Alicia Augello Cook,known professionally as Alicia Keys,is an American singer,songwriter and actress. A classically trained pianist,Keys began composing songs by age 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Columbia Records. After disputes with the label,she signed with Arista Records and later released her debut album,Songs in A Minor,with J Records in 2001. The album was critically and commercially successful,producing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Fallin'" and selling over 12 million copies worldwide. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002. Her second album,The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003),was also a critical and commercial success,spawning successful singles "You Don't Know My Name","If I Ain't Got You",and "Diary",and selling eight million copies worldwide. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards. Her duet "My Boo" with Usher became her second number-one single in 2004. Keys released her first live album,Unplugged (2005),and became the first woman to have an MTV Unplugged album debut at number one. Her third album,As I Am (2007),produced the Hot 100 number-one single "No One",selling seven million copies worldwide and earning an additional three Grammy Awards. In 2007,Keys made her film debut in the action-thriller film Smokin' Aces. She released the theme song to the James Bond film Quantum of Solace "Another Way to Die" with Jack White.
John Roger Stephens,known professionally as John Legend,is an American singer,songwriter,and producer. Prior to the release of Legend's debut album Get Lifted (2004),he collaborated with already-established artists and signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music. Legend has sung on Jay-Z's "Encore",Alicia Keys's "You Don't Know My Name",Dilated Peoples' "This Way",Slum Village's "Selfish",Fort Minor's "High Road",and played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything". Legend's single "All of Me" from his fourth studio album Love in the Future (2013) was a Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.
Katelyn Tarver is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has independently released four EP's since 2011,most notably Tired Eyes in 2017. She is also known for her recurring roles as Jo Taylor on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush,Natalie on the ABC series No Ordinary Family,Jesse in HBO series Ballers and Mercedes on ABC Family The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She co-wrote "Crazy Stupid Love" for the British singer Cheryl which peaked at #1 on UK Singles Chart in 2014.
Shaffer Chimere Smith,better known by his stage name Ne-Yo,is an American singer,songwriter,record producer,actor,dancer,and television judge. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit "Let Me Love You". The single's successful release in the United States prompted an informal meeting between Ne-Yo and Def Jam's label head and the signing of a recording contract.
"River" is a song by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell,from her 1971 album Blue. Written on piano,it has become a standard for artists in many music styles,and has become popular as Christmas music. Although never released as a single,“River”holds second place among Mitchell's songs most recorded by other artists.
Ryan Tedder is an American musician,singer,songwriter,and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic,he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since the mid-2000s,including Adele,Beyoncé,Ed Sheeran,Jennifer Lopez,Camila Cabello,Lady Gaga,Maroon 5,MØ,One Direction,Taylor Swift,Katy Perry,Ariana Grande,Logic,Paul McCartney,Blackpink,and Twice.
Patricia Conroy is a Canadian singer-songwriter. In her career,she has released five studio albums,and one compilation album. She has also released 25 singles,including the RPM Country Tracks number one singles "Somebody's Leavin'" (1994) and "What Else Can I Do" (1995). As a songwriter,Conroy has written singles for several artists including Steel Magnolia,Emerson Drive,and Lady A.
Lady A is an American country music group formed in Nashville,Tennessee,in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott,Charles Kelley,and Dave Haywood. Scott is the daughter of country music singer Linda Davis,and Kelley is the brother of pop singer Josh Kelley. The band abbreviated the name to "Lady A" in June 2020 amid the George Floyd protests in an attempt to blunt the name's associations with slavery and the Antebellum South,causing a dispute with Black blues and gospel singer Anita White,who had been using the name Lady A for more than 20 years.
Shane McAnally is an American country music singer,songwriter,and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999,McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs,including the No. 31 "Are Your Eyes Still Blue",before becoming a songwriter and record producer. He has written and produced songs for Walker Hayes,Kacey Musgraves,Kelly Clarkson,Sam Hunt,Kenny Chesney,Reba McEntire,Jake Owen,Luke Bryan,The Band Perry,Lady A,Keith Urban,Thomas Rhett,Brothers Osborne,Old Dominion,Dierks Bentley,Miranda Lambert,Kelsea Ballerini,Midland,and more. The Academy of Country Music named him Songwriter of the Year in 2014. He also won "Best Country Album" and "Best Country Song" at the 2014 Grammy Awards for his work on Kacey Musgraves's Same Trailer Different Park. In 2015,Billboard named him the Hot Country Songwriter of the Year as well as a Billboard Power Player. McAnally joined industry veteran Jason Owen in early 2017 to relaunch Monument Records as co-presidents. McAnally stars as one of the on-screen talent producers in the NBC television reality series Songland. In 2019,McAnally won the ACM Award for Songwriter of the Year and Grammy Award for Best Country Song for co-writing Kacey Musgraves's "Space Cowboy." Most recently,he was named as one of Billboard's 2020 Country Power Players and chosen as the recipient of the 2020 Billboard Trailblazer Award,held only by previous winners Reba McEntire and Florida Georgia Line.
"Don't Cry Out Loud" is a song written in 1976 by Peter Allen with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager that is best known as a hit single for Melissa Manchester in the US and for Elkie Brooks in the UK.
Benjamin Schiff Platt is an American actor,singer,and songwriter. He began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015),rising to prominence for originating the title role in Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades,including a Tony,Emmy,and Grammy Award. At 23,Platt became the youngest solo recipient of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical.
Zak Waters is an American musician,singer-songwriter and record producer from Los Angeles,California,also known as Pretty Sister. Waters began his music career forming the band Blueskyreality. After the group disbanded,Waters started his solo music career,releasing his debut extended play (EP),New Normal (2011).
"Waving Through a Window" is the second song from Act 1 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen,which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.
Songland is an American songwriting competition series that aired on NBC from May 28,2019 to June 15,2020. The show,produced in cooperation with the Universal Television Alternative Studio,222 Productions,Live Animals Productions and Dave Stewart,sets out to give undiscovered songwriters a chance to create a hit. It gives the viewers a look at the creative process in action. Contestants are selected to work with producers and a recording artist to release a song. The show tries to elevate the traditional role of the songwriter in the process of creating music from "unpleasant secret" to being the celebrated "magic ingredient". Stewart,a musician and composer formerly of Eurythmics,conceived Songland.
Rachel Elizabeth Smith,known professionally as Remmi,is an American indie pop,indietronica,electropop artist from Pollock,Louisiana. Previously a singer-songwriter playing under the name Rach E. Smith,Smith relocated to Nashville,Tennessee in 2013. She now resides in Tempe,Arizona.
"Solo Quiero" is a song performed by British singer and songwriter Leona Lewis,Colombian Latin Pop Music urban duo Cali y El Dandee and Spanish producer,singer,remixer and DJ Juan Magán. The song was released as a digital download on 30 August 2019 by Cabaletta Limited. The song did not enter the Billboard Hot 100,but peaked at number one on the Latin Pop Digital Song Sales. The song was written by Alejandro Rengifo,Alessando Calemme,Andrés Torres,Ester Dean,Juan Magán,Leona Lewis,Matthew Fonson,Mauricio Rengifo,Rosalyn "Rozee" Athalie Chivonne Lockhart,Ryan Tedder and Shane McAnally.
Michael Ross Pollack is an American songwriter,singer,multi-instrumentalist,and record producer. He has written songs for artists such as Maroon 5,Justin Bieber,Miley Cyrus,Katy Perry,Jonas Brothers,Backstreet Boys,Lauv,Ben Platt,Zedd,Lizzo,Kelly Clarkson,Celine Dion,Charli XCX,Dierks Bentley,Bebe Rexha,and many others. He achieved his first US Top 40 radio #1 in February 2020 with Maroon 5's "Memories".
"Champagne Night" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released on April 13,2020,following the group's appearance on an episode of the television series Songland. "Champagne Night" is a re-worked version of the song "I'll Drink to That" by Madeline Merlo,with additional writing from the group members and its producer,Shane McAnally. This is the final single to feature the group's name Lady Antebellum,before changing to Lady A,in June 2020. "Champagne Night" was included on the digital only Deluxe Edition re-issue of the trio's eighth studio album,Ocean.
Dear Evan Hansen is a 2021 American coming-of-age musical film directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Steven Levenson. It is based on the stage musical of the same name by Levenson,Benj Pasek,and Justin Paul. Ben Platt plays the title role,reprising the performance that he originated on stage. The ensemble cast also includes Kaitlyn Dever,Amandla Stenberg,Nik Dodani,Colton Ryan,Danny Pino,Julianne Moore,and Amy Adams.
"Imagine" is a song by actor/singer-songwriter Ben Platt. It was written by Platt,with additional writing from Michael Pollack,Eskeerdo,Stefan Johnson,Jon Bellion and The Monsters &Strangerz,the latter two of whom also served as music producers for the song. It was released as the lead single from his upcoming second studio album,Reverie,on April 23,2021,followed by a remixed version by Tiësto on May 28,2021.
