ABBA were a Swedish pop supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982, and in 2022.
Incubus is an American rock band from Calabasas, California. The band was formed in 1991 by vocalist Brandon Boyd, lead guitarist Mike Einziger, and drummer José Pasillas while enrolled in Calabasas High School and later expanded to include bassist Alex "Dirk Lance" Katunich, and Gavin "DJ Lyfe" Koppell; both of whom were replaced by bassist Ben Kenney and DJ Kilmore, respectively.
Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single "Fly". The song's success led the band to shift its style dramatically to the more radio-friendly pop sound with their subsequent releases. Their best-selling album, 14:59, was released in 1999, and featured popular singles "Every Morning", "Someday", followed by a self-titled album in 2001 featuring the single "When It's Over". The band would release two further albums, In the Pursuit of Leisure (2003) and Music for Cougars (2009), though the albums and respective singles generally sold far less. The band continued to tour into the 2010s.
Blink-182 is the fifth studio album by American rock band Blink-182, released on November 18, 2003, by Geffen Records. Following their ascent to stardom and success of their prior two releases, the trio was compelled to take a break and participated in various side projects. When they regrouped, they felt inspired to approach song structure and arrangements differently on their next effort together.
Busted are an English pop-punk band from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, consisting of James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson. Formed in 2000, the band has had four UK number-one singles, won two Brit Awards, released four studio albums and sold over 5 million records worldwide. The band released the albums Busted in 2002 and A Present for Everyone in 2003 before disbanding in January 2005.
Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group, formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.
Have a Nice Day is the sixth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released worldwide from 22 February 1999 by Roxette Recordings and EMI. Recorded over an 18-month period in studios in Sweden and Spain, the album was produced by Marie Fredriksson, Per Gessle, Clarence Öfwerman and Michael Ilbert, and was their first studio album since Crash! Boom! Bang! in 1994. The album was not released in the US, as the duo were no longer signed to a label there. A deluxe edition was released in Spanish-speaking territories and, in Arabian regions, the naked babies on the cover were digitally removed, due to religious concerns.
Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill.
Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenomania has written and produced for artists such as Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Pet Shop Boys, The Saturdays and Sugababes. In particular, all but one of Girls Aloud's studio albums have been entirely written and produced by Xenomania. Sugababes' "Round Round" and Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground" have been credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Gabriella Cilmi's "Sweet About Me" and Girls Aloud's "The Promise" were named Best Single at the ARIA Music Awards of 2008 and the 2009 BRIT Awards, respectively.
"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's debut solo single. Lyrically, "What You Waiting For?" details Stefani's lack of inspiration and fear of producing the album, as well as her reaction to pressures exerted by her record label. It is primarily an electropop song and introduces Stefani's four backup dancers, the Harajuku Girls, who had a major input into the album's production.
From Under the Cork Tree is the second studio album by the American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on May 3, 2005, through Island Records as the band's major label debut. The music was composed by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, with all lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, expanding the band's songwriting approach they took for some songs on their debut album Take This to Your Grave (2003). Neal Avron served as the album's producer. Commenting on the record's lyrical themes, Wentz said the lyrics were about "the anxiety and depression that goes along with looking at your own life." In support of its release, the group headlined tours worldwide and played at various music festivals. For their Black Clouds and Underdogs tour, the album was re-released as From Under the Cork Tree , featuring new songs and remixes.
Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch is the third studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. It was released on September 21, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album was very successful in Canada, debuting at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album was certified 3× Platinum in July 2001. Hit singles from the album include "One Man Army", "Annie", "Is Anybody Home?", and "Thief". The final track on the CD, "Stealing Babies", features Elvin Jones, a prominent post-bop jazz drummer. The photo shoot for this album took place around Staten Island in New York State.
Healthy in Paranoid Times is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace, released on August 30, 2005, by Columbia Records. The disc was released on a standard CD as well as a DualDisc, with the reverse side containing a documentary on the making of the album. The album fared well in both Canada and the U.S., but didn't match up to the success of its 2002 predecessor, Gravity. The first single was "Where Are You", released in Canada during June 2005 and released in the United States a month later. The second and third singles were "Angels/Losing/Sleep" and "Will the Future Blame Us", respectively.
Lights and Sounds is the fifth studio album by American rock band Yellowcard, released on January 24, 2006, in the United States through Capitol Records. Lights and Sounds is Yellowcard's first concept album, which was inspired to reflect what the band was feeling at the time of production and how they have matured in the process. Lights and Sounds also departs from the sounds on Yellowcard's previous album, Ocean Avenue (2003), which broke away from its pop punk sound to a more alternative rock album.
Shenandoah is an American country music band founded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1984 by Marty Raybon, Ralph Ezell, Stan Thorn, Jim Seales, and Mike McGuire. Thorn and Ezell left the band in the mid-1990s, with Rocky Thacker taking over on bass guitar; Keyboardist Stan Munsey joined the line up in 1995, until his departure in 2018. The band split up in 1997 after Raybon left. Seales and McGuire reformed the band in 2000 with lead singer Brent Lamb, who was in turn replaced by Curtis Wright and then by Jimmy Yeary. Ezell rejoined in the early 2000s, and after his 2007 death, he was replaced by Mike Folsom. Raybon returned to the band in 2014. That same year, Jamie Michael replaced the retiring Jim Seales on lead guitar.
You Say Party is a Canadian four-piece dance-punk new-wave band from Abbotsford, British Columbia.
We Are Pilots is the debut studio album by American electronic rock band Shiny Toy Guns. After previously being independently released throughout 2005, it was officially released on October 17, 2006, through Universal Motown in the United States and Mercury Records in the United Kingdom, with liner notes of the album referring to it as "version 3.0". Production, recording, and writing dates back as far as the early 2000s, with several songs being written during founding members Gregori Chad Petree and Jeremy Dawson's previous project, Dangerous Insects. Musically, We Are Pilots primarily uses influences of both rock music and electronic music, including elements of alternative rock, indie rock, pop, electropop, post-punk revival and disco, with the band receiving comparisons to The Killers and Franz Ferdinand.
The Parable of Arable Land is the first studio album by the Red Crayola. The album was considered psychedelic music when it was introduced, but later assessments describe it as a forerunner to avant/noise rock. With this album as introduction, Ritchie Unterberger assessed the band as a precursor to industrial rock. The album features free improvised pieces involving industrial power tools and a revving motorcycle dubbed "Free Form Freak-Out" played by a group of over 50 people known as "the Familiar Ugly" as well as notable instrumental cameos by label mate and 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erickson.
Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By is the second album released by the Drones. Recorded "100% live", the album draws influence from the likes of Neil Young and Rowland S. Howard, though it has been described by lead singer/guitarist Gareth Liddiard himself as a punk rock album. The lyrics, penned by Liddiard deal with issues such as death, depression and alcoholism in its depiction of Australian working class life.
Nothing Personal is the third studio album by American rock band All Time Low. As early as May 2008, the band began writing for their third album, and by November revealed they would be recording in the winter. The band began pre-production in early January 2009 and started recording later in the month, which lasted until March. Half of the album's songs were produced by Matt Squire with Butch Walker, David Bendeth and S*A*M and Sluggo each producing a few songs. Tom Lord-Alge mixed the majority of the album. "Weightless" was made available for streaming in March, and released as a single in April. A support slot for Fall Out Boy and an appearance at the Bamboozle festival followed.
