Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin, formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr.. Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's musical style has evolved throughout their career, yet has maintained an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar sounds. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes. Popular for their live performances, the group have staged several ambitious and elaborate tours over their career.
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number one singles and six number one albums, six Grammy Awards, and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America. Founding members Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner, were recruited by Linda Ronstadt as band members, some touring with her, and all playing on her third solo album, before venturing out on their own on David Geffen's new Asylum Records label.
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, actor, and television judge. 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.
Songs in the Key of Life is the eighteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter and musician Stevie Wonder. It was released on September 28, 1976 by Tamla Records, a division of Motown. The double album has been regarded by music journalists as the culmination of Wonder's "classic period" of recording. The album was recorded primarily at Crystal Sound studio in Hollywood, with some sessions recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood, the Record Plant in Sausalito, and The Hit Factory in New York City; final mixing was conducted at Crystal Sound.
Black Eyed Peas is an American musical group, consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and J. Rey Soul. Originally an alternative hip hop group, they subsequently refashioned themselves as a more marketable pop-rap act. Although the group was founded in Los Angeles in 1995, it was not until the release of their third album, Elephunk, in 2003, that they achieved high record sales. Black Eyed Peas and Shakira's music video ranked 4th in global charts.
Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, model, and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and later signed to Murder Inc. in 2002. That year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which became two of the biggest hit songs of 2002; Ashanti became the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously when "Foolish" and "What's Luv?" were at numbers one and two, respectively.
Fergie Duhamel, professionally known by her stage name Fergie, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first achieved chart success as part of the hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. Her debut solo album, The Dutchess (2006), saw commercial success and spawned three Billboard Hot 100 number one singles: "London Bridge", "Glamorous", and "Big Girls Don't Cry". Although she vocally incorporates rapping into her performances, she does not consider herself a rapper.
Westlife are an Irish boy band group, formed in 1998 in Sligo, Ireland. They disbanded in 2012 and reunited in 2018. They were originally signed by Simon Cowell in the UK, Clive Davis in the US and managed by Louis Walsh and Sonny Takhar. The group currently consists of Shane Filan, Markus Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne.
RBD is a Mexican Latin pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's telenovela Rebelde. The group achieved international success from 2004 until their separation in 2009 and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. The group was composed of Anahí, Alfonso Herrera, Dulce María, Christopher von Uckermann, Maite Perroni and Christian Chávez.
The discography of the Irish rock band U2 consists of 14 studio albums, one live album, three compilation albums, 67 singles, and nine extended plays (EPs). The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 as teenagers. In 1979, the group issued their first release, the EP U2-3, which sold well in Ireland. The following year, the group signed to Island Records and released their debut album, Boy. It reached number 52 in the UK and number 63 in the US. They followed it up with the release of October (1981) and War (1983). War was a commercial success, becoming the band's first number-one album in the UK while reaching number 12 in the US. The album yielded the singles "Two Hearts Beat As One", "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day", the latter two have since become among the band's most popular songs. On the subsequent War Tour, the group recorded the live album Under a Blood Red Sky and concert film U2 Live at Red Rocks, both of which sold well and helped establish them globally as a live act.
Mark Daniel Ronson is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbie Williams, Miley Cyrus, Queens of the Stone Age, and Bruno Mars. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Winehouse's album Back to Black and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award for co-writing the song "Shallow" for the film A Star is Born (2018).
"Desire" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the third track on their 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It was released as the album's lead single on 19 September 1988, and became the band's first number-one single in the United Kingdom and Australia. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and topped both the Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, making it the first song to reach number one on both charts simultaneously. It reached number two on the Dutch Top 40. At the 31st Annual Grammy Awards, "Desire" won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, also known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and actor from New Jersey. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first single from his debut album Trouble (2004), followed by the second single "Lonely."
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, Shakira has been referred to as the Queen of Latin Music and is noted for her versatility in music. She made her recording debut under Sony Music Colombia at the age of 13. Following the commercial failure of her first two albums, Magia (1991) and Peligro (1993), she rose to prominence in Hispanic countries with her next albums, Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998). Shakira entered the English-language market with her fifth album, Laundry Service (2001), which sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Buoyed by the international number-one singles "Whenever, Wherever" and "Underneath Your Clothes", the album propelled her reputation as a leading crossover artist.
"I Just Wanna Love U " is a song by American rapper Jay-Z, released as the first single from his 2000 album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. It is produced by The Neptunes and features a chorus sung by Neptunes member Pharrell Williams, as well as Shay Haley and Omillio Sparks who all remain uncredited. The video for the song features cameos from rappers Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease, Damon Dash, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Jermaine Dupri and actor John Witherspoon. A music video directed by David Meyers was made for "I Just Wanna Love U."
"You" is a song by American R&B artist Lloyd featuring rapper Lil Wayne, and was produced by Big Reese and Jasper Cameron for Lloyd's second studio album, Street Love. It was recorded in the producer's basement. It is the first official single off the album. Lloyd himself has reported that he leaked the song to an Atlanta radio station to receive airplay. Originally, the song featured Atlanta rapper Tango Redd, but he was replaced with Lil Wayne for the official release. The song features an interpolation of Spandau Ballet's song "True". On February 8, 2007, "You" became Lloyd's first and Lil Wayne's second top-ten single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, charting at number nine. The song reached number one on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in February 2007, becoming both Lloyd and Lil Wayne's first number-one single on this chart. On the UK Singles Chart, the single debuted on May 28, 2007, at number sixty-six on download sales alone, and moved up to number forty-five.
Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk Harrell and partner Tricky Stewart joined the ranks of Fox's American Idol along with music mogul Jimmy Iovine, producing many of the songs performed on television by the contestants and released via iTunes. 2011 marked the highly anticipated return of Jennifer Lopez and her album LOVE? in which Kuk served as Album Vocal Producer. Earning his fourth Grammy for the vocal production of Rihanna's No. 1 Billboard Single "Only Girl ", Harrell is also the vocal producer and co-writer of Rihanna's Grammy-winning single "Umbrella". A composer and engineer on Beyoncé's chart topping "Single Ladies " from the album I Am... Sasha Fierce, he is also vocal producer and engineer of the Diane Warren-penned "I Was Here" from Beyoncé's 2011 album 4. He also produced the majority of the vocals on Mary J. Blige's Platinum album Growing Pains, which won the 2008 Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The first single from Growing Pains, "Just Fine", earned a Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance in 2007.
The Official New Zealand Music Chart is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ. The Music Chart also includes the top-20 New Zealand artist singles and albums and top 10 compilation albums. All charts are compiled from data of both physical and digital sales from music retailers in New Zealand.
