Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, and entrepreneur. Referred to as the "Songbird Supreme" by the Guinness World Records, she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style, and signature use of the whistle register. She rose to fame in 1990 after signing to Columbia Records and releasing her eponymous debut album, which topped the US Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks. Soon after, Carey became the first and only artist to have their first five singles reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, from "Vision of Love" to "Emotions".
Céline Marie Claudette DionChLD is a Canadian singer. Born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, she emerged as a teen star in her homeland with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland. After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in 2002 after winning the inaugural season of the reality competition television series American Idol, which earned her a record deal with RCA Records. Clarkson's debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the country's best-selling single of 2002. It was followed by the release of her debut album, Thankful (2003), which debuted atop the US Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson decided to part ways with Idol management and shifted to pop rock music for her second album, Breakaway (2004). After numerous top 40 radio number-one singles, such as "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You", the album sold over 15 million copies worldwide and earned Clarkson two Grammy Awards.
Wheat Thins is a brand of baked whole grain snack food crackers distributed in the United States and Canada by Nabisco. The product is also available in Australia through wholesaler USA Foods. Vegetable Thins, Oat Thins, Pita Thins, and Rice Thins, which are all spinoffs of Wheat Thins, are available in Canada and some regions of the United States. Wheat Thins themselves come in many flavors and varieties. Nabisco first introduced the product in 1947.
Zarlor Mercenary is a vertically scrolling shooter for the Atari Lynx handheld console, developed by Epyx and published by Atari Corporation.
Tootsie Pops are hard candy lollipops filled with chocolate-flavored chewy Tootsie Roll. They were invented in 1931 by an employee of The Sweets Company of America. The company changed its name to Tootsie Roll Industries in 1969.
"The Third Man Theme" is an instrumental written and performed by Anton Karas for the soundtrack to the 1949 film The Third Man.
The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's original a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an a cappella group today, they have performed with instruments in previous generations. The group prides itself on singing a wide range of songs, from gospel to barbershop to pop tunes and original compositions. The Mendicants are known around Stanford's campus for their romantic serenades.
"The Spider and the Fly" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, recorded in May 1965 and first released on the US version of their 1965 album Out of Our Heads. In the UK, it was released as the B-side to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
Troye Sivan Mellet, known professionally as Troye Sivan, is a South African-born Australian singer, songwriter, actor, and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his debut extended play, TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Happy Little Pill", reached number 10 on Australian music charts. In 2015, he released his second extended play Wild followed by his debut studio album Blue Neighbourhood, whose lead single "Youth" became Sivan's first single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 23. His second studio album Bloom (2018) reached number three in Australia and number four on the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single "My My My!" became Sivan's second number-one single on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.
Ariana Grande-Butera is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Florida to a family of New York-Italian origin, she began her career in 2008 in the Broadway musical 13, before playing the role of Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–13) and in its spinoff Sam & Cat (2013–14). Grande made her first musical appearance on the soundtrack for Victorious and was signed to Republic Records in 2011 after music executive Monte Lipman came across one of her YouTube videos covering songs.
One Direction are an English-Irish pop boy band based in London, composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson; former member Zayn Malik departed from the group in 2015. The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Records after forming and finishing third in the seventh series of the British televised singing competition The X Factor in 2010. Propelled to international success by social media, One Direction's five albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013), Four (2014), and Made in the A.M. (2015), topped charts in most major markets, and generated hit singles including "What Makes You Beautiful", "Live While We're Young", "Best Song Ever", "Story of My Life" and "Drag Me Down".
Charlotte Emma Aitchison, known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer, songwriter, music video director, and record executive. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on MySpace in 2008, which led to her discovery by a promoter who invited her to perform at warehouse raves and parties. In 2010 she signed a recording contract with Asylum Records, releasing a series of singles and mixtapes throughout 2011 and 2012.
Magic 2014 – Duels of the Planeswalkers is a video game based on the popular collectible card game of the same name, first published by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. The game was released on 26 June 2013 on PC (Steam), Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPad (iTunes), and Android devices. It is the fourth game in the Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers series. The gameplay follows that of the original card game, however within a more restrained framework. It includes a new feature, "Sealed Play", which allows players to open virtual booster packs and build their own decks. These decks can be used in the special Sealed campaign, and also in multiplayer. The game, like all the previous installments, is priced $10.00 on all platforms. Additional slots for custom made decks can be purchased separately for $1.99. The sequel, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2015, was released in 2014.
Melanie Adele Martinez is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, New York, she subsequently rose to prominence in 2012 after appearing on the American television vocal talent show The Voice. Following the show, she released her debut single titled "Dollhouse". Signing to Atlantic Records, she released her debut EP, also named Dollhouse (2014). Martinez later released her debut studio album, Cry Baby (2015).
"Title" is a song by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor from her debut extended play and debut major-label studio album of the same name from 2014 and 2015, respectively. Kevin Kadish produced the track, and co-wrote it with Trainor. A doo-wop recording, "Title" also incorporates elements of folk music. In its lyrics, the singer demands her love interest to put a name on their relationship status. Trainor released a music video for "Title" on November 20, 2015, which was directed by Anthony Phan. Commercially, the song peaked at number 9 in New Zealand and at number 100 on the US Billboard Hot 100, being certified Gold in both countries. Trainor performed the song at MTV, in a session for the National Post, during the Jingle Ball Tour 2014 and on her That Bass and MTrain tours.
Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular music in the service of novel or idiosyncratic artistic visions.
