan and Nick Noonan. Starting as a novelty act that released covers on YouTube, they signed in 2011 with Epic Records. In May 2012, Karmin released their debut EP Hello, which spawned the singles "Brokenhearted" and "Hello", and received mixed reviews. Rolling Stone named Karmin's lead singer Amy as the winner of "Women Who Rock" 2012 contests. In March 2014, the duo released their debut album, Pulses. The album's lead single, "Acapella", charted in the top 10 in Australia and New Zealand, and went Gold in the United States. They left Epic Records in the middle of 2014 and have since released music independently. Their second album Leo Rising was released on September 9, 2016.
James Arthur is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible", was released by Syco Music after the final, and debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Since then, it has gone on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide, making it the most successful winner's single in the show's history.
Christmas Tales is the fourth studio album and first Christmas album by the Belarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak, it was released on 23 November 2012 in Norway. It peaked at number 34 on the Norwegian Albums Chart.
Samantha Florence Bailey is an English pop singer who won the tenth series of The X Factor in 2013. Following her win, her debut single, a cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper" was released on 15 December 2013, achieving the Christmas number one on 22 December 2013. She was the first X Factor winner in three years to gain the Christmas number one spot.
Nicholas "Nicky" McDonald is a Scottish singer–songwriter and recording artist. He was the runner-up of the tenth series of The X Factor in 2013. After the show, he signed with RCA Records and released his debut album In the Arms of an Angel in March 2014. In the Arms of an Angel peaked at number one in his native Scotland, number six in the United Kingdom and number twenty-one in the Republic of Ireland. The album spawned one single, "Answerphone" which peaked at number twenty eight in Scotland and number seventy three in the United Kingdom. In 2018, McDonald released the single "Limelight", expected to be the lead single from his yet to be announced second studio album.
"Lay Me Down" is a song by English singer Sam Smith, released on 15 February 2013 as the lead single from their debut studio album In the Lonely Hour (2014). It originally peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 25 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in 2014. The song was written by Smith, Jimmy Napes and Elviin and produced by Napes and Steve Fitzmaurice.
The Power of Love is the debut studio album by English singer Sam Bailey, the winner of the tenth series of The X Factor. It is largely an album of cover versions with the exception of one original song, "Treasure". The album was released on 21 March 2014 via Syco Music and Sony Music.
X Ambassadors is an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York that consists of lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member who plays guitar and bass. Their most notable songs include "Jungle", "Renegades", and "Unsteady". The band's debut full-length album, VHS, was released on June 30, 2015. Their second album, Orion, came out on June 14, 2019. Their third album, The Beautiful Liar, was issued on September 24, 2021.
"Stay with Me" is a song by English singer Sam Smith from Smith's debut studio album In the Lonely Hour (2014). It was released in the United States on 14 April 2014 and in the United Kingdom on 18 May 2014. "Stay with Me" is a gospel-inspired ballad that details the protagonist pleading with their one-night stand not to leave them. The song was written by Smith, James Napier, and William Phillips, with Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne later receiving co-writer credits due to the song's noted melodic similarity to Petty's single "I Won't Back Down".
Robin Alexander Schulz is a German musician, DJ and record producer. On 4 February 2014, he released the first single from his debut album, a remix of "Waves" by Dutch hip hop artist Mr. Probz. This remix later received a nomination for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
