Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.
EMI Group Limited was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its acquisition by Universal Music in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies. Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records, which are now referenced under Universal Music due to their acquisition with the exception of Parlophone, as it is now owned by Warner Music.
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical music label in 1953, but later expanded its scope to include a more diverse range of genres, including pop, R&B, rock, and hip hop.
Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderman, Inspiral Carpets, Moby, New Order, Laibach, Nitzer Ebb, Yann Tiersen, Wire, Yeasayer, Fever Ray, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yazoo, and M83.
Sheena Shirley Easton is a Scottish singer and actress who achieved recognition in an episode of the reality television series The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record deal and her eventual signing with the EMI label. Her first two singles, "Modern Girl" and "9 to 5", both entered the top ten of the UK Singles Chart simultaneously. She became one of the most successful British female recording artists of the 1980s. Easton became the first and only recording artist in Billboard history to have a top five hit on each of Billboard's primary singles charts: "Morning Train ", "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers and "Sugar Walls".
Dreams Come True is a Japanese pop band formed in 1988 by Miwa Yoshida, Masato Nakamura (bass) and Takahiro Nishikawa (keyboards). Nishikawa left in 2002 to pursue a solo career.
Tabu Productions was an American record label founded by Clarence Avant in 1975. It focused on R&B and funk.
Exodus is the second English-language album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada, released on September 8, 2004 by Island Records under the moniker Utada. Her first English-language album called Precious was released under the name "Cubic U". After being discovered in North America by Island CEO Lyon Cohen when she contributed to the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack, he was very interested in signing Utada to his record label and she eventually accepted the offer. She traveled to Los Angeles to sign the contract and began recording the studio album straight after her signing. However, during the time frame from 2002 to 2003, Utada was diagnosed with a benign ovarian tumour that needed surgery and treatment. She also married her then-husband Kazuaki Kiriya, which stopped recording temporarily.
Chihiro Onitsuka is a Japanese singer-songwriter.
Blue are a British boy band consisting of members Simon Webbe, Duncan James, Antony Costa, and Lee Ryan. The group formed in 2000 and released three studio albums before announcing a hiatus in late 2004. In January 2011, the group reformed and represented the United Kingdom at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song "I Can", coming in 11th place with 100 points. In 2013, it was confirmed that the group would be joining The Big Reunion, in which six groups from the past reform for a one-off gig. On 27 March 2013, the group announced they would embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years.
Quarashi is an Icelandic rap rock band from Reykjavík, Iceland. The group consists of rappers Hössi Ólafsson, Ómar Örn Hauksson, Steinar Orri Fjeldsted, and Sölvi Blöndal. For live shows, Quarashi was joined by guitarist Smári "Tarfur" Jósepsson, bassist Gaukur Úlfarsson, and DJ Dice. The group came back together in 2016 and is planning on releasing a new album.
People in Planes were a Welsh alternative rock band from Porthcawl, active from 1998 to 2013. They were signed to Wind-up Records. Prior to 2003, they were known as Tetra Splendour, and before that, they went by the name of Robots in the Sky. Their final name was derived from the band's obsession with air travel, which is also present in their song titles and lyrics.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
"Mr. Jinx" is a 2002 hip-hop song by Quarashi, released as the second single from their American debut album, Jinx. The song is remembered for its catchy, upbeat hook that was sampled from the 1970s soul band, New York City's song, "Sanity". The song also contains elements of funk, and has been described by Sölvi Blöndal, the producer of the Jinx album and a member of Quarashi, as sounding like something "made by a '60s brass band". Blöndal has said that "Mr. Jinx" is his favorite Quarashi song.
Cheryline Ernestine Lim, known by her stage name Che'Nelle, is a Malaysian-Australian singer-songwriter. She gained popularity in Japan with the release of her debut studio album, Things Happen for a Reason (2007).
Hössi Ólafsson is a singer, rapper, producer, writer, and actor. He is best known as a founding member of the Icelandic rap group, Quarashi.
Koopa is a rock band from Sible Hedingham, near Colchester, Essex, England. The band formed in 2000 by the brothers Stuart Cooper (drums) and Oliver "Ollie" Cooper, plus Joe Murphy. The band became the first act to have a Top 40 UK Singles Chart hit based on download sales only, and the first act to have a charting single without being signed to a record label, both facilitated by then-recent changes to rules for eligibility for the singles chart.
Natalie Powers is an English singer. She is the lead vocalist of the pop group Scooch, who represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Universal Music LLC, often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in Japan regarding music distribution. The company is responsible for marketing and distribution in Japan for Japanese releases under Universal.
Gossip Girls is the fourth studio album and third Japanese release by South Korean idol group T-ara. It was released on May 14, 2014, as their second album release under Universal Music Japan sub-label EMI Records Japan in two limited editions and a regular edition.
