BLOC PARTY

Bloc Party

Bloc Party are a British indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Russell Lissack (lead guitar), Gordon Moakes (bass guitar, synths, backing vocals, glockenspiel), and Matt Tong (drums, backing vocals). Their brand of music is said to have been drawn from such bands as The Cure, Mogwai, Siouxsie and the Banshees and in their more recent work Radiohead.

The band was formed at the 1999 Reading Festival by Okereke and Lissack. They went through a variety of names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. Moakes joined the band after answering an advert in NME magazine, while Tong was picked via an audition. Bloc Party got their break by giving BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq and Franz Ferdinand's lead singer, Alex Kapranos, a copy of their demo "She's Hearing Voices".

In February 2005, the band released their debut album Silent Alarm. It was critically acclaimed and was named 'Indie Album of the Year' at the 2006 PLUG Awards and NME Album of the year which both honour indie music. That year, the record was also certified platinum in Britain. The band built on this success in 2007 with the release of their second studio album, A Weekend in the City, which reached a peak of number two in the UK Albums Chart and number twelve in the Billboard 200. In August 2008, Bloc Party released their third studio record, Intimacy. The band went on a hiatus in October 2009 to focus on side projects, and reunited in September 2011, releasing their fourth album, Four, in 2012. As of May 2012, Bloc Party have sold two million albums worldwide

Origin: London, England

Genres: Indie rock, rock, post-Britpop, alternative rock, dance-rock

Years active: 2003–present

Labels: Frenchkiss, Wichita, Atlantic, Dim Mak, Transgressive, Trash Aesthetics, Vice, Arts & Crafts

Associated acts: Pin Me Down, Young Legionnaire

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Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (Full Album)

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DONNA SUMMER

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known by the stage name Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the United States Billboard chart, and she also charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 13-month period.

Born into a devoutly Christian middle class African American family in Boston, Massachusetts, Summer first became involved with singing through church choir groups before joining a number of bands influenced by the Motown Sound. Influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, she became the front singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair, she spent several years living in West Germany, where she married Helmut Sommer, whose surname she adopted as her stage name.

Returning to the United States, Summer co-wrote the song "Love to Love You Baby" with Pete Bellotte; music producer Giorgio Moroder convinced her to sing it herself, and it was released to mass commercial success in 1975, particularly on the disco scene. Over the following years, Summer followed this success with a string of other disco hits, such as "I Feel Love", "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff" and "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)". Becoming known as the "Queen of Disco", she regularly appeared at the Studio 54 club in New York City, while her music gained a particularly large following within the gay community. Struggling with depression, she subsequently became a born-again Christian in 1980.

Diagnosed with lung cancer, Summer died on May 17, 2012, at her home on Manasota Key in Englewood, Florida, after a battle with the disease. She was posthumously described as the "undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom" who reached the status of "one of the world's leading female singers." Her work with Moroder on the song "I Feel Love" has also been described as "really the start of electronic dance" music, by Moroder himself.

Birth name: LaDonna Adrian Gaines

Also known as: Donna Gaines

Born: December 31, 1948. Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

Died: May 17, 2012. Englewood, Florida, U.S.

Genres: Pop, disco, dance, rock, R&B

Occupations: Singer, songwriter

Instruments: Vocals, piano

Years active: 1968–2012

Labels: Oasis, Casablanca (1975–80), Geffen (1980–88), Atlantic (1988–91), Mercury (1994–96), Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (1980–91), Epic (1999–2001), Burgundy (2006–12)

Associated acts: Giorgio Moroder, Brooklyn Dreams.

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Donna Summer - Live and More Encore 1999 

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P!NK

P!nk

Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8, 1979), better known by her stage name Pink (often stylized as P!nk), is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. After her three-year career with the contemporary R&B girl group Choice, in 2000 she released her first single "There You Go," from her debut album Can't Take Me Home. The song garnered commercial success, peaking at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2001, she released her second, more pop rock-oriented, studio album, Missundaztood. The album went on to become a critical and commercial success. The album produced four singles, "Get the Party Started," "Don't Let Me Get Me," "Just Like a Pill" and "Family Portrait," each entering the Top 20, with "Get the Party Started" being her highest charting solo single (tied with "Most Girls") until "So What" in 2008, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In November 2003, Pink released her third album Try This. The album was, commercially, less successful than her previous album, making it Pink's least successful album to date. It produced three singles, "Trouble," "God Is a DJ" and "Last to Know," with the first receiving a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. After taking a short break, she released I'm Not Dead, her fourth studio album, on April 4, 2006. It marked her comeback after the poor performance of her previous album. The album debuted and peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200, Pink's highest debut on the chart. It was preceded by the controversial single, "Stupid Girls", which garnered commercial success. The second single, "Who Knew," was virtually ignored on American radio, but after the huge success of "U + Ur Hand," was re-released, peaking at #9 on the charts. "U + Ur Hand" is credited to have revived Pink's career in the US, and also to have brought the album back to the charts. Her fifth album, Funhouse, was released in late October 2008. It was preceded by her first solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100, "So What." The album notched three other Top 20 hits: "Sober," "Please Don't Leave Me" and "Glitter in the Air." On November 15, 2010, she released her first compilation album, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!. The album produced two singles, "Raise Your Glass" and "Fuckin' Perfect," the former reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. In January 2012, Nielsen Soundscan reported that Pink was the 4th most played artist of 2011. Pink is scheduled to release her sixth studio album entitled The Truth About Love on September 18 2012 and features the hit single Blow Me (One Last Kiss).

By the end of 2009, Billboard magazine named Pink the number one Pop Artist of the decade, as well as naming her the 13th overall music artist of the decade. A few months later, in June 2010, Forbes magazine named Pink the 27th most powerful celebrity in the world. Pink's career accomplishments include three Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards and two Brit Awards. In June 2011 Pink and her husband, Carey Hart, welcomed their first child, Willow Sage. As of January 2012, Pink has sold over 40 million albums and 70 million singles worldwide, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Birth name: Alecia Beth Moore

Born: September 8, 1979. Doylestown, Pennsylvania, United States

Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Genres: Pop rock, pop, rock, R&B, dance-pop

Occupations: Singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actress

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums

Years active: 1995–present

Labels: LaFace, Arista, Jive, RCA, Zomba

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NELLY FURTADO

Nelly Furtado

Nelly Kim Furtado (born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Her second studio album, Folklore, was released. It was less commercially successful in the US but produced three international singles: "Powerless (Say What You Want)", "Try", and "Força" (the theme of the 2004 European Football Championship). Her third studio album, Loose was her biggest success worldwide. It produced the number-one hits "Promiscuous", "Maneater", "Say It Right" and "All Good Things (Come to an End)". After a three-year break, she released her first full-length Spanish album, Mi Plan in September 2009. For Mi Plan, Furtado received the Latin Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Album. Furtado's fourth English-language studio album, The Spirit Indestructible, is set for release on September 11, 2012.

Birth name: Nelly Kim Furtado

Born: December 2, 1978

Origin: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Genres: Pop, rock, folk, R&B, Latin pop, hip hop, dance pop, world music

Occupations: Singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, actress

Instruments: Vocals, guitar, keyboards, ukulele, trombone

Years active: 1996–present

Labels: DreamWorks, Geffen, MMG, Universal Music Latino

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Nelly Furtado Festival de Viña 2008. Full Concert

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