Fat Freddy's Drop is a New Zealand seven-piece band from Wellington, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by musicians from other bands in Wellington, Fat Freddy's Drop gradually became its members' sole focus. Band members continued playing with their other respective groups—The Black Seeds, TrinityRoots, Bongmaster, and others—for much of their 20-year career. Fat Freddy's Drop are known for their improvised live performances. Songs on their studio albums are versions refined over years of playing them live in New Zealand and on tour abroad.
Shapeshifter are a live drum and bass act from New Zealand. They are known for their live shows and blend of heavy soul with drum and bass. They have made appearances at Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Big Day Out, Parklife plus sold-out performances across Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
TrinityRoots are a band based in Wellington, New Zealand. Although they are commonly associated with New Zealand reggae they also embody a stripped back, jazz and soul-influenced rhythmic sound, which often builds up to highly emotional drum- and guitar-led crescendos.
Hollie Smith is a New Zealand soul singer-songwriter based in Wellington. Her debut album Long Player reached number one on the RIANZ albums chart in 2007, and certified double platinum.
American pop rock band Maroon 5 has released seven studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums, one remix album, three extended plays (EPs), 33 singles, six promotional singles, and 23 music videos. The group originally formed in 1994 as Kara's Flowers while they were still attending high school. With a line-up of Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden and Ryan Dusick, they released their independent album, We Like Digging? in 1995. In 1997, they signed to Reprise Records and released an album, The Fourth World. After a tepid response to the album, the band parted with their record label and attended college. In 2001, the band regrouped and added James Valentine to the lineup, and pursued a new direction under the name Maroon 5.
The American group Black Eyed Peas has released eight studio albums, two compilation albums, one extended play, twenty-eight singles, eight promotional singles, thirty-eight music videos, and two video albums. Interscope Records released the band's debut album, Behind the Front, in the United States in June 1998. Although the album received a four-star review from AllMusic, it charted low on the Billboard 200 in the United States and on the French Albums Chart, at numbers 129 and 149 respectively. The band's second album, Bridging the Gap, was released in 2000 and peaked at number sixty-seven in the US and reached its highest position in New Zealand, at number eighteen.
American band OneRepublic has released 4 studio albums, 5 extended plays, 31 singles, 10 promotional singles, and 25 music videos. Formed in 2002, OneRepublic first found commercial recognition when their song "Apologize" was released onto Myspace in 2005 and they subsequently became the biggest act on that site. It was remixed slightly by a famous record producer, and appeared on the Robert Hales YouTube video. Released as a single in 2007, the song topped the charts in multiple countries, including Australia and Canada, while also reaching the top three in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has since sold over 3.6 million digital downloads in the United States. The band's debut studio album, Dreaming Out Loud, was released in November 2007. It hit the top ten on the albums charts of countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. It also peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard 200, earning a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's second single, "Stop and Stare", peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 while also reaching the top five in Austria and the United Kingdom. The album spawned three more singles: "Say ", "Mercy", and "Come Home".
The American rock band Paramore has released five studio albums, five extended plays, two live albums, twenty three singles, one video album, and twenty six music videos. The band was formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004 by lead vocalist Hayley Williams with guitarists Josh Farro and Taylor York, bassist Jeremy Davis, and drummer Zac Farro. In 2005, Paramore signed with the New York City-based Fueled by Ramen and released their debut album entitled All We Know Is Falling. Three singles were released from the album, but none of them charted. The album did not chart in the Billboard 200 either, although it peaked at number thirty in the Billboard Top Heatseekers. All We Know Is Falling received Gold certification in the United Kingdom and in July 2014 the RIAA certified the album Gold in the United States.
Scottish DJ Calvin Harris has released five studio albums, one mix album, seven extended plays, 42 singles, 12 promotional singles and 40 music videos. As of November 2014, Harris had sold 8,176,180 singles and tracks in the United Kingdom.
"Meet Me Halfway" is the third single from the Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D. The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Meet Me Halfway" topped the charts in Australia, Germany, Romania, Mexico and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, "Meet Me Halfway" became the tenth biggest-selling single of 2009. It is a dance-pop song that combines futuristic electro hop beats with vintage '80s pop stylings in the key of B Minor.
Joshua Elia Williams, known by his stage name J. Williams, is a New Zealand R&B recording artist and professional hip-hop dancer. He made his musical debut in 2008 with "Blow Your Mind" which peaked at number 13 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. In early 2009 his debut album Young Love was released with the single "You Got Me" featuring Scribe. It was certified platinum and became the #1 selling single of 2010 in New Zealand.
"You Got Me" is a single by New Zealand R&B singer J. Williams featuring Scribe, released in February 2010. Young Love features the track. The single went to number one in New Zealand five weeks after its debut, and was certified gold the week after.
English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding has released four studio albums, two remix albums, eight extended plays, 38 singles, five promotional singles and 39 music videos. As of March 2020, Goulding had sold 15 million albums and 102 million singles worldwide. Additionally, she had sold over 1.5 million albums and over 4.3 million singles in the United Kingdom alone as of February 2014.
Fat Freddy's Drop have released six studio albums, two live albums, and several singles. Their songs have appeared on compilation albums both in New Zealand and internationally. In 2007, they released a DVD, Fantastic Voyages Vol. 1, with live footage from their 2006 World Cup Tour, music videos, and behind the scenes footage.
"Stand Up" is a song recorded by New Zealand band The Feelers for their third studio album, Playground Battle (2003). Written by band singer James Reid, the song reached number seventeen on the New Zealand Singles Chart and won the New Zealand Music Award for Radio Airplay Record of the Year. Stan Walker covered the song in 2010.
Based on a True Story is the first studio album by New Zealand group Fat Freddy's Drop. It was recorded in Wellington and released on the band's own label, The Drop. Based on a True Story utilized the band's trademark dub, reggae, soul and funk influenced sound, and has been successful both in terms of sales and of critical reception. The album followed years of regular touring within New Zealand, a live album, several singles, and appearances on numerous compilation albums in New Zealand and internationally.
Karoline Fuarose Park-Tamati, known professionally as Ladi6, is a New Zealand recording artist of Samoan descent. She spent six months living in Berlin and touring Europe in both 2010 and 2011. Her debut album Time Is Not Much debuted at number 4 on the New Zealand Top 40 Album chart. and her second album The Liberation Of... debuted at number 6 and was certified gold. Her single "Like Water" was certified platinum in June 2011. She has won many awards, including Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Hip Hop Album at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards and Best Urban/Hip Hop Album at the 2009 New Zealand Music Awards. The current line-up of the wider Ladi6 group is Ladi6, her partner Parks and Julien Dyne. Ladi6 has been called "New Zealand's answer to Erykah Badu".
The Liberation Of... is the second album by Christchurch-born singer-songwriter/rapper Ladi6, released in November 2010. It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban/Hip Hop Album at the 2011 New Zealand Music Awards. It also won the 2011 Taite Music Prize and Best Urban Album at the 2011 Pacific Music Awards.
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.
Broods is a New Zealand music duo from Nelson, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges", which went to No. 8 on the New Zealand single chart, and signed with Capitol and Polydor Records. They released their self-titled debut EP, Broods, on 30 January 2014, which was followed by a full-length album, Evergreen, on 22 August 2014. The band has toured with Ellie Goulding, Haim, Sam Smith, Tove Lo and Taylor Swift. They have won ten New Zealand Music Awards. On 24 June 2016, Broods released their second album, Conscious. They released their third album Don't Feed the Pop Monster on 1 February 2019.
