Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly, which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s, before her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records. She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Erasure are an English electropop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of singer and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode. From their fourth single, "Sometimes" (1986), Erasure established themselves on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of the most successful artists of the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. From 1986 to 2007, the duo achieved 24 consecutive top 40 hits in the UK. By 2009, 34 of their 37 chart-eligible singles and EPs had made the UK top 40, including 17 climbing into the top 10. At the 1989 Brit Awards, Erasure won the Brit Award for Best British Group. Beyond this mainstream commercial success, Erasure are also popular within the LGBT community for whom the openly gay singer Andy Bell has become an icon in the UK.
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. is an American singer, songwriter and musician. During the 1970s, he recorded with the funk band the Commodores, and his solo career made him one of the most successful balladeers of the 1980s.
Lemar Obika, known mononymously as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show Fame Academy, he was later signed to Sony BMG, where he has gone on to release five studio albums, three of which are certified platinum or double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Wynonna Ellen Judd is a multi award-winning American country music singer. She is one of the most widely recognized and awarded female country singers. In all, she has had 19 No. 1 singles including those of the Judds making her one of the best-selling country artists of all time. Her solo albums and singles are all credited to the single name Wynonna. She first rose to fame in the 1980s alongside her mother Naomi in the country music duo the Judds. They released seven albums on Curb Records in addition to 26 singles, of which fourteen were No. 1 hits.
Bret Michael Sychak, professionally known as Bret Michaels, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and actor. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who have sold well over 45 million records worldwide and 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted 10 singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including six Top 10 singles and a number-one single, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn".
Sound of the Underground is the debut studio album by English-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, formed through the ITV television series Popstars: The Rivals. It was released in Ireland on 23 May 2003, in the United Kingdom and Europe on 26 May 2003, and reissued on 17 November 2003 through Polydor. Girls Aloud worked with a variety of musicians and producers on Sound of the Underground, which was largely inspired by 1980s music. Comparisons were made with artists such as Bananarama, The Bangles, Blondie and Spice Girls.
Malachi Cush, also recording as Malachi,, is an Irish singer-songwriter from Donaghmore, a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Coming from a large musical family, he started singing and playing Irish traditional music at an early age. He appeared on the first series of Fame Academy and has had chart success in the UK and Thailand. His musical influences also included The Pogues, U2 and Van Morrison. Malachi is now married.
Ainslie Thomas Henderson is a Scottish singer-songwriter. He is best known as a BAFTA award-winning animator, his appearance on the BBC's television programme, Fame Academy, and his subsequent UK top 5 single, "Keep Me a Secret". In 2006, he independently released his debut album, Growing Flowers by Candlelight.
Sinéad Quinn is a Northern Irish singer, best known as a contestant in the first series of the UK BBC TV series Fame Academy in 2002. She later went on to sign a recording contract, released an album, and had a #2 UK single with "I Can't Break Down" in February 2003.
Alistair Richard Griffin is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame Academy 2 in 2003, where he was mentored by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. He subsequently had two top twenty hit singles and a top twenty album in the UK.
Agnes Emilia Carlsson, known mononymously as Agnes, is a Swedish recording artist. She rose to fame as the winner of Idol 2005, the second season of the Swedish Idol series. She was then signed to Sony Music, through which she released her self-titled debut album, Agnes, and follow-up, Stronger, both of which topped the Swedish Top 60 Albums Chart. In early 2008, it was announced that Agnes had parted ways with her record label, and was now signed to small independent label Roxy Recordings. Released on 28 October 2008, her third album, Dance Love Pop, reached number five in Sweden, 70 in Austria, 38 in France, 45 in Switzerland and 13 in the United Kingdom. With 200,000 albums sold worldwide this is her most successful album, 50,000 albums were sold in France, 40,000 in Sweden. Its first two singles, "On and On" and "Release Me" became international hits, reaching the top-ten in charts worldwide. "Release Me" topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs and peaked at three in the United Kingdom, selling over 900,000 copies worldwide.
Zoe Birkett is an English singer. She was one of the youngest contestants on the first series of the ITV singing competition Pop Idol in 2001, being 16 at the time. She released a single, "Treat Me Like a Lady", in 2003, had a successful theatre career and was a contestant in Big Brother in 2014.
The first series of Fame Academy, a BBC reality talent search, was first broadcast in the United Kingdom over ten weeks in October - December 2002. It was won by David Sneddon. The live shows were presented by Cat Deeley and Patrick Kielty.
The first season of Australian Idol was produced by Fremantle Media subsidiary Grundy Television in association with UK company 19TV, and was broadcast on Network Ten for 19 weeks in the latter half of 2003. The judges were Mark Holden, Marcia Hines and Ian "Dicko" Dickson.
"Keep Me a Secret" is the debut single by Scottish singer-songwriter Ainslie Henderson, who rose to fame on the first series of Fame Academy. The single was released on 24 February 2003 and charted at number 5 in the UK.
Fame Academy is a British television programme that ran for two series, in 2002 and 2004. The show was produced for the BBC in a reality television format. The winners of the show, David Sneddon and Alex Parks, were awarded music recording contracts to allow them to release music and live like top recording artists for a year. Sneddon had a run of three top-20 hits, including his debut single "Stop Living the Lie", which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 2003. David Sneddon signed to major music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009 as a songwriter. Parks' debut single "Maybe That's What It Takes" charted at number three in November 2003.
Malachi is the eponymous debut album released by Fame Academy contestant Malachi Cush. The album was released on 24 March 2003 and features his debut single "Just Say You Love Me", along with some cover versions that he performed on Fame Academy. The album reached number 17 in the UK Album Chart in April 2003.
Pop Idol was a British television talent show that ran for two series, in 2001 and 2003. The show was produced for ITV in a reality television format and aimed to unearth a previously undiscovered singer who could become an international success. Will Young was the winner of the first series and was awarded with a £1 million music recording contract. Young became the most successful contestant with a series of top-five hits, including his debut single "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen", which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in 2002 and broke chart sales figure records. During the next seven years he recorded two further number-one singles, while two of his four albums were number-one in the UK Albums Chart. In the second series, Michelle McManus emerged victorious. Her debut single "All This Time" charted at number one in January 2003. Her second single, "The Meaning of Love", charted at a peak of number 16 and an album of the same name reached number three in the UK Albums Chart.
"Say You Love Me" is a song written by singer/songwriter Christine McVie for Fleetwood Mac's 1975 self-titled album. The song peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, and remains one of the band's most recognizable songs. Its success helped the group's eponymous 1975 album sell over eight million copies worldwide.
