Britney Jean Spears is an American singer and dancer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Spears has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She has earned numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 15 Guinness World Records, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, the inaugural Radio Disney Icon Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her heavily choreographed music videos earned her the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
The 45th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003, at Madison Square Garden in New York City honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2001, through September 30, 2002. Musicians' accomplishments from the previous year were recognized. Norah Jones and her song "Don't Know Why" were the main recipients of the night, garnering six Grammys, including four major awards: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist, plus Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Songwriter Jesse Harris received the Song of the Year award for his work on "Don't Know Why." Simon and Garfunkel reunited to open the show performing "The Sound of Silence".
Robert John "Mutt" Lange is a South African record producer, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, with whom he co-wrote and produced various songs. Her 1997 album Come On Over, which he produced, is the best-selling country music album, the best-selling studio album by a female act, the best-selling album of the 1990s, and the 9th best-selling album in the United States. He has also produced songs for, or otherwise worked with, artists such as AC/DC, Def Leppard, The Michael Stanley Band, The Boomtown Rats, Foreigner, Michael Bolton, Heart, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Huey Lewis and the News, Billy Ocean, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, The Corrs, Maroon 5, Lady Gaga, Now United, Nickelback, and Muse.
The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos, while Hugo tends to stay behind the scenes.
Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co.
The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Latifah, and televised in the United States by CBS. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Ray Charles, whom the event was dedicated in memory of, posthumously won five Grammy Awards while his album, Genius Loves Company, won a total of eight. Kanye West received the most nominations with ten, winning three. Usher received eight nominations and won three including Best Contemporary R&B Album for his diamond selling album Confessions. Britney Spears received her first Grammy of Best Dance Recording for her 2004 smash hit "Toxic".
John Roger Stephens, known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything," and performing as an uncredited backing vocalist on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name". He was the first artist to sign with Kanye West's GOOD Music, through which he released his debut studio album, Get Lifted (2004). The album reached the top ten of the Billboard 200, received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned his first hit song, "Ordinary People".
"...Baby One More Time" is the debut single by American singer Britney Spears from her debut studio album of the same name (1999). It was written by Max Martin and produced by Martin and Rami Yacoub. Released on September 29, 1998, by Jive Records, the song became a worldwide success, topping the charts in over 20 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, where it earned quintuple and triple-platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively, and was the latter's best-selling single of 1999. The song is one of the best-selling singles of all time, with over 10 million copies sold.
Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. Stewart, a five-time Grammy Award recipient, began producing music in 1992 and has contributed to unit sales of over 50 million for his work on hip hop, R&B and pop releases. Often in tandem with production partner and R&B singer The-Dream, he has been credited on the singles "Case of the Ex" (2000) by Mya, "Me Against the Music" (2003) by Britney Spears, "Umbrella" (2007) by Rihanna, "Just Fine" (2007) by Mary J. Blige, "Single Ladies " (2008) by Beyoncé, "Touch My Body" (2008) and "Obsessed" (2009) by Mariah Carey, "One Time" (2009) and "Baby" (2010) by Justin Bieber, "Ride" (2010) by Ciara, and "Water" (2023) by Tyla, among others.
William James Adams Jr. , known professionally as will.i.am, is an American rapper and singer. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he formed with fellow rappers apl.de.ap and Taboo in 1995. The group, having released nine total studio albums, saw their furthest mainstream success during their 2000s pop rap era with Elephunk (2003), Monkey Business (2005), The E.N.D. (2009), and The Beginning (2010). He served as lead vocalist since its formation, although for the albums, he did so alongside singer-songwriter Fergie—who joined the group in 2002 and departed after the latter.
GOOD Music is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide distribution contract with the Island Def Jam Music Group in 2011. In 2012, the label released its only compilation album, Cruel Summer. In 2015, Pusha T was appointed president of the label by West, while record executive Steven Victor was appointed chief operating officer (COO). In late 2022, Pusha T stepped down from the position as he was no longer on speaking terms with West. A successor label used for West's later discography named Yeezy Sound was named after West's brand of the same name and signed acts such as his project with Ty Dolla Sign ¥$ and KayCyy.
Farid Karam Nassar, better known by his stage name Fredwreck, is a Grammy Award-winning American hip-hop recording artist, DJ, and record producer. He got his big break when he became a producer for Dr. Dre's newly founded record label Aftermath Entertainment, and then went on to work with Snoop Dogg's record label Dogghouse Records and became a known producer on Tha Dogg Pound-affiliated material. During this time he also was a producer for Snoop Dogg's track: Riders on the Storm ft. The Doors on EA's Need for Speed Underground 2. He has produced tracks from Kurupt's Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha and most of his next release, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey; both released during the period the rapper had left Death Row Records. He has also produced for other hip-hop and pop artists such as Eminem, Britney Spears, Ice Cube, Westside Connection, Lil' Kim, Hilary Duff, Xzibit, The Game, Nate Dogg, Everlast, Cypress Hill, 50 Cent, Mobb Deep, as well as non-US acts such as Dizzee Rascal, Tamer Hosny, Qusai Kheder and Karl Wolf.
The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004, through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were the main recipients with five awards including Album of the Year. Mariah Carey, John Legend, and Kanye West were each nominated for eight awards and won three; Alison Krauss & Union Station also won three awards; and Kelly Clarkson won two. Green Day were amongst the big winners, winning the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is widely considered one of the greatest hooks of all time. The song's lyrics refer to sexual frustration and commercialism.
Magic is the fifteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on LP on September 25, 2007, and on CD on October 2. It was his first with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002, and topped the charts in six countries, including the US and UK, going triple platinum in Ireland. Two songs from the album – "Radio Nowhere" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" – won a total of three Grammys, making Magic the second of only two Springsteen albums with three wins, after The Rising. It ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
"Stereo" is a song by American singer John Legend. It was written by Legend, Tom Craskey, and Devon "Springsteen" Harris for his second album, Once Again (2006), while production was overseen by Harris and co-producer Craskey. The song was released as the album's fourth single on April 27, 2007 in the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Stereo" was issued as a download only single on October 13, 2007. It reached number 17 on the Dutch Top 40 and peaked at number 47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Claude Kelly is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer. A four-time Grammy Award nominee, and he has been credited on commercially successful releases for artists such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Christina Aguilera, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, Kesha, Brandy, Keke Wyatt, Tori Kelly, and One Direction. He is one-half of the duo Louis York, which he formed with Chuck Harmony in 2015; the two also co-founded the record label Weirdo Workshop that same year.
Keith Harris is an American record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Afasi och Filthy was a Swedish hip hop duo from Uppsala, Sweden composed of rapper Herbert Munkhammar and producer Magnus Lidehäll.
Matthew Bair, known professionally as Matthew Koma and Bagel Man, is an American songwriter and musician. Songs written by Koma include "Spectrum" and Grammy Award-winner "Clarity", both performed by Zedd. Koma has collaborated with artists such as Shania Twain, Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Hardwell, Zedd, Miriam Bryant, Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Afrojack, Tiësto, Vicetone, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, and others.
