Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in international cinema. He is a recipient of six National Film Awards, two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards, and eighteen Filmfare Awards South. In 2010, the Government of India conferred him with the Padma Bhushan, the nation's third-highest civilian award.
8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture is the official soundtrack album to the 2002 film of the same name. The album, performed by various artists, was released by Universal Pictures' then subsidiary Universal Music, through Interscope and Shady Records. It spawned the hit single "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, who also stars in the semi-autobiographical movie.
Chicago: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture is a soundtrack album featuring all of the original songs of the 2002 Best Picture Academy Award-winning musical film Chicago starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Mýa Harrison and Christine Baranski.
Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man is a 2002 soundtrack album for the film Spider-Man. Although it contains a portion of the film score by Danny Elfman, a more complete album of Elfman's work was released as Spider-Man: Original Motion Picture Score.
British rapper and singer M.I.A. has released six studio albums, two extended plays, three mixtapes, forty singles and twenty-nine music videos. Born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, M.I.A. began her career as a visual artist and film-maker, and moved into making music after filming a documentary on the band Elastica in 2001. The band's lead singer, Justine Frischmann, lent her a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine which she used to make a demo tape that secured her a contract with British label XL Recordings.
"Paper Planes" is a song by British recording artist M.I.A. from her second studio album Kala (2007). It was released on 11 February 2008 as the third single from the album. It is produced and co-written by her and Diplo. It appeared in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire and on its soundtrack album. The song samples English rock band the Clash's 1982 song "Straight to Hell", leading to its members being credited as co-writers. A downtempo alternative hip hop, pop track combining African folk music elements, the song has a less dance-oriented sound compared to other songs on the album. Its lyrics, inspired by M.I.A.'s own problems obtaining a visa to work in the USA, satirise American perceptions of immigrants from Third World nations.
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel in his film debut as Jamal, and filmed in India, it was directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and produced by Christian Colson, with Loveleen Tandan credited as co-director. As a contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati, a Hindi Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Jamal surprises everyone by answering every question correctly so far, winning ₹1 crore, and he is one question away from winning the grand prize of ₹2 crore. Accused of cheating, he recounts his life story to the police, illustrating how he was able to answer each question.
Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack is the soundtrack album for the 2008 jukebox musical film Mamma Mia!, based on the 1999 stage musical of the same name. Released on July 8, 2008, by Decca and Polydor Records in the United States and internationally, respectively, it features performances by the film's cast including Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, Ashley Lilley, and Rachel McDowall. The recording was produced by Benny Andersson who along with Björn Ulvaeus had produced the original ABBA recordings. Additionally, many of the musicians from the original ABBA recordings participated in making the soundtrack album. In keeping with the setting, the musical arrangements featured the use of traditional Greek instruments, most noticeably the bouzouki. The deluxe edition of the soundtrack album was released on November 25, 2008.
Suzanne D'Mello, formerly known as Suzie Q, is an Indian playback singer of Bollywood films and other regional films. She also has voiced jingles for television advertisements.
"The Wrestler" is the title song from the 2008 film The Wrestler. The track was written and performed by Bruce Springsteen.
Cadillac Records: Music from the Motion Picture is a soundtrack album for the film Cadillac Records. It features covers of classic songs from Chess Records' singers as performed by the film's actors including Beyoncé, Eamonn Walker and Jeffrey Wright. It also features original songs from contemporary artists such as Beyoncé's sister, R&B singer Solange Knowles and rapper Nas. The soundtrack has been released in single and double-disc editions.
"Jai Ho" is a song composed by A. R. Rahman for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. When Danny Boyle, the director of Slumdog Millionaire, approached Rahman to compose its soundtrack, he included the song. "Jai Ho" accompanies a choreographed dance sequence at the end credits of the film. Indian singer Tanvi Shah wrote and provided vocals for an English section of the song. "Jai Ho" is a phrase which can be roughly translated as "Let [the] victory prevail", "Let there be victory", or "May there always be victory".
"O... Saya" is a song from the soundtrack of the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. It was composed by Indian musician A. R. Rahman and British rapper M.I.A., both of whom performed on the recording.
"Jai Ho! " is a song by Indian composer A. R. Rahman and American girl group The Pussycat Dolls, recorded for the re-release of the group's second studio album Doll Domination (2008) and their EP Doll Domination – The Mini Collection (2009). It was released on February 23, 2009, by Interscope Records as the fourth single from the album and is an English remake of the original Hindi song "Jai Ho" which is taken from the soundtrack to the hit film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The remake was conceived by record executives Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair who tasked the Dolls' lead singer Nicole Scherzinger with creating a pop record that did not deviate from the original melody. Iovine and Fair also asked a number of other writers to create interpretations of the song, including Brick & Lace, The Writing Camp and Ester Dean. The final English version of "Jai Ho" was dubbed "Jai Ho! " and is sometimes also referred to as the "RF Mix" or "Ron Fair" Remix.
The Gift is the second album and first Christmas album by Scottish singer Susan Boyle, which was released on 8 November 2010. Boyle hinted that the album has a 1960s feel "because that was [her] era". Despite having a mixed critical reception, the album debuted at number one on both the British and American album charts and received a nomination at the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Couples Retreat is the soundtrack to the 2009 American film of the same name, directed by Peter Billingsley and starring Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman. The original score and songs are composed and produced by A. R. Rahman and recorded in the summer of 2009 with the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage. The film marks his Hollywood debut, though he has already worked for some English-language films including Slumdog Millionaire, which fetched him two Academy Awards.
A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour is the first world tour by Indian musician A. R. Rahman. Rahman organised the tour in 2010, following the success of his soundtrack album Slumdog Millionaire, and particularly the song "Jai Ho". The tour was kicked off on June 11 at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and was initially decided to span 16 major cities worldwide. Amy Tinkham is the choreographer and director of the tour, John Beasley, Music Director, and Deepak Gattani of Rapport Productions produces it. The tour features 23 playback singers from India, along with several instrumentalists and dancers.
127 Hours: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to Danny Boyle's 2010 film of the same name. It was composed by Academy Award Winner A. R. Rahman, Boyle's previous collaborator on Slumdog Millionaire. The score, centred on guitar, was recorded mainly in London and was completed in three weeks. The soundtrack was released digitally on 2 November and physically on 22 November, by Interscope Records and Fox Music. The score is briefly orchestral and the song's main theme, "If I Rise" features Rahman playing the Harpejji.
Aaj Ki Raat (transl. Tonight!) is a 2006 Hindi song from the Bollywood film soundtrack for Don: The Chase Begins Again. The track is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio with lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar. The song became more popular internationally when later used by AR Rahman in the Academy Award-winning 2008 soundtrack Slumdog Millionaire.
Young Fathers are a Scottish progressive hip hop group formed in Edinburgh in 2008. Their second EP, Tape Two (2013), won the Scottish Album of the Year Award. In 2014, they won the Mercury Prize for their debut album Dead. A second album, White Men Are Black Men Too, followed in 2015. Their third album, Cocoa Sugar (2018), peaked at number 28 on the UK Albums Chart and earned the band their second Scottish Album of the Year Award. Their fourth album, Heavy Heavy, was released in 2023 and earned the band their third Scottish Album of the Year Award.
