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[ "Andrew the Apostle", "Scotland", "What does he have to do with Scotland?", "Several legends state that the relics of Andrew were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern Scottish town of St Andrews stands today", "What year did this take place?", "I don't know.", "Are there any memorials dedicated to him in Scotland?", "one is among the manuscripts collected by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and willed to Louis XIV of France, now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris,", "Are there any churches dedicated to him?", "I don't know." ]	C_d0bf7a4fa2a545d8865d583bd9afa924_0	What year is the manuscript believed to be from?	5	What year is the manuscript of Andrew the Apostle believed to be from?	Andrew the Apostle	Several legends state that the relics of Andrew were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern Scottish town of St Andrews stands today (Gaelic, Cill Rimhinn). The oldest surviving manuscripts are two: one is among the manuscripts collected by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and willed to Louis XIV of France, now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, the other is the Harleian Mss in the British Library, London. They state that the relics of Andrew were brought by one Regulus to the Pictish king Oengus mac Fergusa (729-761). The only historical Regulus (Riagail or Rule) whose name is preserved in the tower of St Rule was an Irish monk expelled from Ireland with Saint Columba; his dates, however, are c 573 - 600. There are good reasons for supposing that the relics were originally in the collection of Acca, bishop of Hexham, who took them into Pictish country when he was driven from Hexham (c. 732), and founded a see, not, according to tradition, in Galloway, but on the site of St Andrews. According to legend, in 832 AD, Oengus II led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles, led by AEthelstan, near modern-day Athelstaneford, East Lothian. The legend states that he was heavily outnumbered and hence whilst engaged in prayer on the eve of battle, Oengus vowed that if granted victory he would appoint Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland. On the morning of battle white clouds forming an X shape in the sky were said to have appeared. Oengus and his combined force, emboldened by this apparent divine intervention, took to the field and despite being inferior in numbers were victorious. Having interpreted the cloud phenomenon as representing the crux decussata upon which Saint Andrew was crucified, Oengus honoured his pre-battle pledge and duly appointed Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland. The white saltire set against a celestial blue background is said to have been adopted as the design of the flag of Scotland on the basis of this legend. However, there is evidence that Andrew was venerated in Scotland before this. Andrew's connection with Scotland may have been reinforced following the Synod of Whitby, when the Celtic Church felt that Columba had been "outranked" by Peter and that Peter's brother would make a higher ranking patron. The 1320 Declaration of Arbroath cites Scotland's conversion to Christianity by Andrew, "the first to be an Apostle". Numerous parish churches in the Church of Scotland and congregations of other Christian churches in Scotland are named after Andrew. The national church of the Scottish people in Rome, Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi is dedicated to Saint Andrew. A local superstition uses the cross of Saint Andrew as a hex sign on the fireplaces in northern England and Scotland to prevent witches from flying down the chimney and entering the house to do mischief. By placing the Saint Andrew's cross on one of the fireplace posts or lintels, witches are prevented from entering through this opening. In this case, it is similar to the use of a witch ball, although the cross will actively prevent witches from entering, and the witch ball will passively delay or entice the witch, and perhaps entrap it. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Andrew the Apostle ( Andreas; Aramaic: ܐܢܕܪܐܘܣ), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Saint Peter. He is referred to in the Orthodox tradition as the First-Called (, Prōtoklētos). According to Orthodox tradition, the apostolic successor to Saint Andrew is the Patriarch of Constantinople. Life The name "Andrew" (Greek: manly, brave, from ἀνδρεία, Andreia, "manhood, valour"), like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews and other Hellenized people of Judea. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him. Andrew the Apostle was born between 5 and 10 AD in Bethsaida, in Galilee. The New Testament states that Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter, and likewise a son of Jonah. "The first striking characteristic of Andrew is his name: it is not Hebrew, as might have been expected, but Greek, indicative of a certain cultural openness in his family that cannot be ignored. We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present." Both he and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade, hence the tradition that Jesus called them to be his disciples by saying that he will make them "fishers of men" (Greek: , halieis anthrōpōn). At the beginning of Jesus' public life, they were said to have occupied the same house at Capernaum. In the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Mark Simon Peter and Andrew were both called together to become disciples of Jesus and "fishers of men". These narratives record that Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, observed Simon and Andrew fishing, and called them to discipleship. In the parallel incident in the Gospel of Luke Andrew is not named, nor is reference made to Simon having a brother. In this narrative, Jesus initially used a boat, solely described as being Simon's, as a platform for preaching to the multitudes on the shore and then as a means to achieving a huge trawl of fish on a night which had hitherto proved fruitless. The narrative indicates that Simon was not the only fisherman in the boat (they signalled to their partners in the other boat … but it is not until the next chapter that Andrew is named as Simon's brother. However, it is generally understood that Andrew was fishing with Simon on the night in question. Matthew Poole, in his Annotations on the Holy Bible, stressed that 'Luke denies not that Andrew was there'. In contrast, the Gospel of John states that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him, and another unnamed disciple of John the Baptist, to follow Jesus. Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and hastened to introduce him to his brother. The Byzantine Church honours him with the name Protokletos, which means "the first called". Thenceforth, the two brothers were disciples of Christ. On a subsequent occasion, prior to the final call to the apostolate, they were called to a closer companionship, and then they left all things to follow Jesus. Subsequently, in the gospels, Andrew is referred to as being present on some important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus. Andrew told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, and when Philip wanted to tell Jesus about certain Greeks seeking Him, he told Andrew first. Andrew was present at the Last Supper. Andrew was one of the four disciples who came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives to ask about the signs of Jesus' return at the "end of the age". Eusebius in his Church History 3.1 quoted Origen as saying that Andrew preached in Scythia. The Chronicle of Nestor adds that he preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper river as far as Kiev, and from there he travelled to Novgorod. Hence, he became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia. According to Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew preached in Thrace, and his presence in Byzantium is mentioned in the apocryphal Acts of Andrew. According to tradition, he founded the see of Byzantium (later Constantinople) in AD 38, installing Stachys as bishop. This diocese became the seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople under Anatolius, in 451. Andrew, along with Saint Stachys, is recognized as the patron saint of the Patriarchate. Basil of Seleucia also knew of Apostle Andrew's missions in Thrace, Scythia and Achaea. Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras (Patræ) in Achaea, in AD 60. Early texts, such as the Acts of Andrew known to Gregory of Tours, describe Andrew as bound, not nailed, to a Latin cross of the kind on which Jesus is said to have been crucified; yet a tradition developed that Andrew had been crucified on a cross of the form called crux decussata (X-shaped cross, or "saltire"), now commonly known as a "Saint Andrew's Cross" — supposedly at his own request, as he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross as Jesus had been. The iconography of the martyrdom of Andrew — showing him bound to an X-shaped cross — does not appear to have been standardized until the later Middle Ages. The Acts of Andrew The apocryphal Acts of Andrew, mentioned by Eusebius, Epiphanius and others, is among a disparate group of Acts of the Apostles that were traditionally attributed to Leucius Charinus. "These Acts (...) belong to the third century: ca. A.D. 260," in the opinion of M. R. James, who edited them in 1924. The Acts, as well as a Gospel of St Andrew, appear among rejected books in the Decretum Gelasianum connected with the name of Pope Gelasius I. The Acts of Andrew was edited and published by Constantin von Tischendorf in the Acta Apostolorum apocrypha (Leipzig, 1821), putting it for the first time into the hands of a critical professional readership. Another version of the Andrew legend is found in the Passio Andreae, published by Max Bonnet (Supplementum II Codicis apocryphi, Paris, 1895). Relics Relics alleged to be those of the Apostle Andrew are kept at the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Patras, Greece; in Amalfi Cathedral (the Duomo di Sant'Andrea), Amalfi and in Sarzana Cathedral in Sarzana, Italy; St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland; and the Church of St Andrew and St Albert, Warsaw, Poland. There are also numerous smaller reliquaries throughout the world. Andrew's remains were preserved at Patras. According to one legend, Saint Regulus (Rule), a monk at Patras, was advised in a dream to hide some of the bones. Shortly thereafter, most of the relics were transferred from Patras to Constantinople by order of the Roman emperor Constantius II around 357 and deposited in the Church of the Holy Apostles. Regulus was said to have had a second dream in which an angel advised him to take the hidden relics "to the ends of the earth" for protection. Wherever he was shipwrecked, he was to build a shrine for them. St. Rule set sail, taking with him a kneecap, an upper arm bone, three fingers and a tooth. He sailed west, towards the edge of the known world, and was shipwrecked on the coast of Fife, Scotland. However, the relics were probably brought to Britain in 597 as part of the Augustine Mission, and then in 732 to Fife, by Bishop Acca of Hexham, a well-known collector of religious relics. The skull of Saint Andrew, which had been taken to Constantinople, was returned to Patras by Emperor Basil I, who ruled from 867 to 886. In 1208, following the sack of Constantinople, those relics of Saint Andrew and Saint Peter which remained in the imperial city were taken to Amalfi, Italy, by Cardinal Peter of Capua, a native of Amalfi. A cathedral (Duomo), was built, dedicated to Saint Andrew (as is the town itself), to house a tomb in its crypt where it is maintained that most of the relics of the apostle, including an occipital bone, remain. Thomas Palaeologus was the youngest surviving son of Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. Thomas ruled the province of Morea, the medieval name for the Peloponnese. In 1461, when the Ottomans crossed the Strait of Corinth, Palaeologus fled Patras for exile in Italy, bringing with him what was purported to be the skull of Saint Andrew. He gave the head to Pope Pius II, who had it enshrined in one of the four central piers of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and then in Pienza, Italy. In September 1964, Pope Paul VI, as a gesture of goodwill toward the Greek Orthodox Church, ordered that all of the relics of Saint Andrew that were in Vatican City be sent back to Patras. Cardinal Augustin Bea along with many other cardinals presented the skull to Bishop Constantine of Patras on 24 September 1964. The cross of Saint Andrew was taken from Greece during the Crusades by the Duke of Burgundy. It was kept in the church of St. Victor in Marseilles until it returned to Patras on 19 January 1980. The cross of the apostle was presented to the Bishop of Patras Nicodemus by a Catholic delegation led by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. All the relics, which consist of the small finger, the skull (part of the top of the cranium of Saint Andrew), and the cross on which he was martyred, have been kept in the Church of St. Andrew at Patras in a special shrine and are revered in a special ceremony every 30 November, his feast day. In 2006, the Catholic Church, again through Cardinal Etchegaray, gave the Greek Orthodox Church another relic of Saint Andrew. Traditions and legends Georgia The church tradition of Georgia regards Saint Andrew as the first preacher of Christianity in the territory of Georgia and as the founder of the Georgian church. This tradition was apparently derived from the Byzantine sources, particularly Nicetas of Paphlagonia (died c. 890) who asserts that "Andrew preached to the Iberians, Sauromatians, Taurians, and Scythians and to every region and city, on the Black Sea, both north and south." The version was adopted by the 10th–11th-century Georgian ecclesiastics and, refurbished with more details, was inserted in the Georgian Chronicles. The story of Saint Andrew's mission in the Georgian lands endowed the Georgian church with apostolic origin and served as a defence argument to George the Hagiorite against the encroachments from the Antiochian church authorities on autocephaly of the Georgian church. Another Georgian monk, Ephraim the Minor, produced a thesis, reconciling Saint Andrew's story with an earlier evidence of the 4th-century conversion of Georgians by Saint Nino and explaining the necessity of the "second Christening" by Nino. The thesis was made canonical by the Georgian church council in 1103. The Georgian Orthodox Church marks two feast days in honour of Saint Andrew, on 12 May and 13 December. The former date, dedicated to Saint Andrew's arrival in Georgia, is a public holiday in Georgia. Cyprus Cypriot tradition holds that a ship which was transporting Saint Andrew went off course and ran aground. Upon coming ashore, Andrew struck the rocks with his staff at which point a spring of healing waters gushed forth. Using it, the sight of the ship's captain, who had been blind in one eye, was restored. Thereafter, the site became a place of pilgrimage and a fortified monastery stood there in the 12th century, from which Isaac Comnenus negotiated his surrender to Richard the Lionheart. In the 15th century, a small chapel was built close to the shore. The main monastery of the current church dates to the 18th century. Other pilgrimages are more recent. The story is told that in 1895, the son of a Maria Georgiou was kidnapped. Seventeen years later, Saint Andrew appeared to her in a dream, telling her to pray for her son's return at the monastery. Living in Anatolia, she embarked on the crossing to Cyprus on a very crowded boat. As she was telling her story during the journey, one of the passengers, a young Dervish priest, became more and more interested. Asking if her son had any distinguishing marks, he stripped off his clothes to reveal the same marks and mother and son were thus reunited. Apostolos Andreas Monastery () is a monastery dedicated to Saint Andrew situated just south of Cape Apostolos Andreas, which is the north-easternmost point of the island of Cyprus, in Rizokarpaso in the Karpass Peninsula. The monastery is an important site to the Cypriot Orthodox Church. It was once known as 'the Lourdes of Cyprus', served not by an organized community of monks but by a changing group of volunteer priests and laymen. Both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities consider the monastery a holy place. As such, it is visited by many people for votive prayers. Malta The first reference regards the small chapel at Luqa dedicated to Andrew dates to 1497. This chapel contained three altars, one of them dedicated to Andrew. The painting showing Mary with Saints Andrew and Paul was painted by the Maltese artist Filippo Dingli. At one time, many fishermen lived in the village of Luqa, and this may be the main reason for choosing Andrew as patron saint. The statue of Andrew was sculpted in wood by Giuseppe Scolaro in 1779. This statue underwent several restoration works including that of 1913 performed by the Maltese artist Abraham Gatt. The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew on the main altar of the church was painted by Mattia Preti in 1687. Romania The official stance of the Romanian Orthodox Church is that Andrew preached the Gospel in the province of Dobruja (Scythia Minor) to the Daco-Romans, whom he is said to have converted to Christianity. Such a tradition was however not widely acknowledged until the 20th century. According to Hippolyte of Antioch, (died c. 250 C.E.) in his On Apostles, Origen in the third book of his Commentaries on the Genesis (254 C.E.), Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History (340 C.E.), and other sources, such as Usaard's Martyrdom written between 845 and 865, and Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (c. 1260), Saint Andrew preached in Scythia, a possible reference to Scythia Minor, whose territory was integrated into Romania in the late 19th century. According to some modern Romanian scholars, the idea of early Christianisation is unsustainable. They take the idea to be a part of an ideology of protochronism which purports that the Orthodox Church has been a companion and defender of the Romanian people for its entire history, which was then used for propaganda purposes during the communist era, although this is disputed. East Slavs Tradition regarding the early Christian history of Ukraine holds that the apostle Andrew preached on the southern borders of modern-day Ukraine, along the Black Sea. Legend has it that he travelled up the Dnieper River and reached the future location of Kyiv, where he erected a cross on the site where the Saint Andrew's Church of Kyiv currently stands, and where he prophesied the foundation of a great Christian city. Because of this connection to Kyiv, Saint Andrew is considered to be the patron saint of the two East Slavic nations descended from the Kievan Rus: Ukraine and Russia, the latter country using the Saint Andrew's Cross on its naval ensign. The third East Slavic nation, Belarus, however, reveres Euphrosyne of Polotsk, a local saint, as its patron instead. Scotland Several legends state that the relics of Andrew were brought by divine guidance from Constantinople to the place where the modern Scottish town of St Andrews stands today (Gaelic, Cill Rìmhinn). The oldest surviving manuscripts are two: one is among the manuscripts collected by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and willed to Louis XIV of France, now in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; the other is the Harleian Mss in the British Library, London. They state that the relics of Andrew were brought by one Regulus to the Pictish king Óengus mac Fergusa (729–761). The only historical Regulus (Riagail or Rule) whose name is preserved in the tower of St Rule was an Irish monk expelled from Ireland with Saint Columba; his dates, however, are c. 573 – 600. There are good reasons for supposing that the relics were originally in the collection of Acca, bishop of Hexham, who took them into Pictish country when he was driven from Hexham (c. 732), and founded a see, not, according to tradition, in Galloway, but on the site of St Andrews. According to legendary accounts given in 16th-century historiography, Óengus II in AD 832 led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles, led by Æthelstan, near modern-day Athelstaneford, East Lothian. The legend states that he was heavily outnumbered and hence whilst engaged in prayer on the eve of battle, Óengus vowed that if granted victory he would appoint Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland. On the morning of battle white clouds forming an X shape in the sky were said to have appeared. Óengus and his combined force, emboldened by this apparent divine intervention, took to the field and despite being inferior in numbers were victorious. Having interpreted the cloud phenomenon as representing the crux decussata upon which Saint Andrew was crucified, Óengus honoured his pre-battle pledge and duly appointed Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland. The white saltire set against a celestial blue background is said to have been adopted as the design of the flag of Scotland on the basis of this legend. However, there is evidence that Andrew was venerated in Scotland before this. Andrew's connection with Scotland may have been reinforced following the Synod of Whitby, when the Celtic Church felt that Columba had been "outranked" by Peter and that Peter's brother would make a higher-ranking patron. The 1320 Declaration of Arbroath cites Scotland's conversion to Christianity by Andrew, "the first to be an Apostle". Numerous parish churches in the Church of Scotland and congregations of other Christian churches in Scotland are named after Andrew. The national church of the Scottish people in Rome, Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi is dedicated to Saint Andrew. A local superstition uses the cross of Saint Andrew as a hex sign on the fireplaces in northern England and Scotland to prevent witches from flying down the chimney and entering the house to do mischief. By placing the Saint Andrew's cross on one of the fireplace posts or lintels, witches are prevented from entering through this opening. In this case, it is similar to the use of a witch ball, although the cross will actively prevent witches from entering, whereas the witch ball will passively delay or entice the witch, and perhaps entrap it. Spain A form of St. Andrew's cross called the Cross of Bourgogne was used as the flag of the Duchy of Burgundy, and after the Duchy was acquired by Spain, by the Spanish Crown, and later as a Spanish naval flag and finally as an army battle flag up until 1843. Today, it is still a part of various Spanish military insignia and forms part of the Coat of Arms of the king of Spain as it did with General Franco. In Spain, Saint Andrew is the patron of several locations: San Andrés (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), San Andrés y Sauces (La Palma), Navalmoral de la Mata (Cáceres), Éibar (Guipúzcoa), Baeza (Jaén), Pobladura de Pelayo García and Pobladura de Yuso (León), Berlangas de Roa (Burgos), Ligüerzana (Palencia), Castillo de Bayuela (Toledo), Almoradí (Alicante), Estella (Navarra), Sant Andreu de Palomar, (Barcelona), Pujalt (Catalonia), Adamuz (Córdoba) and in Cameros (La Rioja). Legacy Andrew is the patron saint of several countries and cities including: Barbados, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Ukraine, Sarzana, Pienza and Amalfi in Italy, Esgueira in Portugal, Luqa in Malta, Parañaque in the Philippines and Patras in Greece. He was also the patron saint of Prussia and of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He is considered the founder and the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium and is consequently the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Apostle Andrew is also the patron of the Russian Navy. The flag of Scotland (and consequently the Union Flag and those of some of the former colonies of the British Empire) feature Saint Andrew's saltire cross. The saltire is also the flag of Tenerife, the former flag of Galicia and the Russian Navy Ensign. The Confederate flag also features a saltire commonly referred to as a St Andrew's cross, although its designer, William Porcher Miles, said he changed it from an upright cross to a saltire so that it would not be a religious symbol but merely a heraldic device. The Alabama flag also shows that device. The feast of Andrew is observed on 30 November in both the Eastern and Western churches, and is the national day of Scotland. In the traditional liturgical books of the Catholic Church, the feast of Saint Andrew is the first feast day in the Proper of Saints. Andrew the Apostle is remembered in the Church of England with a Festival on 30 November. In Islam The Qur’anic account of the disciples of Jesus does not include their names, numbers, or any detailed accounts of their lives. Muslim exegesis, however, more or less agrees with the New Testament list and says that the disciples included Andrew. In the Gospel of Mary According to the Gospel of Mary, a non-canonical text containing ideas paralleling those found in Gnosticism, Andrew along with the apostle Peter did not truly understand the teachings of Jesus. Rather, in its narrative, a woman named Mary (presumably Mary Magdelene) is superior to them with her knowledge. See also Order of Saint Andrew Patron saints of places Saltire – the X-shaped cross in heraldry and vexillology Santo André — an industrial town in Brazil St. Andrew's College, an all-boys independent school in Ontario, Canada, named after St. Andrew. On the driveway to the main building, there is a Saint Andrew statue St. Andrew's Cross (disambiguation) Saint Andrew's Day Russian Navy Universidad de San Andrés — Argentina, named after the saint University of St Andrews — named after the Royal Burgh of St Andrews, which was named after the saint St. Andrew's College Cross of Saint Peter Saint Andrew the Apostle, patron saint archive St. Andrew's School Parañaque References Notes Citations Sources Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. External links Andreas: The Legend of St. Andrew translated by Robert Kilburn Root, 1899, from Project Gutenberg National Shrine to Saint Andrew in Edinburgh Scotland Grimm's Saga No. 150 about Saint Andrew "Saint Andrew" at the Christian Iconography website "The Life of St. Andrew" from Caxton's translation of the Golden Legend 1st-century births 1st-century deaths 1st-century Romans 1st-century Christian martyrs 1st-century Byzantine bishops Ancient Jewish fishers Bishops of Byzantium Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles Christian missionaries in Greece Christian missionaries in Turkey Christian saints from the New Testament History of Christianity in Ukraine People executed by crucifixion People from Bethsaida 1st-century Jews Saints from the Holy Land Anglican saints	false	[ "The Master of the Llangattock Epiphany was a Flemish manuscript painter active between 1450 and 1460. He is one of at least eight artists who contributed to a Book of Hours, the Llangattock Hours, now in the J. Paul Getty Museum collection. His name is derived from this book, whose title in turn was derived from the name of a previous owner. The Master contributed one miniature to the collection, an Adoration of the Magi; he is believed to have lived in Bruges.\n\nThe master should not be confused with the Master of the Llangattock Hours, whose work may be found in the same book.\n\nReferences\nMaster of the Llangattock Epiphany at the Getty Museum\n\nEarly Netherlandish painters\nManuscript illuminators\nLlangattock Epiphany, Master of the", "Brynjólfur Sveinsson (14 September 1605 – 5 August 1675) served as the Lutheran Bishop of the see of Skálholt in Iceland. His main influence has been on modern knowledge of Old Norse literature. Brynjólfur is also known for his support of the career of the Icelandic poet and hymn writer Hallgrímur Pétursson. Brynjólfur Sveinsson is currently pictured on the banknote.\n\nBrynjólfur was born in Önundarfjörður in the Westfjords of northwestern Iceland. He studied at the University of Copenhagen from 1624 to 1629 and was Provost of Roskilde University from 1632 to 1638.\n\nIn 1643, he named the collection of Old Norse mythological and heroic poems Edda. Brynjólfur attributed the manuscript to Sæmundr fróði, but the scholarly consensus is that whoever wrote the Eddic poems, whether in the sense of being the compiler or the poet, it could not have been Sæmundr. It is believed that the manuscript has multiple authorship from over a long span of time.\n\nIn 1650 King Frederick III appointed Brynjólfur to succeed the late Stephanius as Royal Danish Historian. He declined the post but promised the king to do what he could to collect manuscripts in Iceland. One of his first acts was to request all people residing in his diocese to turn over to the King any old manuscripts, either an original or a copy, as a gift or for a price.\n\nAmong the most monumental of the Icelandic manuscripts thus collected is the Flateyjarbók, which was secured only after a personal visit to the owner from Brynjólfur. Jon Finnsson (Jóni Finnssyni) of Flatey, Breiðafjörður, who owned the manuscript, was initially unwilling to give up his precious heirloom. After a personal visit and persuasion from Brynjólfur, Finnsson gave up the valuable manuscript. The manuscript was given to King Frederick III in 1656, and placed in the Royal Library of Copenhagen.<ref>[http://sydney.edu.au/arts/medieval/saga/pdf/075-einar.pdf Einar G. Pétursson, Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi Brynjólfur biskup Sveinsson, forn átrúna›ur og Eddurnar (sydney.edu.au)]</ref>\n\nBrynjólfur Sveinsson in fiction\nThe novel Brynjólfur Sveinsson biskup'' by Torfhildur Þorsteinsdóttir Hólm, first published in 1882, is based on the life of the historical Brynjólfsson Sveinsson.\n\nReferences\n\n1605 births\n1675 deaths\nBrynjolfur Sveinsson\nBrynjolfur Sveinsson\n17th-century Lutheran bishops" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005" ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?	1	What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	false	[ "Thomas Vonn (born December 3, 1975) is an American former alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team.\n\nBiography\nVonn, who is of German descent, graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, in 2001.\n\nPrimarily a giant slalom racer, Vonn's best finish in international competition was in the Super-G at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where he placed ninth. He was then-wife Lindsey Vonn's coach when she won gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He also coached Dean Travers, beginning in 2015.\n\nPersonal life\nHe married fellow ski racer Lindsey Kildow on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. Lindsey Vonn became the World Cup overall champion in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012, and a 2010 Olympic gold medalist. They filed for divorce in November 2011; it was finalized on January 9, 2013. After divorcing Lindsey Vonn, Thomas Vonn began a relationship with Shauna Kane. Shauna gave birth to their son, Henrik Vonn, in 2018.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n Thomas Vonn World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation\n \n Ski Racing.com – 05-Dec-2002 – article on Thomas Vonn\n Ski Racing.com – 02-Oct-2007 – Vonn wedding coverage\n\n1975 births\nLiving people\nAmerican male alpine skiers\nOlympic alpine skiers of the United States\nAlpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics", "Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women.\n\nVonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers.\n\nIn 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year.\n\nInjuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries.\n\nEarly life and education\nBorn Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, \"pushed\" her very hard, according to Sailer.\n\nWhen Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s.\n\nVonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program.\n\nSkiing career\n\nEarly years\nLindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated \"I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape.\" By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under \"Gravity Corps\" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps \"pre-age-class\" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible \"versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain\" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official \"age-class\" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events.\n\nLindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should \"be in a race course\". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic \"NO,\" Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate \"slow\" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older \"Age-Class\" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request.\n\nThe coach supported the idea of skiing with \"age-class\" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the \"age class program,\" under SCV Alpine \"technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV \"in gate\" training.\n\nIn the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same \"gravity corps\" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. \"Vail was wonderful to me,\" Lindsey said, \"but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. \"Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty.\"\n\nHowever, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the \"Cadets\" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, \"Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'\"\n\nAfter climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah.\n\n2002–2005\nIn her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.\n\nKildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful.\n\nOn March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months.\n\nIn 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event.\n\n2006–2007\n\nAt her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit.\n\nKildow earned her first \"big race\" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G.\n\n2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years\nIn 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8.\n\nIn 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season.\n\nIn December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year.\n\n2010 Winter Olympics\n\nAt the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was \"excruciating\" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill.\n\nIn her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively.\n\nIn her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result.\nIn her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event.\n\n2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points\n\nAfter 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January.\n\nAt the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill.\n\nBack to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion.\n\n2012: Joining the all-event winner's club\nVonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once.\n\nOn December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994.\n\nWith further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories.\n\nOn February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline.\n\nVonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. \"It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season\", commented Vonn after the race.\n\n2013\nVonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62.\n\nAfter some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia.\n\nWorld Championships\nAt the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury.\n\nWorld Cup Finals\nBefore her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January.\n\n2014\nVonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November.\nOn November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that \"I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can.\"\n\nOn January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. \"I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!\" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page.\n\n2015: Comeback\nVonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever.\n\nAt the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race.\n\nOn March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record.\n\n2016\nVonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory.\n\n2017\nOn November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win.\n\nOn December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, \"Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President.\"\n\n2018\n\nAt the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: \"Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too.\" She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: \"I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always.\"\n\n2019\nIn October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that \"physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me\". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would \"give it a couple of days and make some decisions\". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals.\n\nPersonal life\n\nLindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013.\n\nKildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends.\n\nVonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019.\n\nIn 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm.\n\n Documentary \nIn 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold).\n\nVonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020.\n\nBibliography\n 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, \n2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books,\n\nWorld Cup results\n\nSeason titles\n20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined)\n\nSeason standings\n\nRace victories\n 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC)\n 137 podiums, 213 top tens\n\nWorld Championship results\n\nOlympic results\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nLindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard\n\n1984 births\nLiving people\nAlpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics\nAmerican female alpine skiers\nAmerican people of German descent\nAmerican people of Norwegian descent\nAngel City FC owners\nFIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions\nLaureus World Sports Awards winners\nMedalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics\nMedalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics\nOlympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing\nOlympic Games broadcasters\nOlympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing\nPeople from Burnsville, Minnesota\nPhilanthropists from Minnesota\nSportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City," ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Did she win the race in Slalom?	2	Did Lindsey Vonn win the race in Slalom?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	her best result coming with sixth in combined.	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	true	[ "Petra Vlhová (born 13 June 1995) is a Slovak World Cup alpine ski racer who specialises in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Vlhová won the World Cup overall title in 2021 and the gold medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics in the slalom event, becoming the first Slovak skier to achieve these feats.\n\nBackground and early years\nBorn in Liptovský Mikuláš, Vlhová won a gold medal in 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and represented Slovakia in the 2014 Winter Olympics. She also won gold in the slalom at the Junior World Championships in 2014 in Jasná, Slovakia.\n\nWorld Cup\nShe made her World Cup debut at age 17 in December 2012 and her first World Cup podium came three years later, a victory in slalom in at for the first time she entered second run in giant slalom in Flachau and\n\n2019 season\nIn December 2018, Vlhová scored the first World Cup giant slalom win for Slovakia in a race in Semmering, Austria – she was in fourth place after the first run, but set the second fastest time on the second run for the victory: her previous best GS result had been seventh. A few days later she won a parallel slalom at the foot of the Holmenkollbakken in Oslo, the sixth win of her career, setting a new record for the most World Cup wins by a Slovak alpine skier, eclipsing Veronika Velez-Zuzulová.\n\nIn January 2019, having finished as runner-up to Mikaela Shiffrin in the first five classic slaloms of the World Cup season, Vlhová won the slalom in Flachau, setting the fastest time on the second run to take the win after placing third in the first run, and taking the winner's €70,000 prize, the biggest women's prize purse of the World Cup season. The race was her fifth win in classic slalom, putting her one ahead of Velez-Zuzulová in terms of wins in the discipline.\n\nAt the Alpine World Ski Championships in February 2019, Vlhová took a complete set of medals. She claimed the first individual medal for a Slovak skier – a silver in the combined – after being edged out by Wendy Holdener by three hundredths of a second. She then won the first gold medal for Slovakia in the giant slalom, before taking the bronze in the slalom.\n\n2020 season\nVlhová started the 2020 season with a 14th place finish in giant slalom at Sölden. She reached her first podium in season on Killington, when she finished second in Slalom. On 15 December 2019 she won a Parallel slalom race in St. Moritz. In the last race of 2019, she finished second again in Lienz behind Mikaela Shiffrin. She started the new year with 3 victories in 4 races. First she won the slalom in Zagreb on 4 January, 10 days later she triumphed in the Flachau slalom and then she took her only Giant Slalom win of the season on 18 January, when she shared the spoils with Federica Brignone in Sestriere.\n\nVlhová started competing in the speed events in her bid to win the big crystal globe in the later part of the season. She claimed two 6th places in Bansko, one in the downhill and one in the super-G. She claimed two other top 10 results in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Her final win of the season came in slalom in Kranjska Gora on 16 February. She recorded a new personal best in downhill with a 4th place in Crans Montana on 21 February. In the final race of the season she finished 4th in a super-G in La Thuile, which was her best result in the discipline up to that point.\n\nThe season was then cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vlhová finished 3rd in the overall world cup standings and she won her first small crystal globes, one for slalom and one for parallel events.\n\n2021 season\nVlhová had a strong start to the season with a 3rd place in the opening giant slalom in Sölden. She followed that up with three victories in a row having won two slaloms in two days in Levi and a parallel giant slalom in Lech/Zürs. In December, Vlhová finished 3rd in the first of two giant slaloms in Courchevel (France), but did not finish the other one two days later. In Val d'Isère, she finished 26th and 33rd respectively in the two downhills before getting a 6th place in the super-G a day later. Vlhová secured her first overall title in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) finishing 6th in slalom.\n\n2022 season\nVlhová had a strong start to the season with a 3rd place in the opening giant slalom in Sölden. She followed that up with two victories in a row having won two slaloms in two days in Levi. In Killington Ski Resort she has 2nd.\n\nWorld Cup results\n\nSeason titles\n4 titles – (1 overall, 2 Slalom, 1 Parallel)\n\nSeason standings\n\nRace victories\n\nPodiums\n\nIncluding both parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom. Two parallel events have been classified in the ski-db.com results as classic events (the City Event slalom on 30/01/18 and the City Event slalom on 01/01/19). They are shown here as parallel events.\n\nWorld Championship results\n\nOlympic results\n\nSee also\nList of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's race winners\nList of Youth Olympic Games gold medalists who won Olympic gold medals\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n1995 births\nLiving people\nOlympic alpine skiers of Slovakia\nSlovak female alpine skiers\nAlpine skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics\nMedalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics\nOlympic medalists in alpine skiing\nOlympic gold medalists for Slovakia\nSportspeople from Liptovský Mikuláš\nAlpine skiers at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics\nYouth Olympic gold medalists for Slovakia", "Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin (born March 13, 1995) is an American two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup alpine skier. She is a three-time Overall World Cup champion, a four-time world champion in slalom, and a six-time winner of the World Cup discipline title in that event. Shiffrin is the youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history, at 18 years and 345 days.\n\nBy winning her second Olympic gold medal in the 2018 giant slalom, Shiffrin tied Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most Olympic gold medals ever won by an American Olympian in alpine skiing. She is one of only 5 Americans to ever win the World Cup overall title. In World Championships, she is the most decorated American alpine skier in history, having won most medals (11) overall, a record six of them gold. She is also the first and only athlete—male or female—with wins in all six FIS Alpine Ski World Cup disciplines. She has won World Cup races in ladies' slalom, parallel slalom, giant slalom, super-G, downhill, and alpine combined. She is the youngest skier—male or female—to win 50 World Cup races, doing so at the age of 23 years and 9 months.\n\nShe has won 73 World Cup races, the 2nd most all time by a female alpine skier, including 47 WC slalom races, the most won by any alpine skier, male or female. She is the only athlete – male or female – to have won 15 races in the same calendar year, winning the last slalom of the 2018 season in Semmering and surpassing Marcel Hirscher. In the 2019 season she became the first athlete, male or female, to win 17 World Cup races during a season, breaking the record of 14 wins that Vreni Schneider had held for 30 years. By winning the Gold in the Slalom at the 2019 World Championships, she became the first Alpine skier to win the world championship in the same discipline at four consecutive championships.\n\nBackground and early years\nBorn in Vail, Colorado, Shiffrin is the second child of Eileen (née Condron) and Jeff Shiffrin, both originally from the Northeastern United States and former ski racers. Shiffrin's father Jeff grew up in New Jersey, but was an avid skier on weekends in Vermont with his family; as an undergraduate, he raced for Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Her mother Eileen raced in high school in northwestern Massachusetts in the Berkshires, and her brother Taylor (born 1992) raced for the University of Denver.\n\nWhen Mikaela was eight in 2003, the family moved to rural New Hampshire near Lyme, where her father, an anesthesiologist, worked at Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center. After five years, he took a new job in Denver; her older brother Taylor was in high school at Burke Mountain Academy, a ski academy in northeastern Vermont, and stayed in the east. Shiffrin also attended middle school at Burke, but went with her parents to Colorado, before returning to Burke.\n\nFrom a young age Mikaela had strong results in major competitions. In March 2010, at age 14, she won both the slalom and GS at the Topolino Games in Italy, against skiers from 40 nations. The following winter, now meeting the FIS minimum age requirement of 15 years, she won a Nor-Am Cup super combined race in December 2010 at Panorama in British Columbia, only the eighth FIS-level race in which she had competed. Shiffrin followed it up with three podiums in her next three Nor-Am races: runner-up in a super-G, third in a GS, and victory in a slalom. Weeks later, she won a pair of Nor-Am slalom races held at Sunday River, Maine. A month later Shiffrin took the slalom bronze medal at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships held at Crans-Montana, Switzerland (after having been down with a stomach virus the day before). In January 2015, Shiffrin named Croatian former ski racer Janica Kostelić as her idol while growing up.\n\nSki racing career\nShiffrin made her World Cup debut on March 11, 2011, in a giant slalom at Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. In early April, just a few weeks after her 16th birthday, she won the slalom title at the US National Championships at Winter Park, Colorado, and became the youngest American ski racer to claim a national alpine crown.\n\n2012 season\n\nDuring the 2012 Alpine Skiing World Cup, Shiffrin took her first World Cup podium on December 29, 2011, at a slalom in Lienz, Austria. She started 40th and lost her left shin guard halfway down, but finished in 12th place in the first run. Shiffrin, age 16, then posted the fastest time in the second run to secure third place.\n\n2013 season\nShiffrin won her first World Cup race in December 2012 at age 17, in a night slalom in Åre, Sweden. She became the second-youngest American to win an alpine World Cup event, behind Judy Nagel (17 yr, 5 mo.). Shiffrin's second win came two weeks later at a night slalom at Zagreb, Croatia; and her third win 11 days later at another night slalom in Flachau, Austria. After winning the slalom at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, she secured the 2013 season title in the slalom discipline. Though she spent most of her last two years of high school in Europe on the World Cup circuit, she graduated on time from Burke Mountain Academy in June.\n\n2014 season\nShiffrin opened the 2014 season in October 2013 in Sölden, Austria, with a career-best sixth in giant slalom, within a half-second of the podium. She won the next event, a slalom at Levi, Finland, improving on her podium finish the previous year for her fifth World Cup victory. At Beaver Creek, she was runner-up in the giant slalom, her first World Cup podium in that discipline. On January 5, Shiffrin secured first place in a two-run slalom race in Bormio, Italy (the race took place there instead of being, as scheduled, in Zagreb due to bad snow/weather conditions). She also won the world cup slalom races in Flachau, Åre and Lenzerheide, to secure a consecutive World Cup slalom title. Shiffrin ended the season as the reigning Olympic, World Cup, and world champion in slalom. That year, she was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25.\n\n2015 season\nShiffrin opened the 2015 season in October 2014 in Sölden with her first World Cup win in giant slalom. She had some trouble with slalom at first and ended up outside the podium in the first three World Cup slalom races, but emerged victorious in the races at Kühtai, Zagreb, Maribor, Åre and Méribel. She ended up winning the slalom world cup title once again. Shiffrin also won the World Championship in slalom held in Beaver Creek next to her home city of Vail, Colorado, USA.\n\n2016 season\nIn the first two slalom races of the 2016 season, both in Aspen, Shiffrin won by large margins, and in her first race, she achieved a new record margin for women's slalom, 3.07 seconds over the runner-up. On December 12, 2015, during the warm-up for the giant slalom in Åre, she fell and injured her knee. After two months away from racing, Shiffrin made a successful return in her first race back on February 15, 2016, where she took her 18th victory in Crans-Montana. In the 2016 season, she won all five slaloms she started. She missed the other five slaloms due to injuries, and chose not to compete in a parallel slalom in Stockholm.\n\n2017 season\nShiffrin opened the 2017 season with a second-place finish in giant slalom at Sölden in October 2016. This was followed by a victory in slalom at Levi on November 12. On November 26, 2016, she finished fifth in giant slalom at Killington in her first World Cup race in Vermont, but she returned the following day to a first-place finish in the slalom. On December 11, 2016, Shiffrin won her 11th straight World Cup win in the slalom in Sestriere, Italy. On December 27, Shiffrin won the giant slalom in Semmering, Austria, her second career giant slalom win and her first solo giant slalom win. The next day, she repeated and won her third career giant slalom and 25th World cup career victory. Shiffrin subsequently won the final race held at Semmering, a slalom, on December 29, 2016, achieving her 26th World cup victory and completing her sweep of races at the resort. This made her the first woman to take three wins in three consecutive days in technical disciplines since Vreni Schneider won two giant slaloms in Schwarzenberg and a slalom in Mellau in January 1989. However she missed out on equalling the record of eight consecutive slalom wins, jointly held by Schneider and Janica Kostelić, when she failed to finish first run of the Snow Queen Trophy race in Zagreb on January 3 – her first DNF in slalom since a race in Semmering in 2012. On January 29 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Shiffrin posted her best result in a speed event, finishing fourth in the super-G, only 0.03 seconds off the podium. She won her first parallel slalom on January 31 in Stockholm, Sweden.\n\nAt the World Championships in St. Moritz in February, she won the gold medal in slalom and took the silver in giant slalom. The gold was her third consecutive in slalom at the World Championships; she became the first woman to do this in the World Cup era, and the first since Germany's Christl Cranz in 1939, when the Worlds were held annually.\n\nOn February 26, Shiffrin won her first super combined race at Crans-Montana. It was her ninth World Cup victory of the season, and extended her lead in the overall standings. She has more World Cup victories before the age of 22 than Ingemar Stenmark, the record holder for number of World Cup victories. In Squaw Valley, the first World Cup races there since 1969, she won the giant slalom on March 10 and the slalom the following day, taking her to 31 World Cup victories and 11 for the season. This secured her her fourth slalom world cup. In Aspen, Colorado, the World Cup finals of the season took place. Shiffrin secured her first overall World Cup, but did not win the giant slalom World Cup that year. After the season, she received the \"Skieur d’Or\" (golden skier) award, given by the international ski journalist association to the best alpine skier of the year (one award for both genders).\n\n2018 season\nShiffrin started the 2018 season with a 5th-place finish in giant slalom at Sölden. In early December she competed in downhill at Lake Louise, where she reached her first downhill podium (3rd place) and the next day she won her first downhill race in her fourth ever start.\n\nBetween December 19 and January 9, Shiffrin won 8 of the 9 races on the World Cup circuit (4 SL, 2 GS, and 2 PSL). She made history winning the very first FIS parallel slalom with the win in Courchevel, France. Then she won the slalom in Lienz, Austria to finish her 2017 year. She started 2018 with the win in the City Event in Oslo, Norway and became the first women ever with 2 wins in City Event. Two days later she won the slalom in Zagreb, Croatia. With wins in both the giant slalom and slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Shiffrin clocked up her 39th and 40th World Cup wins at age 22. She then won the slalom in Flachau, Austria to equal Annemarie Moser-Pröll's record of 41 World Cup wins before 23rd birthday. She also became the first woman in history to win the first 5 World Cup races of a calendar year and the first one in 20 years (since Katja Seizinger) to win 5 straight World Cup races. After a third place in downhill, things stopped going her way. The rest of January had two 7th places and three races where she did not finish.\n\nAt the 2018 Winter Olympics, in Pyeongchang, South Korea – after several days of weather postponements, which caused the first three and final two races to be held on consecutive days, Shiffrin won gold in giant slalom as well as silver in super combined. In the giant slalom she finished second after the first run behind Italian Manuela Moelgg, but was able to secure the gold when Moelgg made mistakes on the second run. Due to weather delays, the slalom was contested the day after the giant slalom. Shiffrin entered the heavy favorite as the reigning Olympic champion, three-time consecutive world champion, reigning World Cup champion and the world cup leader in the event. She finished the first run in fourth, and was unable to improve her ranking after the second run, missing the podium after winning every single major slalom title that she entered in her career beforehand. Although she had originally intended to run at least 4 races, she pulled out of the super-G due to it being held the day after slalom, believing that she would not be able to perform well if she did 3 races in as many days. The weather delays also caused the downhill and the super combined to be held on consecutive days, choosing to run only one of the two. Believing she had her best chance at a medal in super combined, she pulled out of the downhill after running all three training runs, her best finish being 5th in the 3rd and final training run. In the super combined, the final individual alpine event on the Olympic schedule, she finished 6th after downhill. However, she was far behind the leader, 1.98 seconds behind compatriot Lindsey Vonn. However, due to having the 3rd fastest slalom run—and many of the leaders of the first run having mistakes in the second—she was able to move up to the silver medal position behind Michelle Gisin of Switzerland. Her gold and silver medals coming out of the Olympics made her the most decorated American Olympian, the most decorated female alpine skier, and the second most decorated alpine skier overall, only behind Marcel Hirscher of Austria who won two gold medals.\n\nShiffrin secured her second consecutive World Cup overall title on March 9, 2018, with 5 races left in the season. At the World Cup Finals in Åre, Sweden she won the slalom by 1.58 seconds over Wendy Holdener of Switzerland, her 12th win of the season. This tied her for second with her teammate Lindsey Vonn for most World Cup wins in a single season by a woman, behind Swiss skier Vreni Schneider holding the record of 14.\n\n2019 season\nOn December 2, 2018, she won a super-G race in Lake Louise, becoming the only alpine skier ever — male or female — to win all six currently contested alpine skiing disciplines. These include slalom, giant slalom, downhill, super-G, combined, and the most recently added, parallel slalom (also called a city event).\nTina Maze and Lindsey Vonn never won a parallel slalom race since its introduction into World Cup competition. With her 1st super-G World Cup win at Lake Louise, Shiffrin became the seventh woman to win in the five more traditional disciplines (not including parallel slalom). She joined Lindsey Vonn, Tina Maze, Janica Kostelić, Anja Pärson, Pernilla Wiberg and Petra Kronberger.\n\nOn December 8, 2018, she won her second Super-G at St. Moritz, Switzerland for her first back-to-back speed wins. The next day, December 9, she won her 4th parallel slalom with a dramatic win over her main slalom rival, the Slovakian Petra Vlhová. This marked her 5th win out of 9 season races to start the 2018–2019 season. On December 22, 2018, she won the slalom in Courchevel, France and became the youngest skier ever – female or male – to win 50 World Cup ski races, at the age of 23 years and nine months. With that race she also equalled the record of the Austrian Marlies Schild for the most wins in women's slalom – 35, and put herself in joint seventh place in all-time World Cup victories with Alberto Tomba of Italy.\n\nOne week later, she took another World Cup slalom win in Semmering, Austria, becoming the first alpine skier to take 15 World Cup wins in a single calendar year, moving ahead of Marcel Hirscher, who had taken 14 wins in 2018: both had broken the old record of 13 wins which had been set by Ingemar Stenmark in 1979. The race was also her 36th World Cup slalom win, breaking Schild's record: Shiffrin subsequently described Schild as \"my biggest idol beside Bode Miller\".\n\nAt the start of February 2019, shortly before the 2019 Alpine World Ski Championships, Shiffrin moved into third place on the list female skiers with the most World Cup race wins at a meeting in Maribor, tying with Vlhová for the win in a giant slalom to put her equal with Vreni Schneider on 55 wins before winning a slalom the following day to overtake the Swiss skier.\n\nAt the World Championships, Shiffrin won the gold medal in the super-G before taking a bronze in the giant slalom in windy, changeable conditions, finishing behind Vlhová and Viktoria Rebensburg. She went on to secure a second gold in the slalom, becoming the first alpine skier to win four consecutive World Championships in the same discipline, despite suffering from a lung infection on the day of the race.\n\nFollowing the Worlds, in March 2019 Shiffrin became the first alpine skier to take 15 World Cup wins in a season when she took victory in a slalom in Špindlerův Mlýn, breaking the record she had previously held jointly with Vreni Schneider. At the World Cup finals in Soldeu, Shiffrin started her campaign by clinching the super-G crystal globe, finishing fourth in the final race to take her tenth World Cup title and her first in a speed discipline, having already built an unassailable lead to secure the overall and slalom titles earlier in the season. She became the first skier to win World Cups in a technical and a speed event in the same season since Tina Maze six years earlier. She went on to win the slalom, her 16th win of the season and the 40th slalom win of her career, tying with Stenmark for the most World Cup slalom race wins. The following day she took her 17th win of the season and the 60th win of her career in the giant slalom to secure the GS crystal globe, becoming the first skier to win the overall, super-G, giant slalom and slalom World Cup titles in a single season. She also later won her 41st slalom race, making her the skier who has won the most World Cup slalom races.\n\n2020 season\nShiffrin had inconsistent performances in the technical races in the first half of the 2020 season, winning three slalom races to start, but placing runner up to Petra Vlhova later in the season. She also experienced similar fluctuations in ranking in Giant Slalom. However, she competed more frequently in speed races and following the Bansko World Cup in January 2020, had recorded 6 victories for the season, 3 slaloms and one each in giant slalom, Super-G and Downhill; off pace with her performance in previous seasons, but still the most on the World Cup tour and with a considerable lead in the Overall Standings. However, on February 2, 2020, her father unexpectedly died in an accident, causing her to take an indefinite break from the World Cup tour and her chances of a fourth consecutive title. She did attend the final competition in Are, Sweden, but the race was canceled due to coronavirus. As a result, Petra Vlhova took over the top spot of the slalom rankings following a World Cup in Slovenia, the first time Shiffrin wasn't leading slalom at that point in the season since 2016 and Federica Brignone reduced her lead in the overall from over 400 points to just over 100, and later took over the lead in the overall, which marked the end of Shiffrin's three-year winning streak.\n\n2021 season\nShiffrin missed the first race weekend of the season in Sölden due to a back issue, but returned to racing in the first of the two slalom races at Levi, where she placed second. Shiffrin has not yet managed to return to the same level of domination that she left the World Cup circuit on, but has placed in the top six in every race, winning the Courchevel giant slalom in December and the Flachau night slalom in January, and placing third in the slalom at Semmering in late December.\n\nHowever, at the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Shiffrin emerged on top form, performing perhaps even better than expected and winning four medals, the most she has won in a single World Championship event. Her bronze medal run in the Super G was her first time competing in a speed event in over a year, as she had opted not to return to speed events in this season, due both to her wanting to ensure that the return to racing would not be too heavy as well as the COVID-19 pandemic keeping her apart from the speed teams and from being able to do enough speed training. This feat was made more impressive by the fact that she had only trained Super-G for four days going into the competition. Her gold medal in the Alpine Combined made her the most successful American alpine skier in the World Championships – with her sixth gold and ninth medal she surpassed the record five WCH gold medals won by Ted Ligety, as well as the record of eight WCH medals in total held by Lindsey Vonn.\n\nIn the Giant Slalom, many of the favorites struggled, with World Cup leader Marta Bassino, two time world champion Tessa Worley and reigning world champion Petra Vlhova struggling in both runs while the host country favorite Federica Brignone failed to finish the first run. Shiffrin ultimately won the silver in the Giant Slalom after narrowly finishing in first after one run, only .02 ahead of teammate Nina O’Brien and .08 ahead of Lara Gut-Behrami. Going into the second run with a narrow lead, a mistake at the top of the course caused her to miss out on the gold medal; although she made up lost time at the bottom of the course it wasn't enough, finishing only .02 seconds behind Gut-Behrami. Austrian Katharina Liensberger moved up to third with only a .09 second deficit, making it the closest contested Giant Slalom in world championship history. Shiffrin entered the final race of the championships, the slalom, with a record four consecutive world championship titles to her name. However, she struggled in the first run, skiing into fourth with a 1.30 second deficit behind Liensberger, Vlhova and Wendy Holdener. She was able to overtake Holdener in the second run, but was beaten by Vlhova and Liensberger, winning the bronze and losing the slalom title for the first time in her career; however, her bronze medal win still gave her an 11th world championship medal, tied with Anja Parson for the most medals won since World War 2, the most medals won by an athlete at the 2021 championships and extending her record as the most decorated American alpine skier in world championship history.\n\n2022 season\nAt the 2022 Winter Olympics, Shiffrin was favored to win gold in at least three of the six events she was planning to compete in (especially her signature slalom and giant slalom). However, she uncharacteristically had a Did Not Finish (DNF) in the giant slalom and slalom, skiing out after the fifth gate in the first run of each race. She finished ninth in the super-G. In the remaining individual events (downhill and combined), Shiffrin did not win a medal. She competed in the mixed team event for the first time on the last day of competition, finishing fourth as part of the U.S. team.\n\nWorld Cup results\n\nSeason titles\n\n11 titles – (3 overall, 6 Slalom, 1 Super-G, 1 Giant slalom)\n\nSeason standings\n\nRace victories\n\nPodiums\n\nIncluding both parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom.\n\nWorld Championship results\nShiffrin competed in her first World Championships in 2013 at Schladming, Austria, and finished sixth in the giant slalom at Planai. Two days later in the slalom, she won the world title at age 17.\n\nOlympic results\nFavored to win the slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Shiffrin led after the first run and nearly fell in the second, but held on for victory at Rosa Khutor. Three weeks shy of her 19th birthday, she became the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history. Three days earlier, she finished fifth in the giant slalom, held in the rain.\n\nShe competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang where she won the gold medal in the giant slalom and silver medal in the Combined. She placed 4th in the slalom despite being favored to win the gold medal in the event.\n\nMedia appearances and documentaries\nDays after her first World Cup finals in 2013, Shiffrin was interviewed by David Letterman on the Late Show on March 19.\n\nIn 2014, Shiffrin was featured in a one-hour special on NBC television, How to Raise an Olympian, on February 5. Hosted by Meredith Vieira, it chronicled the journeys of seven US Olympians and featured interviews from parents and coaches along with home video and photos from each athlete's childhood. The event was broadcast on television with live social-media components to enhance each segment. After Shiffrin's first gold medal win, she played \"Catch Phrase\" with Reese Witherspoon and Usher on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On July 12, 2014, Shiffrin was a guest on the NPR radio show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, where she won the show's Not My Job game at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre.\n\nOn October 27, 2016, Shiffrin, speaking in German, presented the award for the best Austrian sportsman to Marcel Hirscher at a sports gala in Austria. In 2017, Shiffrin discussed her skiing roots and aptitude for napping on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. In 2018, Shiffrin was profiled on CBS News' 60 Minutes.\n\nIn the weeks after the February 2019 World Ski Championship, Amanda Ruggeri twice profiled Shiffrin in Deadspin, and she was featured in The Wall Street Journal. In March 2019, after the conclusion of her record-setting World Cup season, she discussed handling anxiety on NBC's Today, addressed dealing with social media trolls on CNN, discussed pay equity on ABC's Good Morning America and the entertainment news show Access, and taught host Jimmy Fallon how to do the shuffle dance on NBC's Tonight Show. The New York Times profiled Shiffrin as \"the face of American skiing,\", a theme echoed in a Sports Illustrated profile and video where Shiffrin talked in detail about her history with Lindsey Vonn.\n\nShiffrin has been the subject of long-form documentary videos. She is often featured in Outside's \"In Search of Speed,\" including in 2015, 2017 and 2018. After covering Shiffrin's training regimen in 2017, Red Bull in 2018 produced the 48-minutes long documentary \"Peak Season: The Determination of Mikaela Shiffrin.\" In April 2019, NBC's Olympic channel devoted 25 hours of prime-time to feature 20 of Shiffrin's races in the 2018–2019 season; her fanclub also released a compilation of highlights from her 2018–2019 season.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n\"Bill Green visits with Olympic hopeful Mikaela Shiffrin\", WCSH6.com, June 9, 2013.\n\n1995 births\nAlpine skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics\nAlpine skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics\nAmerican female alpine skiers\nFIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions\nLiving people\nMedalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics\nMedalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics\nOlympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing\nOlympic silver medalists for the United States in alpine skiing\nPeople from Vail, Colorado\nSportspeople from Colorado\nPeople from Lyme, New Hampshire\n21st-century American women" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined." ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?	3	Did Lindsey Vonn place in the race at Salt Lake City?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	false	[ "The women's 500 metres races of the 2013–14 ISU Speed Skating World Cup 3, arranged in the Alau Ice Palace, in Astana, Kazakhstan, were held on 29 and 30 November 2013.\n\nLee Sang-hwa of South Korea won both races, extending her winning streak from the start of the season to six races. As the Alau Ice Palace is a low-altitude venue, she was not able to break the world record again, which she had done in the previous three races, but in the Friday race, she did skate the fastest time recorded on any rink outside Calgary and Salt Lake City with a time of 37.27 seconds.\n\nIn race one, Jenny Wolf of Germany came second, and Nao Kodaira of Japan came third, while Lee Bo-ra of South Korea won the Division B race.\n\nIn race two, Lee was again accompanied on the podium by Wolf in second place, but Olga Fatkulina of Russia took third place here. Annette Gerritsen of the Netherlands won the second Division B race.\n\nRace 1\nRace one took place on Friday, 29 November, with Division B in the afternoon session, scheduled at 13:30, and Division A scheduled in the evening session, at 18:00.\n\nDivision A\n\nDivision B\n\nRace 2\nRace two took place on Saturday, 30 November, with Division B scheduled in the afternoon session, at 13:30, and Division A scheduled in the evening session, at 17:30.\n\nDivision A\n\nDivision B\n\nReferences\n\nWomen 0500\n3", "The Salt Lake City Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run in Salt Lake City, Millcreek and Holladay, Utah. It was first held in 2004.\n\nThe race begins at the Olympic Legacy Bridge at the University of Utah, runs through the center of Salt Lake City, and ends at Library Square. A bike tour held on the same day uses the same course, but starts earlier in the morning. A half marathon also starts with the marathon.\n\nHistory\nThe marathon was first organized in 2004 by Devine Racing, a Chicago-based race organization company.\n\nIn 2005, a bike tour was added. In 2006, a half-marathon was added, and the date of the race was moved from April to June. In 2007, the date was moved back to April.\n\nPrior to the 2009 event, reports surfaced that the winners from the 2008 race had not been paid their prize winnings. Devine Racing reportedly made those payments prior to the 2009 race commencing.\n\nIn February 2012, the Salt Lake City Marathon was purchased from Devine by US Road Sports & Entertainment Group. The 2012 event saw \"no major flaws\" and plentiful water, toilets, and medical aid stations.\n\nThe 2020 in-person edition of the race was first postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, before being cancelled altogether. Registrants were first given the option of running the race virtually in 2020 or transferring their entry to 2021, before those that chose the latter option were then given the option of running the race virtually in 2021 or transferring their entry to 2022.\n\nCourse \n\nThe course begins near the foothills of the city at the Olympic Legacy Bridge at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The marathon takes runners through the heart of Salt Lake City and the northern part of the Salt Lake Valley offering beautiful views of the local foothills and surrounding Wasatch mountains.\n\nStarting at an elevation of just over 4,800 feet, the course winds its way from the foothills to the lower elevations with the half marathon course offering mostly flat, downhill running.\n\nThe half marathon and the full marathon are run simultaneously and share a common start line on the Olympic Legacy Bridge as the event begins.\n\nThe course will often follow the base of the Wasatch mountains into neighborhoods of neighboring Millcreek and Holladay as it winds through local Salt Lake streets and by nearby neighborhoods and local businesses towards major boulevards near the finish line in downtown Salt Lake City.\n\nA bike tour follows the entire length of the marathon course and has a time limit of 1 hour and 45 minutes.\n\nWinners \n\nKey: Course record (in bold)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Site\nUS Road Sports & Entertainment Group (Organizers)\n\nMarathons in the United States\nSports in Salt Lake City\nSalt Lake County, Utah\nMillcreek, Utah\nRecurring sporting events established in 2004\n2004 establishments in Utah" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined.", "Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?", "I don't know." ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Did anything happened to her in 2003?	4	Did anything happen to Lindsey Vonn in 2003?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	true	[ "Ward v. Tesco Stores Ltd. [1976] 1 WLR 810, is an English tort law case concerning the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur (\"the thing speaks for itself\"). It deals with the law of negligence and it set an important precedent in so called \"trip and slip\" cases which are a common occurrence.\n\nFacts\nThe plaintiff slipped on some pink yoghurt in a Tesco store in Smithdown Road, Liverpool. It was not clear whether or not Tesco staff were to blame for the spillage. It could have been another customer, or the wind, or anything else. Spillages happened roughly 10 times a week and staff had standing orders to clean anything up straight away. As Lawton LJ observed in his judgment,\n\nThe trial judge had held in Mrs Ward's favour and she was awarded £137.50 in damages. Tesco appealed.\n\nJudgment\nIt was held by a majority (Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ) that even though it could not be said exactly what happened, the pink yoghurt being spilled spoke for itself as to who was to blame. Tesco was required to pay compensation. The plaintiff did not need to prove how long the spill had been there, because the burden of proof was on Tesco. Lawton LJ's judgment explained the previous case law, starting with Richards v. WF White & Co. [1957] 1 Lloyd's Rep.\n\nDissent\nOmrod LJ disagreed with Lawton LJ and Megaw LJ on the basis that Tesco did not seem to have been able to do anything to have prevented the accident. He argued that they did not fail to take reasonable care, and in his words, the accident \"could clearly have happened no matter what degree of care these defendants had taken.\"\n\nNotes\n\nEnglish tort case law\nEnglish occupier case law\nCourt of Appeal (England and Wales) cases\n1976 in case law\n1976 in British law\nTesco", "I Told You So is a 1970 Ghanaian movie. The movie portrays Ghanaians and their way of life in a satirical style. It also gives insight into the life of a young lady who did not take the advice of her father when about to marry a man, she did not know anything about the man she was going to marry, but rather took her mother's and uncle's advice because of the wealth and power the man has.\n\nThe young lady later finds out that the man she is supposed to marry was an armed robber. She was unhappy of the whole incident. When her dad ask what had happened, she replied that the man she was supposed to marry is an armed robber; her father ended by saying \"I told you so\".\n\nCast\nBobe Cole\nMargret Quainoo (Araba Stamp)\nKweku Crankson (Osuo Abrobor)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n I TOLD YOU SO GHANAIAN MOVIE\n\n1970 films\nGhanaian films" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined.", "Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?", "I don't know.", "Did anything happened to her in 2003?", "On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France." ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Where else did she go to race?	5	Where else did Lindsey Vonn go to race other than Slalom; Salt Lake City; and Puy Saint-Vincent, France?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska.	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	false	[ "The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch was the women's scratch race at 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. It was one of the eight women's events, held at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, Great Britain on the fifth and final day of the Championships on 30 March 2008. It was the seventh women's scatch race appearance at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. 21 women from 21 countries participated in the race.\n\nAfter several attacks that did not come to anything Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands struck out alone with less than eight laps to go. No one else reacted and she rode solo to the finish. The sprint of the peloton behind Van Dijk was won by Yumari González of Cuba who took the silver medal with Belinda Goss from Australia taking bronze.\n\nQualification\n\nQualification for the race was restricted to one cyclist per nation for the countries in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) individual standings as of 18 February 2008, after the fourth and final round of the 2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics. Additionally, one place was available at the B World Championship, one place at each continental championships and one wild card for nations that did not qualify through the UCI standing. National federations of the qualified countries selected the rider. The maximum quota of the event was set at 24 cyclists but only 21 cyclists were registered.\n\nCompetition format\n\nA scratch race is a race in which all riders start together and the object is to cross the finish line. The competition consisted on 40 laps, making a total of 10 km without intermediate points or sprints.\nThere were no qualification rounds for this discipline so the event was run direct to the final.\n\nSchedule\nTimes are in British Summer Time (UTC+1)\nSunday 30 March\n16:30-16:50 Final\n17:15:-17:25 Victory Ceremony\n\nPre-race favorites\nNot all 2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics medalists could participate in the race because each qualified country was only allowed to select one rider. Beside that, not all countries selected their World Cup medalist, if they had one. The main favorite for the race was Yumari González from Cuba, the defending champion, who won the scratch race at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and won the first World Cup race in Sydney and finished third in the second World Cup race in Beijing. The silver medalist of 2007, María Luisa Calle of Colombia, was also selected. The start list further included Belinda Goss of Australia, Jarmila Machačová from the Czech Republic and Annalisa Cucinotta from Italy who won all three a silver medal during a World Cup race. The Netherlands did not select Marianne Vos, who won two of the four World Cup races, but selected Ellen van Dijk instead.\n\nRace\nThe race started at 16:30 British Summer Time (UTC+1) and was scheduled to last until 16:50. 21 women form 21 countries took part in the race.\n\nThe race had several attacks, the first meaningful one coming in only lap five from Aksana Papko of Belarus in an early bid to match her countryman Aliaksandr Lisouski's victory in the men's race on day one. She was chased down by a small group that included Svetlanan Paulikaite of Lithuania, Svitlana Halyuk of Ukraine and Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands. The rest of the bunch was very attentive at this early stage and they were soon back together. Paulikaite struck out alone, but her effort did not come to anything. A crash in the middle period of the race took down Catherine Cheatley of New Zealand and Spain's Gema Pascual Torrecilla after a touch of wheels near the back. Cheatley rejoined after a few minutes, but Torrecilla pulled out having fallen more heavily. More attacks continued, but all were reeled. With less than eight laps to go, Van Dijk struck out alone and no one else reacted. She overtook the Danish rider Trine Schmidt from an earlier escape and had soon almost half lap lead. The rest of the riders did not react and looked to each other. Despite having almost half a lap on the rest of the bunch, Van Dijk refused to start getting complacent and kept going. When a chase did materialise, it was too late and Van Dijk finished alone with a considerable gap to take the gold medal and the rainbow jersey. Behind Van Dijk the sprint was won by the 2007 champion Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso of Cuba, ahead of Belinda Goss from Australia. Annalisa Cucinotta of Italy was fourth and Rebecca Quinn from the United States of America finished fifth.\n\nFinal classifications\nThe victory ceremony was held at 17:15 British Summer Time (UTC+1). The winner was awarded the rainbow jersey and the top three riders got flowers and respectively a gold, silver and bronze medal.\n\nDNF = did not finish\nSource\n\nMedalists reactions\n Ellen van Dijk \n\"I was never World champion so it is my biggest victory so far! I was focused on the individual pursuit, everything for me was on that. My individual pursuit was good, but I was fifth and just missed the finals. I was very disappointed because I also missed the Olympic Games, because I only started riding [world cups] on the track four months ago. I didn't have enough points to ride in the individual pursuit in the Olympics.\" About the scratch race she continued: \"My plan was to attack about 10 laps from the finish, I wanted to go when the speed was a bit lower. I did it about eight laps before the finish. I was surprised, but every country has just one rider so they don't work together. That was better for me to ride away. I didn't look behind, just once,\" she added. \"I knew I had to give it everything and if there was no gap, then there was no gap. But it worked out well.\" Despite having quite a considerable gap coming into the final lap, Van Dijk refused to believe that the race was won until the very end. She detailed the point at which she realised that she was definitely going to triumph. \"Just 100 metres before the finish,\" she said. \"I didn't know how big the gap was [before then], I didn't look back, I was just focused on riding hard and getting everything out.\" A few days on from the frustration of non-qualification, her new rainbow jersey and gold medal provide her with a great deal of compensation. \"I was really, really disappointed with that,\" she confirmed. \"But this makes up for it.\"\n\n Yumari González \n\"The race was very fast.\" She told the assembled media. \"I didn't feel very good but at the end I was able to get the silver medal so I am happy about that.\"\n\n Belinda Goss \n\"I'm certainly stoked by the result. It is such a great improvement on last year. It would have been great to have got gold, the top prize, but I am really happy. It has been a long wait. I had to put it in my head that I'd get in some training this week, get a bit fitter. But I am really happy with myself; things have been going well for me. I rode well in Europe last year.\"\n\nReferences\n\nWomen's scratch\nUCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch\nUCI", "Madeline Stewart (born 2 August 2000) is a New Zealand racing driver in the Australian Super3 Series competing in a Holden VE II Commodore for Brad Jones Racing. Madeline stepped straight from racing go-karts to racing a V8 Supercar in 2019 and featured in the May 2019 edition of Supercars Life\n\nGo-karting \n\nMadeline and her sister Ashleigh were well known in the Karting scene in both New Zealand and Australia. The Stewart Sisters Racing duo competed in on both sides of the Tasman in predominantly in Rotax based series before Madeline moved to KZ2 and Ashleigh to IAME X30.\n\nEarly years \nMadeline began racing go-karts at Kartsport Wellington in 2010 at the age of 9. She raced in the Cadet Class for two years with her most notable achievement being a win in her local club's annual enduro race in 2011. The race started on a wet track with Madeline, the only driver to start on slicks. She endured a tough start to the race falling a long way back before a late-race charge on a drying track saw her take the lead with one lap to go, winning by 10 seconds.\n\nIn 2012 Madeline moved up to the Junior Restricted class, which she did not enjoy and moved quickly up to Junior where she saw significant success including 2nd at the South Island Sprint Championships in 2015 and Pole position at the 2016 Kartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship.\n\nAustralia \nIn 2013, Madeline and her sister Ashleigh ventured across the Tasman for the first time to race in the Junior Rotax Trophy class at the Australian Rotax Pro-Tour. That was the start of a 4-year journey racing against the best karters in Australia. The challenge of racing in bigger and often more competitive fields than in New Zealand assisted greatly in the development of Madeline as a driver. In round 1 of the 2017 Rotax Pro-tour, Madeline took her maiden heat victory and her first podium. In round two of the series, Madeline went one better becoming the first female in the 17-year history of the Pro-Tour to win a round taking the 2017 South Australian State Title at the same time.\n\nKZ2 \nTowards the end of 2016, Madeline had her first taste of the ultimate in go-karting, the KZ2 kart competing in the final round of the 2016 Australian Kart Championship (AKC) before taking on the 2016 CIF FIA Asia Pacific Championship at Macau. She completed a full season of the Australian Kart Championship in 2017 with her best round finish of 10th in Emerald. In 2018 she added the New Zealand Pro-kart series to her KZ2 programme with a second-place at the 2018 Kart Sport New Zealand Nationals.\n\nMadeline is also a two-time visitor to the US Supernationals in Las Vegas having competed in KZ2 in 2017 and 2018\n\nCar Racing \nMadeline began her car racing career in 2019 stepping straight from go-karts to the third tier Supercar series Super3 Series with Brad Jones Racing To accelerate her learning she also raced in the Western Australian Formula 1000 State Championship.\n\nMadeline intended to continue to race in the Super3 Series in 2020, with Brad Jones Racing as well as planning to race a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car in the Thailand Super Series with Earl Bamber Motorsport. The global COVID-19 pandemic changed those plans. Madeline completed in round 1 of the Super3 Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park finishing 3rd. She later competed in two rounds of the Aussie Tin Tops, a series created to give people an opportunity to race during the pandemic. Madeline won the Super3 class at Townsville before swapping to a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car with McElrea Racing for round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park where she finished 4th in the Super Stuttgart class.\n\nIn 2021, Madeline became one of the inaugural Porsche New Zealand Scholarship recipients. The scholarship provides partial funding for her to race in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia in 2021 with Earl Bamber Motorsport/Porsche Team New Zealand.\n\nResults\n\nSuper3 2019\n\nReferences\n\nNew Zealand racing drivers\nSupercars Championship drivers\n2000 births\nLiving people\nFemale racing drivers" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined.", "Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?", "I don't know.", "Did anything happened to her in 2003?", "On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.", "Where else did she go to race?", "Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska." ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Did she go anywhere else to race?	6	Did Lindsey Vonn go anywhere else to race other than Slalom; Salt Lake City; Puy Saint-Vincent, France; and Girdwood, Alaska??	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	false	[ "The Homeless Gospel Choir, also known as Derek Zanetti, is a folk-punk musician from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is signed to A-F Records and has released five albums to date. His debut album, \"Some People Never Go Anywhere,\" was released in 2010, \"You Work So Hard to Be Like Everyone Else,\" in 2011, Luxury Problems, his third was released in 2012; and his fourth album, I Used To Be So Young, which was released in 2014, contains his hit song, \"Untitled\". Most of his songs revolve around the topics of politics and mental health.\n\nDiscography\nSome People Never Go Anywhere (2010)\nYou Work So Hard Just to Be Like Everyone Else (2011)\nLuxury Problems (2012)\nI Used To Be So Young (2014)\nNormal (2017)\nThis Land Is Your Landfill (2020)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Website of The Homeless Gospel Choir\nI Used to Be So Young Review, Punknews.org\nThe Homeless Gospel Choir – ‘I Used To Be So Young’ album stream, Alternative Press\nPresents: Normal Review, Hectic Eclectic Music Reviews\n\nMusicians from Pittsburgh\nLiving people\nFolk punk musicians\nYear of birth missing (living people)", "The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch was the women's scratch race at 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. It was one of the eight women's events, held at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, Great Britain on the fifth and final day of the Championships on 30 March 2008. It was the seventh women's scatch race appearance at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. 21 women from 21 countries participated in the race.\n\nAfter several attacks that did not come to anything Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands struck out alone with less than eight laps to go. No one else reacted and she rode solo to the finish. The sprint of the peloton behind Van Dijk was won by Yumari González of Cuba who took the silver medal with Belinda Goss from Australia taking bronze.\n\nQualification\n\nQualification for the race was restricted to one cyclist per nation for the countries in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) individual standings as of 18 February 2008, after the fourth and final round of the 2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics. Additionally, one place was available at the B World Championship, one place at each continental championships and one wild card for nations that did not qualify through the UCI standing. National federations of the qualified countries selected the rider. The maximum quota of the event was set at 24 cyclists but only 21 cyclists were registered.\n\nCompetition format\n\nA scratch race is a race in which all riders start together and the object is to cross the finish line. The competition consisted on 40 laps, making a total of 10 km without intermediate points or sprints.\nThere were no qualification rounds for this discipline so the event was run direct to the final.\n\nSchedule\nTimes are in British Summer Time (UTC+1)\nSunday 30 March\n16:30-16:50 Final\n17:15:-17:25 Victory Ceremony\n\nPre-race favorites\nNot all 2007–08 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics medalists could participate in the race because each qualified country was only allowed to select one rider. Beside that, not all countries selected their World Cup medalist, if they had one. The main favorite for the race was Yumari González from Cuba, the defending champion, who won the scratch race at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and won the first World Cup race in Sydney and finished third in the second World Cup race in Beijing. The silver medalist of 2007, María Luisa Calle of Colombia, was also selected. The start list further included Belinda Goss of Australia, Jarmila Machačová from the Czech Republic and Annalisa Cucinotta from Italy who won all three a silver medal during a World Cup race. The Netherlands did not select Marianne Vos, who won two of the four World Cup races, but selected Ellen van Dijk instead.\n\nRace\nThe race started at 16:30 British Summer Time (UTC+1) and was scheduled to last until 16:50. 21 women form 21 countries took part in the race.\n\nThe race had several attacks, the first meaningful one coming in only lap five from Aksana Papko of Belarus in an early bid to match her countryman Aliaksandr Lisouski's victory in the men's race on day one. She was chased down by a small group that included Svetlanan Paulikaite of Lithuania, Svitlana Halyuk of Ukraine and Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands. The rest of the bunch was very attentive at this early stage and they were soon back together. Paulikaite struck out alone, but her effort did not come to anything. A crash in the middle period of the race took down Catherine Cheatley of New Zealand and Spain's Gema Pascual Torrecilla after a touch of wheels near the back. Cheatley rejoined after a few minutes, but Torrecilla pulled out having fallen more heavily. More attacks continued, but all were reeled. With less than eight laps to go, Van Dijk struck out alone and no one else reacted. She overtook the Danish rider Trine Schmidt from an earlier escape and had soon almost half lap lead. The rest of the riders did not react and looked to each other. Despite having almost half a lap on the rest of the bunch, Van Dijk refused to start getting complacent and kept going. When a chase did materialise, it was too late and Van Dijk finished alone with a considerable gap to take the gold medal and the rainbow jersey. Behind Van Dijk the sprint was won by the 2007 champion Yumari Gonzalez Valdivieso of Cuba, ahead of Belinda Goss from Australia. Annalisa Cucinotta of Italy was fourth and Rebecca Quinn from the United States of America finished fifth.\n\nFinal classifications\nThe victory ceremony was held at 17:15 British Summer Time (UTC+1). The winner was awarded the rainbow jersey and the top three riders got flowers and respectively a gold, silver and bronze medal.\n\nDNF = did not finish\nSource\n\nMedalists reactions\n Ellen van Dijk \n\"I was never World champion so it is my biggest victory so far! I was focused on the individual pursuit, everything for me was on that. My individual pursuit was good, but I was fifth and just missed the finals. I was very disappointed because I also missed the Olympic Games, because I only started riding [world cups] on the track four months ago. I didn't have enough points to ride in the individual pursuit in the Olympics.\" About the scratch race she continued: \"My plan was to attack about 10 laps from the finish, I wanted to go when the speed was a bit lower. I did it about eight laps before the finish. I was surprised, but every country has just one rider so they don't work together. That was better for me to ride away. I didn't look behind, just once,\" she added. \"I knew I had to give it everything and if there was no gap, then there was no gap. But it worked out well.\" Despite having quite a considerable gap coming into the final lap, Van Dijk refused to believe that the race was won until the very end. She detailed the point at which she realised that she was definitely going to triumph. \"Just 100 metres before the finish,\" she said. \"I didn't know how big the gap was [before then], I didn't look back, I was just focused on riding hard and getting everything out.\" A few days on from the frustration of non-qualification, her new rainbow jersey and gold medal provide her with a great deal of compensation. \"I was really, really disappointed with that,\" she confirmed. \"But this makes up for it.\"\n\n Yumari González \n\"The race was very fast.\" She told the assembled media. \"I didn't feel very good but at the end I was able to get the silver medal so I am happy about that.\"\n\n Belinda Goss \n\"I'm certainly stoked by the result. It is such a great improvement on last year. It would have been great to have got gold, the top prize, but I am really happy. It has been a long wait. I had to put it in my head that I'd get in some training this week, get a bit fitter. But I am really happy with myself; things have been going well for me. I rode well in Europe last year.\"\n\nReferences\n\nWomen's scratch\nUCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch\nUCI" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined.", "Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?", "I don't know.", "Did anything happened to her in 2003?", "On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.", "Where else did she go to race?", "Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska.", "Did she go anywhere else to race?", "Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy." ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Did she race anywhere in 2005?	7	Did Lindsey Vonn race anywhere in 2005?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy,	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	true	[ "Elvanie Nimbona (born 15 March 1998) is a Burundian long-distance runner. In 2019, she competed in the senior women's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She finished in 55th place.\n\nIn 2017, she competed in the junior women's race at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Kampala, Uganda. She finished in 16th place.\n\nIn 2019, she also competed in the women's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar. She did not finish her race.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nLiving people\n1998 births\nPlace of birth missing (living people)\nBurundian female long-distance runners\nBurundian female marathon runners\nBurundian female cross country runners\nWorld Athletics Championships athletes for Burundi", "Laura Wasley (born 18 February 1984) is a Manx cyclist who has represented the Isle of Man at the 2011 Island Games and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Wasley works as a civil servant.\n\nCareer\n\nWasley competed for the Isle of Man at the 2011 Island Games on the Isle of Wight. She won a silver medal in the criterium race, and also came sixth in the time trial and eighth in the road race. In 2012, Wasley won a round of a time trial league; she raced for Team Manx Telecom. For the 2013 season, Wasley signed for the Scott Contessa Epic team, for whom she competed in the 2013 and 2014 British Road Championships riding. In 2013, she finished 28th of 31 competitors in the time trial, finishing outside the time limit in the road race, and in 2014, she did not finish the road race. \n\nWasley represented the Isle of Man at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She did not finish the road race, and came 26th overall in the time trial. Prior to the Games, she was part of the Queen's Baton Relay when it visited the Isle of Man, and during the Games, Wasley had lunch with Queen Elizabeth II. Later in the year, she competed at the Tour of the Reservoir in Northumberland.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n British Cycling Profile\n\nCyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games\nManx female cyclists\n1984 births\nLiving people\nCommonwealth Games competitors for the Isle of Man" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined.", "Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?", "I don't know.", "Did anything happened to her in 2003?", "On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.", "Where else did she go to race?", "Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska.", "Did she go anywhere else to race?", "Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.", "Did she race anywhere in 2005?", "In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy," ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	8	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article in addition to Lindsey Vonn winning races between 2002 and 2005?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom.	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Lindsey Vonn", "2002-2005", "What happened to Lindsey Vonn in 2002?", "Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City,", "Did she win the race in Slalom?", "her best result coming with sixth in combined.", "Did she place in the race at Salt Lake City?", "I don't know.", "Did anything happened to her in 2003?", "On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.", "Where else did she go to race?", "Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska.", "Did she go anywhere else to race?", "Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.", "Did she race anywhere in 2005?", "In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom." ]	C_6a8b534244c249c397f9558eb693c17f_1	Why did she fail?	9	Why did Lindsey Vonn fail to finish the Giant Slalom?	Lindsey Vonn	In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Vonn credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Vonn visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. CANNOTANSWER	She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event.	Lindsey Caroline Vonn ( ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships — second only amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll — with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the second highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing — downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined — and won 82 World Cup races in her career through February 3, 2018. Her total of 82 World Cup victories is a women's record, surpassing Annemarie Moser-Pröll of Austria, who had held the record since the 1970s. Only Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, with 86 World Cup victories, has more. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2010, Vonn received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. However, in 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Early life and education Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area in Burnsville, Minnesota. Her father is of Irish ancestry and her mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry. Vonn was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had won a national junior title before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer. When Vonn was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado in the late 1990s. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study. She speaks German fluently. Despite not attending a traditional 4-year university, Vonn has gone on to participate in the four-day Harvard Business School's “The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports” program. Skiing career Early years Lindsey Kildow was taught to ski by her grandfather, Don Kildow, in Milton, Wisconsin. She began skiing as a child in Burnsville, Minnesota, at Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard, and through family vacations that included 16-hour drives from Minnesota to Vail. In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn stated "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape." By the time Lindsey was 7, she had skied in Minnesota, Colorado, and Oregon year-round. When skiing in Colorado, she had lessons at Ski Club Vail (SCV), an alpine racing program (subsequently expanded and renamed Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) that taught, and still teaches skiers from ages 6 and up. During her first year at SCV, Lindsey skied under "Gravity Corps" Ski Coach Colby S. Scudder, her only female coach, in Ski Club Vail's Gravity Corps "pre-age-class" program. The program was directed by Tom Krebs who told the Gravity Corps coaches to not train the skiers inside gates, but instead to develop their all-mountain skiing skills and to develop their comfort in the fall line (the most direct route down a ski slope), while ensuring the kids were exposed to as much terrain as possible "versatility and exposure to diverse challenging terrain" was the directive. At that time, the Gravity Corps pre-age-class skiing program consisted of multiple groups of 8–10 skiers; it was the only SCV venue open at the club to younger skiers who were not yet old enough to participate in official "age-class" United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) or International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned events. Lindsey and other members of her gravity Corps group, placed first, second and third, in Gravity Corps unofficial races in which all gravity corps skiers participated in one collective unofficial gathering. The race was set and run by Krebs, and directed as the only time gravity corps skiers should "be in a race course". At the end of that first Vail season, Lindsey's mother asked if the coach thought Lindsey was a slow skier; the answer was an emphatic "NO," Lindsey was most definitely NOT a slow skier. It was mentioned that if anyone ever said that Lindsey was slow, it was likely because that person was not recognizing that Lindsey was in a perpetual growth spurt and, that the person saying that Lindsey was slow was not considering that changes in Lindsey's height affected her center of gravity, etc., and skiing confidence, and thus that person who described Lindsey as skiing slowly was not acknowledging the differences between a growing young male skier vs. a young female skier (who by the age of 11, stood at a much taller height than her peers) - which, in the SCV Gravity Corps Coach's opinion resulted in the devastatingly inaccurate "slow" comment. The words used by Colby S.Scudder were more colorful, and much less diplomatic. Based on Lindsey's newly confirmed speed, Lindsey and her mother asked about enrolling Lindsey into the older "Age-Class" program, which they said, had previously denied their enrollment request. The coach supported the idea of skiing with "age-class" skiers. The next season, with the final approval of Director Chip Woods, Lindsey was enrolled into the "age class program," under SCV Alpine "technical skiing Coaches Reid Phillips, Chip Woods, Todd A. Rash and Gus Pernetz,etc., who collectively perfected Lindsey's early technical skills and began her SCV "in gate" training. In the late 1990s, Lindsey and her siblings and mother stopped commuting from Minnesota to Colorado and instead moved to Colorado to ski exclusively at Ski Club Vail. During her first SCV year in Vail, Lindsey and one of her sisters skied together in the same "gravity corps" SCV group. It was during that first season Lindsey and her family were contemplating if the entire family should move from Minnesota to Colorado. "Vail was wonderful to me," Lindsey said, "but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way. Halfway through the second season, Lindsey's siblings also moved to Vail. "Now all my brothers and sisters had left their friends for me. That was stressful on them. I felt so guilty." However, the move paid off because in 1999 Lindsey Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino. In 1986, Lindsey's hero, Picabo Street, participated, but did not medal, in the same Topolino event. In 1995 at age 10, Kildow met Street in person at a promotional event. A few years later, "Street was stunned watching a 15-year-old Lindsey ski for the first time in 1999. She marveled at Lindsey's knack for following the fall line. 'The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face,' Street said. 'You can't teach somebody to love the fall line like that little girl loved the fall line.'" After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000, in Park City, Utah. 2002–2005 In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Kildow raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France. Kildow credits a change in her attitude toward training to a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro when Kildow visited them at their home in Lake Tahoe, California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she realized she needed drastic revision of her training regimen and her attitude toward training if she was going to be successful. On March 24, 2004, Kildow was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Mt. Alyeska Resort, Girdwood, Alaska. Earlier that year 2004, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her maiden victory in that specialty came at Lake Louise, Alberta, in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months. In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth-place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event. 2006–2007 At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Kildow clocked the second-best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006, in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope 2 days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit. Kildow earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season 4 weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and super-G. 2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for three consecutive years In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8. In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, repeated as downhill champion and also won the season championship in super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the super-G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world super-G title. In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate. Three days later she won the gold in the downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis. In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season. In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009. With her victory in a super-G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight super-G discipline title with two races still to go. Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, super-G and combined, and by winning the last super-G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American. The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight. Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. 2010 Winter Olympics At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events. On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics. Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal. On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill. In her second event, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Gold and silver were won by Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively. In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result. In her fourth event, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event. 2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points After 3 consecutive overall World Cups, Vonn faced more serious competition from Maria Riesch of Germany in 2011. Riesch had a strong start to the season by winning 2 downhills in Lake Louise, where Vonn had won 7 races. Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race but failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had 5 podiums in the first 6 slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January. At the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training a week earlier. She started in 2 events and achieved a seventh place in super-G and a silver medal in downhill. Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn finished ahead of Riesch in several races (including a giant slalom she finished third, best career result in GS until then), she took overall lead for first time that season after downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead by 3 points. The giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather and Riesch was the 2011 overall champion. 2012: Joining the all-event winner's club Vonn won her fourth Overall World Cup Title in 2012. The season opened in October in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn had won her first giant slalom. This made Vonn the 6th woman to have won all events at least once. On December 2–4, 2011, she won all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with her eleventh win at Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its super-G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, since Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in 1994. With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories. On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012, Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline. Vonn's expressed disappointment that she missed the FIS Alpine Record for 2,000 points in a season by 20 points. In her final race of the season at Schladming, Austria, she was not able to improve on her first giant slalom run after losing her pole at the starting gate. Her 24th finish at Schladming led to her loss of a potential 20-plus points for her season record. "It was possible to get those 20 points, I was in a good position ... If you work so hard to reach your goal but you lose your pole in the very last run, that's hard to take. It will give me even more motivation for next season", commented Vonn after the race. 2013 Vonn got off to a slow start in the 2013 season, slowed by illness with marginal results in giant slalom and skipping a pair of slalom races in November 2012. She came back quickly once the speed events started, again sweeping all three races in Lake Louise from November 30 to December 2 (two downhills, one super-G) for her third career 'hat trick', and increasing her record for most career wins at a single resort to 14. The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62. After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness. She returned and finished in 6th place on January 6 in her first downhill race since her break. Two weeks later she won the downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo and week later won the giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia. World Championships At the first marathon of the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, Vonn crashed in the super-G and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in her right knee, with a tibial plateau fracture. Vonn said she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics despite her injury. World Cup Finals Before her season-ending crash on February 5 in Schladming, Vonn led in the World Cup downhill standings with 340 points. Several were within reach of taking the title during her absence from the tour. Overall champion Tina Maze, who trailed Vonn by more than a hundred points, took a 4th-place finish in Méribel and a win in Garmisch to close the gap to a single point with one race remaining at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section. As a result, she won her sixth downhill season title despite not competing in a downhill since mid-January. 2014 Vonn traveled to Austria for the first race of the 2014 Alpine Skiing World Cup, but ultimately decided not to compete during the first weekend. She announced plans to return to competition in late November. On November 20, 2013, Vonn re-injured her right knee straining it and partially tearing her right ACL after a crash during training. She returned to competition on December 6, finishing 40th the first of two downhill races in Lake Louise, Canada, then 11th in the second downhill on December 7, followed by a 5th place in the super-G on December 8. In December, she said of her preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics that "I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. I'm really going to be safe and smart as I can." On January 7, 2014, Vonn announced that she would not compete in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games because she had re-injured her right knee on December 21, 2013, while skiing in France. "I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!" ESPN posted a reference to her announcement, a few hours after Lindsey wrote the aforementioned on her Facebook page. 2015: Comeback Vonn made her comeback to the top of the podium on December 6, 2014 at the Women's World Cup downhill race at Lake Louise, Alberta, winning the event in only her second race back. In January 2015, she tied and then overtook Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell for the most World Cup wins ever. At the 2015 World Championships in Vail / Beaver Creek, Colorado, Vonn won a bronze medal in the first of ladies' events, the super-G. She placed 5th in the downhill race and 14th in the giant slalom race. On March 18, 2015, Vonn won the last World Cup downhill race at Meribel, France and claimed the World Cup downhill title for the seventh time. Vonn tied with Moser-Proell for the women's record of seven globes in one discipline. The next day, Vonn notched her eight victory of the season by winning the last super-G race. With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal. She joined Ingemar Stenmark from Sweden as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. Vonn also made a World Cup podium for the 113th time, tying Moser-Proell's women's record. 2016 Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory. This brought her to 70 career World Cup wins, increasing her lead over the previous women's world record holder for most World Cup podiums by a woman (Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, 62 career victories) and with her 25th Super-G win, she passed Austrian Hermann Maier for most Super-G wins for either gender. In January, Vonn tied the record of Annemarie Moser-Pröll for all-time downhill victories at 36 with a win at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. Because poor snow conditions resulted in a shorter course, the race was uniquely held over two combined runs, similar to slalom and giant slalom races. Two weeks later in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn broke Moser-Pröll's record with her 37th downhill victory. 2017 On November 11, 2016, Vonn announced on her Facebook page that she had severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm in a training crash. She had undergone surgery to repair the bone. Vonn returned to the World Cup on January 15, 2017, in the downhill race at Altenmarkt; she finished 13th. On January 20, in her second race back from injury, she won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, capturing her 77th win. On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she will not be representing the President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately, stating that she would "give it a couple of days and make some decisions". On February 1, 2019, Vonn announced that she would retire after the 2019 World Championships taking place in Sweden. On February 10, 2019 after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Ingemar Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled. With the clinching of the bronze she became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship (at age 34) and the first female racer to receive six world championship medals. Personal life Lindsey Kildow married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah. In November 2011, after four years of marriage, the couple announced they would divorce. The divorce was finalized on January 9, 2013. Kildow, still using her married name Vonn, met golfer Tiger Woods at a charity event in 2012. They began dating in March 2013 before splitting up in May 2015. In late 2016, she began dating NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith before splitting in November 2017. In June 2018, she began dating P.K. Subban, a defenseman in the NHL. Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019. On August 23, 2019, Vonn and Subban announced their engagement. In December 2019, Vonn announced she proposed to Subban. In May 2020, Vonn and Subban purchased a villa in Beverly Hills for $6.75 Million. In July 2020, she asked her followers on Twitter for their opinions regarding interracial relationships. On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022. On December 29, 2020, they both announced their breakup on Instagram. Vonn announced that the two had parted ways but remained friends. Vonn appeared in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition which featured Olympians from the 2010 Winter Games. She came 59th in Maxim'''s Hot 100 list that year. She appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition again in 2016 wearing only bodypaint, and posed for the magazine once more in 2019. In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed. As most skiers do not want to keep livestock, it was possible to sell it immediately to the organizers for EUR 5000. Vonn knew a farmer in Austria who would be willing to take care of the cow and decided to keep it, and named the cow Olympe. In 2015 she won a calf in Val d'Isere which she kept as well. The goat she won, she gave away. As of 2014 she owned a small herd of cows on the farm. Documentary In 2019, HBO released a documentary about Vonn entitled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season. The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist (one gold). Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020. Bibliography 2016: Strong Is the New Beautiful, (with Sarah Toland) Dey Street Books, 2022: Rise: My Story,'' Dey Street Books, World Cup results Season titles 20 titles (4 overall, 8 downhill, 5 super-G, 3 combined) Season standings Race victories 82 wins – (43 DH, 28 SG, 4 GS, 2 SL, 5 SC) 137 podiums, 213 top tens World Championship results Olympic results References External links Lindsey Vonn at U.S. Ski & Snowboard 1984 births Living people Alpine skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics American female alpine skiers American people of German descent American people of Norwegian descent Angel City FC owners FIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions Laureus World Sports Awards winners Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in alpine skiing Olympic Games broadcasters Olympic gold medalists for the United States in alpine skiing People from Burnsville, Minnesota Philanthropists from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota	true	[ "Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics, is a 255-page book published in 2005 by Paul Ormerod.\n\nWhy Most Things Fail does for business collapse what years of journalism have done for business success. It identifies the subtle patterns that comprise the apparent disorder of failures and analyzes how they occur. The book was named a Business Book of the Year 2006 by Business Week.\n\nExternal links\n\nReviews\n\nReferences\n\nBusiness books\n2005 non-fiction books\nFaber and Faber books", "John 20:14 is the fourteenth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this verse, Mary Magdalene has just finished speaking to the angels she found in Jesus's empty tomb. She then turns and sees the resurrected Jesus, but fails to recognize him. In the Gospel of John, this is the first moment anyone sees Jesus after his resurrection.\n\nContent\nThe King James Version translates the passage as:\nAnd when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.\n\nFor a collection of other versions see BibleHub John 20:14\n\nAnalysis\nIt is significant that it is Mary Magdalene who is the first to see the risen Jesus, but it raises the question of why she does not recognise him; in the next verse she mistakes him for the gardener. One interpretation is that the resurrected Jesus did not have the same physical form as before, but rather a wholly new appearance. John Calvin argued that the fault is with Mary, seeing her blindness in the face of Jesus as a metaphor for those who fail to see Jesus despite his divine nature. This episode does not appear in the other Gospels.\n\nThat the angels of the previous two verses are from this point wholly forgotten is to Schnackenberg evidence that the angels were a later addition to the text and that the original narrative did not include them.\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\nJesus Appears to His Disciples\n\n20:14\nJohn 20:14" ]
[ "Rhett and Link", "Music" ]	C_4406316027f54ed0860532b1300f2da7_0	Who was the article on?	1	Who was the article on?	Rhett and Link	Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy and have completed two albums. In 2001, Rhett and Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy, featuring the popular song "The Unibrow Song". In 2005, Rhett and Link independently released I'm Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room), a live album featuring "The Wal-Mart Song". The album is available at the iTunes Store. In April 2007, Rhett and Link placed 3rd in the TurboTax TaxRap Contest, a contest judged by Vanilla Ice. In 2008, Rhett and Link independently released Websongs Vol 1, an online album featuring "Facebook Song", "Cornhole Song" and "Velcro Song". On February 1, 2009 Rhett and Link independently released Secret Songs, a collection of songs that were previously only available to winners of their monthly "Community Building Exercises", a part of their "Quest for the Seven Keys" contest. On December 4, 2009, Rhett and Link teamed up with DFTBA Records and created a new album called Up To This Point. In May 2015, Rhett and Link released a new album with the songs from their series, "Song Biscuits", which involved them writing a song with a guest (or just themselves) within an hour and performing it. This album is entitled Song Biscuits: Volume 1 and is available on iTunes. To correspond with their YouTube Red show, Rhett & Link's Buddy System, the duo released the album Buddy System (Music From Season 1) which includes seven songs, one from each episode. It was released a week before the premiere date in October 2016 and is available on Google Play Music and iTunes. Rhett and Link have also released all of their albums and singles onto Google Play Music. CANNOTANSWER	Rhett and Link		false	[ "The Chuvash Wikipedia () is the Chuvash language edition of Wikipedia. It was founded on November 22, 2004. Its 5,000th article was created in January 2007. On Februar 21, 2022, it passed the 48,035 article mark.\n\nPolicies\nDifficult issues are resolved through the Arbitration Committee, which handles content disputes, blocks users or prohibits certain users from editing articles on certain topics.\nAdministrators (currently 2) are elected through a vote; administrators who have become inactive (i.e. have not used administrative tools, such as \"delete\" or \"block\" buttons, at least 25 times in six months) may lose their privileges by an Arbitration Committee decision.\n\nHistory\n\nThe Chuvash Wikipedia was created on November 22, 2004. Jimmy Wales used it at Wikimania 2009 as an example of the value of Wikipedia for the languages on the verge of extinction.\n\nTimeline\n On December 16, 2004, the main page was created.\n On March 9, 2006, the 2,000th article was created.\n On August 22, 2006, the 4,000th article was created.\n On November 22, 2006, the 4,500th article was created.\n In January 2007, the 5,000th article was created.\n In September 2007, the 6,000th article was created.\n On January 14, 2008, the 7,000th article was created.\n On July 17, 2008, the 8,000th article was created.\n On April 6, 2009, the 10,000th article was created.\n On February 13, 2010, the 11,000th article was created.\n On October 4, 2010, the 11,451st article was created.\n On August 31, 2011, the 13,000th article was created.\n On October 6, 2012, the 14,000th article (firm train \"Chuvashia\") was created.\n On December 3, 2013, the 20,000th article was created.\n On August 1, 2014, the 30,000th article was created.\n On March 3, 2016, the 34,100th article was created.\n On November, 11, 2016, the 36,000th article was created.\n On March, 28, 2017, the 39,000th article was created.\n\nContent\nSource: Нумай каçăллă категорисем\n\nSee also \n Chuvash National Movement\n ChuvashTet\n Chuvash national radio\n List of Chuvashes\n Society for the study of the native land\n Chuvash National Congress\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n Chuvash Language Wikipedia\n Николай Плотников: \"Родное лучше видится на расстоянии...\"\n Александр Блинов: \"Пользование технологией вики становится нормой\"\n Статистика Чувашской Википедии\n В списке языковых Википедий\n \"Киләчәген кайгырткан халык үз телен һәм мәдәниятен үстерүгә акча табарга тиеш\"\n\nWikipedias by language\nChuvash-language mass media\nWikipedia articles licensed under the GNU Free Document License\nChuvash people\nRussian encyclopedias\nInternet properties established in 2004", "The Henryk Batuta hoax was a hoax perpetrated on the Polish Wikipedia from November 2004 to February 2006, the main element of which was a biographical article about a nonexistent socialist revolutionary, Henryk Batuta.\n\nHistory\nThe perpetrators of the hoax created an article about Henryk Batuta (born Izaak Apfelbaum), a fictional socialist revolutionary and Polish Communist. The fake biography said Batuta was born in Odessa in 1898, and participated in the Russian Civil War. The article was created on November 8, 2004, and was exposed as a hoax 15 months later when it was deleted on February 5, 2006.\n\nThe article was ten sentences long while it existed on Polish Wikipedia. It gained some prominence after stories about it appeared in prominent Polish newspapers (Gazeta Wyborcza) and magazines (Przekrój), as well as a British one (The Observer).\n\nThe article also falsely claimed a street in Warsaw was named \"Henryk Batuta Street\", after the fictional communist official. The anonymous hoaxers who created the article, according to the press calling themselves \"The Batuta Army\" (), allegedly wanted to draw attention to the fact that there are still places in Poland named after former communist officials who \"do not deserve the honour\".\n\nThe hoax was exposed when the article was listed for deletion. Even after the article was exposed as a well-organized hoax, its perpetrators tried to convince others of its authenticity by providing false bibliographical information and even by uploading a doctored photograph of a street name \"ulica Henryka Batuty\" (Henryk Batuta Street). The mystification was \"officially\" exposed and confirmed on 9 February 2006, when the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza and weekly Przekrój published their articles about the hoax.\n\nThere is an \"ulica Batuty\" (Batuta Street) in Warsaw; however, the name comes from the Polish word \"batuta\", which means \"conductor's baton\". In this area of the Służew district there are many street names relating to music and this is one of them. Streets named after a person in Warsaw always carry the name, not only the family name, on the plate. On the street plate for Batuta, there is no name. This should have been a signal to any careful and knowable eye, seeing the picture in the fake \"Henryk Batuta\" entry.\n\nContent of the hoax article \nAn English translation of the hoax article as it appeared on the Polish Wikipedia on 1 February 2006, when it was finally exposed as a hoax.\n\nReferences\n\nPolish\n \n \n \n :pl:Wikipedia:SDU/Henryk Batuta\n\n2004 hoaxes\n2004 in Poland\nHistory of Wikipedia\nInternet hoaxes\nNonexistent people used in hoaxes\nWikipedia controversies\nFictional Polish people", "The Russian Wikipedia () is the Russian-language edition of Wikipedia. As of , it has articles. It was started on 11 May 2001. In October 2015 it became the sixth-largest Wikipedia by the number of articles. It has the fifth-largest number of edits (). In June 2020, it was the world's 6th most visited language Wikipedia after the English Wikipedia, the Japanese Wikipedia, the Spanish Wikipedia, the German Wikipedia and the French Wikipedia.\n\nIt is the largest Wikipedia written in any Slavic language, surpassing its nearest rival, the Polish Wikipedia, eightfold by the parameter of depth. In addition, the Russian Wikipedia is the largest Wikipedia written in Cyrillic or in a script other than Latin script. In April 2016, the project had 3,377 active editors who made at least five edits in that month, ranking third behind the English and Spanish versions.\n\nPolicies\nDifficult issues are resolved through the Arbitration Committee, which handles content disputes, blocks users or prohibits certain users from editing articles on certain topics.\n\nAdministrators (currently ) are elected through a vote; a minimum quorum of 30 voters and 66% of support votes are required if the request is to be considered successful. Administrators who have become inactive (i.e. have not used administrative tools, such as \"delete\" or \"block\" buttons, at least 25 times in six months) may lose their privileges by an Arbitration Committee decision.\n\nContent\nAs of 1 June 2012, some of the biggest categories (which contain more than 5,000 articles) in the Russian Wikipedia are:\n176,411 biographical articles. Although the Western name order (given name(s) followed by family name) is generally used in Russian, the Russian Wikipedia uses lexical order (last name, comma, given name(s) and also the patronymic for most people from ex-Soviet countries) for all articles on non-fictional persons. This order has been traditionally used in major Russian language encyclopedias, like the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.\n144,322 human settlements articles.\n28,187 river articles\n19,302 film articles\n16,925 animal articles\n16,517 scientific articles\n16,133 surname articles\n13,936 footballers' articles\n11,247 Musicians' articles\n10,755 Writers' articles\n9,243 album articles\n9,237 articles on recipients of the Order of Lenin\n7,307 Company's articles\n6,734 plant articles\n6,574 street articles\n6,265 NGC astronomical articles\n6,157 actors articles\n5,719 artist articles\n5,580 music group articles\n5,292 Hero of the Soviet Union articles\n\n10,340 articles contain material from the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. More than 47,000 articles were translated from the English Wikipedia.\n\nNamespaces\nIn addition to common Wikipedia namespaces, the Russian Wikipedia has three custom ones: \"Incubator\" (# 102–103) – which is used as a training camp for new users and their first articles, \"Project\" (# 104–105) – for Wikipedia projects and \"Arbitration\" (# 106–107) – for arbitration requests.\n\nUser pages \nOn user pages, users are able to see their outreach, the cumulative view count of pages they have edited.\n\nCriticism\n\nIn 2015, , a professor at University of Tartu, in an interview opined that articles related to humanities in the Russian Wikipedia are of considerably inferior quality compared to English Wikipedia, and some articles even deteriorate with time. He suggested that this effect is due to overzealous policing of intellectual property rights by the community and bemoaned poor editing skills of some Wikipedians.\n\nTimeline\n\n The main page was created on 7 November 2002.\n On 30 December 2004, the 10,000th article was created.\n On 23 December 2005, the 50,000th article was created.\n On 16 August 2006, the 100,000th article was created.\n On 29 November 2006, the Russian Wikipedia received the National Runet Award in the Educational section.\n On 10 March 2007, the 150,000th article was created.\n On 4 September 2007, the 200,000th article was created.\n On 27 November 2007, the Russian Wikipedia received the National Runet Award in the Educational section.\n On 17 March 2008, the 250,000th article was created.\n On 18 July 2008, the 300,000th article was created.\n On 22 January 2009, the 350,000th article was created.\n On 16 June 2009, the 400,000th article was created.\n On 25 November 2009, the Russian Wikipedia received the National Runet Award in the Science and Education section.\n On 25 February 2010, the 500,000th article was created.\n On 8 October 2010, the 600,000th article was created.\n On 12 April 2011, the 700,000th article was created.\n On 10 December 2011, the 800,000th article was created.\n On 8 September 2012, the 900,000th article was created.\n On 11 May 2013, the 1,000,000th article was created.\n On 27 March 2014, the 1,100,000th article was created.\n On 19 March 2015, the 1,200,000th article was created.\n On 29 March 2016, the 1,300,000th article was created.\n On 14 June 2017, the 1,400,000th article was created.\n On 1 October 2018, the 1,500,000th article was created.\n On 26 February 2020, the 1,600,000th article was created.\n On 17 February 2021, the 1,700,000th article was created.\n\nHistory\n\nEarly years\n\nThe Russian Wikipedia was created on 20 May 2001 in the first wave of non-English Wikipedias, along with editions in Catalan, Chinese, Dutch, German, Esperanto, French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.\n\nThe first edit of the Russian Wikipedia was on 24 May 2001, and consisted of the line (\"Russia is a great nation\"). The following edit changed it to the joke: (\"Russia is the motherland of elephants (big-eared, improved cross-country capability, see Mammoth.\")\n\nFor a long time development was slow (especially after some participants left for WikiZnanie), but in the 12-month period between February 2005 and February 2006 it surpassed nine editions in other languages – the Catalan, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Finnish, Norwegian, Chinese, Esperanto and Danish Wikipedias.\nIn 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 the Russian Wikipedia won the \"Science and education\" category of the \"Runet Prize\" () award, supervised by the Russian government agency FAPMC.\n\nTroubles with the government\n\nOn 10 July 2012 Russian Wikipedia closed access to its content for 24 hours in protest against proposed amendments to Russia's Information Act (Bill No. 89417-6) regulating the accessibility of Internet-based information to children. Among other things, the bill stipulates the creation and country-wide enforcement of blacklists, which would block access to forbidden sites. Several aspects of this amendment drew criticism from various civil rights activists and Internet providers. In particular, the blacklist inclusion criteria were characterized as \"too vague\" and \"paving the way for Internet censorship\".\n\nSupporters of the amendment stated that it is aimed only at widely prohibited content such as child pornography and similar information, but the Russian Wikimedia chapter has declared that conditions for determining the content falling under this law will create a thing like the \"great Chinese firewall\". They further claimed that existing Russian legal practice demonstrates a high likelihood of a worst-case scenario, resulting in a country-wide ban of Wikipedia. The second and the third readings of the law were held in the State Duma on 11 July; no essential corrections were introduced. The law will come into force after three readings in the State Duma, one reading in the Federation Council and presidential approval.\n\nOn 10 July, Nikolai Nikiforov, Russian Minister for Telecommunications and Mass Media announced in his Twitter account, that the organization of the List of the prohibited websites (that was sited on the Law Project No. 89417-6) will be suspended until 1 November 2012. On the same day Yelena Mizulina, a Duma deputy and the head of the subcommittee which sponsored the law, said that the blackout is an attempt to blackmail the Duma and was sponsored by the \"pedophile lobby\".\n\nAlso, since 2012, Russian foreign agent law resulted in reduced funding available for the Russian Wikipedia and its volunteers, who no longer can receive financial aid from abroad, including their share of funds raised through global Wikipedia fundraisers.\n\nOn 5 April 2013, it was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media that Wikipedia had been blacklisted over the article \"Курение каннабиса\" (\"Cannabis smoking\") on Russian Wikipedia. On 31 March 2013, The New York Times reported that Russia was 'Selectively Blocking [the] Internet', though Wikipedia itself was not blocked at that time.\n\nArticles on Russian Wikipedia, and also on other Wikipedia versions, concerning the shoot down of flight MH17 and the 2014 Ukraine conflict have been targeted by Internet propaganda outlets associated with the Russian government. Some of the edits were spotted by a Twitter bot which monitors Wikipedia edits made from Russian government IP addresses.\n\nThe entire Russian Wikipedia was blocked in the Russian Federation for a few hours in August 2015 due to the contents of the article on charas.\n\nIn November 2019, Russian president Vladimir Putin called for a government-run alternative to Wikipedia. The Guardian reported state funds had already been allocated according to official documents published the previous September. The new electronic alternative was intended to be based on the Great Russian Encyclopedia. According to the London Times, the proposal had been abandoned by mid-May 2020, however, according to Great Russian Encyclopedia employee Yekaterina Chukovskaya, only the working group was disbanded and work on the project as a whole will continue.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n Russian Language Wikipedia\n Russian Wikipedia mobile version\nThe embassy of the Russian-language Wikipedia\n\nWikipedias by language\nWikipedia\nInternet properties established in 2001\nRussian-language encyclopedias\nBlacklisting" ]
[ "Rhett and Link", "Music", "Who was the article on?", "Rhett and Link" ]	C_4406316027f54ed0860532b1300f2da7_0	What kind of music genre are Rhett and Link?	2	What kind of music genre are Rhett and Link?	Rhett and Link	Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy and have completed two albums. In 2001, Rhett and Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy, featuring the popular song "The Unibrow Song". In 2005, Rhett and Link independently released I'm Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room), a live album featuring "The Wal-Mart Song". The album is available at the iTunes Store. In April 2007, Rhett and Link placed 3rd in the TurboTax TaxRap Contest, a contest judged by Vanilla Ice. In 2008, Rhett and Link independently released Websongs Vol 1, an online album featuring "Facebook Song", "Cornhole Song" and "Velcro Song". On February 1, 2009 Rhett and Link independently released Secret Songs, a collection of songs that were previously only available to winners of their monthly "Community Building Exercises", a part of their "Quest for the Seven Keys" contest. On December 4, 2009, Rhett and Link teamed up with DFTBA Records and created a new album called Up To This Point. In May 2015, Rhett and Link released a new album with the songs from their series, "Song Biscuits", which involved them writing a song with a guest (or just themselves) within an hour and performing it. This album is entitled Song Biscuits: Volume 1 and is available on iTunes. To correspond with their YouTube Red show, Rhett & Link's Buddy System, the duo released the album Buddy System (Music From Season 1) which includes seven songs, one from each episode. It was released a week before the premiere date in October 2016 and is available on Google Play Music and iTunes. Rhett and Link have also released all of their albums and singles onto Google Play Music. CANNOTANSWER	Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy		false	[ "Rhett James McLaughlin (born October 11, 1977) and Charles Lincoln \"Link\" Neal III (born June 1, 1978), known as Rhett & Link, are an American comedy duo. Self-styled as \"Internetainers\" (portmanteau of \"Internet\" and \"entertainers\"), they are known for creating and hosting the YouTube series Good Mythical Morning. Their other notable projects include comedic songs and sketches, their Independent Film Channel series Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, their YouTube Premium series Rhett and Link's Buddy System, their podcast Ear Biscuits, their novel The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek, and their acquisition of Smosh.\n\nEarly life and career\nRhett and Link met on September 4, 1984, the date they started first grade in Harnett County at Buies Creek Elementary School in Buies Creek, North Carolina. They subsequently wrote a song and made a documentary about this meeting: Looking for Ms. Locklear. In an interview on The Tonight Show, they stated that they had to stay in during recess because both of them had written swear words on their desks. They were given coloring books to fill out with mythical creatures (such as unicorns), hence their YouTube channel name, Good Mythical Morning.\n\nAt age fourteen, they wrote a screenplay entitled Gutless Wonders and began shooting a film based on it. They shot only a couple of scenes, and the film was never finished. This screenplay ultimately was read in multiple episodes of Good Mythical Morning. In high school they shot a 25-minute film-parody on the tragedy of Oedipus Rex. Rhett was Oedipus, and Link was his father's servant. Rhett and Link were both members of a Christian-punk rock band as teenagers known as \"The Wax Paper Dogz\".\n\nIn 1996, they started college and were roommates at North Carolina State University, where Link studied industrial engineering and Rhett studied civil engineering. Rhett graduated magna cum laude in December 2000, and Link graduated summa cum laude in May 2001. They worked in their respective fields for a time, Link at IBM and Rhett at Black & Veatch. They also made videos and performed comedy sketches for a religious organization, Cru. During their time at Cru, they began developing their signature comedy style as a duo, subsequently deciding to become full-time entertainers.\n\nRhett & Link quit their jobs as engineers soon after graduating from college to shift their focus to their Christian evangelism with Cru. They made comedic videos for meetings and conferences after being inspired by the host at the first weekly Cru meeting they attended as freshman at North Carolina State University. Later, they transitioned to making comedic YouTube videos full-time, without Christian ministry.\n\nMedia properties \nUnder their production company Mythical Entertainment, the duo run a number of media properties, some starring themselves and some featuring other performers.\n\nThe duo originally released comedy and musical videos on their main channel titled Rhett and Link. As new properties became more successful, the channel became inactive. The channel was revived in December in 2019 with the release of several vlogs.\nTheir flagship program is the YouTube channel Good Mythical Morning (often shortened to GMM), which has 7.5 billion views and 17.2 million subscribers as of November 2021. is a talk show airing on weekdays at 6:00 am EST.\nGood Mythical MORE (often shortened to GMMore) is the show's secondary channel, with new episodes released simultaneously with Good Mythical Morning. The shows are meant to be watched directly after GMM and is described as the \"show after the show\". It features a more unscripted, laid-back feeling, and usually expands upon topics covered in Good Mythical Morning. The channel had over 3.97 million subscribers and over 982 million views as of December 2020,\nMythical Kitchen (formerly This is Mythical, and Mythical), is a cooking channel hosted by Josh Scherer, the head chef on the show. He is supported by other chefs such as Nicole Enayati (née Hendizadeh), Trevor Evarts, and Vianai \"Vi\" Austin, as well as guest appearances by other members of the Mythical crew. The channel has a number of series on cooking unusual items, such as expensive versions of fast food, or homemade versions of popular snacks. Under earlier iterations, it featured bonus and behind the scenes videos, but has most recently been used for videos produced by and starring their crew. It has over 1.5 million subscribers and over 97 million views as of December 2020.\nA Hotdog is a Sandwich is a weekly audio-only podcast by Josh and Nicole of the Mythical Kitchen team, centering each episode on a different food-related debate.\nEar Biscuits is a filmed podcast that has both audio versions that are released on various podcasting platforms, as well as a filmed version. It was originally presented on the GMM channel but was transferred to this channel on January 7, 2019. It has over 254,000 subscribers and more than 3 million views.\nMythical Bits (formerly The Hey Hey Show) consists of skits from Rhett and Link.\nMythical.com is the merchandising arm of Mythical Entertainment, selling Mythical and Rhett and Link branded products.\nThe Mythical Society is the Rhett and Link fan club.\n\nGood Mythical Morning\nOn January 3, 2011, the duo launched a morning talk show, \"Good Morning Chia Lincoln\" in their studio, located in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, with an Abraham Lincoln Chia Pet as a centerpiece, where they picked a topic, usually a personal experience or news story, and stated their opinions on it. The series ended on February 28, 2011, as a result of half of the Chia Pet dying.\n\nAfter the move to Los Angeles and the cancelation of their TV Show, Commercial Kings, the duo launched Good Mythical Morning on January 9, 2012. The series took the same format as their previous show and added a \"Wheel of Mythicality\", containing suggestions from fans on how they would end the show, usually with a brief improvised scene.\n\nGood Mythical Morning ran its first three seasons ending on April 5, 2013, as the duo took a break from the daily videos to start a new show with a weekly format, The Mythical Show. The series won the Best Variety Series at the International Academy of Web Television Awards in January 2013.\n\nThe fourth season of GMM introduced the \"Taste Test\" series where the hosts guess the food in blindfolds, challenge themselves to eat something or compare a particular type of food across different brands. Some of the most popular videos in GMM from this series are the \"Bug War Challenge\", the \"Ghost Pepper Challenge\", the \"Carolina Reaper Challenge\" and the \"Sriracha Challenge\". Season 5 of GMM brought in \"Will It\" series, where the hosts try and invent different varieties of a famous type of food with unusual and often increasing levels of disgusting ingredients. The first episode was aired on May 5, 2014, on Cinco De Mayo titled \"Will it Taco\" where they tried pine needles, baby shampoo and pork blood tacos. The series was also featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with episodes of \"Will it Tea\", \"Will It S'more\", \"Will it Hummus\", and \"Will It Hot Dog\".\n\nAfter the end of The Mythical Show on July 11, 2013, the duo continued with the Good Mythical Morning series, now with an addition to the main GMM episode-Good Mythical More (\"the show after the show\") uploaded simultaneously to a separate channel in addition to their GMM channel. The 'Good Mythical More' episodes held on to their 'improvised on the spot' nature from earlier season of GMM while the main episodes became more and more structured. Season 6 of Good Mythical Morning premiered on July 14, 2014, with a new introduction sequence with animation by Digital Twigs and music by Pomplamoose. Several notable personalities, including PewDiePie, Mayim Bialik, Shay Mitchell, Bill Hader, Amy Schumer, and Daniel Radcliffe have been guests on the show.\n\nThe 1000th episode of Good Mythical Morning was uploaded on the morning of October 13, 2016 (4 years, 9 months, and 4 days after the first episode aired on January 9, 2012). The video was titled \"1000th Episode Celebration Special\" and has received 3.1 million views as of April 2020. On October 19, the first episode of YouTube Red original show Rhett and Link's Buddy System aired on the Good Mythical Morning channel.\n\nIn October 2021, they debuted Good Mythical Evening, a pay-per-view one-time event.\n\nThe Mythical Show\nOn April 25, 2013, Rhett & Link released the first episode of The Mythical Show on their second channel – a weekly 30-minute variety show on YouTube Thursdays at 5 pm (EST). Each episode contained a multitude of shorter videos starring Rhett & Link with other actors and YouTube personalities as guests, including Tony Hale, Jill Wagner, Kat Von D, Smosh, Grace Helbig, Shay Carl, the Fine Brothers, Tessa Violet, Hannah Hart, Paul Scheer, Key & Peele, Miranda Sings, and KassemG. The duo also published individual segments of The Mythical Show as standalone videos on their main channel. The first season of The Mythical Show ended July 11, 2013 after 12 episodes.\n\nThey won the 2014 People's Choice Webby Award for individual comedy short or episode for their \"Breaking Bad: The Middle School Musical\" video that was a part of The Mythical Show'''s \"Middle School Musicals\" segments.\n\nThis Is Mythical\n\nOn March 20, 2017, their company, Mythical Entertainment, announced their new channel, This Is Mythical. The channel is a revamp of their EXTRAs channel, and it is run by the Mythical Crew. It contains several series such as: \"This Is Mythical\" videos, which are general vlogs; \"Mythicalicious\", a food series with varying themes; the return of \"Ear Biscuits\", Rhett & Link's podcast; \"Ten Feet Tall\", a series run by Mythical Entertainment crew members Mike Criscimagna and Alex Punch; and \"GMM Recuts\", a revamp of shorts formerly part of a playlist called \"Gum Swallower's Digest\", that contain cuts and edits of scenes from Good Mythical Morning, and are created by John Warder. In March 2018, the channel was rebranded with its new name simply being \"Mythical\". The channel is currently inactive as a result of Ear Biscuits being moved to the Good Mythical Morning channel (and then moving to its own channel on January 7, 2019) and has changed its name to Mythical on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.\n\nMythical Kitchen\nOn December 20, 2019, their company, Mythical Entertainment, announced their new channel, Mythical Kitchen. The channel is a hub for all food featured videos, and it is run by the Mythical Chefs, Josh Scherer, Nicole Enayati (née Hendizadeh), Trevor Evarts, and Vianai \"Vi\" Austin. It contains several series such as: \"Fancy Fast Food\", which takes famous fast food items to the next level and \"Snack Smash\", a food series that combines two snacks to create one creative concoction.\n\nGuest appearances\n\nYouTube Rewind videos have included Rhett & Link since 2012. Rewind YouTube Style 2012 featured the duo and the Dope Zebra (who was part of LMFAO music video for \"Sorry for Party Rocking\"), YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say?, YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014 and YouTube Rewind: Now Watch Me Rewind had them dancing in ridiculous manners. However, they weren't included in Rewind 2018.\n\nRhett & Link have been guests in three \"Epic Rap Battles of History\". On February 16, 2012, the duo was featured in a Season 2 episode of the series, playing the Wright brothers, battling the Mario Brothers. On July 14, 2014, Rhett & Link, along with Smosh, appeared in the season 3 finale of the series, in which they played two of the four Renaissance artists battling against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Link played the role of Leonardo da Vinci and Rhett the role of Donatello. Their latest appearance was on May 25, 2015, opening Season 4.5 with the battle of Lewis and Clark vs. Bill and Ted. Link played the role of Meriwether Lewis and Rhett the role of William Clark.\n\nRhett & Link have also appeared in several videos by the Fine Brothers for the YouTubers React series, as well as being the subject of one episode of the Kids React series.Sponsored videos and web advertisements\nRhett & Link's first sponsored video, \"Cornhole Song\", was made for AJJ Cornhole in 2007, and since then the duo have integrated other small brands like Smule, with \"I am a Thoughtful Guy\" and iRESQ. Many larger companies have since sponsored the duo's videos including Alka-Seltzer, McDonald's, Wendy's and Cadillac among others.\n\nIn January 2008, they worked as web correspondents on the Sundance Film Festival for IGotShotgun.com in partnership with Cadillac. Summer of the same year they spent releasing videos for the Alka-Seltzer Great American Road Trip. The series won the Gold award in the Consumer Goods category at Advertising Age's 2008 W3 Awards, as well as best online campaign at Adweek's 2008 Buzz Awards. The series also picked up two Golds (Best Campaign, Best Single) and a Craft award (Music) at the 2009 Bessies and received two golds in the interactive category for Viral Marketing and Business to Consumer website at the 2009 Advertising & Design Club of Canada Awards.\n\nAlso in 2008, Rhett & Link released web series \"Seaborne and Roach\", sponsored by SpyAssociates.com, and \"Surrogate Sharers\" series advertising Starburst candy.\n\nIn 2009, the duo started to create free low-budget commercials for small local businesses throughout the U.S. in the web series \"I Love Local Commercials\", sponsored by Microbilt. At first they made 4 commercials for local businesses in their home state North Carolina – TDM Autosales, Bobby Denning Furniture, and Redhouse Furniture. These videos quickly went viral on YouTube, especially the Redhouse video, with its controversial jingle \"Where Black People and White People Buy Furniture\". The success of these commercials spurred Rhett & Link to continue creating commercials and for that they offered people across U.S. to nominate their favorite local businesses to take part in the web series. The popularity of the duo's commercials garnered the attention of major advertising publications such as Advertising Age and AdWeek, and their commercials were featured on CNN, NPR, The New York Times, Forbes, and TMZ.Caramanica, Jon (June 23, 2011)\n Finding the Offbeat Off the Beaten Path. The New York Times A commercial for Cullman Liquidation Center won Best Local Commercial at the 2010 Ad Age Viral Video Awards. In 2010, Rhett & Link produced a commercial for Donut Prince, George Lopez's favorite donut place. Later they appeared in his show Lopez Tonight, where he called them \"undisputed masters of bad local commercials\".\n\nThe success of the web series led to Rhett & Link's television show, Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings on IFC. Every episode, Link's Epic Fail is featured, where Link trips over a cement pyramid and scrapes up his hip and arm.\n\nIn 2009, Rhett & Link produced \"Fast Food Folk Song\" as a web commercial for Taco Bell, and in 2010 it won the Contest of Awesome for the Best Comic Music Video of 2009. The contest awarded them a trip to Los Angeles and a cameo in a Weezer music video.\n\nIn 2010, Rhett & Link created a stop motion video \"T-shirt War\" as a commercial for T-shirt printing company Rush T-shirts, in which they used 222 T-shirts with unique designs. The video already had 2 million views after only two weeks of being online, and quickly reached 4 million. \"T-shirt War\" also won in Best Online Promotion at the Apparel Industry category at the 2010 Spirit Awards. After the success of this commercial Rhett & Link received a call from McDonald's and Coca-Cola asking them to make a TV commercial with a T-shirt War theme. The commercial was also uploaded on YouTube, and this video, entitled \"T-shirt War 2\", reached 1 million views in two weeks.Rhett & Link's McDonald's T-Shirt War video a viral hit. QSRWeb (June 24, 2010). Retrieved December 29, 2015.\n\nAlso in 2010, Rhett & Link released an online music video sponsored by SleepBetter.org – \"2 Guys 600 pillows\". Time listed the video as one of the Top-10 Talented Web Videos of 2010, and the video also won Best Editing category and Peoples' Voice Award at the 2011 Webby Awards. Rhett & Link continued working with SleepBetter.org, and in November 2012 they made another music video, \"Sleep Tight\".\n\nIn 2011, Rhett & Link made a commercial for Ojai Valley Taxidermy, owned by Chuck Testa, as part of their TV show, Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings. After the episode featuring the commercial aired, Chuck Testa uploaded the commercial to his company's YouTube channel. The ad went viral, topping 18 million views (as of December 2020) and spawning the \"Nope! Chuck Testa\" Internet meme. The Chuck Testa ad was included in Time's Top 10 Memes of 2011. Also in 2011, Rhett & Link released a music video entitled \"PHOTOSHOP Song\" which was sponsored by Canvas on Demand.\n\nIn September 2012, the duo released the video \"Epic Rap Battle of Manliness\" sponsored by Build.com.\n\nIn October 2013, Rhett & Link released a music video entitled \"Epic Rap Battle: Nerd vs. Geek\" which was sponsored by TigerDirect. They have made other rap battles, featured on their second channel, along with all their other music videos.\n\nIn December 2013, the duo released a music video in partnership with Buick's \"In the Moment\" campaign entitled \"Get Off the Phone\".\n\nIn May 2014, a new segment sponsored by Gillette was included on Good Mythical Morning for the week subscription campaign, as well as with the release of the \"Kissing Your Face\" video on the main channel.\n\nIn May 2015, the duo released a new music video, \"Just Being Honest\", sponsored by Wendy's new beverage \"Honest Tea\". As well as Sip Me Up, a streaming marketing campaign on June 18 where the duo created personalized content for the fans in real time.Restaurant Marketing Watch: Wendy's breaks new ground with day of engagement, Periscope live stream. Nrn.com (June 19, 2015). Retrieved December 29, 2015.\n\nOn May 6, 2015, Rhett & Link teamed up with Hot Pockets and released the \"Will It Hot Pocket?\" episode in their popular \"Will It\" series on Good Mythical Morning where the Hot Pocket crust was replaced with odd items based on fan suggestions.\n\nOn June 5, 2015, a new segment on Good Mythical Morning was announced called \"The Back Up Plan\" sponsored by GEICO, where the duo explore different career opportunities. As of August 2016, there are 10 released episodes. Episodes have featured the duo trying the jobs of beekeeping, real estate sales, commercial cereal production, glassblowing, commercial flavor manufacturing, becoming potential \"Marstronauts\" at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, aquatic animal keeping, ice sculpting, livestock auctioneering, and baking pies. The final segment served as both an episode of \"The Back Up Plan\" and an installment in their \"Will It?\" series. The segment subsequently ended within the season.\n\nPodcasts\nRhettandLinkast\nIn 2007, Rhett & Link created the RhettandLinkast for iTunes. Originally filmed in a backroom at Cru, the two soon relocated to a spare property belonging to Rhett's father-in-law in Lillington, North Carolina.\n\nEar Biscuits\n\nOn September 27, 2013, Rhett & Link launched an audio podcast on iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud called Ear Biscuits, which airs every Sunday. The podcast debuted in the US on the iTunes charts at No. 22. and it is described as intimate discussions with each other such as how they became blood brothers, their close encounters with death, and more. They also interview other notable Internet personalities such as Grace Helbig, Julian Smith, Phillip DeFranco, PewDiePie and Rainn Wilson. They've had live recordings on VidCon as well as Rhett-and-Link-only episodes each month.\n\nAs of July 2015, the podcast was number No. 14 on the iTunes US Comedy Charts. The podcast has won them a Shorty Award for Best Podcast in April 2016.\n\nOn March 27, 2017, the podcast returned from a hiatus with a new video format on their latest channel, This Is Mythical, and had moved to the Good Mythical Morning channel. The podcast continued to be released on iTunes and SoundCloud, as well as Spotify.\n\nOn January 7, 2019, the podcast was moved from the Good Mythical Morning channel to its own separate channel.\n\nRonstadt\nOn May 13, 2021, Rhett & Link announced they would be co-producing and starring in a scripted podcast titled Ronstadt, set to release on June 1. McLaughlin portrays the eponymous character, a 9-1-1 call center responder who handles supernatural cases. The podcast is set to have 9 episodes.\n\nMusic\nRhett plays guitar and Link plays the recorder and harmonica; they both sing. Rhett & Link perform live musical comedy and have completed two albums. In 2001, Rhett & Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy, featuring the popular song \"The Unibrow Song\". In 2005, Rhett & Link independently released I'm Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room), a live album featuring \"The Wal-Mart Song\". The album is available at the iTunes Store. In April 2007, Rhett & Link placed 3rd in the TurboTax TaxRap Contest, a contest judged by Vanilla Ice. In 2008, Rhett & Link independently released Websongs Vol 1, an online album featuring \"Facebook Song\", \"Cornhole Song\" and \"Velcro Song\". On February 1, 2009, Rhett & Link independently released Secret Songs, a collection of songs that were previously only available to winners of their monthly \"Community Building Exercises\", a part of their \"Quest for the Seven Keys\" contest.\n\nOn December 4, 2009, Rhett & Link teamed up with DFTBA Records and created a new album called Up To This Point.\n\nIn May 2015, Rhett & Link released a new album with the songs from their series, \"Song Biscuits\", which involved them writing a song with a guest (or just themselves) within an hour and performing it. This album is entitled Song Biscuits: Volume 1 and is available on iTunes.\n\nTo correspond with their YouTube Red show, Rhett & Link's Buddy System, the duo released the album Buddy System (Music From Season 1) which includes seven songs, one from each episode. It was released a week before the premiere date in October 2016 and is available on Google Play Music and iTunes.\n\nRhett & Link have also released all of their albums and singles onto Google Play Music.\n\nFilm and television\nIn 2006, Rhett & Link began work on a documentary about their search for their first grade teacher, Ms. Locklear, entitled Looking for Ms. Locklear. The film released in 2008 and won the Southern Lens Award from South Carolina Public TV, which led to the film screening on PBS in South Carolina. The film also won audience choice awards at the ACE Film Festival and the Secret City Film Festival, and won 2nd place documentary at the Secret City Film Festival. The documentary was an official selection at the Real to Reel Film Festival, the Landlocked Film Festival, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, BendFilm Festival, Asheville Film Festival, and the Cucalorus Film Festival. On September 9, 2009, the duo released the movie on DVD, distributing it over the Internet.\n\nRhett & Link were among the first group of Internet personalities who attempted transitions from the Internet into network television. In 2007, along with Stevie Ryan and Joy Leslie, Rhett & Link hosted the short-lived series Online Nation, a show that featured the best viral videos from the Internet, part of the 2007 fall lineup on the CW Network. The premiere episode was seen by 1 million people, but the show was cancelled after only four episodes. As the hosts, Rhett & Link responded with an Internet video.\n\nRhett & Link starred in the IFC original series, Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings. The show chronicled the quest of Rhett & Link as they traveled the country making local commercials for small businesses. Having premiered Friday, June 24, 2011, at 10:00pm ET/PT on IFC, this ten-part docu-comedy is based on their successful web series I Love Local Commercials and features Rhett & Link helping local businesses achieve their goals by creating eye-catching local commercials using local talent. The show was, however, canceled.\n\nRhett & Link served as musical correspondents for Brink, hosted by Josh Zepps, on the Science Channel. They wrote and produced three music videos including \"My Robot Girlfriend\", \"Space Junk\", and \"The S.E.T.I. Song\".\n\nThey appeared as guests on Lopez Tonight where they were interviewed, made a commercial for George's favorite doughnut place, and were back-up dancers for the remainder of the show after their interview. They have also appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly and Conan. Rhett and Link performed on season 7 of America's Got Talent as a novelty act, being eliminated in the first round. As of August 2018, the duo have also appeared five times on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.\n\nRhett & Link also produced segments for Phil Vischer's \"What's in the Bible\". In that, they were a singing duo named \"The Fabulous Bentley Brothers\" performing teaching songs about different books, or topics, in the Bible.\n\nRhett & Link appeared on the WWE Network original series Legends House, judging the WWE Legends' custom commercials.\n\nRhett & Link appeared in the edutainment web series Wonder Quest, and guest starred in 2 episodes as Thomas Edison (Rhett) and William Hammer (Link). Most recently, Rhett & Link created, wrote, produced, and starred in their show, Rhett and Link's Buddy System, which was released on YouTube Red (now known as YouTube Premium). Buddy System was featured in Variety as the most talked about digital show, beating out Netflix's Orange Is the New Black and Amazon's The Man in the High Castle.\n\nIn January 2022, it was announced that Rhett & Link would star in a show on Food Network titled The Taste Buds with Rhett & Link, set to debut that year.\n\nBooks\nBook of Mythicality\nRhett & Link unveiled their book, to be published by Crown Archetype, Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality: A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity and Tomfoolery on February 13, 2017. It was also made available for pre-order from several major online retailers on the same day. The front cover was shown for the first time during an interview with the duo on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 24, 2017. Rhett & Link have described the book as \"a hilarious blend of autobiography, trivia and advice\" and will include the story behind their friendship and career, as well as tips on how to \"add Mythicality\" to the reader's life, supported by anecdotes from their own past. The book was officially released on October 10, 2017, and then made it onto The New York Times Best Seller List in the \"Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous\" section for the week ending October 14, 2017.\n\n The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek was published on October 29, 2019. It is a thriller novel co-written by Rhett & Link and Lance Rubin, largely based on Rhett and Link's experiences in their home town of Buies Creek, North Carolina. The book reached No. 13 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.\n\nTours\nIt was announced on May 16, 2017, that Rhett & Link would be going on tour around the United States in order to promote their upcoming book, performing at 16 theatres around the country. Tickets were made available for pre-sale the same day. The demand was so high that second shows were added to five of the theatres, bringing the total number of shows up to 21. Tickets were made available to the general public on May 19. A further two early shows were added to theatres in New York and Los Angeles on August 12, with the duo confirming this would be the last addition to the lineup, the final total number of shows at 23. Every theatre sold every ticket for all of these shows.\n\nIn 2018, it was announced that Rhett & Link would be performing three shows in Australia at the end of July. These shows were performed in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane on July 27, 29 and 30 respectively.\n\nAdditionally, following the announcement of their Australian tour dates, the duo announced three further North American shows: Toronto, Atlantic City and Mashantucket on November 8, 9 and 10 respectively. It was also confirmed that these would be the last shows in 2018; however, there has been no confirmation that they would be the last tour dates ever.\n\nThe November 10 show was the final show of the Tour of Mythicality. In February 2019, Rhett and Link held a concert in London as part of Vidcon London. They had a number of other concerts in spring, summer, and fall 2019 under the title Rhett and Link Live. As of June 2021 there has been no other touring announced.\n\nProduction company\n\nRhett and Link founded \"Rhett & Link, Inc.\" in 2009. The name was changed to Mythical Entertainment in 2017. The company produces the online videos, television shows, podcasts, books, recorded music, and live tours, as well as the related merchandise sold through their store and on Amazon. The Chief Operating Officer of the company is Brian Flanagan. The company hired former YouTube executive Neel Yalamarthy as the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development in February 2021.\n\nOn February 22, 2019, it was announced that Mythical Entertainment had acquired the Smosh brand (Smosh, Smosh Games, Smosh Pit, and others) after the channel's former parent company, Defy Media, had gone into liquidation. Ian Hecox, the co-founder of Smosh, explained that under the Mythical Entertainment banner, the channel would have full creative freedom and launch its own podcast, known as the SmoshCast. In July 2021, Rhett and Link announced the launch of the \"Mythical Accelerator Fund\", five million dollars they plan to use to continue to acquire ownership stakes in other social media stars’ businesses. The first investment made with the fund was a minority stake in content creator Jarvis Johnson's company.\n\nProductions\n\nAwards and nominations\nIn 2009, Rhett & Link were named No. 22 on Business Insider's Top 25 Most Creative People in Advertising List. In September of the same year, they joined the Collective, a media company in Los Angeles.\n\nIn 2014, the Rhett & Link YouTube Channel was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at No. 35.\n\n Personal lives \nRhett and Link now live in La Crescenta-Montrose, California, in the Los Angeles metro area, where together they run a production company named Mythical Entertainment, located in Burbank. Rhett and his wife, Jessie, have two sons. Link and his wife, Christy, have two sons and a daughter.\n\nResponding to a fan question in 2010, Rhett said that, while they were both Christian, their content is not religious. In 2020, both men described their changes in faith in separate episodes of their podcast Ear Biscuits''. Both said they are no longer evangelical Christians, with Rhett saying he would call himself \"a hopeful agnostic\" and Link saying he would call himself \"an agnostic who wants to be hopeful\".\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \n \n\nAmerica's Got Talent contestants\nAmerican bloggers\nAmerican comedy duos\nAmerican comedy musical groups\nAmerican YouTubers\nDFTBA Records creators\nInternet memes\nMale YouTubers\nNorth Carolina State University alumni\nPeople from Buies Creek, North Carolina\nPeople from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina\nVideo bloggers\nViral videos\n21st-century American comedians\nAmerican male bloggers\nAmerican agnostics\nAmerican former Christians", "Charles A. Testa (born 1956) is an American taxidermist and owner of Ojai Valley Taxidermy in California. A commercial for Testa's business created by Rhett & Link for the show Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings became a viral video, and the catchphrase \"Nope, Chuck Testa!\" became an Internet meme.\n\nLife and career\nTesta was born and raised in the Ojai Valley. He managed his father's Baskin-Robbins store in Venice Beach, California, before he began preserving wildlife.\n\nCommercial and response\nIn summer 2011, Testa's future son-in-law posted a commercial for Testa's business on YouTube. The video was originally created by Rhett & Link for the show Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings on IFC. The commercial asserts that Testa's work is so realistic that people will assume the animals are still alive. It depicts people reacting to what they believe are live animals in unusual situations, e.g., \"Look at that antelope driving a car!\", only to have Testa appear and declare, \"Nope, it's just Chuck Testa!\" The phrase became popular on Web sites, such as Reddit and Tumblr, spurring mainstream media coverage, including Fox News and CBS. The video was also ranked as the #10 best meme of 2011 by Time magazine's Nick Carbone.\n\nTelevision appearances \nIn 2012, Chuck Testa appeared in two episodes of Rhett & Link's Web series, Good Mythical Morning. His shop, Ojai Valley Taxidermy, was promoted in earlier episodes. He again appeared in 2020 as a tie breaking judge during the Ice Cream Taste Test Tournament.\n\nIn 2015, Chuck Testa was featured in Season 1, Episode 1 of CarbonTV's original series, American Elements.\n\nIn 2016, Chuck Testa and Ojai Valley Taxidermy were featured in the Web documentary Mounted: Chuck Testa and Friends on CarbonTV.\n\nMusic \nThe 2019 song \"Whip a Tesla\" by Yung Gravy and Bbno$ mentions Testa in the chorus, referencing the \"Nope\" meme.Told your bitch, \"Nope,\" like I'm fuckin' Chuck TestaTesta makes a cameo in the music video.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nMounted: Chuck Testa and Friends\nOjai Valley Taxidermy\nWhip a Tesla Music Video\n\nInternet memes\n1956 births\nLiving people\nTaxidermists\nPeople from Ojai, California\nBusinesspeople from California\n20th-century American businesspeople\n21st-century American businesspeople\nViral videos", "Rhett & Link's Buddy System (also known as Buddy System) is an American series produced exclusively for YouTube Premium, created by, written by and starring comedy duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. The series premiered with episodes one and two being released on October 19, 2016, on Rhett and Link's Good Mythical Morning channel. The season 1 finale was released on November 30, 2016. On November 29, 2017, all episodes of Season 2 were released on the same day. In November 2019, every episode was made free to watch on the Good Mythical Morning YouTube channel.\n\nSeason 1 of Buddy System features guest stars Page Kennedy and Leslie Bibb, starring as high school friends of Rhett and Link. After Link's phone is stolen by Aimee Brells (Leslie Bibb) they undertake a wild range of events battling to return it, while Aimee Brells, the Infomercial Queen, is attempting to take over the Good Mythical Morning channel as her own.\n\nSeason 2 of Buddy System shows a fictitious version of Rhett and Link in an alternate universe, where Rhett McLaughlin is a professional food tester, and Link Neal is lonely and just fired. They meet for the first time when Rhett is looking for an illegal roommate. They learn how to get on with each other, through the ups and downs, and come out together on the other side.\n\nPremise\nSeason 1 begins with Rhett and Link's quest to regain control of their famous morning talk-show Good Mythical Morning and the channel it is uploaded to from Aimee Brells (Leslie Bibb), an infomercial star, who is using the channel to upload informercials for a variety of very strange products, and gained access to the channel by stealing Link's lost phone. Season 2 revolves around the concept of Rhett and Link's friendship, had it never existed prior.\n\nCast\n\nMain\n Rhett McLaughlin as himself\n Link Neal as himself\n Page Kennedy as Maxwell\n Leslie Bibb as Aimee Brells\n\nRecurring\n Mario Revolori as Mandip\n Lauren Powers as Bodyguard\n Adam Gregor as George\n Tobias Jelinek as Dylan\n Jenna Bryant as Magician's Assistant\n Molly Shannon as Rhonda\n Chris Parnell as Vampire Magician\n Tyler Kaplan as Link, age 10\n Talia Dillingham as Roberto\n Tony Hale as Glen\n Garrett Morris as Ignatius\n Alison Rich as Vanessa\n\nEpisodes\n\nSeason 1 (2016)\n\nSeason 2 (2017)\n\nProduction\nThe duo officially announced the show on June 23, 2016. Upon release, the show was a success, with the free-to-view premiere episode currently having 8.7 million views. Variety reported in March 2017 that the show was the \"number 1 digital series in the US.\"\n\nSo far, two seasons, each with eight episodes, have been released. On May 8, 2017, Rhett and Link announced on the Good Mythical Morning episode \"2 Month Old Burrito (EXPERIMENT)\" that the series has been renewed for a second season. Shooting of season 2 took place for seven weeks throughout summer 2017, with the episodes expected to be released later in the year.\n\nOn November 16, 2017, Rhett and Link released the trailer for Buddy System season 2. The second season was released November 29, 2017.\n\nAccolades\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Rhett & Link's Buddy System on YouTube\n\n'Rhett and Link's Buddy System' on YouTube Red\nQ&A: YouTube Stars Rhett & Link on Their New Comedy Series 'Buddy System'\n\nYouTube Premium original series\n2016 web series debuts" ]
[ "Rhett and Link", "Music", "Who was the article on?", "Rhett and Link", "What kind of music genre are Rhett and Link?", "Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy" ]	C_4406316027f54ed0860532b1300f2da7_0	When did they first meet?	3	When did Rhett and Link first meet?	Rhett and Link	Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy and have completed two albums. In 2001, Rhett and Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy, featuring the popular song "The Unibrow Song". In 2005, Rhett and Link independently released I'm Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room), a live album featuring "The Wal-Mart Song". The album is available at the iTunes Store. In April 2007, Rhett and Link placed 3rd in the TurboTax TaxRap Contest, a contest judged by Vanilla Ice. In 2008, Rhett and Link independently released Websongs Vol 1, an online album featuring "Facebook Song", "Cornhole Song" and "Velcro Song". On February 1, 2009 Rhett and Link independently released Secret Songs, a collection of songs that were previously only available to winners of their monthly "Community Building Exercises", a part of their "Quest for the Seven Keys" contest. On December 4, 2009, Rhett and Link teamed up with DFTBA Records and created a new album called Up To This Point. In May 2015, Rhett and Link released a new album with the songs from their series, "Song Biscuits", which involved them writing a song with a guest (or just themselves) within an hour and performing it. This album is entitled Song Biscuits: Volume 1 and is available on iTunes. To correspond with their YouTube Red show, Rhett & Link's Buddy System, the duo released the album Buddy System (Music From Season 1) which includes seven songs, one from each episode. It was released a week before the premiere date in October 2016 and is available on Google Play Music and iTunes. Rhett and Link have also released all of their albums and singles onto Google Play Music. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER		false	[ "This article details the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League qualifying phase and play-off round.\n\nEach tie was played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The team that had the higher aggregate score over the two legs progressed to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finished level, the away goals rule was applied; i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progressed. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time was played, divided into two 15-minute halves. The away goals rule was again applied after extra time; i.e., if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team qualified by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided by a penalty shootout.\n\nAll times are CEST (UTC+2)\n\nRound and draw dates\nAll draws were held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.\n\nMatches may also be played on Tuesdays or Wednesdays instead of the regular Thursdays due to scheduling conflicts.\n\nTeams\nBelow are the 160 teams involved in the qualifying phase and play-off round, grouped by their starting rounds. The 37 winners of the play-off round qualified for the group stage to join the 10 losing teams from the Champions League play-off round, and the title holders, Atlético Madrid.\n\nIn each round, teams were seeded based on their 2010 UEFA club coefficients. Prior to the draw, UEFA may form \"groups\" in accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, but they are purely for convenience of the draw and do not resemble any real groupings in the sense of the competition, while ensuring that teams from the same association not drawn against each other.\n\nCL-c Losing teams from the Champions League third qualifying round (Champions Path)\n\nCL-n Losing teams from the Champions League third qualifying round (Non-Champions Path)\n\nFirst qualifying round\n\nSeeding\n\nMatches\n\n\|}\nNote 1: Order of legs reversed after original draw.\n\nFirst leg\n\nNotes\nNote 2: Played in Durrës at the Stadiumi Niko Dovana as Laçi's Stadiumi Laçi did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 3: Played in Tallinn at the Lilleküla Stadium as Narva Trans's Narva Kreenholmi Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 4: Played in Tirana at the Qemal Stafa Stadium as KF Tirana's Selman Stërmasi Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 5: Played in Nikšić at the Stadion Gradski as Zeta's Trešnjica Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 6: Played in Chișinău at the Zimbru Stadium as Olimpia's Olimpia Bălți Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 7: Played in Baku at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium as Qarabağ's Guzanli Olympic Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 8: Played in Dugopolje at Stadion Hrvatski vitezovi as Šibenik's Stadion Šubićevac did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 9: Played in Andorra la Vella at the Camp d'Esports del M.I. Consell General as the grass in Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella was being replaced. This grass replacement led to the 3–0 loss awarded to FC Santa Coloma on the first leg of the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round against Birkirkara.\nNote 10: Played in Luxembourg City at the Stade Josy Barthel as Grevenmacher's Op Flohr Stadion did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 11: Played in Tórshavn at the Gundadalur as NSÍ Runavík's Runavík Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 12: Played in Domžale at the Sports Park as Olimpija Ljubljana's ŽŠD Ljubljana Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\n\nSecond leg\n\nAnorthosis won 4–0 on aggregate.\n\nTauras Tauragė won 5–4 on aggregate.\n\nQarabağ won 5–2 on aggregate.\n\nMogren won 5–0 on aggregate.\n\nŠibenik won 3–0 on aggregate.\n\nDinamo Tbilisi won 2–1 on aggregate.\n\n1–1 on aggregate. Olimpia won on away goals.\n\nBnei Yehuda won 1–0 on aggregate.\n\nPortadown won 2–1 on aggregate.\n\nMYPA won 7–0 on aggregate.\n\nDnepr Mogilev won 8–2 on aggregate.\n\nRanders won 7–3 on aggregate.\n\n1–1 on aggregate. Dacia won on away goals.\n\nGyőri ETO won 5–3 on aggregate.\n\nKF Tirana won 1–0 on aggregate.\n\nGefle won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\nRabotnički won 11–0 on aggregate.\n\nTPS won 7–1 on aggregate.\n\nZrinjski won 4–2 on aggregate.\n\nDundalk won 5–4 on aggregate.\n\nKalmar FF won 4–0 on aggregate.\n\nŠiroki Brijeg won 5–0 on aggregate.\n\nZestafoni won 5–0 on aggregate.\n\nKR Reykjavík won 5–2 on aggregate.\n\nRuch Chorzów won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nTorpedo Zhodino won 6–1 on aggregate.\n\nNotes\nNote 13: Played in Kaunas at S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium as Tauras Tauragė's Vytautas Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 14: Played in Skopje at Philip II Arena as Metalurg Skopje's Železarnica Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 15: Played in Nikšić at Stadion Gradski as Mogren's Stadion Mogren did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 16: Played in Chişinău at Zimbru Stadium as Dacia's Dinamo Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 17: Played in Solna at Råsunda Stadium as Gefle's Strömvallen did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 18: Played in Toftir at Svangaskarð as EB/Streymur's Við Margáir did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 19: Played in Reykjavík at Laugardalsvöllur as Fylkir's Fylkisvöllur did not meet UEFA criteria.\n\nSecond qualifying round\n\nSeeding\n\nUnseeded teams from the first qualifying round that qualified for the second qualifying round, effectively taking the coefficient and seeding of their first qualifying round opponents in this draw.\n\nMatches\n\n\|}\n\nNotes\nNote 20: Order of legs reversed after original draw.\nNote 21: Original match abandoned in the 80th minute due to adverse weather conditions, with MYPA leading 1–0. The match was replayed on 23 July 2010 at 18:30 CEST from the beginning.\nNote 22: UEFA awarded Győri ETO a 3–0 win due to Atyrau fielding a suspended player in the first leg. The original match had ended in a 2–0 win for Győri ETO.\nNote 23: UEFA awarded Budućnost Podgorica a 3–0 win due to Baku fielding a suspended player in the first leg. The original match had ended in a 2–1 win for Baku.\n\nFirst leg\n\nNotes\nNote 24: Played in Tbilisi at Boris Paichadze Stadium as WIT Georgia's Shevardeni Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 25: Played in Kaunas at S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium as Tauras Tauragė's Vytautas stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 26: Played in Chișinău at Zimbru Stadium as Olimpia's Olimpia Bălți Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 27: Played in Vantaa at ISS Stadion as Honka's Tapiolan Urheilupuisto did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 28: Played in Solna at Råsunda Stadium as Gefle's Strömvallen did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 29: Played in Luxembourg City at Stade Josy Barthel as Differdange's Stade du Thillenberg did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 30: Played in Ghent at Jules Ottenstadion as Cercle Brugge's Jan Breydel Stadium is undergoing renovative work.\nNote 31: Played in Győr at ETO Park as Videoton's Stadion Sóstói did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 32: Played in Tirana at Qemal Stafa Stadium as Besa Kavajë's Stadiumi Besa did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 33: Played in Funchal at Estádio da Madeira as Marítimo's Estádio dos Barreiros is undergoing extensive renovative work.\nNote 34: Played in Belfast at Windsor Park as Cliftonville's Solitude did not meet UEFA criteria.\n\nSecond leg\n\nRabotnički won 1–0 on aggregate.\n\nTeteks won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nOFK Beograd won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nZestafoni won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nMaccabi Tel Aviv won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nSpartak Zlatibor Voda won 5–3 on aggregate.\n\nQarabağ won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\n2–2 on aggregate. Cercle Brugge won on away goals.\n\n3–3 on aggregate. Dnepr Mogilev won on away goals.\n\nAustria Wien won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\n2–2 on aggregate. Molde won on away goals.\n\nBaník Ostrava won 6–0 on aggregate.\n\nDinamo Minsk won 10–1 on aggregate.\n\nKarpaty Lviv won 6–2 on aggregate.\n\nKalmar FF won 2–0 on aggregate.\n\nReplay:\n\nMYPA won 8–0 on aggregate.\n\nDinamo Tbilisi won 4–2 on aggregate.\n\nRanders won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\nElfsborg won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nAPOEL won 6–1 on aggregate.\n\nUtrecht won 5–1 on aggregate.\n\nShamrock Rovers won 2–1 on aggregate.\n\nDinamo București won 7–1 on aggregate.\n\nAnorthosis won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nWisła won 7–0 on aggregate.\n\nBrøndby won 3–0 on aggregate.\n\nLevski Sofia won 8–0 on aggregate.\n\nBeşiktaş won 7–0 on aggregate.\n\n1–1 on aggregate. Ruch won on away goals.\n\nRapid Wien won 6–2 on aggregate.\n\nMaribor won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nBangor City won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nGyőri ETO won 5–0 on aggregate.\n\nZrinjski won 13–3 on aggregate.\n\nOlympiacos won 11–1 on aggregate.\n\nLausanne-Sport won 2–1 on aggregate.\n\nMarítimo won 6–4 on aggregate.\n\nCliftonville won 1–0 on aggregate.\n\nBudućnost Podgorica won 4–2 on aggregate.\n\nMotherwell won 2–0 on aggregate.\n\nNotes\nNote 35: Played in Skopje at Philip II Arena as Teteks's City Stadium Tetovo did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 36: Played in Barysaw at Haradski Stadium as Torpedo Zhodino's Torpedo Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 37: Played in Nikšić at Stadion Gradski as Mogren's Stadion Mogren did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 38: Played in Novi Sad at Karađorđe Stadium as Spartak Zlatibor Voda's Subotica City Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 39: Played in Baku at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium as Qarabağ's Guzanli Olympic Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 40: Played in Jūrmala at Slokas Stadium as Jelgava's Ozolnieku Stadions did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 41: Played in Tallinn at Lilleküla Stadium as Sillamäe Kalev's Sillamäe Kalevi Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 42: Played in Chişinău at Zimbru Stadium as Dacia's Dinamo Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 43: Played in Tiraspol at Sheriff Stadium as Iskra-Stal's Orăşenesc Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 44: Played in Tirana at Qemal Stafa Stadium as KF Tirana's Selman Stërmasi stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 45: Played in Split at Stadion Poljud as Šibenik's Stadion Šubićevac did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 46: Played in Toftir at Svangaskarð as Víkingur Gøta's Serpugerði Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 47: Played in Wrexham at Racecourse Ground as Bangor City's Farrar Road Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 48: Played in Dublin at Dalymount Park as Sporting Fingal's Morton Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\n\nThird qualifying round\n\nSeeding\n\nUnseeded teams from the second qualifying round that qualified for the third qualifying round, effectively taking the coefficient and seeding of their second qualifying round opponents in this draw.\n\nMatches\n\n\|}\n\nNotes\n* Note 49: Order of legs reversed after original draw\n\nFirst leg\n\nNotes\nNote 50: Played in Sofia at Vasil Levski National Stadium as CSKA Sofia's Balgarska Armiya Stadium was closed at the end of the previous season because it didn't meet the BFU and UEFA criteria.\nNote 51: Played in Novi Sad at Karađorđe Stadium as Spartak Zlatibor Voda's Subotica City Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 52: Played in Sofia at Georgi Asparuhov Stadium as Beroe Stara Zagora's Beroe Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 53: Played in Prague at Generali Arena as Viktoria Plzeň's Stadion města Plzně did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 54: Played in Funchal at Estádio da Madeira as Marítimo's Estádio dos Barreiros is undergoing extensive renovative work.\n\nSecond leg\n\nRapid Wien won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\nElfsborg won 7–1 on aggregate.\n\nGalatasaray won 7–3 on aggregate.\n\nDnepr Mogilev won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nKarpaty Lviv won 2–0 on aggregate.\n\nQarabağ won 4–2 on aggregate.\n\nDinamo Minsk won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nSturm Graz won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nAnorthosis won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\n2–2 on aggregate. Sibir Novosibirsk won on away goals.\n\nAZ won 2–1 on aggregate.\n\nDnipro Dnipropetrovsk won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nTimișoara won 5–4 on aggregate.\n\nBrøndby won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nLausanne-Sport won 4–3 on aggregate.\n\nUtrecht won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\nLevski Sofia won 6–3 on aggregate.\n\nAris won 4–3 on aggregate.\n\nGenk won 8–3 on aggregate.\n\nBeşiktaş won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\n2–2 on aggregate. Maccabi Tel Aviv won on away goals.\n\nAPOEL won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\nMarítimo won 10–3 on aggregate.\n\nSlovan Bratislava won 3–2 on aggregate.\n\nAustria Wien won 6–1 on aggregate.\n\nStuttgart won 5–4 on aggregate.\n\nHajduk Split won 4–3 on aggregate.\n\nLiverpool won 4–0 on aggregate.\n\nCSKA Sofia won 5–1 on aggregate.\n\nJuventus won 3–0 on aggregate.\n\nMaribor won 6–2 on aggregate.\n\n1–1 on aggregate. Győri ETO won 4–3 on penalties.\n\nMotherwell won 4–1 on aggregate.\n\nOdense won 5–3 on aggregate.\n\nSporting won 3–1 on aggregate.\n\nNotes\nNote 55: Played in Skopje at Philip II Arena as Teteks's City Stadium Tetovo did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 56: Played in Baku at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium as Qarabağ's Guzanli Olympic Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 57: Played in Zürich at Letzigrund as Luzern's Stadion Allmend did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 58: Played in Wrexham at Racecourse Ground as Bangor City's Farrar Road Stadium did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 59: Played in Bratislava at Štadión Pasienky as Slovan Bratislava's Tehelné pole is undergoing extensive renovative work.\nNote 60: Played in Belfast at Windsor Park as Cliftonville's Solitude did not meet UEFA criteria.\nNote 61: Played in Modena at Stadio Alberto Braglia as Juventus's Stadio Olimpico di Torino was to host a U2 360° Tour concert.\nNote 62: Match was suspended in the 33rd minute for 20 minutes because of a floodlight failure.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n2010–11 UEFA Europa League, UEFA.com\n\nQualifying rounds\nUEFA Europa League qualifying rounds", "The Modesto Relays, now known as the California Invitational Relays is an annual elite track and field meet. It is held about the second weekend in May. For 67 years, the meet was held at Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California, a track notable for tight turns and long straightaways, ending in 2008. During its run in Modesto, it was the site of over 30 world records. After taking the 2009 season off, the meet moved to Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College in Sacramento, California.\n\nThe meet director for most of that time was National Track and Field Hall of Fame member Tom Moore, a former elite hurdler from the University of California. As an athlete, Moore had tied the world record in the 120 yard high hurdles in 1935. Moore's name would become synonymous with the Modesto Relays. Moore served as the starter for the first meet for all but one race . . . the high hurdles, which he won. He had his running shorts on under his uniform and hastily changed to run. But Moore did almost everything else to make the meet what it became, from adjusting the lights toward the track (rather than just the football field) to obtaining sponsorship from S&W Foods that brought notoriety to the otherwise sleepy Central Valley town. When S&W dropped its sponsorship, Moore found a new sponsor in Coca-Cola.\n\nThere are many quirky stories to the long history of the meet. \"Dutch\" Warmerdam set a world record in the pole vault, but only after the standards were repaired at the college welding shop. After the record, an excited official knocked over the standard again. When the bar was remeasured, Warmerdam lost 1/4 of an inch and a brawl ensued. The world record stood for 15 years. 58 years later, Stacy Dragila also set a world record in the pole vault at the meet. Double Olympic Gold medalist, Bob Richards negotiated a $75 cash bonus if he broke the meet record. When he arrived, he discovered the meet record was the world record, which Richards never achieved in his career.\n\nIn 1961, when reigning Olympic Champion Herb Elliott dropped out of a heavily promoted Mile race with Dyrol Burleson (promoted as the cover story in Sports Illustrated), the packed stadium was silenced in disappointment. They became ecstatic when a then unknown Jim Beatty improved his personal best by seven seconds to set the American record at 3:58.0. That same meet saw Ralph Boston become the first man to jump 27 feet in the long jump.\n\nAnd the strong winds at Modesto made the discus throw a record setting event. Jay Silvester set the world record in 1968. Ben Plucknett did the same in 1981, but his record was removed after he tested positive for steroids.\n\nAfter his death, in 2004, the meet was renamed the \"Tom Moore Modesto Relays.\"\n\nReferences\n\nTrack and field competitions in the United States\nRecurring sporting events established in 1942\nSports in Modesto, California\nAnnual track and field meetings\nHigh school track and field competitions in the United States\nTrack and field in California\n1942 establishments in California", "Seven Winds () is a 1962 Soviet drama film directed by Stanislav Rostotsky.\n\nPlot \nThe film tells about a girl named Svetlana who goes to another city to meet her fiance Igor, but as a result of the war they did not meet and Svetlana began to wait for him. When the Nazis approached the city, the new home of Svetlana became a hospital, and she became a fighter.\n\nCast \n Larisa Luzhina as Svetlana Ivashova\n Sofiya Pilyavskaya\n Vyacheslav Tikhonov as Capt. Suzdalev\n Klara Luchko as Doctor Natalia Guseva\n Vladimir Zamanskiy\t\n Vyacheslav Nevinnyy\n Mikhail Troyanovskiy as Waldemar Yanovich Peterson\n Margarita Strunova\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n1962 films\n1960s Russian-language films\nSoviet drama films\nSoviet films\n1962 drama films" ]
[ "Rhett and Link", "Music", "Who was the article on?", "Rhett and Link", "What kind of music genre are Rhett and Link?", "Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy", "When did they first meet?", "I don't know." ]	C_4406316027f54ed0860532b1300f2da7_0	What made them famous?	4	What made Rhett and Link famous?	Rhett and Link	Rhett and Link perform live musical comedy and have completed two albums. In 2001, Rhett and Link independently released Just Mail Us the Grammy, featuring the popular song "The Unibrow Song". In 2005, Rhett and Link independently released I'm Sorry, What Was That? (Live in the Living Room), a live album featuring "The Wal-Mart Song". The album is available at the iTunes Store. In April 2007, Rhett and Link placed 3rd in the TurboTax TaxRap Contest, a contest judged by Vanilla Ice. In 2008, Rhett and Link independently released Websongs Vol 1, an online album featuring "Facebook Song", "Cornhole Song" and "Velcro Song". On February 1, 2009 Rhett and Link independently released Secret Songs, a collection of songs that were previously only available to winners of their monthly "Community Building Exercises", a part of their "Quest for the Seven Keys" contest. On December 4, 2009, Rhett and Link teamed up with DFTBA Records and created a new album called Up To This Point. In May 2015, Rhett and Link released a new album with the songs from their series, "Song Biscuits", which involved them writing a song with a guest (or just themselves) within an hour and performing it. This album is entitled Song Biscuits: Volume 1 and is available on iTunes. To correspond with their YouTube Red show, Rhett & Link's Buddy System, the duo released the album Buddy System (Music From Season 1) which includes seven songs, one from each episode. It was released a week before the premiere date in October 2016 and is available on Google Play Music and iTunes. Rhett and Link have also released all of their albums and singles onto Google Play Music. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER		false	[ "What Made Milwaukee Famous (WMMF) is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, United States.\n\nIn 2005, the band performed for Austin City Limits with Franz Ferdinand, making them one of the only unsigned bands to play for the show in its -year history. In 2006, the band signed with Barsuk Records, which re-released their 2004 debut album, Trying to Never Catch Up. Their second album, What Doesn't Kill Us, was released on March 4, 2008. The band released their third album You Can't Fall Off the Floor on January 22, 2013.\n\nSince forming, the band has played at the South by Southwest music festival, the Austin City Limits Festival, and Lollapalooza. They have opened for the Smashing Pumpkins, Arcade Fire, the Black Keys, and Snow Patrol. The band has been featured on in Billboard and Rolling Stone bands-to-watch lists.\n\nAfter promoting You Can't Fall Off the Floor in 2013 and 2014, the band became largely inactive.\n\nOn June 12, 2019, the band announced a set of reunion shows in September 2019, scheduled in Austin and Houston. The three tour dates coincide with a release of a newly remastered 180-gram vinyl of their debut album Trying to Never Catch Up to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of its original release.\n\nName origin\nThe band's name is derived from Jerry Lee Lewis's song \"What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)\".\n\nDiscography\n Trying to Never Catch Up - Barsuk Records (2006)\n The Sugarhill Sessions EP - Barsuk Records (2008)\n What Doesn't Kill Us - Barsuk Records (2008)\n You Can't Fall Off the Floor - Self-released (2013)\n\nReviews\n kMNR CD Review of Trying to Never Catch Up by Chris Andrade on September 20, 2006\n CD Review of Trying to Never Catch Up (mistakenly referred to as Trying Not to Catch Up) by MC Beastie for Soundsect.com\nWhat Doesn't Kill Us Review on IGN by Chad Grischow on March 7, 2008\n CD Review of 'What Doesn't Kill Us' by Ashley Marie Sansotta on Mon Mar 17th, 2008\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial site\nWhat Made Milwaukee Famous on Barsuk.com\nWhat Made Milwaukee Famous live on The Current\nWhat Made Milwaukee Famous MySpace Page\nWhat Made Milwaukee Famous and Sterogum\nWhat Made Milwaukee Famous in studio performance\n\n2002 establishments in Texas\nIndie rock musical groups from Texas\nMusical groups established in 2002\nMusical groups from Austin, Texas\nBarsuk Records artists", "Trying to Never Catch Up is the first album by the Indie band What Made Milwaukee Famous, originally recorded in 2004 and re-recorded in 2006 with a changeup in the track list and a few new tunes for release on Barsuk Records.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs by What Made Milwaukee Famous.\n\"Idecide\" – 4:54\n\"Mercy, Me\" – 3:07\n\"Hellodrama\" – 2:51\n\"Selling Yourself Short\" – 4:13\n\"The Jeopardy of Contentment\" – 4:52\n\"Almost Always Never\" – 4:09\n\"Hopelist\" – 3:25\n\"Judas\" – 3:17\n\"Trying to Never Catch Up\" – 4:19\n\"Curtains!\" – 4:26\n\"Sweet Lady\" – 2:56\n\"Bldg. a Boat from the Boards in Your Eye\" – 6:01\n\nPersonnel\n Michael Kingcaid – vocals, guitar, piano, organ, Rhodes, sequencer\n Drew Patrizi – keyboards, piano, organ, vocals, guitar, tambourine, sound effects\n John Houston Farmer – bass, vocals\n Josh Vernier - drums, percussion, vocals\n\nReferences\n\nWhat Made Milwaukee Famous (band) albums\n2006 albums", "\"What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)\" is a song written by Glenn Sutton. The song's title is a reference to beer, specifically Schlitz beer, which for many years was advertised with the slogan, \"The beer that made Milwaukee famous.\"\n\nIn 1968, Jerry Lee Lewis released his version as a single. It became a top-ten hit on Billboard's country chart and made a minor impact on the Billboard Hot 100.\n\nChart performance\n\nCover versions\nIn the United Kingdom, a version by Rod Stewart charted at No. 4 in 1972 as a double A-side with \"Angel.\"\n\nThe Texas band What Made Milwaukee Famous takes its name from this song.\n\nIrish-American Celtic punk band Flogging Molly included a live cover of the song on their 1997 debut album, Alive Behind the Green Door.\n\nReferences\n\n1968 songs\n1968 singles\nRod Stewart songs\nLynn Anderson songs\nJerry Lee Lewis songs\nSongs written by Glenn Sutton\nSong recordings produced by Jerry Kennedy\nSong recordings produced by Eddie Kilroy\nSmash Records singles\nSongs about alcohol\nSongs about Wisconsin" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography" ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	Did he go to school?	1	Did Son House go to school?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	false	[ "California Concordia College existed in Oakland, California, United States from 1906 until 1973.\n\nAmong the presidents of California Concordia College was Johann Theodore Gotthold Brohm Jr.\n\nCalifornia Concordia College and the Academy of California College were located at 2365 Camden Street, Oakland, California. Some of the school buildings still exist at this location, but older buildings that housed the earlier classrooms and later the dormitories are gone. The site is now the location of the Spectrum Center Camden Campus, a provider of special education services.\n\nThe \"Academy\" was the official name for the high school. California Concordia was a six-year institution patterned after the German gymnasium. This provided four years of high school, plus two years of junior college. Years in the school took their names from Latin numbers and referred to the years to go before graduation. The classes were named:\n\n Sexta - 6 years to go; high school freshman\n Qunita - 5 years to go; high school sophomore\n Quarta - 4 years to go; high school junior\n Tertia - 3 years to go; high school senior\n Secunda - 2 years to go; college freshman\n Prima - 1 year to go; college sophomore\n\nThose in Sexta were usually hazed in a mild way by upperclassmen. In addition, those in Sexta were required to do a certain amount of clean-up work around the school, such as picking up trash.\n\nMost students, even high school freshmen, lived in dormitories. High school students were supervised by \"proctors\" (selected high school seniors in Tertia). High school students were required to study for two hours each night in their study rooms from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Students could not leave their rooms for any reason without permission. This requirement came as quite a shock to those in Sexta (freshmen) on their first night, when they were caught and scolded by a proctor when they left their study room to go to the bathroom without permission. Seniors (those in Tertia) were allowed one night off where they did not need to be in their study hall.\n\nFrom 9:00 to 9:30 pm all students gathered for a chapel service. From 9:30 to 10 pm, high school students were free to roam, and sometimes went to the local Lucky Supermarket to purchase snacks. All high school students were required to be in bed with lights out by 10:00 pm. There were generally five students in each dormitory room. The room had two sections: a bedroom area and (across the hallway) another room for studying. Four beds, including at least one bunk bed, were in the bedroom, and four or five desks were in the study room\n\nA few interesting words used by Concordia students were \"fink\" and \"rack.\" To \"fink\" meant to \"sing like a canary\" or \"squeal.\" A student who finked told everything he knew about a misbehavior committed by another student. \"Rack\" was actually an official term used by proctors and administrators who lived on campus in the dormitories with students. When students misbehaved they were racked (punished). Proctors held a meeting once a week and decided which students, if any, deserved to be racked. If a student were racked, he might be forbidden from leaving the campus grounds, even during normal free time School hours were from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. After 3:30 pm and until 7:00 pm, students could normally explore the local area surrounding the school, for example, to go to a local store to buy a snack. However, if a student were racked for the week, he could not do so.\n\nProctors made their rounds in the morning to make sure beds were made and inspected rooms in the evening to ensure that students were in bed by 10:00 pm. Often after the proctors left a room at night, the room lights would go back on and students enjoyed studying their National Geographic magazines. Student might be racked if they failed to make their beds or did not make them neatly enough.\n\nAlthough California Concordia College no longer exists, it does receive some recognition by Concordia University Irvine. This is also the location of its old academic records.\n\nSources\n\nExternal links \n Photos of old campus\n\nEducational institutions disestablished in 1973\nDefunct private universities and colleges in California\nEducational institutions established in 1906\n1906 establishments in California\n1973 disestablishments in California\nUniversities and colleges affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod", "Kyree Walker (born November 20, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. At the high school level, he played for Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California before transferring to Hillcrest Prep Academy. A former MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, Walker was a five-star recruit.\n\nEarly life and high school career\nIn eighth grade, Walker drew national attention for his slam dunks in highlight videos. He often faced older competition, including high school seniors, in middle school with his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team Oakland Soldiers. As a high school freshman, Walker played basketball for Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California, averaging 21.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and four assists per game. After leading his team to a California Interscholastic Federation Division II runner-up finish, he was named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year. Entering his sophomore season, Walker transferred to Hillcrest Prep, a basketball program in Phoenix, Arizona, with his father, Khari, joining the coaching staff. On October 25, 2019, during his senior year, he left Hillcrest Prep, intending to move to the college or professional level. In December 2019, Walker graduated from high school but did not play high school basketball while weighing his options.\n\nRecruiting\nOn June 30, 2017, Walker committed to play college basketball for Arizona State over several other NCAA Division I offers. At the time, he was considered a five-star recruit and a top five player in the 2020 class by major recruiting services. On October 21, 2018, Walker decommitted from Arizona State. On April 20, 2020, as a four-star recruit, he announced that he would forego college basketball.\n\nProfessional career\n\nCapital City Go-Go (2021–present)\nWalker joined Chameleon BX to prepare for the 2021 NBA draft. For the 2021-22 season, he signed with the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League, joining the team after a successful tryout.\n\nPersonal life\nIn 2018, Walker's mother, Barrissa Gardner, was diagnosed with breast cancer but achieved remission in the following months.\n\nReferences\n\n2000 births\nLiving people\n21st-century African-American sportspeople\nAfrican-American basketball players\nAmerican men's basketball players\nBasketball players from Oakland, California\nCapital City Go-Go players\nSmall forwards\nTwitch (service) streamers" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know." ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	Did he get married?	2	Did Son House get married?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "Yuri Ponomaryov (; 24 March 1932 – 13 April 2005) was a Russian cosmonaut.\n\nHe married fellow cosmonaut Valentina Ponomaryova in 1972 and the couple had two children before divorcing. As with Valentina, Yuri did not get to fly into space although he did serve on the Soyuz 18 backup crew.\n\nReferences\n\n1932 births\n2005 deaths\nRussian cosmonauts\nSoviet cosmonauts", "Richard Timothy Jones (born January 16, 1972) is an American actor. He has worked extensively in both film and television productions since the early 1990s. His television roles include Ally McBeal (1997), Judging Amy (1998–2005), CSI: Miami (2006), Girlfriends (2007), Grey's Anatomy (2010), Hawaii Five-0 (2011–2014), Narcos (2015), and Criminal Minds (2017). Since 2018, he has played Sergeant Wade Grey on the ABC police drama The Rookie.\n\nHis film roles include portrayals of Lamont Carr in Disney's Full Court Miracle (2003), Laveinio \"Slim\" Hightower in Rick Famuyiwa's coming-of-age film The Wood (1999), Mike in Tyler Perry's dramatic films Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and Captain Russell Hampton in the Hollywood blockbuster Godzilla (2014).\n\nEarly life\nJones was born in Kobe, Japan to American parents. He grew up in Carson, California. He is the son of Lorene, a computer analyst, and Clarence Jones, a professional baseball player and hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians. He has an older brother, Clarence Jones Jr., who works as a coach. His parents later divorced. Jones attended Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, California, then graduated from Tuskegee University.\n\nCareer \nSince the early 1990s, Jones has worked in both film and television productions.\n\nHis first television role was in a 1993 episode of the series California Dreams. That same year, he appeared as Ike Turner, Jr. in What's Love Got to Do with It. From 1999 to 2005, he starred as Bruce Calvin van Exel in the CBS legal drama series Judging Amy.\n\nOver the next two decades, Jones starred or guest-starred in high-profile television series such as Ally McBeal (1997), CSI: Miami (2006), Girlfriends (2007), Grey's Anatomy (2010), Hawaii Five-0 (2011–2014), Narcos (2015), and Criminal Minds (2017).\n\nHis film roles include portrayals of Lamont Carr in the Disney film Full Court Miracle (2003), Laveinio \"Slim\" Hightower in Rick Famuyiwa's coming-of-age film The Wood (1999), and Mike in Tyler Perry's dramatic films Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and Captain Russell Hampton in the Hollywood blockbuster Godzilla (2014).\n\nFrom 2017 to 2018, Jones played Detective Tommy Cavanaugh in the CBS drama series Wisdom of the Crowd.\n\nSince February 2018, Jones has played the role of Sergeant Wade Gray in the ABC police procedural drama series The Rookie with Nathan Fillion.\n\nPersonal life\nHe married Nancy Robinson in October 1996. He is also a preacher/minister.\n\nFilmography\n\nFilm\n\nTelevision\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1972 births\nAfrican-American male actors\nAmerican expatriates in Japan\nAmerican male film actors\nAmerican male television actors\nLiving people\nMale actors from California\nPeople from Carson, California\nPeople from Kobe\nActors from Kobe\n21st-century African-American people\n20th-century African-American people" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans." ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	Did they have kids?	3	Did Son House and Carrie Martin have kids?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "Kids Helping Kids is an entirely student run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based out of the San Marcos High School AP Economics classes in Santa Barbara, California. Headed by Economics teachers Jamie DeVries and Jillian Heckman, Kids Helping Kids originally began with a student-run penny drive in 2002 and has evolved into an annual signature gala event at the Santa Barbara multimillion-dollar Granada Theatre. Over the course of fifteen years, students have volunteered over 10,000 hours of work, resulting in a gross of $2,500,000 raised for children in need throughout the community and abroad.\nThe Kids Helping Kids mission statement reads: \"Empowered students making a difference from the classroom to the community.\"\n\nBeginnings \n\nKids Helping Kids was founded in 2002 by one of the San Marcos High School AP Economics classes. Its vision came from teacher Jamie Devries, who wanted to change the stagnant atmosphere of the AP Economics curriculum and give the students a real world application to the principles they learn in class. The organization's first project was a penny drive, enlisting the help of local grade schools and high schools. From there, Kids Helping Kids students hosted a benefit night and silent auction at Santa Barbara's Ruby's Diner, where a portion of each dinner was donated to Kids Helping Kids. Through money raised from food sales, the silent auction, and donations, Kids Helping Kids was able to raise $8,000 for the 2003 year. This money was donated directly to the Santa Barbara Unity Shoppe, a public benefit corporation encouraging self-sufficiency and independence through education and basic necessities. Since then, Kids Helping Kids has grown exponentially; each year, the students have been building off of the accomplishments, both financial and organizational, of the prior class.\n\nFundraising\n\nSignature Concert Gala \nKids Helping Kids hit its big break in 2008 when Tyrone Wells, folk-pop singer and songwriter, agreed to perform for a benefit concert. Largely because of the concert, the Kids Helping Kids class of 2008 ended up raising $105,000. 2008 also marked the year that Mark Chipello, Tyrone Wells' personal manager, became Kids Helping Kids' talent buyer. Chipello continues to serve as a liaison between Kids Helping Kids and record industries, securing each year's artist. The following year, the Kids Helping Kids class of 2009 landed alternative rock band Toad the Wet Sprocket to headline, and Tyrone Wells to open, at the now annual benefit concert. 2009 was also the first year the concert was held at the beautiful, historic Granada Theater in Santa, Barbara, CA, where it continues to be held every year. \nSince then, Kids Helping Kids concert artists have been: Five for Fighting (2010), Matt Kearney with Tyrone Wells (2011), Sara Bareilles with Tyrone Wells (2012), Switchfoot with Brad Corrigan (2013), and Andy Grammer with Tim Lopez (2014), Ingrid Michaelson with Jon McLaughlin (2015), NEEDTOBREATHE with JohnnySwim (2016), Gavin DeGraw with Parachute (2017). Many are Grammy nominated and platinum recording.\n\nSponsors \nDeckers Outdoor Corporation, a function-orientated footwear manufacturer based in Goleta, California, has been the title sponsor of Kids Helping Kids since 2009. They have generously contributed over $160,000 to Kids Helping Kids. In 2013, the State Farm Youth Advisory Board rewarded Kids Helping Kids a $78,400 grant to facilitate Kids Helping Kids Santa Barbara's mission to expand on a national level.\n\nCauses \nA total of 2,200,000 has been raised by Kids Helping Kids. \nLocally, Kids Helping Kids has donated directly to the Unity Shoppe as well as annually covering the cost of AP tests and lab fees for lower income families. In 2011, Kids Helping Kids helped subsidize the medical and funeral costs for a local student who was killed in car accident. Additionally, the organization replaced a visual aid machine for a local student and gave a grant to a grade school band to purchase brand new instruments. \nGlobally, Kids Helped Kids has funded the building of a preschool and orphanage in Rwanda, which benefits vulnerable orphans and children. Kids Helping Kids also paid for a safe house to be built in Nicaragua.\n\nRecent activity \nIn November 2013, a group of Kids Helping Kids members traveled to the safe house they fund in Managua, Nicaragua. Kids Helping Kids is currently working to expand on a national level. There are currently four branches of Kids Helping Kids, with the Santa Barbara, California chapter acting as the mother organization for high schools in Sacramento, Ojai, and Denver. Kids Helping Kids Sacramento held their first benefit concert in May 2013, raising over $20,000 for charitable purposes.\nIn September 2013, Kids Helping Kids received a $78,400 grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board. The grant is intended to provide the students of Kids Helping Kids Santa Barbara with the necessary funds to fly representatives across the country mentoring other high schools in the fundamentals of creating a non-profit organization in Kids Helping Kids name.\n\"Kids Helping Kids is incredibly grateful to receive such a substantial grant from State Farm,\" said Kids Helping Kids CEO Carter Hudson. \"To know that the model we have put together at San Marcos has been recognized on a national landscape is extremely encouraging. It is a testament to the diligence and commitment of the past and present Kids Helping Kids students and the support of the Santa Barbara community.\"\nThis years senior management team consists of CEO Elizabeth Kravchuk, CMO Allie Jones, CFO Kelsey Warren, COO Mya Adornetto, Director of Advancement Claire Hyatt, and Director of Outreach Avery Ridenour.\n\nAccomplishments \nSince 2002, Kids Helping Kids has raised over $2,500,000. \nIn 2011, Kids Helping Kids was recognized with the Subway National High School Heroes Award. \nWe have spread our Kids Helping Kids model to 4 other high schools: Sacramento, CA; Ojai, CA; A.\nIn 2013, Kids Helping Kids was awarded a $78,000 grant from the Youth Advisory Board of State Farm Insurance to support our dream of spreading the Kids Helping Kids program to other high schools across the nation.\n\nSee also\n Youth philanthropy\n A Kid's Guide to Giving\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nCharities based in California\nYouth organizations based in California", "Here are some of Kids' WB's most notable specials:\n\nGrandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer\n\nThis Christmas special originally aired on Kids' WB on Monday, December 23, 2002 at 4:00 PM. It aired in The WB's primetime slots beforehand. Both entities have rebroadcast it, usually around Christmas time.\n\nThe Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon\n\nThis is the one-hour tenth-anniversary special of the Pokémon franchise, and it aired in the USA before anywhere else, even Japan. Kids' WB! first aired it on April 29, 2006 at 10:00 AM, and it was the first Pokémon program dubbed by Pokémon USA, and the only program dubbed by Pokémon USA to air on Kids' WB on The WB. Kids' WB ran a promotional sweepstakes during it to win Pokémon: Tenth Anniversary merchandise.\n\nPokémon: Destiny Deoxys\n\nKids' WB aired the English-language version of this movie on January 22, 2005 at 10:00 AM. However, it was edited due to time constraints. The full-length movie was released on DVD February 15, 2005. Before the movie, during the preceding programs, Kids' WB rolled out the red carpet to meet the stars of the movie.\n\nWakko's Wish\n\nThis two-hour direct-to-video Animaniacs movie originally aired on Kids' WB on February 22, 2000.\n\nWelcome Home, Animaniacs!\n\nThis was the very first Kids' WB special, and was a Saturday morning preview special not unlike those that had been shown on ABC in the past. However, this special is rather hard to find, as not many WB Network affiliates actually aired it. And the few WB affiliates that did air the special aired it right after Kids' WB's first broadcast.\n\nThis special, hosted by Harland Williams, was built around the fact that, for Kids' WB's first season, Animaniacs was moving there from Fox Kids, and for the special, new animation of Yakko, Wakko and Dot had been produced driving away from the Fox studios to the Warner Bros. lot. In the meantime, the stars of The WB's prime-time shows gave viewers a look at the new shows:\n\n Robert Townsend and Curtis Williams of The Parent 'Hood gave a peek at the new season of Animaniacs\n Tia and Tamera Mowry from Sister, Sister introduced Freakazoid!\n Kirk Cameron showed off Earthworm Jim\n The Wayans Bros. gave a look at The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries\n And Pinky and the Brain was featured as well.\n\nZolar\nKids' WB's first ever original movie, and one of their only live-action programs in history, debuted on May 29, 2004. It featured a sport-competing alien named Zolar, from another planet. His catch phrase was \"Blue-yah!\" During the movie, Kids' WB! ran a sweepstakes to win a year's supply of buttered popcorn. The movie featured guest appearances by pro skateboarder Jason Ellis (radio host) and freestyle motocross legend Mike Metzger.\n\nNotable promotions\nAs recently as 2007, Kids' WB had many promotional giveaways, primarily to promote its programs and other Warner Bros. merchandise up for grabs.\n\nBig Kids Go First\n\nThat was a slogan used to describe Kids' WB's schedule as of October 19, 1996 (when Waynehead premiered) through November 21 of that year. In an apparent attempt to simplify the four-hour Saturday morning schedule, the action-oriented superhero cartoons were moved to make up the first two hours of the schedule, with the comedy-oriented shows (including Waynehead) making up the last two hours. In this time, the schedule went as follows:\n\nThis move proved to be a disaster, the mistake being that \"big kids\" (supposedly the kids who would've preferred the superhero cartoons) were more likely to sleep in on Saturday mornings rather than wake up early to watch the shows. As a result of this, on November 22, Freakazoid and Earthworm Jim were taken off the Saturday morning block and moved to being shown on Friday afternoons until the following February, when they disappeared from the block entirely, only to have Freakazoid replaced with The Daffy Duck Show and Earthworm Jim replaced with a classic episode of Animaniacs.\n\nAn episode of Animaniacs that was broadcast sometime later parodied this move in its gag credit: \"On The WB, Big Kids Go First / In Real Life, Big Kids Sleep In.\"\n\nDevon and Cornwall's Dubba Dragon Day\n\nAired in May 1998, this broadcast was themed around promoting the release of the film Quest for Camelot. The backlot set used in the bumpers was specially designed with a medieval theme, and Devon and Cornwall, the two-headed dragon from the film, appeared in specially-made promotional spots.\n\nCleopatra's Dubba Diva Day\nThis 1998 broadcast was hosted by Cleopatra (girl group). The music video for their song \"Life Ain't Easy\" premiered at the end of the show.\n\nBackstreet Boys' Terrifying Tower Takeover\nThis broadcast aired in 1998 was hosted by the Backstreet Boys. They introduced shows and talked about their monster characters in the music video for Everybody (Backstreet's Back) leading up to the world premiere.\n\nBNL Day\n\nBNL Day was the name given to the broadcast that aired on May 15, 1999, in which the Barenaked Ladies performed between each show. This event was originally intended to be titled Naked Day, but was changed due to complaints from parents.\n\nWarnerama Celebrity Showcase Featuring NSYNC\n\nThis broadcast aired on May 1, 1999 was hosted by NSYNC. They as well as Kids WB characters performed between shows.\n\nThe Adventures of Static Shaq\nThese shorts promoted NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal's guest appearance in the Static Shock episode \"Static Shaq\".\n\nKids' WB Snow Jam\n\nThe Kids' WB Snow Jam was the name given to the broadcast that aired on February 5, 2000, in which Lou Bega performed between each show. New episodes of Kids' WB shows aired all morning, including three new episodes of Pokémon.\n\nKids' WB Big Premiere\nThis special promoted the series premieres of Yu-Gi-Oh!, The Mummy: The Animated Series, and The Nightmare Room and aired new episodes of X-Men: Evolution, Jackie Chan Adventures, and Pokemon: Johto League Champions. Originally set to air on September 15, 2001, it was later moved to September 29.\n\nHalloween Duel of Screams\nIn 2002 and 2003, toward Halloween, Kids' WB would do a promotion similar to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game pitting Kids' WB characters against one another in a duel, but this time with screaming kids. Whoever had the most screaming kids that could affect others won the duel. It was always done in tournament style, but in 2002, Todd \"Toad\" Tolensky from X-Men: Evolution was disqualified for eating The Flea from ¡Mucha Lucha!, Ash Ketchum from Pokémon almost lost to Joey Wheeler from Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Jade Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures beat Yugi in the final round. In 2003, Yugi defeated The Masked Toilet from Mucha Lucha in the final round and won.\n\nHey Dragon, Down in Front!\nThis sweepstakes aired in the afternoon block for a week sometime in the spring of 2004, to promote Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light. Viewers had to identify a dragon from the Yu-Gi-Oh! series when Yugi said \"Hey, (dragon's name), down in front!\" and when they did, viewers were to log on to the website and enter for a chance to win Yu-Gi-Oh! card decks, as well as discount coupons for the movie.\n\nHoliday Sock Party\nThe Holiday Sock Party was an ongoing event from 2001 to 2005, and had always taken place on the second Saturday in December. During this five-year period, the Kids' WB mascot, the Holiday Sock, usually goes inside of the Kids' WB! promotional watertower, with other characters from Kids' WB, in which they do Christmas-related things. In 2001 and 2002, the sock was the sole host; however, in 2003, The Flea from ¡Mucha Lucha! co-hosted. In 2004, the sock granted the wishes of viewers who wanted to \"turn into something\" on TV. In 2005, the set was then moved to the Fruit Salad Island from Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island with Coconut Fred as the co-host, and was about granting wishes again. This did not happen in 2006 and 2007, it was then replaced with a singalong for those two years, it didn't occur in 2008, as all of the Kids' WB networks except for the Australian version had disbanded. This promotion was not aired on the Australian Kids' WB network, because that version uses hosted content.\n\nThe Holiday Sock appeared as a question in the 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit, card #582, \"Q: Who was not worn out by hosting the Holiday Sock Party? A: The Holiday Sock\"\n\nKids' WB! Backlot Tour\nKids' WB had its Kids' WB! Backlot Tour in the parking lot of The Centre Ice Rink at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Delaware, July 20 to 29, 2006, during the Delaware State Fair. It featured the best of Kids' WB programming, Xbox 360 gaming, and other fun activities. It is a nationwide traveling show, usually at Six Flags Theme Park.\n\nMad Mad Mad Monkey Summer, Ooh Ooh Ahh Ahh (Just For Kids) Island, Gotta See-ee-eeh Falls\nBeginning June 5, 2004, Kids' WB gave their lineup a monkey-based theme, entitling it \"Mad Mad Mad Monkey Summer\". They did promos such as \"1001 Uses For a Banana\" showing a Kids' WB character in need of a banana (usually where it doesn't help or makes things worse), \"Stump the Monkey!\" where viewers could go online and ask the monkey, \"Professor Oo-oo-oo\" questions, and pranks where someone in a gorilla costume would pop up randomly in a public area, scaring someone. Also, beginning June 14, 2004, Kids' WB gave their weekday lineup a monkey-related theme to go along with \"Mad Mad Mad Monkey Summer\" and entitled it \"Ooh Ooh Ahh Ahh (Just for Kids) Island\". As a special, until July 30, 2004, viewers could enter online to be the Monkey King of the day and have their picture on a monkey's body on TV. This promo lasted longer than Mad Mad Mad Monkey Summer (which ended August 21, 2004, Ooh Ooh Ahh Ahh ended October 22, 2004) and beginning September 17, 2004, Kids' WB entitled the Friday lineup \"Gotta See-ee-eeh Falls\", as they showed encore episodes of Mucha Lucha and Pokémon from the previous Saturday, and encore episodes of the new series Da Boom Crew and The Batman, as well as other things, such as new \"lost\" episodes of MegaMan: NT Warrior which were either skipped or dubbed out of order. However, this only went until October 15, 2004, a week earlier before it was originally scheduled to, when the network did a last-minute schedule change to prepare for November sweeps, replacing the scheduled encore of The Batman with an orderly rerun of Yu-Gi-Oh!.\n\nKids' WB! Way Outta The Way Road Trip\n\nThese promos consisted of Kids WB characters going on a “road trip” to real locations across the United States of America.\n\nMagi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands Sweepstakes\nOn May 17, 2008, Kids' WB held a sweepstakes to promote the online game \"Magi-Nation: Battle for the Moonlands\" on Cookie Jar's Magi-Nation website. In this sweepstakes, viewers were to watch Kids' WB! all morning long to find five secret code words, and then enter them online to be entered into a drawing for a pre-paid game card worth five dollars of in-game currency. This is the final sweepstakes Kids' WB! ever held, and it took place on their last day of programming.\n\nPillow Head Hour\n\nThe Pillow Head Hour began on June 4, 2005, as Kids' WB was showing the final episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures, it was a full hour at 8:00 EST (7:00 CST/PST), where they did promos featuring what Kids' WB characters' \"Pillow Head Hair\" would look like (what their hair would look like if they had just woken up from bed). The Pillow Head Hour was discontinued on June 25, 2005, when the network did a last-minute schedule change replacing Jackie Chan Adventures on July 2 with Teen Titans and The Batman. However, KidsWB.com made \"Pillow Head Reports\" featuring Gisselle, the Pillow Head Reporter for Kids' WB!, talking about things such as entertainment and media. Because of this, starting on January 7, 2006, when Saturdays were extended to five hours, the Pillow Head Hour was reborn at 7:00 am, featuring Giselle and a full hour of a randomly selected Kids' WB! show, and numerous guests talking about their \"Pillow Head Hair\". The Pillow Head Hour was discontinued once again on July 8, 2006, where Kids' WB! made their \"Sizzlin' Summer Lineup\" with two Yu-Gi-Oh! episodes in the former Pillow Head Hour's slot. This was supposed to be on September 23, 2006, for the 2006–2007 season, when it was then replaced with Shaggy and Scooby-Doo as then hosts of the block, from Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, a show that was on Kids' WB, at that current period of time, until 2008, when Kids' WB had ceased, as well. Kids' WB was then replaced by then-4Kids block, The CW4Kids, following Kids' WB's disbandment in 2008; it had aired from 2008 to 2010. The CW4Kids was then replaced by Toonzai from 2010 to 2012. Following this, Saban Brands took over the block, renamed Vortexx until September 27, 2014. Until the end of the block, the first hour featured two programs which follow federally mandated E/I requirements and guidelines. Vortexx was eventually replaced by One Magnificent Morning which airs educational programming exclusively.\n\nThe Pokémon Premiere Party\n\nThis was the name given to Kids' WB's broadcast on February 13, 1999, which marked the first time that Pokémon was shown on the block (the episode aired on that date was \"The Problem with Paras\") as part of the comedy lineup. Unfortunately for fans of Warner Bros. Animation, though, it was in this same weekend that The Big Cartoonie Show (which came right after Pokémon) was shortened down to half an hour.\n\nTop of the Tower Win-a-Rama\nDuring the 2002–03 season, from time to time, Kids' WB would run a contest, usually during weekdays when they had them, where each day they gave you a code to enter on KidsWB.com and be drawn to win some merchandise, usually relating to a Kids' WB show. The first one was for Yu-Gi-Oh! in the week of September 16, 2002. Sometimes it coincided with the week as a show was given a special airing, such as the \"Weekday Shift\" that aired Rescue Heroes the whole week, the special weeks of catching up on The Mummy: The Animated Series or the week of new Cubix: Robots for Everyone episodes.\n\nZany Insany April\nOzzy from Ozzy & Drix hosted Kids' WB in April 2003, and named it \"Zany Insany April\". For the occasion, every week in April, at 3:30 pm, Kids' WB aired a show that would normally air on Saturday, such as Ozzy & Drix, The Mummy: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Mucha Lucha, and X-Men: Evolution. Saturday promos included the \"You Rhyme It, We Rap It, Rap-a-Thon\", where viewers could make a rap about a Kids' WB show and Scooby-Doo and Shaggy from Scooby-Doo would get some other Kids' WB character to perform the rap on TV, or the \"Burpalicious Belchathon\", where viewers could compete with Kids' WB characters to see how loud they could burp.\n\nReferences\n\nKids' WB original shows" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.", "Did they have kids?", "After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, \"I left her" ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	Did he re marry?	4	Did Son House re marry after leaving Carrie Martin?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	false	[ "Are You Fit to Marry? could refer to: \n\nThe Black Stork, a 1917 American silent film promoting eugenic practices, re-edited and re-released in 1927 under the title Are You Fit to Marry?\nDamaged Goods (1937 film), a 1937 American film about sexually transmitted diseases, also known as Are You Fit to Marry?", "Born is an EP released by D'espairsRay on April 28, 2004. The CD was re-released, excluding the DVD on July 21, 2004 because the album had sold out within a small amount of time.\n\nTrack listing\nDisc One\n\nDisc Two (DVD, first pressing only)\n \"Gärnet\" - 4:24\n\n\"Marry of the Blood\" features violin by Sugizo.\nTrack 83 is a hidden track. It features an acoustic version of Yami ni Furu Kiseki's chorus.\nThe lyrics to \"Marry of the Blood\" are printed entirely in English in the booklet, although only parts of the song are in English.\nThe songs \"Marry of the Blood\" and \"Yami ni Furu Kiseki\" are re-recordings of the same songs on the Maverick single.\nThe song \"Murder Freaks\" is a re-recording of the same song on the Terrors EP.\nThe songs \"Born\" and \"Marry of the Blood\" were remixed for the Coll:set album, and \"Yami ni Furu Kiseki\" was remixed for the Horizon single.\nIn the lyrics credits for the songs, Hizumi's name is misprinted as 'Hizmi' within the booklet.\n\n2004 EPs\nD'espairsRay EPs" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.", "Did they have kids?", "After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, \"I left her", "Did he re marry?", "I don't know." ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	Did you learn anything interesting about him?	5	Besides the marriage, is there anything else interesting about Son House?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor,	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "Joe Public is the self-titled debut album of American new jack swing group Joe Public. Released in 1992, it was their first album after signing with Columbia Records.\n\nIt features their hit single \"Live and Learn\", as well as the singles \"Do You Everynite\", \"I Miss You\" and \"I've Been Watchin'\".\n\nTrack listing\n\"Live and Learn\"\n\"I've Been Watchin\"\n\"I Miss You\"\n\"I Gotta Thang\"\n\"Anything\"\n\"This One's for You\"\n\"I Like It\"\n\"Touch You\"\n\"Do You Everynite\"\n\"When I Look in Your Eyes\"\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n1992 debut albums\nColumbia Records albums", "You'll Have to Put Him to Sleep with the Marseillaise and Wake Him Up with a Oo-La-La is a World War I song written in 1918. Andrew B. Sterling wrote the lyrics, and Harry Von Tilzer composed the music. The song was produced by the Harry Von Tizler Publishing Company in New York City. On the cover of the sheet music is a soldier kissing a woman. The song was written for both voice and piano.\n\nThe lyrics relay the message to American girls that US soldiers have learned \"a lot of things in France,\" and in order to keep men interested they should adopt French mannerisms and learn how to speak French. As the title suggests, American girls should learn La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. The chorus reads: \nYou'll have to do your little parlez vous\nYou'll have to coo just like your French girls do\nYou'll have to tease in French \nYou'll have to squeeze in French\nYou'll have to la la la la \n\nBecause when you get through with Yankee Doodle Doo\nYou'll have to put him to sleep with the Marseillaise\nAnd wake him up with a Oo-la-la\n\nReferences \n\nSongs about France\nSongs about sexuality\nSongs about language\nSongs about soldiers\n1918 songs\nSongs of World War I\nSongs with music by Harry Von Tilzer\nSongs with lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.", "Did they have kids?", "After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, \"I left her", "Did he re marry?", "I don't know.", "Did you learn anything interesting about him?", "He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience (\"getting religion\") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor," ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	How long was he a pastor?	6	How long was Son House a pastor?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church,	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "Jean-Baptiste Pastor was an Italian-born Monegasque businessman and property developer.\n\nEarly life\nJean-Baptiste Pastor was born Giovanni Battista Pastor in Buggio, Italy, just across the border from France. He was orphaned at an early age, and was already working as a miner by the age of 13, or as a stonemason, according to another source.\n\nCareer\nHe emigrated to Monte Carlo as a young man in 1880, to seek work on the construction of the Saint-Charles Church.\n\nHis career as a public works contractor was a success. Pastor eventually started his own company, – J.B. Pastor & Fils – in 1920, and won the contracts to build Monaco's water supply system. In 1936, Prince Louis II of Monaco awarded Pastor and his company J.B. Pastor & Fils, the commission to build the country's first football stadium. The Stade Louis II was finished in 1939 and had a capacity of 12,000.\n\nWith his newfound wealth, Pastor bought seafront land at low prices after World War II, particularly in the Larvotto district, when there was still no development east of the casino. With the post-war tourism slump, Prince Rainier resolved to diversify from gambling and turned Monaco into a tax haven. In subsequent decades, Pastor's son Gildo was able to build apartment blocks, after getting planning permission to develop in 1966 on this now very valuable land, retaining ownership, and avoiding long leases to maximise rental income.\n\nWhen his granddaughter, Hélène Pastor was shot dead in 2014, it was reported that the Pastors were Monaco's \"second dynasty\", behind the ruling Grimaldi family, with an estimated holding of 15 percent of Monaco's housing stock, valued at approximately €20 billion.\n\nPersonal life\nPastor was married and lived in Monaco. His son was Gildo Pastor.\n\nReferences \n\nYear of birth missing\nYear of death missing\nPeople from the Province of Imperia\nMonegasque businesspeople\nJean-Baptiste", "Abraham H. Miller (March 13, 18511913) was a businessman, pastor and state legislator in Arkansas. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1874 and 1875.\n\nHe was a pastor at Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Arkansas. He wrote an autobiography titled How I Succeeded in my Business.\n\nSee also\nAfrican-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era\n\nReferences\n\n1913 deaths\nMembers of the Arkansas House of Representatives\n19th-century American politicians\nBaptist ministers from the United States\n1851 births" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.", "Did they have kids?", "After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, \"I left her", "Did he re marry?", "I don't know.", "Did you learn anything interesting about him?", "He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience (\"getting religion\") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor,", "How long was he a pastor?", "This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church," ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	What did he do after being a pastor?	7	What did Son House do after being a pastor?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	he continued to preach sermons from time to time.	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "Jayme de Amorim Campos (born November 16, 1958) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, pastor, televangelist, and radio broadcaster. He does a morning program for the radio.\n\nCampos was born in São Paulo. He is the brother of Jorginho, former player and technical assistant of the Brazilian Soccer Team, from 2006 to 2010 and current coach of the Coritiba.\n\nIn addition to radio and TV experiences, he also accepted to record his first CD, and was released in 2006.\n\nDiscography\nMinhas Canções na Voz do Pastor Jayme de Amorim Vol. 3 (2012)\nMinhas Canções na Voz do Pastor Jayme de Amorim Vol. 2 (2009)\nMinhas Canções na Voz do Pastor Jayme de Amorim (2008)\nCrer é a saída (2006)\n\nReferences\n\n1958 births\nLiving people\nBrazilian singer-songwriters\nTelevision evangelists\nPeople from São Paulo", "Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referred to as the \"Dean of Vaudeville.\" The strongest elements of his entertainments were an almost jingoistic brand of United States patriotism and a strong commitment to attracting a \"mixed-gender\" audience, the latter being something revolutionary in the male-oriented variety halls of the mid-century. Although he was a performer and producer, Pastor is best known for \"cleaning up\" bawdy variety acts and presenting a clean and family friendly genre called vaudeville.\n\nA collection of his papers is maintained at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin, and in the archives of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.\n\nLife and career\n\nFamily \nAntonio Pastor, father of Tony, was an Italian fruit seller, barber, and violinist. He met his future wife, Cornelia Buckley, from New Haven, Connecticut after he came to New York. They then lived in Manhattan. Their third child, and first son, also named Antonio Pastor, was born in Manhattan in 1837 at his parents' residence at 400 Greenwich Street, in what is now the financial district of lower Manhattan. He had a taste for entertaining when he was young, producing his own plays in the basement of his family's home.\n\nEarly career\nIn 1846, at the young age of fourteen, Pastor embarked on a career in show business. He obtained a job singing at P.T. Barnum's Scudder's American Museum where he brought his riding, tumbling, and mimicry skills to performances. During the next few years he worked in minstrel shows, where he often performed scenes in blackface. Pastor became a celebrated singing clown at a time when circus performances typically concluded with a variety revue. He established himself as a popular singer and songwriter during a four-year run at Robert Butler's American Music Hall, a variety theater located at 444 Broadway in what is now called Soho, but was then the heart of the lower Manhattan theater district. Pastor published \"songsters,\" books of his lyrics which were sung to popular tunes. The music had no notation, as it was assumed that the audience had a collective knowledge of popular song. The subject matter of his music was intended to be bawdy and humorous.\n\nPastor sang for the Union cause throughout the Civil War, then started his own variety show which went on tour for around five months before settling in New York City. In 1865, Pastor opened his own theatre, Tony Pastor's Opera House. The theater was located on the Bowery in partnership with minstrel show performer, Sam Sharpley, whom he later bought out. The same year he organized traveling minstrel troupes who toured the country annually between April and October. Although Pastor was referred to as the \"Dean of Vaudeville,\" as mentioned before, he is best known for cleaning up variety acts. Pastor was popular with the nearly all-male variety theater audiences; however, he knew that his ticket sales would double if he attracted a female audience. Soon he began to produce variety shows, presenting an evening of clean fun that was a distinct alternative to the bawdy shows of the time and more appropriate for middle-class families. With shows that appealed to women and children as well as the traditional male audience, his theater and touring companies quickly became popular with the middle classes and were soon being imitated.\n\nLater career \n\nIn 1874, Pastor moved his company a few blocks to take over Michael Bennett Leavitt's former theater at 585 Broadway. The theater district was moving uptown to Union Square, however, and in 1881 Pastor took a lease on the former Germania Theatre on 14th Street in the same building that housed Tammany Hall. He alternated his theater's presentations between operettas and family-oriented variety shows, creating what became known as vaudeville. Vaudeville was popular with the masses from the 1880s to the 1910s. Pastor wanted to capture a mass audience by bringing family entertainment to the middle class. In order to do this, Pastor sought out to make vaudeville \"respectable.\" He did not sell liquor in his theatre and required a level of decency to his performances which encouraged women and families to attend.\n\nHis theater featured performers such as Ben Harney presenting a new style called \"ragtime\" as well as other up-and-coming talents such as Weber and Fields, George M. Cohan, Sophie Tucker, Lillian Russell, Buster Keaton, Gus Edwards, Eva Tanguay, Blossom Seeley, Benny Fields, May Irwin and Eddie Leonard. Harry S. Sanderson was his business manager from 1878 until 1908. The business records from this period are available to researchers. In the musical Hello, Dolly!, the song \"Put On Your Sunday Clothes\" includes the line, \"We'll join the Astors at Tony Pastor's\". It also references seeing \"the shows at Delmonico's\", which suggests that the character does not really know about upper-class social life in New York.\n\nDeath \nTony Pastor died in Elmhurst, New York on August 26, 1908, and was interred in the Cemetery of the Evergreens, in Brooklyn. He was 71, and though greatly mourned at his death as one of the last gentlemen of the early vaudeville halls, the medium had passed him by with the advent of the vaudeville circuit in the 1880s. Pastor had remained a local showman in an epoch that increasingly came to be dominated by regional and national chains. Fighting against the monopolies for the rights of individual local showmen was an undertaking that marked the last years of his life, earning him the nickname of \"Little Man Tony\".\n\nAfterpieces \nThroughout the 1880s, Pastor's performances often had an afterpiece following it. They played a major role in his shows, often written in the final act of the program. The afterpieces were written by a group of regular writers, and sometimes Pastor himself. They lasted anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour. There were three categories; pantomime, melodrama, and parodies. Pastor's afterpieces became popular from 1865 to 1875, and because of its popularity, the afterpieces became a staple in Pastor's shows. Although the afterpieces were all different, they all dealt with what is meant to be a working-class citizen in New York. Not only did the afterpieces discuss issues such as crime and poverty, but they also discussed leisure activities the working class couldn't afford. This made Pastor's audiences respond well to the afterpieces, since the working class was his target audience.\n\nMusic\nAccording to the humor of the time, Pastor wrote several songs that negatively portrayed ethnic stereotypes, such as \"The Contraband's Adventures\", the story of a freed slave. After the slave is set free by Union soldiers, he attends an anti-slavery meeting where the abolitionists try to scrub off his dark pigment. The slave concludes by singing...\n\n ...De nigger will be nigger till de day of jubilee\nFor he never was intended for a white man.\nDen just skedaddle home-leave de colored man alone;\nFor you're only making trouble for de nation;\nYou may fight and you may fuss\nBut you never will make tings right\nUntil you all agree for to let de nigger be\nFor you'll neber, neber, neber wash him white! \n\nThough he separated some ethnic groups in his music, he also intended to unite the lower and middle classes. In songs like \"The Upper and Lower Ten Thousand\", he defended the common man of the Bowery:\n\n If an Upper-Ten fellow a swindler should be\nAnd with thousands of dollars of others make free\nShould he get into court, why, without any doubt,\nThe matter's hushed up and they'll let him step out.\nIf a Lower-Ten Thousand chap happens to steal,\nFor to keep him from starving, the price of a meal,\nWhy the law will declare it's a different thing-\nFor they call him a thief, and he's sent to Sing-Sing!\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nOlympic Theatre\nTony Pastor Collection at NYPL\n\nVaudeville performers\nAmerican theatre managers and producers\nBlackface minstrel performers\nVaudeville producers\nImpresarios\nAmerican people of Spanish descent\n1837 births\n1908 deaths\nBurials at the Cemetery of the Evergreens\n19th-century American singers\n19th-century American businesspeople" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.", "Did they have kids?", "After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, \"I left her", "Did he re marry?", "I don't know.", "Did you learn anything interesting about him?", "He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience (\"getting religion\") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor,", "How long was he a pastor?", "This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church,", "What did he do after being a pastor?", "he continued to preach sermons from time to time." ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	Did he do anything else?	8	Aside from being a pastor, did Son House do anything else?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch,	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "\"If You Can Do Anything Else\" is a song written by Billy Livsey and Don Schlitz, and recorded by American country music artist George Strait. It was released in February 2001 as the third and final single from his self-titled album. The song reached number 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in July 2001. It also peaked at number 51 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.\n\nContent\nThe song is about man who is giving his woman the option to leave him. He gives her many different options for all the things she can do. At the end he gives her the option to stay with him if she really can’t find anything else to do. He says he will be alright if she leaves, but really it seems he wants her to stay.\n\nChart performance\n\"If You Can Do Anything Else\" debuted at number 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 3, 2001.\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n2001 singles\n2000 songs\nGeorge Strait songs\nSongs written by Billy Livsey\nSongs written by Don Schlitz\nSong recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer)\nMCA Nashville Records singles", "\"Do Anything\" is the debut single of American pop group Natural Selection. The song was written by group members Elliot Erickson and Frederick Thomas, who also produced the track, and the rap was written and performed by Ingrid Chavez. American actress and singer Niki Haris provides the song's spoken lyrics. A new jack swing and funk-pop song, it is the opening track on Natural Selection's self-titled, only studio album. Released as a single in 1991, \"Do Anything\" became a hit in the United States, where it reached the number-two position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Worldwide, it became a top-10 hit in Australia and New Zealand while peaking at number 24 in Canada.\n\nCritical reception\nRolling Stone magazine featured the song on their list of \"18 Awesome Prince Rip-Offs\", comparing Frederick Thomas's vocals on the song to those of fellow American musician Prince. Music & Media magazine also compared the song to Prince's work, calling its chorus \"snappy\" and its melody \"asserted\", while Tom Breihan of Stereogum referred to the track as \"K-Mart-brand Prince\". Jeff Giles of pop culture website Popdose wrote that the song is \"deeply, deeply silly,\" commenting on its \"horrible\" lyrics, \"dated\" production, and \"painfully bad\" rap, but he noted that the song is difficult to hate overall. He went on to say that if Natural Selection had released this song and nothing else, its popularity would have persisted more, and he also predicted that if American rock band Fall Out Boy covered the song, it would become a summer hit. AllMusic reviewer Alex Henderson called the track \"likeable\" and appreciated that it was original compared to other urban contemporary songs released during the early 1990s.\n\nChart performance\n\"Do Anything\" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 58, becoming the Hot Shot Debut of August 10, 1991. Ten issues later, the song reached its peak of number two, behind only \"Emotions by Mariah Carey. It spent its final week on the Hot 100 at number 27 on December 28, 1991, spending a total of 21 weeks on the listing. It was the United States' 32nd-most-succeful single of 1991. In Canada, after debuting at number 92 on October 5, 1991, the song rose up the chart until reaching number 24 on November 23. \"Do Anything\" was not as successful in Europe, peaking at number 48 on the Dutch Single Top 100 and number 69 on the UK Singles Chart, but in Sweden, it debuted and peaked at number 21 in November 1991. The single became a top-10 hit in both Australia and New Zealand, reaching number 10 in the former nation and number nine in the latter.\n\nTrack listings\n\nUS 12-inch vinyl\nA1. \"Do Anything\" (Justin Strauss Remix) – 6:00\nA2. \"Do Anything\" (Just Dubbin Dub) – 4:30\nB1. \"Do Anything\" (Just Right Mix) – 4:35\nB2. \"Do Anything\" (Just Right Dub) – 4:50\nB3. \"Do Anything\" (radio edit) – 3:55\n\nUS cassette single and European 7-inch single\n \"Do Anything\" (single mix) – 3:55\n \"Do Anything\" (raw mix) – 4:11\n\nUK and European 12-inch vinyl\nA1. \"Do Anything\" (Justin Strauss Remix) – 6:00\nA2. \"Do Anything\" (Just Dubbin Dub) – 4:30\nB1. \"Do Anything\" (Just Right Mix) – 4:35\nB2. \"Do Anything\" (Just Right Dub) – 4:50\n\nPersonnel\nCredits are taken from the US cassette single liner notes and cassette notes.\n Elliot Erickson – keyboards, drum programming, writer, producer, mixer, engineer\n Frederick Thomas – lead and background vocals, writer, producer\n Niki Haris – spoken vocals\n Ingrid Chavez – rap writer\n Brian Malouf – additional production and mixing\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nReferences\n\n1991 debut singles\nAmerican pop songs\nEast West Records singles\nFunk songs\nNew jack swing songs" ]
[ "Son House", "Biography", "Did he go to school?", "I don't know.", "Did he get married?", "At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans.", "Did they have kids?", "After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, \"I left her", "Did he re marry?", "I don't know.", "Did you learn anything interesting about him?", "He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience (\"getting religion\") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor,", "How long was he a pastor?", "This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church,", "What did he do after being a pastor?", "he continued to preach sermons from time to time.", "Did he do anything else?", "The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch," ]	C_046ed8f9fead44f1aac80b6df180076c_1	What did he do there?	9	What did Son House do at the Louisiana horse ranch?	Son House	House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling--drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. CANNOTANSWER	he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances.	Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing. After years of hostility to secular music, as a preacher and for a few years also working as a church pastor, he turned to blues performance at the age of 25. He quickly developed a unique style by applying the rhythmic drive, vocal power and emotional intensity of his preaching to the newly learned idiom. In a short career interrupted by a spell in Parchman Farm penitentiary, he developed his musicianship to the point that Charley Patton, the foremost blues artist of the Mississippi Delta region, invited him to share engagements and to accompany him to a 1930 recording session for Paramount Records. Issued at the start of the Great Depression, the records did not sell and did not lead to national recognition. Locally, House remained popular, and in the 1930s, together with Patton's associate Willie Brown, he was the leading musician of Coahoma County. There he was a formative influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. In 1941 and 1942, House and the members of his band were recorded by Alan Lomax and John W. Work for the Library of Congress and Fisk University. The following year, he left the Delta for Rochester, New York, and gave up music. In 1964, a group of young record collectors discovered House, whom they knew of from his records issued by Paramount and by the Library of Congress. With their encouragement, he relearned his repertoire and established a career as an entertainer, performing for young, mostly white audiences in coffeehouses, at folk festivals and on concert tours during the American folk music revival, billed as a "folk blues" singer. He recorded several albums, and some informally taped concerts have also been issued as albums. House died in 1988. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Biography Early life House was born in the hamlet of Lyon, north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the second of three brothers, and lived in the rural Mississippi Delta until his parents separated, when he was about seven or eight years old. His father, Eddie House, Sr., was a musician, playing the tuba in a band with his brothers and sometimes playing the guitar. He was a church member but also a drinker; he left the church for a time, on account of his drinking, but then gave up alcohol and became a Baptist deacon. Young Eddie House adopted the family commitment to religion and churchgoing. He also absorbed the family love of music but confined himself to singing, showing no interest in the family instrumental band, and hostile to the blues on religious grounds. When House's parents separated, his mother took him to Tallulah, Louisiana, across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi. When he was in his early teens, they moved to Algiers, New Orleans. Recalling these years, he would later speak of his hatred of blues and his passion for churchgoing (he described himself as "churchy" and "churchified"). At fifteen, probably while living in Algiers, he began preaching sermons. At the age of nineteen, while living in the Delta, he married Carrie Martin, an older woman from New Orleans. This was a significant step for House; he married in church and against family opposition. The couple moved to her hometown of Centerville, Louisiana, to help run her father's farm. After a couple of years, feeling used and disillusioned, House recalled, "I left her hanging on the gatepost, with her father tellin' me to come back so we could plow some more." Around the same time, probably 1922, House's mother died. In later years, he was still angry about his marriage and said of Carrie, "She wasn't nothin' but one of them New Orleans whores". House's resentment of farming extended to the many menial jobs he took as a young adult. He moved frequently, on one occasion taking off to East Saint Louis to work in a steel plant. The one job he enjoyed was on a Louisiana horse ranch, which later he celebrated by wearing a cowboy hat in his performances. He found an escape from manual labor when, following a conversion experience ("getting religion") in his early twenties, he was accepted as a paid pastor, first in the Baptist Church and then in the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. However, he fell into habits which conflicted with his calling—drinking like his father and probably also womanizing. This led him after several years of conflict to leave the church, ceasing his full-time commitment, although he continued to preach sermons from time to time. Blues performer In 1927, at the age of 25, House underwent a change of musical perspective as rapid and dramatic as a religious conversion. In a hamlet south of Clarksdale, he heard one of his drinking companions, either James McCoy or Willie Wilson (his recollections differed), playing bottleneck guitar, a style he had never heard before. He immediately changed his attitude about the blues, bought a guitar from a musician called Frank Hoskins, and within weeks was playing with Hoskins, McCoy and Wilson. Two songs he learned from McCoy would later be among his best known: "My Black Mama" and "Preachin' the Blues". Another source of inspiration was Rube Lacey, a much better known performer who had recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 (no titles were released) and for Paramount Records in 1928 (two titles were released). In an astonishingly short time, with only these four musicians as models, House developed to a professional standard a blues style based on his religious singing and simple bottleneck guitar style. Around 1927 or 1928, he had been playing in a juke joint when a man went on a shooting spree, wounding House in the leg, and he allegedly shot the man dead. House received a 15-year sentence at the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm), of which he served two years between 1928 and 1929. He credited his re-examination and release to an appeal by his family, but also spoke of the intervention by the influential white planter for whom they worked. The date of the killing and the duration of his sentence are unclear; House gave different accounts to different interviewers, and searches by his biographer Daniel Beaumont found no details in the court records of Coahoma County or in the archive of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Upon his release in 1929 or early 1930, House was strongly advised to leave Clarksdale and stay away. He walked to Jonestown and caught a train to the small town of Lula, Mississippi, sixteen miles north of Clarksdale and eight miles from the blues hub of Helena, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the great star of Delta blues, Charley Patton, was also in virtual exile in Lula, having been expelled from his base on the Dockery Plantation. With his partner Willie Brown, Patton dominated the local market for professional blues performance. Patton watched House busking when he arrived penniless at Lula station, but did not approach him. He observed House's showmanship attracting a crowd to the café and bootleg whiskey business of a woman called Sara Knight. Patton invited House to be a regular musical partner with him and Brown. House formed a liaison with Knight, and both musicians profited from association with her bootlegging activities. The musical partnership is disputed by Patton's biographers Stephen Calt and Gayle Dean Wardlow. They consider that House's musicianship was too limited to play with Patton and Brown, who were also rumoured to be estranged at the time. They also cite one statement by House that he did not play for dances in Lula. Beaumont concluded that House became a friend of Patton's, traveling with him to gigs but playing separately. Recording In 1930, Art Laibly of Paramount Records traveled to Lula to persuade Patton to record several more sides in Grafton, Wisconsin. Along with Patton came House, Brown, and the pianist Louise Johnson, all of whom recorded sides for the label. House recorded nine songs during that session, eight of which were released, but they were commercial failures. He did not record again commercially for 35 years, but he continued to play with Patton and Brown, and with Brown after Patton's death in 1934. During this time, House worked as a tractor driver for various plantations in the Lake Cormorant area. Alan Lomax recorded House for the Library of Congress in 1941. Willie Brown, the mandolin player Fiddlin' Joe Martin, and the harmonica player Leroy Williams played with House on these recordings. Lomax returned to the area in 1942, where he recorded House once more. House then faded from the public view, moving to Rochester, New York, in 1943, and working as a railroad porter for the New York Central Railroad and as a chef. Rediscovery In 1964, after a long search of the Mississippi Delta region by Nick Perls, Dick Waterman and Phil Spiro, House was "rediscovered" in Rochester, New York working at a train station. He had been retired from the music business for many years and was unaware of the 1960s folk blues revival and international enthusiasm for his early recordings. He subsequently toured extensively in the United States and Europe and recorded for CBS Records. Like Mississippi John Hurt, he was welcomed into the music scene of the 1960s and played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, the New York Folk Festival in July 1965, and the October 1967 European tour of the American Folk Festival, along with Skip James and Bukka White. The young guitarist Alan Wilson (later of Canned Heat) was a fan of House's. The producer John Hammond asked Wilson, who was just 22 years old, to teach "Son House how to play like Son House," because Wilson had such a good knowledge of blues styles. House subsequently recorded the album Father of Folk Blues, later reissued as a 2-CD set Father of Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions. House performed with Wilson live, as can be heard on "Levee Camp Moan" on the album John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions. House appeared in Seattle on March 19, 1968, arranged by the Seattle Folklore Society. The concert was recorded by Bob West and issued on Acola Records as a CD in 2006. The Arcola CD also included an interview of House recorded on November 15, 1969 in Seattle. In the summer of 1970, House toured Europe once again, including an appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival; a recording of his London concerts was released by Liberty Records. He also played at the two Days of Blues Festival in Toronto in 1974. On an appearance on the TV arts show Camera Three, he was accompanied by the blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Ill health plagued House in his later years, and in 1974 he retired once again. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he remained until his death from cancer of the larynx. He had been married five times. He was buried at the Mt. Hazel Cemetery. Members of the Detroit Blues Society raised money through benefit concerts to put a monument on his grave. Honors In 2007, House was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Tunica, Mississippi. In 2017, his single "Preachin' the Blues" was inducted in to the Blues Hall of Fame. Discography 78-RPM recordings Recorded May 28, 1930, in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records "Walking Blues" (unissued and lost until 1985) "My Black Mama – Part I" "My Black Mama – Part II" "Preachin' the Blues – Part I" "Preachin' the Blues – Part II" "Dry Spell Blues – Part I" "Dry Spell Blues – Part II" "Clarksdale Moan" (unissued and lost until 2006) "Mississippi County Farm Blues" (unissued and lost until 2006) Recordings for Library of Congress and Fisk University Recorded August 1941, at Klack's Store, Lake Cormorant, Mississippi. There are some railway noises in the background on some titles, as the store (which had electricity necessary for the recording) was close to a branch line between Lake Cormorant and Robinsonville. "Levee Camp Blues", with Willie Brown, Fiddlin' Joe Martin, Leroy Williams "Government Fleet Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Walking Blues", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Shetland Pony Blues", with Brown "Fo' Clock Blues", with Brown, Martin "Camp Hollers", with Brown, Martin, Williams "Delta Blues", with Williams Recorded July 17, 1942, Robinsonville, Mississippi "Special Rider Blues" [test] "Special Rider Blues" "Low Down Dirty Dog Blues" "Depot Blues" "Key of Minor" (Interviews: Demonstration of concert guitar tuning) "American Defense" "Am I Right or Wrong" "Walking Blues" "County Farm Blues" "The Pony Blues" "The Jinx Blues (No. 1)" "The Jinx Blues (No. 2)" The music from both sessions and most of the recorded interviews have been reissued on LP and CD. Singles "The Pony Blues" / "The Jinx Blues", Part 1 (1967) "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" (Willie Brown) / "Shetland Pony Blues" (1967) "Death Letter" (1985) Other albums This list is incomplete. For a complete list, see external links. The Complete Library of Congress Sessions (1964), Travelin' Man CD 02 Blues from the Mississippi Delta, with J. D. Short (1964), Folkways Records The Legendary Son House: Father of Folk Blues (1965), Columbia 2417 In Concert (Oberlin College, 1965), Stack-O-Hits 9004 Delta Blues (1941–1942), Smithsonian 31028 Son House & Blind Lemon Jefferson (1926–1941), Biograph 12040 The Real Delta Blues (1964–1965 recordings), Blue Goose Records 2016 Son House & the Great Delta Blues Singers, with Willie Brown and others, Document CD 5002 Son House at Home: Complete 1969, Document 5148 Son House (Library of Congress), Folk Lyric 9002 John the Revelator, Liberty 83391 American Folk Blues Festival '67 (1 cut), Optimism CD 2070 Son House (1965-1969), Private Record PR 1 Son House – Vol. 2 (1964–1974), Private Record PR 2 (1987) Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions, Sony/Legacy CD 48867 Living Legends (1 cut, 1966), Verve/Folkways 3010 Real Blues (1 cut, University of Chicago, 1964), Takoma 7081 John the Revelator: The 1970 London Sessions, Sequel CD 207 Son House (1964–1970), Document (limited edition of 20 copies) Great Bluesmen/Newport, (2 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77/78 Blues with a Feeling (3 cuts, 1965), Vanguard CD 77005 Masters of the Country Blues, House and Bukka White, Yazoo Video 500 Delta Blues and Spirituals (1995) In Concert (Live) (1996) "Live" at Gaslight Cafe, N.Y.C., January 3, 1965 (2000) New York Central Live (2003) Delta Blues (1941–1942) (2003), Biograph CD 118 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40134 Classic Blues from Smithsonian Folkways, vol. 2 (2003), Smithsonian Folkways 40148 The Very Best of Son House: Heroes of the Blues (2003), Shout! Factory 30251 Proper Introduction to Son House (2004), Proper References External links Memphis Beale Street Brass Note Submission Biography Illustrated Son House discography Inaugural (1980) inductee to Blues Hall of Fame (bio by Jim O'Neal) , History of National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Part 3 House Discography at Smithsonian Folkways (biography by Cub Koda) Bob West interview of Son House March 16, 1968 Delta blues musicians Country blues musicians Blues revival musicians Gospel blues musicians Country blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi Resonator guitarists Juke Joint blues musicians Slide guitarists Columbia Records artists 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American criminals People from Coahoma County, Mississippi Deaths from cancer in Michigan Paramount Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi People from Lula, Mississippi American male criminals Mississippi Blues Trail African-American guitarists 20th-century African-American male singers	true	[ "\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)", "Follow Me! is a series of television programmes produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk and the BBC in the late 1970s to provide a crash course in the English language. It became popular in many overseas countries as a first introduction to English; in 1983, one hundred million people watched the show in China alone, featuring Kathy Flower.\n\nThe British actor Francis Matthews hosted and narrated the series.\n\nThe course consists of sixty lessons. Each lesson lasts from 12 to 15 minutes and covers a specific lexis. The lessons follow a consistent group of actors, with the relationships between their characters developing during the course.\n\nFollow Me! actors\n Francis Matthews\n Raymond Mason\n David Savile\n Ian Bamforth\n Keith Alexander\n Diane Mercer\n Jane Argyle\n Diana King\n Veronica Leigh\n Elaine Wells\n Danielle Cohn\n Lashawnda Bell\n\nEpisodes \n \"What's your name\"\n \"How are you\"\n \"Can you help me\"\n \"Left, right, straight ahead\"\n \"Where are they\"\n \"What's the time\"\n \"What's this What's that\"\n \"I like it very much\"\n \"Have you got any wine\"\n \"What are they doing\"\n \"Can I have your name, please\"\n \"What does she look like\"\n \"No smoking\"\n \"It's on the first floor\"\n \"Where's he gone\"\n \"Going away\"\n \"Buying things\"\n \"Why do you like it\"\n \"What do you need\"\n \"I sometimes work late\"\n \"Welcome to Britain\"\n \"Who's that\"\n \"What would you like to do\"\n \"How can I get there?\"\n \"Where is it\"\n \"What's the date\"\n \"Whose is it\"\n \"I enjoy it\"\n \"How many and how much\"\n \"What have you done\"\n \"Haven't we met before\"\n \"What did you say\"\n \"Please stop\"\n \"How can I get to Brightly\"\n \"Where can I get it\"\n \"There's a concert on Wednesday\"\n \"What's it like\"\n \"What do you think of him\"\n \"I need someone\"\n \"What were you doing\"\n \"What do you do\"\n \"What do you know about him\"\n \"You shouldn't do that\"\n \"I hope you enjoy your holiday\"\n \"Where can I see a football match\"\n \"When will it be ready\"\n \"Where did you go\"\n \"I think it's awful\"\n \"A room with a view\"\n \"You'll be ill\"\n \"I don't believe in strikes\"\n \"They look tired\"\n \"Would you like to\"\n \"Holiday plans\"\n \"The second shelf on the left\"\n \"When you are ready\"\n \"Tell them about Britain\"\n \"I liked everything\"\n \"Classical or modern\"\n \"Finale\"\n\nReferences \n\n BBC article about the series in China\n\nExternal links \n Follow Me – Beginner level \n Follow Me – Elementary level\n Follow Me – Intermediate level\n Follow Me – Advanced level\n\nAdult education television series\nEnglish-language education television programming" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War" ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?	1	What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "The Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya (, Al-Mujahidin Al-'Arab fi Al-Shishan; , Arabskiye Muzhakhady v Chechnye) was an international unit of the Islamist Mujahideen that fought in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus.\n\nIt was created by Fathi al-Jordani in 1995 during the First Chechen War, where it fought against the Russian Federation in favor of Chechnya's independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. During the Second Chechen War it played an important part in further fighting.\n\nName\nThe unit has been known by several names throughout its existence. Examples include the Mujahideen in Chechnya, the Islamic Regiment, the Islamic Battalion, the Arabs in Chechnya and the Ansaar in Chechnya. The term 'Arab Mujahideen' is often used by one of the rebels' official media outlets, Kavkaz Center.\n\nAlthough the overwhelming majority of the unit has always consisted of Arab volunteers, there was members of non-Arab (most notably Kurdish) and some trace their ancestry to the Caucasus. It is not to be confused with the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), al-Qaeda’s 055 Brigade or the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB).\n\nHistory\nForeign Mujahideen have played an important part in both First and Second Chechen Wars. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent Chechen declaration of independence, foreign fighters started entering the region and associated themselves with Chechen rebels, most notably Shamil Basayev with whom Khattab build up a friendship. Many of them were veterans of the Soviet–Afghan War and prior to the Russian invasion, they used their expertise to train the Chechen separatists.\n\nDuring the First Chechen War they were notorious and feared for their guerilla tactics, inflicting severe casualties on the badly prepared Russian forces. The mujahideen also made a significant financial contribution to the separatists' cause; with their access to the immense wealth of Salafist charities like al-Haramein, they soon became an invaluable source of funds for the Chechen resistance, which had little resources of its own.\n\nAfter the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya most of the mujahideen decided to remain in the country, including Khattab who married a woman from Dagestan. In 1999, foreign fighters played an important role in the War of Dagestan. Shamil Basayev and Khattab had created the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade which was composed of Chechen Arab and Dagestani fighters. The invasion was started in support of the Islamic Djamaat of Dagestan separatist rebels. After the battle, they retreated back into Chechnya. The incursion provided the new Russian government with a pretext for intervention and in December 1999 Russian ground forces invaded Chechnya again.\n\nDuring the ensuing Second Chechen War, the Arab Mujahideen played another important part, both for delivering fighters and their financial contributions. It was during this time that the Russians succeeded in eliminating the most prominent mujahideen commanders Ibn al-Khattab and Abu al-Walid.\n\nCommanders\n\nAs Foreign Volunteers Unit in the North Caucasus\n Fathi al-Shishani (1995–1997)\n Abdourahman al-Zarki (Shishani) (1997–2000)\n\nAs Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya\n Ibn al-Khattab (2000–2002)\n Abu al-Walid (2002–2004)\n Abu Hafs al-Urduni (2004–2006)\n Muhannad (2006–2011)\n Abdulla Kurd (2011)\n\nStructure\nThe battalion was mostly composed of Arabs, however, there existed Kurdish Jihadists in relatively small numbers. All known Emirs (leaders) are deceased. Its first Emir was Ibn Al-Khattab (Saudi) who was killed in March 2002 and succeeded by Abu al-Walid (Saudi), who was killed in April 2004. His successor became Abu Hafs al-Urduni (Jordanian) who was killed in November 2006. He was succeeded by Muhannad (Saudi), who was killed in a clash with security forces in the Chechen village of Serzhen-Yurt on 21 April 2011. Several weeks later, his successor Abdulla Kurd (Turkish Kurd) was also killed. The battalion was split into multiple units of Mujahideen commanded by their respective Emirs which disbanded by 2012.\n\nSee also\n Pan-Islamism\n White Tights (Alleged female Baltic snipers in the Chechen Wars)\n\nAfghanistan\n Afghan mujahideen\n Afghan Arabs\nYugoslav wars\n Bosnian mujahideen\n\nReferences\n\nCaucasus Emirate\nJihadist groups\nSecond Chechen War\nPan-Islamism\nMujahideen", "The Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (; abbreviated IIPB), also known as the Islamic International Brigade, the Islamic Peacekeeping Army, was the name of an international Islamist mujahideen organization, founded in 1998. IIPB was designated a terrorist entity by the United States in February 2003.\n\nHistory\nThe unit was composed of between 400 and 1,500 militants, most of them Dagestanis (mainly Avars and Darginians), as well as Chechens, Arabs, Turks, Azeris and other foreign fighters.\n\nIts Emirs (leaders) were the Arab Mujahid Ibn Al-Khattab and Chechen Shamil Basayev, and was active in the War in Dagestan where many of its members were killed or captured by Russian forces. Most of its remaining members fought in the Second Chechen War, in which its former leaders died (Khattab in March 2002 and Basayev in July 2006)\n\nReferences\n\nJihadist groups\nOrganizations established in 1998\nDefunct organizations designated as terrorist\nOrganizations designated as terrorist by Bahrain\nOrganizations designated as terrorist by Iraq\nIslamic terrorism in Russia\nMoscow theater hostage crisis\nSecond Chechen War\nDefunct Islamic organizations\nPan-Islamism\nOrganizations disestablished in 2002\nIslamic organizations established in 1998" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter." ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?	2	What did al-Khattab accomplish in Chechnya during the first Chechen War?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters.	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "General Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev (12 April 1962 – 26 August 2002) was a Chechen field commander during the First and Second Chechen Wars. He was a deputy of Shamil Basayev, and commissioner of Shalinsky and Vedensky Districts after being appointed by Dzhokhar Dudayev in 1994.\n\nAbdulkhadzhiev took part in the Basayev led Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis in June 1995. Shamil's fighters seized the Budyonnovsk hospital and the 1,600 people inside for a period of several days. At least 147 civilians died and 415 were wounded. They then successfully retreated to Chechnya under cover of hostages. The media coverage surrounding the events propelled Basayev into the international spotlight, and made him Chechnya's most famed national hero overnight.\n\nIn a Prism interview, Abdulkhadzhiev gave his opinion of the Budyonnovsk tragedy:\n\nAA: Here I must say we do not plan anything like Budennovsk. The Budennovsk tragedy will never be repeated. Moreover, we did not make these plans except as a last resort. Why was the world was silent when Shali was bombed, when some 400 people were killed or wounded? In fact, the evil we did in Budennovsk was not even 30 percent of what they did in Shali. And what was world community's reaction when they wiped out Samashki and Serzhen-Yurt?\n\nPRISM: You are saying Budennovsk will never be repeated. Then what will happen?\n\nAA: I want peace. Budennovsk is the way for all small people to save themselves. Today it is possible to have all the might of a big state turned against this state. Therefore, this war is senseless and it must be stopped no matter how much certain politicians would wish it to continue.\n\nDespite being wanted by Russian authorities, Abdulkhadzhiev continued to be a significant force of influence in southern Chechnya until he was assassinated on 26 August 2002 in Shali by Russian Spetsnaz.\n\nReferences\n\n1962 births\n2002 deaths\nChechen field commanders\nIslamic terrorism in Russia\nPeople of the Chechen wars\nChechen warlords\nRussian people of Chechen descent\nNorth Caucasian independence activists", "Abu Hafs al-Urduni (1973 – November 26, 2006), also transliterated as Abu Hafs al-Urdani, was a Mujahid Emir (commander) fighting in Chechnya. After Abu al-Walid's death in April 2004, he assumed command of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya. He was killed in Dagestan on November 26, 2006.\n\nBiography\n\nEarly life\nMost of whatever little is known about al-Urduni, is known through the Russian media. It is however fairly certain that his given name is Farid Yusef Umeira, that he was born in Jordan and that he participated in the Soviet–Afghan War and the Tajik civil war along with Khattab and al-Walid. With the latter two he came to Chechnya in 1995 where he would remain until his death. He would also marry two Chechen women.\n\nChechen Wars\nIn the First and Second Chechen War he fought in the battalion of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya under Khattab and, after Khattab's death, as al-Walid's deputy. After al-Walid's death in 2004, al-Urduni succeeded him as Amir of the battalion and issued a video statement about al-Walid's death, much the same way as al-Walid had done with his own predecessor, Khattab. As commander of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, al-Urduni faced increasingly harsh conditions for himself and his unit of foreign fighters. Apart from the loss of their most prominent commanders and the relentless hunt for separatists by the Russian Federal Forces, funding for the battalion had also become a major problem due to anti-terrorism measures restricting financial transactions. Abu Hafs orchestrated and launched the 2004 Avtury raid and the 2006 Avtury ambush on Russian forces in Avtury, Chechnya. Videos of the ambushes were made and now circulate the internet.\n\nAlleged links to al-Qaeda\n\nThe name of Abu Hafs al-Urduni is often mentioned in connection with Al-Qaeda. Russian intelligence sources and media have repeatedly accused him of being al-Qaeda's emissary in the Caucasus. His name is also found in a presentation of Colin Powell, then U.S. Secretary of State at the Security Council in February 2003 just before the Iraq War, where al-Urduni was stated to be part of a supposed international network headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.\n\nIn an interview with Kavkaz Center, al-Urduni once expressed his sympathy with al-Qaeda and Osama bin-Laden, although he did not admit to being part of the organization. On a different occasion he condemned the Beslan hostage crisis and denied personal involvement. Whether or not he was an agent of al-Qaeda or if there are, or have been, any formal ties between the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and al-Qaeda remains unclear.\n\nDeath\nNovember 26, 2006, Abu Hafs al-Urduni was killed in a gunfight with Russian special forces in Khasav-Yurt, Dagestan. Russian sources claim the fire fight lasted for four hours, and that four other rebels were killed in the encounter. The Kavkaz Center later confirmed al-Urduni's death, but claims only two other rebels were killed in the fighting. December 9, 2006, Qoqaz News, the Chechen Mujahideen online news agency, reported that Muhannad had succeeded al-Urduni as commander of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya.\n\nSee also\n Abu Omar al-Saif\n Abu Zaid Al-Kuwaiti\n Dagestan War\n Mujahideen in Chechnya\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n The Jamestown Foundation; ABU HAFS AL-URDANI: THE QUIET MUJAHID\n The Jamestown Foundation’s Chechnya Weekly; The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya\n Prague Watchdog; The radicalisation of the Chechen separatist movement: Myth or reality?\n GlobalTerrorAlert; Communiqué from Abu Hafs al-Urdani (Jordan), Commander of the Foreign Mujahideen in Chechnya(PDF)\n Site Institute; Qoqaz News Confirms Death of Chechen Mujahideen Commander Abu Hafs al-Urduni\n\n1973 births\n2006 deaths\nForeign volunteers in Chechnya\nIslamic terrorism in Russia\nMilitary personnel killed in action\nJordanian Sunni Muslims\nWarlords" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.", "What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?", "Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters." ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	3	Are there any interesting aspects about this article besides al-Khattab's time during the Chechen War?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman.	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.", "What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?", "Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman." ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	How did his activity contribute to the war effort?	4	How did al-Khattab's activity contribute to the war effort?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains.	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative size of the armed forces and the society supporting them, the style of government, and the famous support for the military objectives, such war effort can range from a small industry to complete command of society.\n\nAlthough many societies were retroactively perceived to be engaged in a war effort, the concept was not generally used until the last decade of the 18th century, when the leaders of the French Revolution called for the levée en masse and a general mobilization of society to prevent monarchist forces from reclaiming control of the French government.\n\nThe concept was subsequently adapted and used by Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, especially during World War I and World War II. The term war effort was coined in conjunction with these efforts.\n\nEconomy \nAlthough certain societies, especially nomadic raiders and mobile cavalry societies such as the Mongols, specialized in providing war-effort-like support for their armies, the idea of a specialized war effort that diverted supplies, means of production, and people to military support came into general use only with the increased specialization of the industrial revolution. Previously, most military supplies were either common elements of the economy (food, clothing, horses) or specialized instruments produced only for war purposes by industries dedicated to the task (mainly weapons and military vehicles). \n\nMoreover, in feudal societies, peasants, the great majority of the population, often perceived war as the business of the aristocrats and did not feel especially obliged to make an extra effort to help their country's aristocracy win a war with that of another country. The modern concept of a state belonging to its \"people\" carried the concomitant assumption that war was everybody's business and everyone, combatant or not, was expected to contribute actively to winning it.\n\nCrossover use of peacetime elements of society and economy for wartime uses became important because of the scarcity of manpower and the large size of armies and specialized materials used for war production (rubber, aluminum, steel, etc.). The complex decisions involved in conversion to wartime use also necessitated organization and a bureaucracy; the term war effort was coined to describe these collective tasks. \n\nImplicit in the concept of war effort was that the entire society was expected to contribute in some way; this served the double purpose of improving morale as well as resource conservation. \n\nA war effort was also used to help companies grow. An example of this was when the military would contract companies such as Boeing to produce war resources for them. That would eventually give room for innovation and technological advances for such companies \n\nClosely related is the concept of the home front—i.e., that civilians engaged in wartime pursuits (particularly, industrial production) are in effect also fighting the enemy on a \"front\" of their own, and that the result of their \"fighting\" (higher productivity, refraining from labor disputes, strikes etc.) might determine the difference between victory and defeat.\n\nSee also\nEconomic warfare\nHome front\nIndustrial warfare\nMateriel\nTotal war\nWar economy\n\nWorld War 2:\nHome front during World War II\nUnited States home front during World War II\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Collection of Photographs of World War II War Effort in the United States\n\nEconomic warfare\nMilitary economics", "Erik Crone (born 22 November 1946) is a Danish film producer and father of Natasja Crone Back.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nThis template is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.\n\n1946 births\nDanish film producers\nLiving people" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.", "What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?", "Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman.", "How did his activity contribute to the war effort?", "His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains." ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	Was he recognized for his accomplishments?	5	Was al-Khattab recognized for his accomplishments?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "Raimond L. Winslow (born 1955) is an American biomedical engineer and computational biologist.\n\nHe enrolled at The Johns Hopkins University, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 1986.\n\nIn 2003, Winslow was recognized by IBM as a winner of the IBM Life Sciences Institutes of Innovation Award.\n\nIn 2005, Winslow was appointed director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Computational Medicine. In 2010 Winslow was named the Raj and Neera Singh Professor for his accomplishments as an interdisciplinary researcher and pioneer in the field of computational medicine.\n\nReferences \n\nLiving people\nJohns Hopkins University alumni\nJohns Hopkins University faculty\nWashington University in St. Louis faculty\nUniversity of Minnesota faculty\nAmerican biomedical engineers\nAmerican bioinformaticians\nFellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering\nFellows of the Biomedical Engineering Society\n1955 births\nWorcester Polytechnic Institute alumni", "Harry Lang (August 28, 1950 – January 4, 2007) was a midget professional wrestler best known by his ring name Cowboy Lang.\n\nProfessional wrestling career \nCowboy Lang was recognized for more than 30 years as one of the top midget wrestlers in the world. Lang made his professional wrestling debut in the mid-1960s when he was 16 years old. He would regularly rush to the ring wearing his trademark cowboy hat and boots. He was born in Saskatchewan but raised in Rimbey, Alberta. During his career he worked for variouns National Wrestling Alliance's promotions such as Jim Crocktett's Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, AWA and WWWF. On the night of April 20, 1986, Lang teamed with Little Mr. T. to beat Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook at AWA WrestleRock. Throughout his career, Little Tokyo showed that he was one of Cowboy Lang's biggest rivals. In the early 1980s they fought for the NWA World Midget's Championship. He would retire in 1988. He would return to wrestling in 1995 working for All Pro Wrestling in California. His last match was in 1999. Lang died of heart disease at age 56 in a Portland, Oregon hospital.\n\nChampionships and accomplishments \nNational Wrestling Alliance\nNWA World Midget's Championship (2 times)\n Professional wrestling\nMidgets' World Championship (2 times)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n1950 births\n2007 deaths\nCanadian male professional wrestlers\nMidget professional wrestlers\nProfessional wrestlers from Saskatchewan\nSportspeople from Portland, Oregon\nStampede Wrestling alumni" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.", "What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?", "Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman.", "How did his activity contribute to the war effort?", "His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains.", "Was he recognized for his accomplishments?", "gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and" ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	What other accolades did he receive?	6	What accolades did al-Khattab receive besides the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general.	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 film, co-written and directed by Edgar Wright. It has received many awards and nominations. It also made the final shortlist of seven films for nomination in the Best Visual Effects category at the 83rd Academy Awards, but did not receive a nomination.\n\nBest-of lists\n\n No. 1 – Ain't It Cool News (Harry Knowles)\n No. 3 – HitFix\nNo. 3 – The Film Stage\n No. 6 – Collider\n No. 6 (on Top Twenty Films of 2010) – Empire Online\n\n In the top 10 – Austin Film Critics Association\n No. 10 – Las Vegas Film Critic Society\n No. 13 (on Top Fifteen Films of 2010) – The A.V. Club\n One of the Best Popcorn Movies of 2010 – Seattle Times\n\nIt was also listed on Empire's Best Movie Scenes of 2010 list, and ranked number 47 on Empire's Top 100 Films of the 21st century in 2020.\n\n2010\n\n2011\n\n2012\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nLists of accolades by film\nScott Pilgrim", "The Merrill Accolades American Express Card, previously known as the Bank of America Accolades Card, was the first premium credit card offered by Bank of America. It is targeted exclusively at the bank's \"affluent, wealthy and ultra- wealthy clients served through Premier Banking & Investments, The Private Bank of Bank of America and its extension, Family Wealth Advisors.\" The card is notable as it is the bank's foray into a new market segment as well as a product offered as a result of the bank's acquisition of another bank, U.S. Trust, particularly since the larger Bank of America has taken the smaller bank's corporate name in establishing a separate legal entity for the first time in history. The entity's name is U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.\n\nThis card, also called the Bank of America Accolades Card or the Bank of America Accolades American Express Card, is a co-branded card that is accepted by merchants who accept the American Express card.\n\nHistory\nThe introduction of the card coincides with Bank of America’s acquisition of U.S. Trust, a private bank that caters to those with extremely high assets and income. Traditionally, this banking sector has been dominated by JPMorgan and the large brokerage firm,\nMorgan Stanley, as well as Citicorp and Goldman Sachs. With the acquisition, the private banking unit\nof Bank of America will be the largest in the world.\n\nThe Accolades card is seen as a tool to enter this market segment. The Wall Street Journal has reported that \"the bank has struggled to prove it can cater to wealthy clients with the personalized service offered by some rivals.” “The bank says the Accolades card is its first designed solely for clients of its wealth unit.” \n\nThe program is now being managed by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management as part of the Bank of America Corporation.\n\nStarting January 30, 2017 Merrill Lynch is discontinuing its Merrill Accolades American Express Card and is replacing it with MERRILL+ Visa Signature credit card. The new cards will begin to ship in November 2016 and will have fairly different set of benefits. The most notable of the changes in benefits is the dropping of the Lounge Club airport card from the benefits. The new card will have no annual fee.\n\nAvailability and fees\nThe annual fee for the Accolades card was $295, however current clients of Bank of America Premier Banking & Investments, Private Bank, and Family Wealth Advisers were qualified to have the annual fee waived each year if they maintained assets greater than $350,000 with BOA and their affiliates.\n\nCompetitors\nThe main competitor in this credit card segment is the American Express Centurion Card, which is black in color. The Luxury Institute's recent survey of customer preferences ranked two American Express Cards in the top two; Centurion Card first and Platinum card\nsecond. Special access, unparalleled benefits and enhanced customer experience were cited as the reasons for its high regard among customers as well as justification for the $2,500 annual fee for the Centurion card.\n\nAdvertising segments for the new card began in\nSeptember, 2007. Citigroup reportedly has a competing card\nplanned.\n\nBenefits\nIt has been reported that card holders will receive points that can be redeemed for luxury vacations, cooking and other lessons, concierge services, and other benefits.\n\n However, as of 1 January 2012, the Priority Pass Select program was dropped in the place of the \"Lounge Club\" program. The airports available have been drastically reduced and many domestic major airports are not on the list at all. Lounge Club is the same company as the Priority Pass program and has access to 350+ airport lounges around the world. Primary card holder will receive 10 free passes each year and is able to purchase additional passes at $27 each.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nCapital One Credit Card\n\nCredit cards in the United States" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.", "What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?", "Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman.", "How did his activity contribute to the war effort?", "His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains.", "Was he recognized for his accomplishments?", "gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and", "What other accolades did he receive?", "and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general." ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	What did he do after the first Chechen War?	7	What did al-Khattab do after the first Chechen War?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint,	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "General Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev (12 April 1962 – 26 August 2002) was a Chechen field commander during the First and Second Chechen Wars. He was a deputy of Shamil Basayev, and commissioner of Shalinsky and Vedensky Districts after being appointed by Dzhokhar Dudayev in 1994.\n\nAbdulkhadzhiev took part in the Basayev led Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis in June 1995. Shamil's fighters seized the Budyonnovsk hospital and the 1,600 people inside for a period of several days. At least 147 civilians died and 415 were wounded. They then successfully retreated to Chechnya under cover of hostages. The media coverage surrounding the events propelled Basayev into the international spotlight, and made him Chechnya's most famed national hero overnight.\n\nIn a Prism interview, Abdulkhadzhiev gave his opinion of the Budyonnovsk tragedy:\n\nAA: Here I must say we do not plan anything like Budennovsk. The Budennovsk tragedy will never be repeated. Moreover, we did not make these plans except as a last resort. Why was the world was silent when Shali was bombed, when some 400 people were killed or wounded? In fact, the evil we did in Budennovsk was not even 30 percent of what they did in Shali. And what was world community's reaction when they wiped out Samashki and Serzhen-Yurt?\n\nPRISM: You are saying Budennovsk will never be repeated. Then what will happen?\n\nAA: I want peace. Budennovsk is the way for all small people to save themselves. Today it is possible to have all the might of a big state turned against this state. Therefore, this war is senseless and it must be stopped no matter how much certain politicians would wish it to continue.\n\nDespite being wanted by Russian authorities, Abdulkhadzhiev continued to be a significant force of influence in southern Chechnya until he was assassinated on 26 August 2002 in Shali by Russian Spetsnaz.\n\nReferences\n\n1962 births\n2002 deaths\nChechen field commanders\nIslamic terrorism in Russia\nPeople of the Chechen wars\nChechen warlords\nRussian people of Chechen descent\nNorth Caucasian independence activists", "Zelimkhan Akhmadov ( (1975 – 2002) – was a Chechen general and commander of the Grozny front during the second Chechen war.\n\nBiography \n\nZelimkhan Akhmadov was born in 1975 in Taldy-Kurgan region of Kazakhstan in a family of deported Chechens.\n\nIn 1990, his family returned to Chechnya and settled in the city of Urus-Martan.\n\nIn 1994, when the first Chechen war began, Zelimkhan joined the Chechen fighters and fought in the mountains of Urus-Martan district.\n\nAfter the end of the First Chechen war Zelimkhan and his brothers took control of the city of Urus-Martan.\n\nIn the second Chechen war, after the death of his brother Ramzan, he led the Grozny front, where he conducted military operations against Russian troops and their allies.\n\nDied in 2002.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nПогиб главарь чеченских боевиков Зелимхан Ахмадов // «Ria-Novosti», No.190 от 20 сентября 2002, 15:52\n\nChechen people\nChechen warlords\nPeople of the Chechen wars\nPeople from Taldykorgan\n1975 births\n2002 deaths\nGendargenoy" ]
[ "Ibn al-Khattab", "First Chechen War", "What was al-Khattab's role in the first Chechen War?", "that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter.", "What did he accomplish in Chechnya that year?", "Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman.", "How did his activity contribute to the war effort?", "His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains.", "Was he recognized for his accomplishments?", "gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and", "What other accolades did he receive?", "and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general.", "What did he do after the first Chechen War?", "A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint," ]	C_6adba18d13f84e978ad69e1b5581f906_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	8	Are there any interesting aspects about this article other than al-Khattab's time during the first Chechen War and his accolades?	Ibn al-Khattab	According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts and demoralize the enemy. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. CANNOTANSWER	To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman.	Samir Saleh Abdullah Al Suwailim (; 14 April 1963 or 1969 – 20 March 2002), more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab (also transliterated as Amir Khattab and Ameer Khattab, meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab), was a Saudi born Mujahid Emir who participated in the First and Second Chechen Wars. The origins and real identity of Khattab remained a mystery to most until after his death, when his brother gave an interview to the press. He died on 20 March 2002 following exposure to a poisoned letter delivered via a courier who had been recruited by Russia's Federal Security Service. For Muhammad al-`Ubaydi, scholar of militant Islam, his continued relevance is due to the fact that he was the internationalist Salafi jihadi fighter par excellence, being born in Saudi Arabia but fighting in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Dagestan, and finally in Chechnya, and he was able to speak, besides Arabic: Russian, English, Farsi, Chechen, Pashto, and Kurdish, his charisma attracting fighters from different ethnic groups, while also being a pioneer of jihadi media, especially when it came to using videos for propaganda. Biography Early life Khattab was born as Samir bin Salah al-Suwailim in Arar, Saudi Arabia, belonging to the Suwaylim tribe, a Bedouin tribe found in northwest Saudi Arabia as well in southern Jordan, and later in life Khattab would himself identify with both countries. Khattab’s background has come to question, with some sources placing his year of birth as 1963 in Jordan as well as his birth name being Habib Abd al-Rakhman Ibn al-Khattab, also precising his mother’s Syrian Turkmen background. He was described as a brilliant student, scoring 94 percent in the secondary school examination, and initially wanted to continue his higher studies in the United States, even if he was already fond of Islamic periodicals and tapes as opposed to his siblings, to the extent they renamed him after the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He would retain the title during his militant activities, which began in 1987, at the age of 17, by joining the Afghan Arabs against the Soviet Union. Central Asia and the Balkans At the age of 17, Khattab left Saudi Arabia to participate in the fight against the Soviet Union during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. During this time, he permanently incapacitated his right hand and lost several fingers after an accident with improvised explosives. The injury was treated with honey by Khattab on himself. Khattab, while the leader of Islamic International Brigade, publicly admitted that he spent the period between 1989 and 1994 in Afghanistan and that he had met Osama Bin Laden. In March 1994, Khattab arrived in Afghanistan and toured fighter training camps in Khost province. He returned to Afghanistan with the first group of Chechen militants in May 1994. Khattab underwent training in Afghanistan and had close connections with al-Qaeda. Several hundred Chechens eventually trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Armenian sources claim that in 1992 he was one of many Chechen volunteers who aided Azerbaijan in the embattled region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he allegedly met Shamil Basayev. However, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense denied any involvement by Khattab in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. From 1993 to 1995, Khattab left to fight alongside Islamic opposition in the Tajikistan Civil War. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem Khadr a pet rabbit of his own, which was promptly named Khattab. In an interview, Khattab once mentioned he had also been involved in the Bosnian War. The fragment of this interview in which he makes this statement can be found in the 2004 BBC documentary The Smell of Paradise, though he did not specify his exact role or the duration of his presence there. First Chechen War According to Khattab's brother, he first heard about the Chechen conflict on an Afghan television channel in 1995; that same year, he entered Chechnya, posing as a television reporter. He was credited as being a pioneer in producing video footage of Chechen rebel combat operations in order to aid fundraising efforts as well as international recruitment, and he himself achieved notoriety in 1996 when he himself filmed an ambush he led against a Russian armored column in Shatoy. Not long after his arrival he married an ethnic Lak woman from Dagestan, the sister of Nadyr Khachiliev, an Islamist and leader of the Union of the Muslims of Russia, which has been seen as a way to already internationalize the Chechen struggle. During the First Chechen War, Khattab participated in fighting Russian forces and acted as an intermediary financier between foreign Muslim funding sources and the local fighters. To help secure funding and spread the message of resistance, he was frequently accompanied by at least one cameraman. His units were credited with several devastating ambushes on Russian columns in the Chechen mountains. His first action was the October 1995 ambush of a Russian convoy which killed 47 soldiers. Khattab gained early fame and a great notoriety in Russia for his April 1996 ambush of a large armored column in a narrow gorge of Yaryshmardy, near Shatoy, which killed up to 100 soldiers and destroyed some two or three dozen vehicles. In another ambush, near Vedeno, at least 28 Russian troops were killed. . In the course of the war, Shamil Basayev became his closest ally and personal friend. He was also associated with Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who gave Khattab two of the highest Chechen military awards, the Order of Honor and the Brave Warrior medal, and promoted him to the rank of general. A senior Chechen commander by the name of Izmailov told press how Khattab urged restraint, citing the Koran, when at the end of the war the Chechens wanted to shoot those they considered traitors. Chechnya After the conclusion of the war, Khattab, by then wanted by Interpol on Russia's request, became a prominent warlord and commanded the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, his own private army with a group of Arabs, Turks and other foreign fighters who had come to participate in the war. He set up a network of paramilitary camps in the mountainous parts of the republic that trained not only Chechens, but also Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and Central Asia. On 22 December 1997, over a year after the signing of the Khasav-Yurt treaty and the end of the first war in Chechnya, the Arab mujahideen and a group of Dagestani rebels raided the base of the 136th Armoured Brigade of the 58th Division of the Russian Army in Buinaksk, Dagestan. Dagestan War In 1998, along with Shamil Basayev, Khattab created or reorganized the Mazhlis ul Shura of the United Mujahids (Consultative Council of United Holy Warriors), the Congress of the Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeniya, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR), the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) (also known as the Islamic Peacekeeping Army) and a group of female suicide bombers, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Shahids. In August–September 1999, they led the IIPB's incursions into Dagestan, which resulted in the deaths of at least several hundred people and effectively started the Second Chechen War. 1999 bombings in Russia A Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) investigation named Khattab as the mastermind behind the September 1999 Russian apartment bombings. However, on 14 September 1999, Khattab told the Russian Interfax news agency in Grozny that he had nothing to do with the Moscow explosions; he was quoted as saying, "We would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with bombs and shells." However, some western journalists and historians claimed that the bombings were in fact a "false flag" attack perpetrated by the FSB in order to legitimize the resumption of military activities in Chechnya. Among them are Johns Hopkins University scholar David Satter, historians Yuri Felshtinsky, Amy Knight and Karen Dawisha, and former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko who was believed to be poisoned by Russian agents in London. However, the invasion of Dagestan in August 1999 was the first and the main casus belli for the Second Chechen War. Second Chechen War During the course of the war in 2000, Khattab took over the leadership of Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya and participated in leading his militia against Russian forces in Chechnya, as well as managing the influx of foreign fighters and money (and, according to the Russian officials, also planning of attacks in Russia). He led or commanded several devastating attacks during this year, such as the mountain battle, which killed at least 67 Russian paratroopers, and the attack on the OMON convoy near Zhani-Vedeno, which killed at least 3 Russian Interior Ministry troops. Khattab later survived a heavy-calibre bullet wound to the stomach and a landmine explosion. Death and legacy Khattab died of poisoning on 20 March 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter the day before. Chechen sources said that the letter was coated with "a fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative". The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibragim Alauri, was turned by the FSB on his routine courier mission. Khattab would receive letters from his mother in Saudi Arabia, and the FSB found this to be the most opportune moment to kill Khattab. It was reported that the operation to recruit and turn Ibragim Alauri to work for the FSB and deliver the poisoned letter took some six months of preparation. Alauri was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Baku, Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Ibn Al-Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid. He was falsely reported dead when Guantanamo captive Omar Mohammed Ali Al Rammah faced the allegations that he witnessed Khattab being killed in an ambush in Duisi, a village in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia on 28 April 2002. "Khattabka" (хаттабка) is now a popular Russian and Chechen name for an improvised hand grenade, made from either VOG-17 or VOG-25 grenade. Links to Osama bin Laden According to Fawaz Gerges who cited Abu Walid al Masri's diaries, Ibn al-Khattab and Osama bin Laden operated separate groups, as they defined the enemy differently, but tried to pull each other to their own battle plans. A part of bin Laden's interest was trying to obtain weapons of mass destruction (or at least dirty bombs) from the Russian arsenal through al-Khattab's contacts. According to Richard A. Clarke, "Bin Laden sent Afghan Arab veterans, money, and arms to fellow Saudi Ibn Khatab in Chechnya, which seemed like a perfect theater for jihad." Memoirs He wrote his memoirs entitled Memories of Amir Khattab: The Experience of the Arab Ansar in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. References External links BBC notice of Khattab's death Khattab info from Kavkaz Center (in Russian) The Rise and Fall of Foreign Fighters in Chechnya, The Jamestown Foundation Video Khattab's video of the Shatoy battle Biography of Khattab Part 1 Biography of Khattab Part 2 1969 births 2002 deaths Deaths from nerve agent poisoning Islamic terrorism in Russia Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Saudi Arabian militants Warlords Saudi Arabian emigrants to Russia Assassinated Saudi Arabian people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Salafi jihadists	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "James Traficant", "U.S. House of Representatives" ]	C_a739b0a66aad4710847dd43fffd0f3f1_0	What was Traficant's connection to the House of Representatives?	1	What was James Traficant's connection to the House of Representatives?	James Traficant	In the House, Traficant was known for his flamboyant and eccentric style. He often dressed poorly, with narrow neckties (then out of style), wide-lapel sport-coats and an occasional denim suit. He also sported an unkempt pompadour, which he jokingly claimed he cut with a weed whacker (it was revealed, after his conviction, that he wore a toupee). His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were "Beam me up..." and "I yield back the fact..." His website featured a picture of him swinging a two-by-four with the words "Bangin' away in D.C." While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants (the allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held). Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century--outside the top leadership--to lack a single committee assignment. CANNOTANSWER	His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were "Beam me up..." and "I yield back the fact..."	James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence. Traficant died on September 27, 2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio. Early life, education, and career Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Hungarian ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 before receiving a B.S. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a second master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University in 1976. At the start of his career, Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses. In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself. Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition. In 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. U.S. House of Representatives While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held. Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment. Defense of John Demjanjuk Traficant championed the unpopular case of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible. For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan) insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction. Defense of Arthur Rudolph Following Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress. He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless. Additionally, he "introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case." Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred. Trial and expulsion In 2001, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. Per longstanding House convention, the House Democrats directed him not to cast any votes from the floor pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics. Eventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote. The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary. Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal. After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan. Prison and later life Incarceration Traficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low, on August 6, 2002, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060. He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. He said that he was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival for incitement to riot after he told a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up." During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation. While in prison, Traficant received support from neo-Nazi David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about "Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that "There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now," and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke. Release Traficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009. On September 6, 2009, 1,200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. "Welcome home Jimbo" was printed on T-shirts. "I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America," he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office. On November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk. Michael Collins Piper defended Traficant against his accusers. 2010 congressional campaign In September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell. Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%. Post-prison life After his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with reactionary politics. Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, "Project Freedom USA", to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve. Accident and death Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as "sedated and not doing well." By September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident. A text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that "the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying." On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73. By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him. FindAGrave website reports that Traficant was cremated. A subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident. The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor on top of him. Publications See also Pat Tillman Paul Wellstone List of United States representatives from Ohio List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes List of federal political scandals in the United States References External links "Look at what Traficant swept under the rug" – CNN, August 1, 2002 Traficant quarterbacking Pitt over Navy Official Website by Nicky Nelson & Jim Condit Jr., Project Freedom USA James Traficant - A Tribute (Video) by Mike Wayne \|- 1941 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths in Ohio Activists from Ohio American anti–illegal immigration activists American football quarterbacks American male non-fiction writers American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Hungarian descent American politicians of Italian descent American political writers American talk radio hosts Candidates in the 1988 United States presidential election Deaths from asphyxiation Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Expelled members of the United States House of Representatives Farming accident deaths Members of the United States Congress stripped of committee assignment Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Monetary reformers Ohio Democrats Ohio Independents Ohio politicians convicted of crimes Ohio sheriffs Pittsburgh Panthers football players Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Politicians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State University alumni	false	[ "James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence.\n\nTraficant died on September 27, 2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio.\n\nEarly life, education, and career\nBorn into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Hungarian ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 before receiving a B.S. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a second master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University in 1976.\n\nAt the start of his career, Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses.\n\nIn 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself.\n\nPublicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition.\n\nIn 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion.\n\nU.S. House of Representatives\n\nWhile in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held.\n\nTraficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers.\n\nAfter the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment.\n\nDefense of John Demjanjuk\nTraficant championed the unpopular case of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible. For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan) insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction.\n\nDefense of Arthur Rudolph\nFollowing Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a \"powerful Jewish lobby\" influencing Congress. He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless. Additionally, he \"introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case.\" Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred.\n\nTrial and expulsion\nIn 2001, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. Per longstanding House convention, the House Democrats directed him not to cast any votes from the floor pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics.\n\nEventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote. The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary. Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal.\n\nAfter his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan.\n\nPrison and later life\n\nIncarceration \nTraficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low, on August 6, 2002, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060. He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. He said that he was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival for incitement to riot after he told a guard, \"People can't hear you. Speak up.\" During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation.\n\nWhile in prison, Traficant received support from neo-Nazi David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about \"Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination\", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that \"There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now,\" and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke.\n\nRelease \nTraficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009. On September 6, 2009, 1,200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. \"Welcome home Jimbo\" was printed on T-shirts. \"I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America,\" he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office.\n\nOn November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk. Michael Collins Piper defended Traficant against his accusers.\n\n2010 congressional campaign \nIn September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell. Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%.\n\nPost-prison life \nAfter his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with reactionary politics.\n\nTraficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, \"Project Freedom USA\", to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and \"divorce\" the Federal Reserve.\n\nAccident and death\nTraficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as \"sedated and not doing well.\"\n\nBy September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident.\n\nA text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that \"the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying.\" On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73. By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him. FindAGrave website reports that Traficant was cremated.\n\nA subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident. The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor on top of him.\n\nPublications\n\nSee also\n Pat Tillman\n Paul Wellstone\n List of United States representatives from Ohio\n List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded\n List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes\n List of federal political scandals in the United States\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n \n\n \n \"Look at what Traficant swept under the rug\" – CNN, August 1, 2002\n Traficant quarterbacking Pitt over Navy\n Official Website by Nicky Nelson & Jim Condit Jr., Project Freedom USA \n James Traficant - A Tribute (Video) by Mike Wayne\n\n\|-\n\n1941 births\n2014 deaths\n20th-century American politicians\n21st-century American non-fiction writers\n21st-century American politicians\n21st-century American male writers\nAccidental deaths in Ohio\nActivists from Ohio\nAmerican anti–illegal immigration activists\nAmerican football quarterbacks\nAmerican male non-fiction writers\nAmerican people convicted of tax crimes\nAmerican people of Hungarian descent\nAmerican politicians of Italian descent\nAmerican political writers\nAmerican talk radio hosts\nCandidates in the 1988 United States presidential election\nDeaths from asphyxiation\nDemocratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives\nDemocratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio\nExpelled members of the United States House of Representatives\nFarming accident deaths\nMembers of the United States Congress stripped of committee assignment\nMembers of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio\nMonetary reformers\nOhio Democrats\nOhio Independents\nOhio politicians convicted of crimes\nOhio sheriffs\nPittsburgh Panthers football players\nPoliticians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201\nPoliticians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States\nPoliticians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201\nPoliticians from Youngstown, Ohio\nPrisoners and detainees of the United States federal government\nUniversity of Pittsburgh alumni\nWriters from Youngstown, Ohio\nYoungstown State University alumni", "Lyle Williams (August 23, 1942 – November 7, 2008) was an American politician who served three terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1979 to 1985.\n\nBiography\nWilliams was born in Philippi, West Virginia to Dale and Frankie (Ice) Williams. He attended the public schools of North Bloomfield, Ohio, graduating from Bloomfield High School in 1960. He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1960 to 1968, and worked as a barber. He married Nancie Peterson in 1964 and had four children.\n\nPolitical career \nWilliams began his political career as a member of the Bloomfield school board from 1970 to 1972, before he was elected a Trumbull County Commissioner, serving from 1972 to 1976. He was elected a Republican to the Ninety-sixth Congress in 1978, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat Charles J. Carney in a heavily Democratic working class district that included the industrial cities of Youngstown and Warren. He was reelected in 1980, defeating state Senator Harry Meshel, and in 1982 over George D. Tablack. He was defeated for reelection in 1984 by Mahoning County Sheriff James Traficant.\n\nAfter Congress \nAfter leaving Congress, Williams worked on the external affairs staff of the Office of Surface Mining in the U.S. Department of the Interior, beginning in 1987. He ran unsuccessfully for nomination to the One Hundred Third, One Hundred Eighth, and One Hundred Ninth Congresses.\n\nDeath\nWilliams died of a heart attack in Lordstown, Ohio, on November 7, 2008.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1942 births\n2008 deaths\n20th-century American politicians\nCounty commissioners in Ohio\nMembers of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio\nMilitary personnel from Ohio\nOhio Republicans\nPeople from Philippi, West Virginia\nPoliticians from Warren, Ohio\nRepublican Party members of the United States House of Representatives\nSchool board members in Ohio\nUnited States Army reservists\nUnited States Department of the Interior officials\nRepublican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio" ]
[ "James Traficant", "U.S. House of Representatives", "What was Traficant's connection to the House of Representatives?", "His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were \"Beam me up...\" and \"I yield back the fact...\"" ]	C_a739b0a66aad4710847dd43fffd0f3f1_0	When did he serve?	2	When did James Traficant serve on the House of Representatives?	James Traficant	In the House, Traficant was known for his flamboyant and eccentric style. He often dressed poorly, with narrow neckties (then out of style), wide-lapel sport-coats and an occasional denim suit. He also sported an unkempt pompadour, which he jokingly claimed he cut with a weed whacker (it was revealed, after his conviction, that he wore a toupee). His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were "Beam me up..." and "I yield back the fact..." His website featured a picture of him swinging a two-by-four with the words "Bangin' away in D.C." While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants (the allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held). Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century--outside the top leadership--to lack a single committee assignment. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence. Traficant died on September 27, 2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio. Early life, education, and career Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Hungarian ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 before receiving a B.S. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a second master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University in 1976. At the start of his career, Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses. In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself. Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition. In 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. U.S. House of Representatives While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held. Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment. Defense of John Demjanjuk Traficant championed the unpopular case of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible. For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan) insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction. Defense of Arthur Rudolph Following Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress. He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless. Additionally, he "introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case." Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred. Trial and expulsion In 2001, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. Per longstanding House convention, the House Democrats directed him not to cast any votes from the floor pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics. Eventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote. The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary. Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal. After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan. Prison and later life Incarceration Traficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low, on August 6, 2002, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060. He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. He said that he was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival for incitement to riot after he told a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up." During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation. While in prison, Traficant received support from neo-Nazi David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about "Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that "There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now," and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke. Release Traficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009. On September 6, 2009, 1,200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. "Welcome home Jimbo" was printed on T-shirts. "I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America," he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office. On November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk. Michael Collins Piper defended Traficant against his accusers. 2010 congressional campaign In September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell. Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%. Post-prison life After his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with reactionary politics. Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, "Project Freedom USA", to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve. Accident and death Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as "sedated and not doing well." By September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident. A text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that "the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying." On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73. By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him. FindAGrave website reports that Traficant was cremated. A subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident. The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor on top of him. Publications See also Pat Tillman Paul Wellstone List of United States representatives from Ohio List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes List of federal political scandals in the United States References External links "Look at what Traficant swept under the rug" – CNN, August 1, 2002 Traficant quarterbacking Pitt over Navy Official Website by Nicky Nelson & Jim Condit Jr., Project Freedom USA James Traficant - A Tribute (Video) by Mike Wayne \|- 1941 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths in Ohio Activists from Ohio American anti–illegal immigration activists American football quarterbacks American male non-fiction writers American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Hungarian descent American politicians of Italian descent American political writers American talk radio hosts Candidates in the 1988 United States presidential election Deaths from asphyxiation Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Expelled members of the United States House of Representatives Farming accident deaths Members of the United States Congress stripped of committee assignment Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Monetary reformers Ohio Democrats Ohio Independents Ohio politicians convicted of crimes Ohio sheriffs Pittsburgh Panthers football players Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Politicians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State University alumni	false	[ "Benjamin Gerrish (October 19, 1717 – May 6, 1772) was a merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He was a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1759 to 1768.\n\nHe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of John Gerrish and Sarah Hobbes. Binney married Rebecca Dudley in 1744 and they moved to Halifax around 1751, shortly after his brother Joseph had moved there. Gerrish set up in business with Joseph Gray, his brother Joseph's son-in-law. With others, he lobbied for representative government in the province. He and his brother were elected to the first assembly, but Benjamin was apparently out of the province and did not serve. He did serve in the second to fourth assemblies. In 1760, he was named justice of the peace for Halifax County, a captain in the militia and Indian commissary. When Jonathan Belcher became lieutenant governor, he removed Gerrish from the commissary contract. When Belcher allowed the province's debtor's act to lapse in 1761, Gerrish helped lead a boycott of the assembly which eventually led to Belcher's removal. In 1768, Gerrish was named to the province's Council, resigning his assembly seat on June 27, 1768. He died in Southampton in England at the age of 54.\n\nRebecca, his widow, married John Burbidge, another member of the province's assembly. She is buried, under her married name Gerrish, at the King's Chapel Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts.\n\nReferences \n\n1717 births\n1772 deaths\nNova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs", "Yuri Ponomaryov (; 24 March 1932 – 13 April 2005) was a Russian cosmonaut.\n\nHe married fellow cosmonaut Valentina Ponomaryova in 1972 and the couple had two children before divorcing. As with Valentina, Yuri did not get to fly into space although he did serve on the Soyuz 18 backup crew.\n\nReferences\n\n1932 births\n2005 deaths\nRussian cosmonauts\nSoviet cosmonauts" ]
[ "James Traficant", "U.S. House of Representatives", "What was Traficant's connection to the House of Representatives?", "His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were \"Beam me up...\" and \"I yield back the fact...\"", "When did he serve?", "I don't know." ]	C_a739b0a66aad4710847dd43fffd0f3f1_0	What did he do with the House?	3	What did James Traficant do with the House of Representatives?	James Traficant	In the House, Traficant was known for his flamboyant and eccentric style. He often dressed poorly, with narrow neckties (then out of style), wide-lapel sport-coats and an occasional denim suit. He also sported an unkempt pompadour, which he jokingly claimed he cut with a weed whacker (it was revealed, after his conviction, that he wore a toupee). His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were "Beam me up..." and "I yield back the fact..." His website featured a picture of him swinging a two-by-four with the words "Bangin' away in D.C." While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants (the allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held). Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century--outside the top leadership--to lack a single committee assignment. CANNOTANSWER	On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress,	James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence. Traficant died on September 27, 2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio. Early life, education, and career Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Hungarian ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 before receiving a B.S. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a second master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University in 1976. At the start of his career, Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses. In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself. Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition. In 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. U.S. House of Representatives While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held. Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment. Defense of John Demjanjuk Traficant championed the unpopular case of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible. For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan) insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction. Defense of Arthur Rudolph Following Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress. He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless. Additionally, he "introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case." Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred. Trial and expulsion In 2001, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. Per longstanding House convention, the House Democrats directed him not to cast any votes from the floor pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics. Eventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote. The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary. Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal. After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan. Prison and later life Incarceration Traficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low, on August 6, 2002, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060. He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. He said that he was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival for incitement to riot after he told a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up." During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation. While in prison, Traficant received support from neo-Nazi David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about "Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that "There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now," and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke. Release Traficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009. On September 6, 2009, 1,200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. "Welcome home Jimbo" was printed on T-shirts. "I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America," he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office. On November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk. Michael Collins Piper defended Traficant against his accusers. 2010 congressional campaign In September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell. Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%. Post-prison life After his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with reactionary politics. Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, "Project Freedom USA", to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve. Accident and death Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as "sedated and not doing well." By September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident. A text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that "the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying." On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73. By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him. FindAGrave website reports that Traficant was cremated. A subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident. The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor on top of him. Publications See also Pat Tillman Paul Wellstone List of United States representatives from Ohio List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes List of federal political scandals in the United States References External links "Look at what Traficant swept under the rug" – CNN, August 1, 2002 Traficant quarterbacking Pitt over Navy Official Website by Nicky Nelson & Jim Condit Jr., Project Freedom USA James Traficant - A Tribute (Video) by Mike Wayne \|- 1941 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths in Ohio Activists from Ohio American anti–illegal immigration activists American football quarterbacks American male non-fiction writers American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Hungarian descent American politicians of Italian descent American political writers American talk radio hosts Candidates in the 1988 United States presidential election Deaths from asphyxiation Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Expelled members of the United States House of Representatives Farming accident deaths Members of the United States Congress stripped of committee assignment Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Monetary reformers Ohio Democrats Ohio Independents Ohio politicians convicted of crimes Ohio sheriffs Pittsburgh Panthers football players Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Politicians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State University alumni	true	[ "Robert Paul Smith (April 16, 1915 – January 30, 1977) was an American author, most famous for his classic evocation of childhood, Where Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing.\n\nBiography\nRobert Paul Smith was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, and graduated from Columbia College in 1936. He worked as a writer for CBS Radio and wrote four novels: So It Doesn't Whistle (1946) (1941, according to Avon Publishing Co., Inc., reprint edition ... Plus Blood in Their Veins copyright 1952); The Journey, (1943); Because of My Love (1946); The Time and the Place (1951).\n\nThe Tender Trap, a play by Smith and Dobie Gillis creator Max Shulman, opened in 1954 with Robert Preston in the leading role. It was later made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds. A classic example of the \"battle-of-the-sexes\" comedy, it revolves around the mutual envy of a bachelor living in New York City and a settled family man living in the New York suburbs.\n\nWhere Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing is a nostalgic evocation of the inner life of childhood. It advocates the value of privacy to children; the importance of unstructured time; the joys of boredom; and the virtues of freedom from adult supervision. He opens by saying \"The thing is, I don't understand what kids do with themselves any more.\" He contrasts the overstructured, overscheduled, oversupervised suburban life of the child in the suburban 1950's with reminiscences of his own childhood. He concludes \"I guess what I am saying is that people who don't have nightmares don't have dreams. If you will excuse me, I have an appointment with myself to sit on the front steps and watch some grass growing.\"\n\nTranslations from the English (1958) collects a series of articles originally published in Good Housekeeping magazine. The first, \"Translations from the Children,\" may be the earliest known example of the genre of humor that consists of a series of translations from what is said (e.g. \"I don't know why. He just hit me\") into what is meant (e.g. \"He hit his brother.\")\n\nHow to Do Nothing With Nobody All Alone By Yourself (1958) is a how-to book, illustrated by Robert Paul Smith's wife Elinor Goulding Smith. It gives step-by-step directions on how to: play mumbly-peg; build a spool tank; make polly-noses; construct an indoor boomerang, etc. It was republished in 2010 by Tin House Books.\n\nList of works\n\nEssays and humor\nWhere Did You Go? Out. What Did You Do? Nothing (1957)\nTranslations from the English (1958) \nCrank: A Book of Lamentations, Exhortations, Mixed Memories and Desires, All Hard Or Chewy Centers, No Creams(1962)\nHow to Grow Up in One Piece (1963)\nGot to Stop Draggin’ that Little Red Wagon Around (1969)\nRobert Paul Smith’s Lost & Found (1973)\n\nFor children\nJack Mack, illus. Erik Blegvad (1960)\nWhen I Am Big, illus. Lillian Hoban (1965)\nNothingatall, Nothingatall, Nothingatall, illus. Allan E. Cober (1965)\nHow To Do Nothing With No One All Alone By Yourself, illus Elinor Goulding Smith (1958) Republished by Tin House Books (2010)\n\nNovels\nSo It Doesn't Whistle (1941) \nThe Journey (1943) \nBecause of My Love (1946) \nThe Time and the Place (1952)\nWhere He Went: Three Novels (1958)\n\nTheatre\nThe Tender Trap, by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith (first Broadway performance, 1954; Random House edition, 1955)\n\nVerse\nThe Man with the Gold-headed Cane (1943)\n…and Another Thing (1959)\n\nExternal links\n\n1915 births\n1977 deaths\n20th-century American novelists\nAmerican children's writers\nAmerican humorists\nAmerican instructional writers\nAmerican male novelists\n20th-century American dramatists and playwrights\nAmerican male dramatists and playwrights\n20th-century American male writers\n20th-century American non-fiction writers\nAmerican male non-fiction writers\nColumbia College (New York) alumni", "\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)" ]
[ "James Traficant", "U.S. House of Representatives", "What was Traficant's connection to the House of Representatives?", "His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were \"Beam me up...\" and \"I yield back the fact...\"", "When did he serve?", "I don't know.", "What did he do with the House?", "On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress," ]	C_a739b0a66aad4710847dd43fffd0f3f1_0	What other issues did he focus on?	4	What other issues did James Traficant focus on other than abortion?	James Traficant	In the House, Traficant was known for his flamboyant and eccentric style. He often dressed poorly, with narrow neckties (then out of style), wide-lapel sport-coats and an occasional denim suit. He also sported an unkempt pompadour, which he jokingly claimed he cut with a weed whacker (it was revealed, after his conviction, that he wore a toupee). His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were "Beam me up..." and "I yield back the fact..." His website featured a picture of him swinging a two-by-four with the words "Bangin' away in D.C." While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants (the allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held). Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century--outside the top leadership--to lack a single committee assignment. CANNOTANSWER	he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton.	James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence. Traficant died on September 27, 2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio. Early life, education, and career Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Hungarian ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 before receiving a B.S. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a second master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University in 1976. At the start of his career, Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses. In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself. Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition. In 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. U.S. House of Representatives While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held. Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment. Defense of John Demjanjuk Traficant championed the unpopular case of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible. For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan) insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction. Defense of Arthur Rudolph Following Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress. He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless. Additionally, he "introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case." Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred. Trial and expulsion In 2001, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. Per longstanding House convention, the House Democrats directed him not to cast any votes from the floor pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics. Eventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote. The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary. Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal. After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan. Prison and later life Incarceration Traficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low, on August 6, 2002, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060. He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. He said that he was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival for incitement to riot after he told a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up." During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation. While in prison, Traficant received support from neo-Nazi David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about "Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that "There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now," and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke. Release Traficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009. On September 6, 2009, 1,200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. "Welcome home Jimbo" was printed on T-shirts. "I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America," he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office. On November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk. Michael Collins Piper defended Traficant against his accusers. 2010 congressional campaign In September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell. Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%. Post-prison life After his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with reactionary politics. Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, "Project Freedom USA", to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve. Accident and death Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as "sedated and not doing well." By September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident. A text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that "the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying." On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73. By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him. FindAGrave website reports that Traficant was cremated. A subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident. The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor on top of him. Publications See also Pat Tillman Paul Wellstone List of United States representatives from Ohio List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes List of federal political scandals in the United States References External links "Look at what Traficant swept under the rug" – CNN, August 1, 2002 Traficant quarterbacking Pitt over Navy Official Website by Nicky Nelson & Jim Condit Jr., Project Freedom USA James Traficant - A Tribute (Video) by Mike Wayne \|- 1941 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths in Ohio Activists from Ohio American anti–illegal immigration activists American football quarterbacks American male non-fiction writers American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Hungarian descent American politicians of Italian descent American political writers American talk radio hosts Candidates in the 1988 United States presidential election Deaths from asphyxiation Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Expelled members of the United States House of Representatives Farming accident deaths Members of the United States Congress stripped of committee assignment Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Monetary reformers Ohio Democrats Ohio Independents Ohio politicians convicted of crimes Ohio sheriffs Pittsburgh Panthers football players Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Politicians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State University alumni	true	[ "PROGRES (Programme of Research on the Service Economy) is a research programme set up by the Geneva Association, also known as the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics. It focuses on questions related to regulation, supervision and international co-operation of insurance and financial services as well as other legal issues of importance. The research programme manages The Geneva Association's co-operation with the supervisory authorities around the world and in particular with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. The objectives of PROGRES are:\n\n to identify and analyse the current and future developments of the service economy;\n to gain a better understanding of the role of services and especially financial services as an important contributing factor to the efficient organisation of the modern economy; and\n to investigate the consequences of changes in services for insurance and the impact of developments in insurance on the service economy\n\nPROGRES organises annual international seminars with a special focus on global financial services. These seminars have operated successfully since 1983 to provide an annual forum and focal point for up to 60 specialist inter-disciplinary participants - private-sector practitioners and experts from representative organisations, academics, officials from governments and intergovernmental organisations - to discuss and debate in an informal way issues raised by the moves at the GATT/GATS to liberalise international trade in services. More recently, PROGRES has worked to raise awareness of the extent and success of co-operation between financial services regulators at the global level.\n\nSelected Key Issues\n\n What are the regulatory necessities in a more globalised world? What are the cost-benefit structures?\n Accounting and solvency issues: What are the approaches to solvency regulation? What are the systemic risks in the insurance sector?\n In the present search for well-managed financial services activity and regulation, many international institutions are more and more evaluating not only the banking world but also insurance: How can we assure that this process does not create harmful, bureaucratic rules but on the contrary helps to enhance the ability and the better understanding of insurance?\n How far will large insurance companies strive to be present in every single market in the world and how?\n What about modern insurance balance sheet management? Is it realistic to expect a major and increasing source of income for insurance in providing services for a fee?\n Bancassurance: A distribution strategy first? An asset management necessity? The future of holdings? Economies of scale versus complexity issues.\n What will the next round of reorganisation in financial services bring? Consolidation versus concentration/focus.\n E-commerce, m-commerce, e-insurance, and m-insurance: Really the new (r)evolution?\n\nPublications\n\n PROGRES, Geneva Association Information Newsletter, The Geneva Association\n Etudes et Dossiers, Working Paper Series, The Geneva Association\n The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, formerly The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory (until March 2005), The Geneva Association & Springer\n Law and Economics, International Liability Regimes, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Vol.31 - No.2 / April 2006, Palgrave Macmillan\n Insurance Law and Economics, Regulation and Financial Stability, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Vol.29 - No.2 / April 2004, Palgrave Macmillan\n Economic Issues in Insurance, Social Issues in Insurance, Insurance Worldwide, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Vol.26 - No.3 / July 2001, Palgrave Macmillan\n Issues in Law and Economics, Financial Services and Insurance, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Vol.25 - No.2 / April 2000, Palgrave Macmillan\n Issues in Law and Economics, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.87 / April 1998\n The Law and Economics of Insurance, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.78 / January 1996\n World Insurance, Economics Issues, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.75 / April 1995\n The Law and Economics of Insurance and of Services, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.70 / January 1994\n The Economics of Insurance, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.66 / January 1993\n Essays in Insurance Economics, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.50 / January 1989\n Essays in Insurance Economics, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.47 / April 1988\n Essays in Insurance Economics, The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, No.42 / January 1987\n\nExternal links\n The Geneva Association website (known as the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics) \n The IAIS website, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors\n\nReferences\n\nEconomic research institutes\nInsurance industry organizations", "Slow Focus is the third studio album by Fuck Buttons, released on 22 July 2013. It peaked at number 36 on the UK Albums Chart. It was the first album released by ATP Recordings to reach the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.\n\nCritical reception\n\nUpon its release, Slow Focus received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 81, based on 39 reviews, indicating \"universal acclaim.\"\n\nAllMusic reviewer Heather Phares noted that Fuck Buttons' self production work was a measure of \"how much they've come into their own\" and that \"Slow Focus delivers some of their most masterful and seemingly effortless music yet.\" Mike Madden, writing for Consequence of Sound, described it as \"a seven-track ride at turns gloopy and glassy, invigorating and dark,\" noting that \"all told, this is pretty epic stuff.\" Drowned in Sound critic Andrzej Lukowski observed that Slow Focus displayed \"a strange, alien detachment\" with an \"undercurrent of menace,\" but stated that the album \"isn’t alienating, it’s other, and it’s a pleasure to take a wander around its unfamiliar landscapes\". In his review for The Guardian where he commented that Slow Focus \"seems slightly more commercial than its predecessor, although such things are obviously relative,\" Alexis Petridis concluded that \"the only real response is to listen and gawp.\" NME reviewer Noel Gardner opined that it was \"all-consuming and consistently impressive from the off\" and stated that the band \"can be proud of what they continue to achieve.\"\n\nYear-End Rankings \n\n\"N/A\" indicates that the publication did not rank the works included in their year-end list.\n\nTrack Accolades \n\n\"N/A\" indicates that the publication did not rank the works included in their year-end list.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nCredits adapted from liner notes.\n\n Fuck Buttons – music, production, recording, mixing\n Mat Rowlands – initial track recording\n Nina Walsh – initial track recording\n Jimmy Robertson – mix engineering\n Bob Weston – mastering\n Benjamin John Power – artwork\n Alex de Mora – photography\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \nSlow Focus on Metacritic\nSlow Focus on AllMusic\nSlow Focus on RYM\n\n2013 albums\nFuck Buttons albums\nATP Recordings albums" ]
[ "James Traficant", "U.S. House of Representatives", "What was Traficant's connection to the House of Representatives?", "His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were \"Beam me up...\" and \"I yield back the fact...\"", "When did he serve?", "I don't know.", "What did he do with the House?", "On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress,", "What other issues did he focus on?", "he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton." ]	C_a739b0a66aad4710847dd43fffd0f3f1_0	Is there anything else notable during this time?	5	Is there anything else notable during James Traficant's time in the House of Representatives other than voting against Bill Clinton's impeachment and James' stance on abortion??	James Traficant	In the House, Traficant was known for his flamboyant and eccentric style. He often dressed poorly, with narrow neckties (then out of style), wide-lapel sport-coats and an occasional denim suit. He also sported an unkempt pompadour, which he jokingly claimed he cut with a weed whacker (it was revealed, after his conviction, that he wore a toupee). His trademark closing lines while addressing the House were "Beam me up..." and "I yield back the fact..." His website featured a picture of him swinging a two-by-four with the words "Bangin' away in D.C." While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants (the allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held). Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century--outside the top leadership--to lack a single committee assignment. CANNOTANSWER	After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority	James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered on his hometown of Youngstown and included parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled from the House after being convicted of 10 felony counts including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his Congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C. He was sentenced to prison and released on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence. Traficant died on September 27, 2014, following a tractor accident at his farm in Green Township, Ohio. Early life, education, and career Born into a working-class Catholic family in Youngstown, Ohio, Traficant was the son of Agnes (née Farkas) and James Anthony Traficant Sr. He was of mostly Italian and Hungarian ancestry. Traficant graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1959 before receiving a B.S. in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1963. He played quarterback for Pitt's football team, and his teammates included Mike Ditka. Traficant was drafted in the NFL's twentieth round (276th overall) by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1963, and tried out for the Steelers and the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League, but did not play professionally. He later obtained an M.S. in educational administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973 and a second master's degree in counseling from Youngstown State University in 1976. At the start of his career, Traficant was the consumer finance director for the Youngstown Community Action Program. He taught courses on drug and alcohol dependency and recovery at Youngstown State University and Kent State University, as well as lecturing on drug and alcohol abuse for colleges and government agencies outside Ohio. In addition, Traficant taught at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy. He was the executive director of the Mahoning County Drug Program from 1971 to 1981, and Sheriff of Mahoning County from 1981 to 1985. While serving as sheriff, Traficant made national headlines by refusing to execute foreclosure orders on several unemployed homeowners, many of whom had been left out of work. This endeared him to the local population, which was dealing with a declining economy following the closures and relocations of steel making and steel-associated businesses. In 1983, he was charged with racketeering for accepting bribes. Traficant, who represented himself in the criminal trial, argued that he accepted the bribes only as part of his own alleged secret undercover investigation into corruption. Traficant was acquitted of the charges, becoming the only person ever to win a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case while representing himself. Publicity from the RICO trial increased Traficant's local visibility. He was elected as a Democrat to Congress from Ohio's 17th District, defeating Lyle Williams, a three-term Republican incumbent. He was reelected eight times without serious opposition. In 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. U.S. House of Representatives While in Congress, Traficant was a supporter of immigration reduction, and a strong opponent of illegal immigration. In the controversy surrounding the defeat of Congressman Bob Dornan (R-CA) by Democrat Loretta Sanchez, Traficant was the only Democratic member of Congress who advocated a new election, due to Dornan's allegations of voting in that race by undocumented immigrants. The allegations went unproven, and a new election was not held. Traficant's major legislative accomplishment in the House was the adoption of some of his proposals to constrain enforcement activities by the Internal Revenue Service against delinquent taxpayers. After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party. On the issue of abortion, Traficant voted with the position of the National Right to Life Committee 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses. However, he voted against all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him any committee assignments. Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committees either, Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century—outside the top leadership—to lack a single committee assignment. Defense of John Demjanjuk Traficant championed the unpopular case of John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian-born autoworker from Seven Hills, who had been convicted in Israel and sentenced to hang for having been the brutal Nazi concentration camp guard Ivan the Terrible. For almost a decade, Traficant (along with Pat Buchanan) insisted that Demjanjuk had been denied a fair trial, and been the victim of mistaken identity; in 1993 the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the conviction, on the basis of doubt. Demjanjuk was later deported to Germany on May 11, 2009, after the Supreme Court of the United States refused to overturn his deportation order. Demjanjuk was tried and convicted by a German criminal court of being an accessory to murder, but died before the German Appellate Court could hear his case, thereby voiding the conviction. Defense of Arthur Rudolph Following Pat Buchanan's recommendation to reconsider the denaturalization of former Nazi and NASA scientist Arthur Rudolph, who had been brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip, Traficant spoke to the Friends of Arthur Rudolph, an organization based in Huntsville, Alabama. He argued that denaturalization had happened because of a "powerful Jewish lobby" influencing Congress. He added that it was a violation of a United States citizen's civil rights, and he suggested that Rudolph return to the United States nonetheless. Additionally, he "introduced a resolution in Congress [...] calling for an investigation into the OSI's handling of Rudolph's case." Meanwhile, in 1990, Traficant had planned to meet Rudolph in Niagara Falls, on the Canadian–American border; however, Rudolph was arrested by immigration officials in Toronto, and the meeting never occurred. Trial and expulsion In 2001, Traficant was indicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. Again, he opted to represent himself, insisting that the trial was part of a vendetta against him dating back to his 1983 trial. After a two-month federal trial, on April 11, 2002, he was convicted of 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion. Per longstanding House convention, the House Democrats directed him not to cast any votes from the floor pending an investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics. Eventually, the House Ethics Committee recommended that Traficant be expelled from Congress. On July 24, the House voted to expel him by a 420–1 vote. The sole vote against expulsion was Representative Gary Condit, who at the time was in the midst of a scandal of his own and had been defeated in his reelection primary. Traficant was the first representative to be expelled since Michael Myers's expulsion in 1980 as a result of the Abscam scandal. After his expulsion, Traficant ran as an independent candidate for another term in the House while incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Allenwood. He received 28,045 votes, or 15 percent, and became one of only a handful of individuals in the history of the United States to run for a federal office from prison. The election was won by one of his former aides, Tim Ryan. Prison and later life Incarceration Traficant entered the Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low, on August 6, 2002, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ID # 31213-060. He served his first seventeen months at Allenwood. He said that he was put in solitary confinement shortly after his arrival for incitement to riot after he told a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up." During the seven years of his incarceration, Traficant refused any visitors, saying that he didn't want anyone to see him. He was released on September 2, 2009, at age 68, and was subject to three years of probation. While in prison, Traficant received support from neo-Nazi David Duke, who urged visitors to his personal website to donate to his personal fund. Duke posted a letter written by Traficant stating that he was targeted by the United States Department of Justice for, among other things, defending John Demjanjuk. Traficant also claimed, in the letter, that he knew facts about "Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the John F. Kennedy assassination", which he may divulge in the future. Author Michael Collins Piper, who authored Target: Traficant, The Untold Story initially helped circulate Traficant's letter, said that "There's stuff I've written about Traficant that's showing up in places I don't even know. It's like (six) degrees of separation with the Internet now," and denied that Traficant had any direct connections to Duke. Release Traficant was released from prison on September 2, 2009. On September 6, 2009, 1,200 supporters welcomed him home at a banquet with an Elvis impersonator, and a Traficant lookalike contest. "Welcome home Jimbo" was printed on T-shirts. "I think it's time to tell the FBI and the IRS that this is our country and we're tired—tired of the pressure, tired of the political targeting, tired of a powerful central government that is crippling America," he said. He also said he was considering running for his old seat in Congress. Traficant signed a limited, three-month contract to work as a part-time weekend talk radio host for Cleveland news/talk station WTAM in January 2010. His contract permitted him to quit if he chose to run for office. On November 2, 2009, a column by Traficant in the American Free Press continued his defense of the accused concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk. Michael Collins Piper defended Traficant against his accusers. 2010 congressional campaign In September 2010, Traficant was certified to run for the same seat he held before his expulsion, and said that his platform would be to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Traficant lost the election to his former aide Tim Ryan, to whom he lost an earlier race in 2002, in which Traficant ran as an independent from his prison cell. Traficant received 30,556 votes, or 16%. Post-prison life After his release from prison, he was featured as a guest speaker at a Tea Party protest in Columbiana, Ohio, among other events affiliated with reactionary politics. Traficant began a grassroots campaign in July 2014, "Project Freedom USA", to, among other things, put people pressure on Congress to get rid of the IRS and "divorce" the Federal Reserve. Accident and death Traficant was injured in an accident at his farm on September 23, 2014. A tractor he was driving into a pole barn flipped over and trapped him underneath. Traficant was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center in Salem, Ohio, then airlifted to St. Elizabeth's Health Center in Youngstown. On the evening of September 24, his wife described him as "sedated and not doing well." By September 26, via news reports and statements from attorney and family spokesman Heidi Hanni, it was learned that the family was awaiting the doctors' assessment; there was no word as to whether or not Traficant had suffered a heart attack, but he was still unconscious and was being sedated for pain and other reasons. A number of longtime family friends, including Linda Kovachik, a former congressional aide to Traficant, told The Vindicator that it is believed Traficant had a heart attack, causing the tractor accident. A text message was sent out Friday evening September 26 by Jim Condit Jr., the Constitution Party candidate for Ohio's 8th congressional district and a close friend who had been traveling with Traficant to help promote Project Freedom USA. The text message stated that "the machines were disconnected at 2:00 p.m. (Friday). He is still breathing. Thousands are praying." On September 27, 2014, Traficant died at a hospice in Poland, Ohio, aged 73. By September 29, Traficant's body had been buried in an undisclosed location after the family had a private funeral, and announced that there would be no public funeral for him. FindAGrave website reports that Traficant was cremated. A subsequent medical investigation determined that Traficant had not had a heart attack or seizure before the accident, and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, he had not sustained any crushing injuries in the accident. The forensic pathologist who conducted the examination attributed Traficant's death to positional asphyxiation, stating that he had been unable to breathe because of the weight of the tractor on top of him. Publications See also Pat Tillman Paul Wellstone List of United States representatives from Ohio List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes List of federal political scandals in the United States References External links "Look at what Traficant swept under the rug" – CNN, August 1, 2002 Traficant quarterbacking Pitt over Navy Official Website by Nicky Nelson & Jim Condit Jr., Project Freedom USA James Traficant - A Tribute (Video) by Mike Wayne \|- 1941 births 2014 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths in Ohio Activists from Ohio American anti–illegal immigration activists American football quarterbacks American male non-fiction writers American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Hungarian descent American politicians of Italian descent American political writers American talk radio hosts Candidates in the 1988 United States presidential election Deaths from asphyxiation Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Expelled members of the United States House of Representatives Farming accident deaths Members of the United States Congress stripped of committee assignment Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Monetary reformers Ohio Democrats Ohio Independents Ohio politicians convicted of crimes Ohio sheriffs Pittsburgh Panthers football players Politicians convicted of bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States Politicians convicted of illegal gratuities under 18 U.S.C. § 201 Politicians from Youngstown, Ohio Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government University of Pittsburgh alumni Writers from Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown State University alumni	true	[ "Transcendent truths are those unaffected by time or space. They define the world, but are not defined by the world. An example of a transcendent truth is \"God is good\", or \"there is no God\". Either way, how one looks at things contained by time and space is a result of the transcendent truth. One is true; both cannot be true at the same time.\n\nWorld views are made up of transcendent truths, things we believe are true before we question whether or not anything else is true.\n\nTheories of truth", "In baseball, a fair ball is a batted ball that entitles the batter to attempt to reach first base. By contrast, a foul ball is a batted ball that does not entitle the batter to attempt to reach first base. Whether a batted ball is fair or foul is determined by the location of the ball at the appropriate reference point, as follows:\n\n if the ball leaves the playing field without touching anything, the point where the ball leaves the field;\n else, if the ball first lands past first or third base without touching anything, the point where the ball lands;\n else, if the ball rolls or bounces past first or third base without touching anything other than the ground, the point where the ball passes the base;\n else, if the ball touches anything other than the ground (such as an umpire, a player, or any equipment left on the field) before any of the above happens, the point of such touching;\n else (the ball comes to a rest before reaching first or third base), the point where the ball comes to a rest.\n\nIf any part of the ball is on or above fair territory at the appropriate reference point, it is fair; else it is foul. Fair territory or fair ground is defined as the area of the playing field between the two foul lines, and includes the foul lines themselves and the foul poles. However, certain exceptions exist:\n\n A ball that touches first, second, or third base is always fair.\n Under Rule 5.09(a)(7)-(8), if a batted ball touches the batter or his bat while the batter is in the batter's box and not intentionally interfering with the course of the ball, the ball is foul.\n A ball that hits the foul pole without first having touched anything else off the bat is fair.\n Ground rules may provide whether a ball hitting specific objects (e.g. roof, overhead speaker) is fair or foul.\n\nOn a fair ball, the batter attempts to reach first base or any subsequent base, runners attempt to advance and fielders try to record outs. A fair ball is considered a live ball until the ball becomes dead by leaving the field or any other method.\n\nReferences\n\nBaseball rules" ]
[ "Shawn Michaels", "Hall of Famer (2010-2011)" ]	C_1754af2e4240450798d9a7b700c912af_0	What did he get in the hall of fame for?	1	What did Shawn Michaels get in the hall of fame for?	Shawn Michaels	On the December 14 Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. He made his in-person TV return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. CANNOTANSWER	He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee.	Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until a back injury forced his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years and returned to the ring for a match in his own Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in 2000. Michaels resumed his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 and retired ceremoniously in 2010, before being assigned as a trainer in 2016. He returned for a final match in 2018. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the number one entrant), the first WWF Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWF Triple Crown Champion, as well as a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee (2011 as singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007, was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship Raw program. Early life Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and said he performed a wrestling routine in his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1985) Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews, losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Texas All-Star Wrestling (1985–1986) After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. American Wrestling Association (1986–1987) Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (1987–1988) In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. Return to the WWF/E The Rockers (1988–1992) The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of the 1989 Survivor Series. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) before the title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995) At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building". At WrestleMania VIII, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage, held on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won the title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the Survivor Series, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw, but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel. In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid – a charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. On August 28, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite. Formation of the Kliq (1995–1996) Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and he went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship in July at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas at In Your House: Great White North, who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of the Kliq. This event has been cited as an example of the Kliq holding others down. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw, Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. WWF Champion (1996–1998) After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for the second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels's championship reign ended at the Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble. On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday, Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left the WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch, a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War, signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in November 1997 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to D-Generation X member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. First retirement and hiatus (1998–2002) At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win the match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War. Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Michaels re-joined D-X as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for a few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered a low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley, and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon in December 2000. Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. During his time as a teacher at the academy, he had his first match since 1998 on April 4, 2000, where he defeated Venom in a Hardcore Street Fight. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels was also a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short period during his retirement. Feud with Triple H (2002–2004) On the June 3 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE television after an absence of 18 months when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that lasted for several years. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. Michaels's reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon. Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. Despite this, Michaels was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. On the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed the match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision and declared the match a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place in April at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, where Benoit successfully retained it, forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus. D-Generation X reunion (2005–2007) At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on SmackDown!, Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. Later, in a WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery) at Vengeance. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match against Carlito and Kurt Angle, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. Michaels followed this up with a short feud with Chris Masters, becoming the first person to cleanly defeat him at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music. On the October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw, he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match. Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series in a losing effort. On the December 26, 2005, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels's matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels's opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as D-X. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On Raw, the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw, D-X officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the D-X "crotch chops." At Vengeance, D-X defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, D-X once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match, finally ending the nine-month long feud. At Cyber Sunday, D-X took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat D-X in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team D-X emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in a clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over D-X, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of D-X. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the contest by the Winner of the match, The Undertaker. Various feuds and championship pursuits (2007–2009) On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a triple threat number one contender's match on the February 5 episode of Raw to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels's feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of Raw, performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels's eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage. A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had an in-ring contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During this, they started to fight, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. The next month, at No Mercy, Michaels lost a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Jericho. In December 2008, Michaels was written in a storyline where he lost his family's savings due to the global recession and reluctantly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at Armageddon. After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble, and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels defeated JBL at No Way Out, letting him out of his contract early, while still receiving full payment. On the March 2 Raw, Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov, and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 in April. Michaels then began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with The Undertaker from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point when all their matches resulted in interference. This renewed feud was two dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of the Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even briefly abandoning his "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick to portray a heaven-esque, bright side anti-Deadman Undertaker variant (Michaels is a real-life born again Christian). The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance from high in the air portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground. After a suspenseful, competitive wrestling match, Shawn Michaels was defeated, thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE. Final matches and second retirement (2009–2010) Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw, where he had, in storyline, left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H tried to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform D-X. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, D-X defeated Legacy. The two teams exchanged victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, D-X defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. D-X lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of Raw; the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. The following night, on the March 29 episode of Raw, Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building." In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010–2018) On the December 14, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his in-person television return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. On the February 13, 2012 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H about accepting The Undertaker's challenge for a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and announced he would be the special guest referee for it. Despite interference on Triple H's behalf from Michaels, The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania. After Michaels and The Undertaker assisted Triple H out of the ring and up the ramp, the three embraced. Michaels appeared at Raw 1000 on July 23 alongside fellow D-Generation X alumni Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow before Michaels struck him with Sweet Chin Music and Triple H delivered a Pedigree. The group then performed their signature poses before departing. Michaels appeared on the August 6 episode of Raw. He was confronted by Brock Lesnar (who was scheduled to face Triple H at SummerSlam) and Paul Heyman. Michaels announced he would be in Triple H's corner for the match. After the show ended, many WWE Superstars (including John Cena and The Undertaker) celebrated Michaels's career. The live audience festivities were titled "Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night", as the show took place in Michaels's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. On the following week's episode of Raw, Lesnar (kayfabe) broke Michaels's arm after putting Michaels in a Kimura Lock. As a result, Michaels was unable to appear; Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam. On the January 24, 2013 episode of NXT, Michaels announced a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. On the April 1, 2013 Raw, Michaels returned to offer to corner Triple H in his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. During that match, Michaels superkicked an interfering Paul Heyman, helping Triple H win and keep his job. He returned on the May 27 Raw in a backstage segment with John Cena, and again on the SummerSlam pre-show. In October 2013, Michaels won a fan poll to become special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. He performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan, allowing Orton to win. The next night on Raw, he explained that he was upset with Bryan for attacking Triple H during the match. He degraded Bryan for not showing him respect, turning heel for the first time since 2005. Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock on Michaels to end the segment. On December 9, he presented Bryan with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Later that night, Bryan attacked Michaels with a running knee after Michaels attacked CM Punk with Sweet Chin Music. All three legends then became involved in an altercation with Big Show. Michaels appeared at WrestleMania 31, interfering as a member of DX in the Sting-Triple H match, performing Sweet Chin Music to Sting. Michaels appeared on the October 19, 2015, episode of Raw, confronting Seth Rollins who was cutting a promo on relieving Kane of his duties as Director of Operations. At WrestleMania 32, Michaels made an appearance during the event in his in-ring attire, confronting The League of Nations alongside Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin where Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett before celebrating with Foley, Austin and The New Day. In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE, promoting his new film. Michaels was then confronted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal, before Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to Michaels's side, leading to a match between Big Cass and Mahal, with Michaels being in Big Cass's corner. Big Cass won the match after Michaels superkicked Rusev at ringside, distracting Mahal. On the March 13 episode of Raw, Michaels gave Roman Reigns advice about The Undertaker for their match at WrestleMania 33, before Braun Strowman attacked Reigns on the entrance ramp. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Michaels along with Terry Taylor teach the finishing class at the WWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes. Michaels and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years. One match return and NXT backstage work (2018–present) On the September 3, 2018, episode of Raw, Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On the October 8 edition of Raw, Michaels appeared with Triple H and announced that he was coming out of retirement to reform D-Generation X. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, D-Generation X defeated The Brothers of Destruction. The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award. Afterwards, Michaels confirmed that he would be going back into retirement. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Michaels was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show. On the February 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Michaels along with special guests Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting appeared during the main event segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. However, Flair would be attacked by Batista instead of appearing on-screen. In April 2019, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of D-Generation X as part of the 2019 class. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Legacy Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He received praises for several matches, including 15 Match of the Year awards between Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. WrestleMania. Sumit Rehal of Independent UK in his top 10 WrestleMania matches listed Michels 3 times (vs Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV). In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. His rivalry with Bret Hart has been named one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and more. After 8 years retired from in-ring competition, Michaels made his return at Crown Jewel, receiving criticism from the fans and media. PWTorch's Wade Keller said "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Personal life Hickenbottom's first marriage, to Theresa Wood, soon ended in an amicably settled divorce. He married Rebecca Curci, a former WCW Nitro Girl known as Whisper, on March 31, 1999, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only the couple and an Elvis impersonator were present. Their son, Cameron Kade, was born on January 15, 2000, and a daughter, Cheyenne, born on August 19, 2004, followed. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler, having wrestled in TNA and WWE. In 1996, Hickenbottom posed for a non-nude layout in Playgirl magazine. Only after he posed did he discover Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, for which some of his fellow wrestlers teased him. He is ambidextrous, and had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a boy. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position. In 1987, Hickenbottom developed a pattern of "heavy" substance abuse, which eventually alienated some of his closest friends. He contemplated suicide in the late 1980s, and suggested that psychological intervention was "probably sorely needed" by the late 1990s. His wife Rebecca observed: "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." Hickenbottom's fear that he was going to negatively influence his young son, prompted him to abandon his previous lifestyle. Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. Hickenbottom was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown, San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. In 2008, he appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network program with fellow professional wrestler Sting. Other media Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels joins his hunting partner and longtime friend, Keith Mark, owner and operator of the original MacMillan River Adventures camp in Yukon, Canada, as they hunt big-game animals around the world. This series airs on CarbonTV. Filmography Film Television HBK Line During their 2015–16 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. Pens' game-day staff would regularly play Michaels's theme "Sexy Boy" over the Consol Energy Center PA system after goals or excellent shifts by line members. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. Keisel also gave Michaels a tour of the city including at the Steelers headquarters and having lunch at Primanti Brothers in the city's Strip District. The Penguins lost the game in overtime 4–3 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. Michaels eventually befriended Keisel and attended his annual "Shear Da Beard" event in 2017. Outside of his numerous appearances with WWE, it was not Michaels first visit to Pittsburgh. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township. While the Penguins successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship the following year, the HBK Line was broken up when Kessel was moved to the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Bonino left the team in free agency. Book On February 10, 2015, Hickenbottom published an autobiography entitled Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar. It was co-written by David Thomas. Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty The Baltimore Sun Feud of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2007) Match of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2009) Match of the Year (2010) Wrestler of the Year (2008) Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2018) CBS Sports Worst Angle of the Year (2018) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty Continental Wrestling Association AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Chris Jericho Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Decade (2010-2019) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17 Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22 Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on Raw on April 23 Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010) Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996) Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996 Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 33 and No. 55 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Marty Jannetty and Diesel, respectively, in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Texas All-Star Wrestling TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Diamond & DJ Peterson Texas Wrestling Alliance TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) WWF European Championship (1 time) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1) Royal Rumble (1995, 1996) First Grand Slam Champion Fourth Triple Crown Champion Slammy Award (15 times) Best Finisher (1997) Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996) Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel Best Threads (1996) Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Leader of the New Generation (1996) Master of Mat Mechanics (1996) Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X; vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam; vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII; vs The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House; vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV; vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) Class of 2011 – individually Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Babyface (1996) Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder match at No Mercy Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Worst Match of the Year (2018) with Triple H vs. The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Most Charismatic (1995, 1996) Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) References Further reading External links 1965 births American football linebackers American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American people of English descent D-Generation X members Living people Professional wrestlers from Arizona Professional wrestling authority figures Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Texas State University alumni The Kliq members The New World Order (professional wrestling) members World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions	false	[ "Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?: Baseball, Cooperstown, and the Politics of Glory is a book by baseball sabermetrician and author Bill James. Originally published in 1994 as The Politics of Glory, the book covers the unique history of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the evolution of its standards, and arguments for individual players in a typically Jamesian, stat-driven manner. James drives home early on the heated and biased nature of Hall of Fame arguments between fans and writers alike. He states that his goal is not to serve individual players or candidates but to \"reinforce the truth in what other people say\" and to \"serve the argument itself.\"\n\nJames primarily uses five of his own statistical methods for his justifications:\nSimilarity scores. Used to compare two particular players, which is useful (for example) in verifying if Player A, who is not in the Hall, is truly similar to Player B, who is.\nThe Hall of Fame Standards List. First introduced in this book, the Career Standards List is a series of 100 questions that measures objective accomplishment that might be expected of a Hall of Fame caliber player (for example, Did he have 3,000 hits? Did he hit .300?), with the average Hall of Famer answering yes to 50. The highest all-time score for a player is 84 by Christy Mathewson; the highest for a player spending most of his career at a non-pitching position is 78 by Babe Ruth.\nThe Black Ink Test. A system of measuring the league-leading statistical performances of a certain player. The name refers to the fact that these accomplishments are traditionally shown in boldface type in baseball encyclopedias.\nThe Hall of Fame Career Monitor. A method for predicting whether a player will be elected to the Hall of Fame, particularly useful when discussing active players and candidates, as well as some who have been overlooked in the past. A score of 100 gives the player a good chance of selection while a 130 should guarantee selection.\nFibonacci Win Scores. Another new method, used primarily for pitchers, that combines the three measures of pitching achievement (winning percentage, win total, and games over .500) into a single measurement.\n\nThroughout the book James expresses considerable disapproval of the election process, mainly because of the imperfectly defined standards and club-like Veterans Committee which, particularly in its early years, allowed players of suspect qualifications entrance into the Hall of Fame. As a solution, he describes an alternative voting system that would consist of five panels—one each for the media, the fans, the players, baseball executives and professionals, and what he calls \"baseball scholars\". Each panel would be able to nominate players individually, but for election a player would need the approval of four out of the five panels.\n\nWhile none of his suggestions has been implemented, many of his ratings systems have stuck as legitimate metrics for measuring a career and for judging the chances of a player making it into the Hall of Fame.\n\nPublication data\nSimon & Schuster Inc., Copyright 1994, 1995 by Bill James. .\n\nSee also\n\nSabermetrics\nMoneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game\nKeltner list\n\n1994 non-fiction books\nBaseball books\nBooks by Bill James\nNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum\nMacmillan Publishers books", "The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker in the United States. Founded in Las Vegas, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest poker players and to serve as a tourist attraction to his casino. Binion was known for the creative ways in which he marketed his casino. In 1949, he convinced Johnny Moss and Nick \"The Greek\" Dandolos to play high-stakes poker heads up where the public could watch them. In 1970, he invited a group of poker players to compete in what would be the first World Series of Poker (WSOP). When Harrah's Entertainment, later known as Caesars Entertainment, acquired the rights to the WSOP in 2004, it also assumed ownership of the Poker Hall of Fame. Currently, membership in the Poker Hall of Fame is handled directly by the WSOP.\n\nAs of 2021, 60 people have been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, 32 of whom are still living.\n\nRequirements \nBefore the 2009 World Series of Poker, then-WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that the process for becoming a member into the Poker Hall of Fame would undergo a slight modification. Starting in 2009, the Poker Hall of Fame started accepting nominations from the public. This move was intended to increase interest in the Hall. Almost immediately after this decision was announced, Party Poker started an online campaign to get its representative and World Poker Tour commentator Mike Sexton elected to the Hall. Other poker sites, namely PokerStars' Tom McEvoy, followed suit by pushing their own poker professionals. The requirements for the Poker Hall of Fame are as follows:\nA gambler must have played poker against acknowledged top competition,\nPlayed for high stakes,\nPlayed consistently well, gained the respect of peers,\nAnd stood the test of time.\nOr, for non-players, contributed to the overall growth and success of the game of poker, with indelible positive and lasting results.\n\nIn 2009, 23-year-old online poker professional Tom Dwan was a finalist for the Poker Hall of Fame because of public balloting. As a result, a new age requirement was added in 2011. This rule, known as the \"Chip Reese Rule\", established a minimum age of 40 to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This new requirement eliminated some players who were regular nominees over the previous years, such as Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu (both of whom were eventually inducted upon reaching the age threshold).\n\nThe award\nAdmission into the Poker Hall of Fame is considered one of the biggest honors in poker. In his acceptance speech, T. J. Cloutier declared, \"It's one of two things I've always wanted to win.\" Barbara Enright, the first woman inducted into the Hall, considers her induction to be a \"lifetime achievement honor.\"\n\nBefore being acquired by Harrah's Casino, R.S. Owens & Company was commissioned to design an award for Poker Hall of Famers. The award was an 8-inch-tall piece of glass with a hand of cards sandblasted at the bottom, the winner's name, and the words \"Poker Hall of Fame\" in a circle. The circle had a gold emblem bonded to the glass and had the Binion's Horseshoe Casino logo in it. There was a gold plated base with three gold-plated stacks of chips.\n\nMembership\n\nSee also\nWorld Poker Tour Walk of Fame\n\nReferences\n\nPoker players\nHalls of fame in Nevada" ]
[ "Shawn Michaels", "Hall of Famer (2010-2011)", "What did he get in the hall of fame for?", "He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee." ]	C_1754af2e4240450798d9a7b700c912af_0	Did he win any other awards?	2	Other than the Hall of Fame award, did Shawn Michaels win any other awards?	Shawn Michaels	On the December 14 Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. He made his in-person TV return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. CANNOTANSWER	Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker	Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until a back injury forced his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years and returned to the ring for a match in his own Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in 2000. Michaels resumed his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 and retired ceremoniously in 2010, before being assigned as a trainer in 2016. He returned for a final match in 2018. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the number one entrant), the first WWF Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWF Triple Crown Champion, as well as a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee (2011 as singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007, was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship Raw program. Early life Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and said he performed a wrestling routine in his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1985) Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews, losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Texas All-Star Wrestling (1985–1986) After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. American Wrestling Association (1986–1987) Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (1987–1988) In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. Return to the WWF/E The Rockers (1988–1992) The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of the 1989 Survivor Series. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) before the title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995) At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building". At WrestleMania VIII, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage, held on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won the title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the Survivor Series, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw, but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel. In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid – a charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. On August 28, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite. Formation of the Kliq (1995–1996) Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and he went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship in July at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas at In Your House: Great White North, who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of the Kliq. This event has been cited as an example of the Kliq holding others down. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw, Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. WWF Champion (1996–1998) After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for the second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels's championship reign ended at the Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble. On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday, Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left the WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch, a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War, signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in November 1997 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to D-Generation X member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. First retirement and hiatus (1998–2002) At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win the match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War. Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Michaels re-joined D-X as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for a few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered a low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley, and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon in December 2000. Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. During his time as a teacher at the academy, he had his first match since 1998 on April 4, 2000, where he defeated Venom in a Hardcore Street Fight. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels was also a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short period during his retirement. Feud with Triple H (2002–2004) On the June 3 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE television after an absence of 18 months when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that lasted for several years. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. Michaels's reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon. Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. Despite this, Michaels was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. On the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed the match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision and declared the match a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place in April at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, where Benoit successfully retained it, forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus. D-Generation X reunion (2005–2007) At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on SmackDown!, Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. Later, in a WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery) at Vengeance. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match against Carlito and Kurt Angle, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. Michaels followed this up with a short feud with Chris Masters, becoming the first person to cleanly defeat him at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music. On the October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw, he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match. Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series in a losing effort. On the December 26, 2005, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels's matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels's opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as D-X. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On Raw, the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw, D-X officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the D-X "crotch chops." At Vengeance, D-X defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, D-X once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match, finally ending the nine-month long feud. At Cyber Sunday, D-X took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat D-X in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team D-X emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in a clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over D-X, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of D-X. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the contest by the Winner of the match, The Undertaker. Various feuds and championship pursuits (2007–2009) On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a triple threat number one contender's match on the February 5 episode of Raw to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels's feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of Raw, performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels's eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage. A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had an in-ring contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During this, they started to fight, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. The next month, at No Mercy, Michaels lost a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Jericho. In December 2008, Michaels was written in a storyline where he lost his family's savings due to the global recession and reluctantly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at Armageddon. After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble, and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels defeated JBL at No Way Out, letting him out of his contract early, while still receiving full payment. On the March 2 Raw, Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov, and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 in April. Michaels then began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with The Undertaker from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point when all their matches resulted in interference. This renewed feud was two dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of the Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even briefly abandoning his "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick to portray a heaven-esque, bright side anti-Deadman Undertaker variant (Michaels is a real-life born again Christian). The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance from high in the air portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground. After a suspenseful, competitive wrestling match, Shawn Michaels was defeated, thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE. Final matches and second retirement (2009–2010) Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw, where he had, in storyline, left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H tried to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform D-X. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, D-X defeated Legacy. The two teams exchanged victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, D-X defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. D-X lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of Raw; the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. The following night, on the March 29 episode of Raw, Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building." In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010–2018) On the December 14, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his in-person television return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. On the February 13, 2012 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H about accepting The Undertaker's challenge for a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and announced he would be the special guest referee for it. Despite interference on Triple H's behalf from Michaels, The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania. After Michaels and The Undertaker assisted Triple H out of the ring and up the ramp, the three embraced. Michaels appeared at Raw 1000 on July 23 alongside fellow D-Generation X alumni Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow before Michaels struck him with Sweet Chin Music and Triple H delivered a Pedigree. The group then performed their signature poses before departing. Michaels appeared on the August 6 episode of Raw. He was confronted by Brock Lesnar (who was scheduled to face Triple H at SummerSlam) and Paul Heyman. Michaels announced he would be in Triple H's corner for the match. After the show ended, many WWE Superstars (including John Cena and The Undertaker) celebrated Michaels's career. The live audience festivities were titled "Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night", as the show took place in Michaels's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. On the following week's episode of Raw, Lesnar (kayfabe) broke Michaels's arm after putting Michaels in a Kimura Lock. As a result, Michaels was unable to appear; Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam. On the January 24, 2013 episode of NXT, Michaels announced a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. On the April 1, 2013 Raw, Michaels returned to offer to corner Triple H in his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. During that match, Michaels superkicked an interfering Paul Heyman, helping Triple H win and keep his job. He returned on the May 27 Raw in a backstage segment with John Cena, and again on the SummerSlam pre-show. In October 2013, Michaels won a fan poll to become special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. He performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan, allowing Orton to win. The next night on Raw, he explained that he was upset with Bryan for attacking Triple H during the match. He degraded Bryan for not showing him respect, turning heel for the first time since 2005. Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock on Michaels to end the segment. On December 9, he presented Bryan with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Later that night, Bryan attacked Michaels with a running knee after Michaels attacked CM Punk with Sweet Chin Music. All three legends then became involved in an altercation with Big Show. Michaels appeared at WrestleMania 31, interfering as a member of DX in the Sting-Triple H match, performing Sweet Chin Music to Sting. Michaels appeared on the October 19, 2015, episode of Raw, confronting Seth Rollins who was cutting a promo on relieving Kane of his duties as Director of Operations. At WrestleMania 32, Michaels made an appearance during the event in his in-ring attire, confronting The League of Nations alongside Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin where Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett before celebrating with Foley, Austin and The New Day. In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE, promoting his new film. Michaels was then confronted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal, before Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to Michaels's side, leading to a match between Big Cass and Mahal, with Michaels being in Big Cass's corner. Big Cass won the match after Michaels superkicked Rusev at ringside, distracting Mahal. On the March 13 episode of Raw, Michaels gave Roman Reigns advice about The Undertaker for their match at WrestleMania 33, before Braun Strowman attacked Reigns on the entrance ramp. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Michaels along with Terry Taylor teach the finishing class at the WWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes. Michaels and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years. One match return and NXT backstage work (2018–present) On the September 3, 2018, episode of Raw, Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On the October 8 edition of Raw, Michaels appeared with Triple H and announced that he was coming out of retirement to reform D-Generation X. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, D-Generation X defeated The Brothers of Destruction. The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award. Afterwards, Michaels confirmed that he would be going back into retirement. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Michaels was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show. On the February 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Michaels along with special guests Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting appeared during the main event segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. However, Flair would be attacked by Batista instead of appearing on-screen. In April 2019, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of D-Generation X as part of the 2019 class. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Legacy Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He received praises for several matches, including 15 Match of the Year awards between Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. WrestleMania. Sumit Rehal of Independent UK in his top 10 WrestleMania matches listed Michels 3 times (vs Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV). In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. His rivalry with Bret Hart has been named one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and more. After 8 years retired from in-ring competition, Michaels made his return at Crown Jewel, receiving criticism from the fans and media. PWTorch's Wade Keller said "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Personal life Hickenbottom's first marriage, to Theresa Wood, soon ended in an amicably settled divorce. He married Rebecca Curci, a former WCW Nitro Girl known as Whisper, on March 31, 1999, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only the couple and an Elvis impersonator were present. Their son, Cameron Kade, was born on January 15, 2000, and a daughter, Cheyenne, born on August 19, 2004, followed. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler, having wrestled in TNA and WWE. In 1996, Hickenbottom posed for a non-nude layout in Playgirl magazine. Only after he posed did he discover Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, for which some of his fellow wrestlers teased him. He is ambidextrous, and had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a boy. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position. In 1987, Hickenbottom developed a pattern of "heavy" substance abuse, which eventually alienated some of his closest friends. He contemplated suicide in the late 1980s, and suggested that psychological intervention was "probably sorely needed" by the late 1990s. His wife Rebecca observed: "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." Hickenbottom's fear that he was going to negatively influence his young son, prompted him to abandon his previous lifestyle. Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. Hickenbottom was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown, San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. In 2008, he appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network program with fellow professional wrestler Sting. Other media Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels joins his hunting partner and longtime friend, Keith Mark, owner and operator of the original MacMillan River Adventures camp in Yukon, Canada, as they hunt big-game animals around the world. This series airs on CarbonTV. Filmography Film Television HBK Line During their 2015–16 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. Pens' game-day staff would regularly play Michaels's theme "Sexy Boy" over the Consol Energy Center PA system after goals or excellent shifts by line members. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. Keisel also gave Michaels a tour of the city including at the Steelers headquarters and having lunch at Primanti Brothers in the city's Strip District. The Penguins lost the game in overtime 4–3 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. Michaels eventually befriended Keisel and attended his annual "Shear Da Beard" event in 2017. Outside of his numerous appearances with WWE, it was not Michaels first visit to Pittsburgh. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township. While the Penguins successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship the following year, the HBK Line was broken up when Kessel was moved to the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Bonino left the team in free agency. Book On February 10, 2015, Hickenbottom published an autobiography entitled Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar. It was co-written by David Thomas. Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty The Baltimore Sun Feud of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2007) Match of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2009) Match of the Year (2010) Wrestler of the Year (2008) Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2018) CBS Sports Worst Angle of the Year (2018) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty Continental Wrestling Association AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Chris Jericho Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Decade (2010-2019) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17 Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22 Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on Raw on April 23 Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010) Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996) Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996 Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 33 and No. 55 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Marty Jannetty and Diesel, respectively, in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Texas All-Star Wrestling TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Diamond & DJ Peterson Texas Wrestling Alliance TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) WWF European Championship (1 time) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1) Royal Rumble (1995, 1996) First Grand Slam Champion Fourth Triple Crown Champion Slammy Award (15 times) Best Finisher (1997) Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996) Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel Best Threads (1996) Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Leader of the New Generation (1996) Master of Mat Mechanics (1996) Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X; vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam; vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII; vs The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House; vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV; vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) Class of 2011 – individually Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Babyface (1996) Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder match at No Mercy Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Worst Match of the Year (2018) with Triple H vs. The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Most Charismatic (1995, 1996) Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) References Further reading External links 1965 births American football linebackers American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American people of English descent D-Generation X members Living people Professional wrestlers from Arizona Professional wrestling authority figures Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Texas State University alumni The Kliq members The New World Order (professional wrestling) members World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions	true	[ "The 9th annual Genie Awards were held March 22, 1988, and honoured Canadian films released in 1987. The ceremony was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was co-hosted by Megan Follows and Gordon Pinsent.\n\nThe awards were dominated by Night Zoo (Un zoo la nuit), which won a still unmatched thirteen awards. The film garnered 14 nominations overall; the film's only nomination that failed to translate into a win was Gilles Maheu's nod for Best Actor, as he lost to the film's other Best Actor nominee, Roger Lebel. The female acting awards were won by Sheila McCarthy and Paule Baillargeon for the film I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, the only other narrative feature film to win any Genie awards that year; only the Documentary and Short Film awards, in which neither Night Zoo nor I've Heard the Mermaids Singing were even eligible for consideration, were won by any other film.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\nReferences\n\n09\nGenie\nGenie\nGenie", "Le Cousin is a 1997 French film directed by Alain Corneau.\n\nPlot \nThe film deals with the relationship of the police and an informant in the drug scene.\n\nAwards and nominations\nLe Cousin was nominated for 5 César Awards but did not win in any category.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1997 films\n1997 crime films\nFilms about drugs\nFilms directed by Alain Corneau\nFrench crime films\nFrench films\nFrench-language films" ]
[ "Shawn Michaels", "Hall of Famer (2010-2011)", "What did he get in the hall of fame for?", "He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee.", "Did he win any other awards?", "Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker" ]	C_1754af2e4240450798d9a7b700c912af_0	When did he win it?	3	When did Shawn Michaels win the Hall of Fame award?	Shawn Michaels	On the December 14 Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. He made his in-person TV return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. CANNOTANSWER	December 14	Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until a back injury forced his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years and returned to the ring for a match in his own Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in 2000. Michaels resumed his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 and retired ceremoniously in 2010, before being assigned as a trainer in 2016. He returned for a final match in 2018. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the number one entrant), the first WWF Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWF Triple Crown Champion, as well as a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee (2011 as singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007, was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship Raw program. Early life Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and said he performed a wrestling routine in his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1985) Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews, losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Texas All-Star Wrestling (1985–1986) After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. American Wrestling Association (1986–1987) Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (1987–1988) In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. Return to the WWF/E The Rockers (1988–1992) The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of the 1989 Survivor Series. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) before the title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995) At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building". At WrestleMania VIII, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage, held on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won the title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the Survivor Series, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw, but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel. In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid – a charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. On August 28, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite. Formation of the Kliq (1995–1996) Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and he went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship in July at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas at In Your House: Great White North, who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of the Kliq. This event has been cited as an example of the Kliq holding others down. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw, Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. WWF Champion (1996–1998) After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for the second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels's championship reign ended at the Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble. On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday, Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left the WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch, a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War, signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in November 1997 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to D-Generation X member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. First retirement and hiatus (1998–2002) At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win the match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War. Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Michaels re-joined D-X as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for a few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered a low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley, and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon in December 2000. Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. During his time as a teacher at the academy, he had his first match since 1998 on April 4, 2000, where he defeated Venom in a Hardcore Street Fight. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels was also a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short period during his retirement. Feud with Triple H (2002–2004) On the June 3 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE television after an absence of 18 months when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that lasted for several years. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. Michaels's reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon. Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. Despite this, Michaels was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. On the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed the match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision and declared the match a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place in April at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, where Benoit successfully retained it, forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus. D-Generation X reunion (2005–2007) At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on SmackDown!, Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. Later, in a WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery) at Vengeance. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match against Carlito and Kurt Angle, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. Michaels followed this up with a short feud with Chris Masters, becoming the first person to cleanly defeat him at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music. On the October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw, he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match. Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series in a losing effort. On the December 26, 2005, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels's matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels's opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as D-X. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On Raw, the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw, D-X officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the D-X "crotch chops." At Vengeance, D-X defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, D-X once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match, finally ending the nine-month long feud. At Cyber Sunday, D-X took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat D-X in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team D-X emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in a clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over D-X, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of D-X. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the contest by the Winner of the match, The Undertaker. Various feuds and championship pursuits (2007–2009) On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a triple threat number one contender's match on the February 5 episode of Raw to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels's feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of Raw, performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels's eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage. A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had an in-ring contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During this, they started to fight, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. The next month, at No Mercy, Michaels lost a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Jericho. In December 2008, Michaels was written in a storyline where he lost his family's savings due to the global recession and reluctantly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at Armageddon. After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble, and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels defeated JBL at No Way Out, letting him out of his contract early, while still receiving full payment. On the March 2 Raw, Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov, and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 in April. Michaels then began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with The Undertaker from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point when all their matches resulted in interference. This renewed feud was two dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of the Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even briefly abandoning his "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick to portray a heaven-esque, bright side anti-Deadman Undertaker variant (Michaels is a real-life born again Christian). The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance from high in the air portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground. After a suspenseful, competitive wrestling match, Shawn Michaels was defeated, thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE. Final matches and second retirement (2009–2010) Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw, where he had, in storyline, left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H tried to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform D-X. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, D-X defeated Legacy. The two teams exchanged victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, D-X defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. D-X lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of Raw; the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. The following night, on the March 29 episode of Raw, Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building." In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010–2018) On the December 14, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his in-person television return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. On the February 13, 2012 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H about accepting The Undertaker's challenge for a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and announced he would be the special guest referee for it. Despite interference on Triple H's behalf from Michaels, The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania. After Michaels and The Undertaker assisted Triple H out of the ring and up the ramp, the three embraced. Michaels appeared at Raw 1000 on July 23 alongside fellow D-Generation X alumni Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow before Michaels struck him with Sweet Chin Music and Triple H delivered a Pedigree. The group then performed their signature poses before departing. Michaels appeared on the August 6 episode of Raw. He was confronted by Brock Lesnar (who was scheduled to face Triple H at SummerSlam) and Paul Heyman. Michaels announced he would be in Triple H's corner for the match. After the show ended, many WWE Superstars (including John Cena and The Undertaker) celebrated Michaels's career. The live audience festivities were titled "Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night", as the show took place in Michaels's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. On the following week's episode of Raw, Lesnar (kayfabe) broke Michaels's arm after putting Michaels in a Kimura Lock. As a result, Michaels was unable to appear; Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam. On the January 24, 2013 episode of NXT, Michaels announced a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. On the April 1, 2013 Raw, Michaels returned to offer to corner Triple H in his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. During that match, Michaels superkicked an interfering Paul Heyman, helping Triple H win and keep his job. He returned on the May 27 Raw in a backstage segment with John Cena, and again on the SummerSlam pre-show. In October 2013, Michaels won a fan poll to become special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. He performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan, allowing Orton to win. The next night on Raw, he explained that he was upset with Bryan for attacking Triple H during the match. He degraded Bryan for not showing him respect, turning heel for the first time since 2005. Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock on Michaels to end the segment. On December 9, he presented Bryan with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Later that night, Bryan attacked Michaels with a running knee after Michaels attacked CM Punk with Sweet Chin Music. All three legends then became involved in an altercation with Big Show. Michaels appeared at WrestleMania 31, interfering as a member of DX in the Sting-Triple H match, performing Sweet Chin Music to Sting. Michaels appeared on the October 19, 2015, episode of Raw, confronting Seth Rollins who was cutting a promo on relieving Kane of his duties as Director of Operations. At WrestleMania 32, Michaels made an appearance during the event in his in-ring attire, confronting The League of Nations alongside Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin where Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett before celebrating with Foley, Austin and The New Day. In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE, promoting his new film. Michaels was then confronted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal, before Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to Michaels's side, leading to a match between Big Cass and Mahal, with Michaels being in Big Cass's corner. Big Cass won the match after Michaels superkicked Rusev at ringside, distracting Mahal. On the March 13 episode of Raw, Michaels gave Roman Reigns advice about The Undertaker for their match at WrestleMania 33, before Braun Strowman attacked Reigns on the entrance ramp. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Michaels along with Terry Taylor teach the finishing class at the WWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes. Michaels and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years. One match return and NXT backstage work (2018–present) On the September 3, 2018, episode of Raw, Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On the October 8 edition of Raw, Michaels appeared with Triple H and announced that he was coming out of retirement to reform D-Generation X. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, D-Generation X defeated The Brothers of Destruction. The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award. Afterwards, Michaels confirmed that he would be going back into retirement. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Michaels was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show. On the February 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Michaels along with special guests Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting appeared during the main event segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. However, Flair would be attacked by Batista instead of appearing on-screen. In April 2019, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of D-Generation X as part of the 2019 class. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Legacy Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He received praises for several matches, including 15 Match of the Year awards between Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. WrestleMania. Sumit Rehal of Independent UK in his top 10 WrestleMania matches listed Michels 3 times (vs Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV). In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. His rivalry with Bret Hart has been named one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and more. After 8 years retired from in-ring competition, Michaels made his return at Crown Jewel, receiving criticism from the fans and media. PWTorch's Wade Keller said "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Personal life Hickenbottom's first marriage, to Theresa Wood, soon ended in an amicably settled divorce. He married Rebecca Curci, a former WCW Nitro Girl known as Whisper, on March 31, 1999, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only the couple and an Elvis impersonator were present. Their son, Cameron Kade, was born on January 15, 2000, and a daughter, Cheyenne, born on August 19, 2004, followed. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler, having wrestled in TNA and WWE. In 1996, Hickenbottom posed for a non-nude layout in Playgirl magazine. Only after he posed did he discover Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, for which some of his fellow wrestlers teased him. He is ambidextrous, and had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a boy. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position. In 1987, Hickenbottom developed a pattern of "heavy" substance abuse, which eventually alienated some of his closest friends. He contemplated suicide in the late 1980s, and suggested that psychological intervention was "probably sorely needed" by the late 1990s. His wife Rebecca observed: "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." Hickenbottom's fear that he was going to negatively influence his young son, prompted him to abandon his previous lifestyle. Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. Hickenbottom was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown, San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. In 2008, he appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network program with fellow professional wrestler Sting. Other media Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels joins his hunting partner and longtime friend, Keith Mark, owner and operator of the original MacMillan River Adventures camp in Yukon, Canada, as they hunt big-game animals around the world. This series airs on CarbonTV. Filmography Film Television HBK Line During their 2015–16 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. Pens' game-day staff would regularly play Michaels's theme "Sexy Boy" over the Consol Energy Center PA system after goals or excellent shifts by line members. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. Keisel also gave Michaels a tour of the city including at the Steelers headquarters and having lunch at Primanti Brothers in the city's Strip District. The Penguins lost the game in overtime 4–3 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. Michaels eventually befriended Keisel and attended his annual "Shear Da Beard" event in 2017. Outside of his numerous appearances with WWE, it was not Michaels first visit to Pittsburgh. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township. While the Penguins successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship the following year, the HBK Line was broken up when Kessel was moved to the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Bonino left the team in free agency. Book On February 10, 2015, Hickenbottom published an autobiography entitled Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar. It was co-written by David Thomas. Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty The Baltimore Sun Feud of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2007) Match of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2009) Match of the Year (2010) Wrestler of the Year (2008) Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2018) CBS Sports Worst Angle of the Year (2018) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty Continental Wrestling Association AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Chris Jericho Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Decade (2010-2019) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17 Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22 Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on Raw on April 23 Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010) Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996) Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996 Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 33 and No. 55 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Marty Jannetty and Diesel, respectively, in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Texas All-Star Wrestling TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Diamond & DJ Peterson Texas Wrestling Alliance TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) WWF European Championship (1 time) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1) Royal Rumble (1995, 1996) First Grand Slam Champion Fourth Triple Crown Champion Slammy Award (15 times) Best Finisher (1997) Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996) Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel Best Threads (1996) Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Leader of the New Generation (1996) Master of Mat Mechanics (1996) Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X; vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam; vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII; vs The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House; vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV; vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) Class of 2011 – individually Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Babyface (1996) Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder match at No Mercy Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Worst Match of the Year (2018) with Triple H vs. The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Most Charismatic (1995, 1996) Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) References Further reading External links 1965 births American football linebackers American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American people of English descent D-Generation X members Living people Professional wrestlers from Arizona Professional wrestling authority figures Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Texas State University alumni The Kliq members The New World Order (professional wrestling) members World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions	true	[ "Anthony Gleeson was a dual player from Tralee, County Kerry. He played at full back for most of his career. Gleeson was unlucky not to have won any senior honors with Kerry, he missed out on the Munster Championship win in 1991 and despite playing in the first round in 1996 did not play another game and therefore did not receive a Munster medal. He did win a Munster Under 21 Championship in 1988. He also played underage hurling with Kerry in the late 80's, he was captain of the team in 1987 when they won the Leinster Minor B Championship. He gave up hurling at a young age to focus on football. He also played with the Kerry Vocational Schools team in the late 80's winning 2 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championships in 1986 and 1987.\n\nAt club level he played football with John Mitchels. He had little success with the club failing to win a County Championship, he did however played in the 1989 final when John Mitchels were beaten by Laune Rangers. He played hurling with Austin Stacks and won a County Minor Championship with them in 1986. He also played with Dublin club St Vincents.\n\nReferences\n http://www.terracetalk.com/kerry-football/player/101/Anthony-Gleeson\n https://web.archive.org/web/20111009064219/http://munster.gaa.ie/history/u21f_teams/\n\n \n\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\nDual players\nJohn Mitchels (Kerry) Gaelic footballers\nSt Vincents (Dublin) Gaelic footballers\nAustin Stacks hurlers\nKerry inter-county hurlers", "Albert the Great (foaled May 7, 1997) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2000 Jockey Club Gold Cup.\n\nCareer\n\nAlbert the Great's first race was on January 22, 2000 at Gulfstream Park, where he came in 3rd. He won his first race on April 22, 2000 at Keeneland.\n\nHis first major win came on July 9, 2000, where he won the Dwyer Stakes.\n\nHe did not win again until October 14, 2000, when he won the 2000 Jockey Club Gold Cup.\n\nHe came in 4th place in the 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic.\n\nHe picked up his next win at the Widener Handicap on March 24, 2001.\n\nHe then got a pair of victories on Summer 2001, when he won the Brooklyn Handicap and the Suburban Handicap.\n\nHe tried to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup for a second time in October 2001, but came in 4th. In his final race on October 27, 2001, he tried again to win the Breeders' Cup Classic, but came in 3rd place.\n\nStud career\nAlbert the Great's descendants include:\n\nc = colt, f = filly\n\nPedigree\n\nReferences\n\n1997 racehorse births\nAmerican racehorses\nRacehorses bred in Kentucky\nRacehorses trained in the United States\nThoroughbred family 16-h" ]
[ "Shawn Michaels", "Hall of Famer (2010-2011)", "What did he get in the hall of fame for?", "He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee.", "Did he win any other awards?", "Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker", "When did he win it?", "December 14" ]	C_1754af2e4240450798d9a7b700c912af_0	Who else did he wrestle with?	4	Aside from The Undertaker who else did Shawn Michaels wrestle with?	Shawn Michaels	On the December 14 Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. He made his in-person TV return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. CANNOTANSWER	He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty.	Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until a back injury forced his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years and returned to the ring for a match in his own Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in 2000. Michaels resumed his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 and retired ceremoniously in 2010, before being assigned as a trainer in 2016. He returned for a final match in 2018. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the number one entrant), the first WWF Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWF Triple Crown Champion, as well as a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee (2011 as singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007, was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship Raw program. Early life Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and said he performed a wrestling routine in his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1985) Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews, losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Texas All-Star Wrestling (1985–1986) After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. American Wrestling Association (1986–1987) Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (1987–1988) In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. Return to the WWF/E The Rockers (1988–1992) The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of the 1989 Survivor Series. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) before the title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995) At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building". At WrestleMania VIII, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage, held on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won the title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the Survivor Series, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw, but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel. In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid – a charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. On August 28, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite. Formation of the Kliq (1995–1996) Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and he went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship in July at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas at In Your House: Great White North, who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of the Kliq. This event has been cited as an example of the Kliq holding others down. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw, Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. WWF Champion (1996–1998) After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for the second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels's championship reign ended at the Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble. On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday, Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left the WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch, a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War, signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in November 1997 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to D-Generation X member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. First retirement and hiatus (1998–2002) At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win the match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War. Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Michaels re-joined D-X as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for a few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered a low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley, and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon in December 2000. Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. During his time as a teacher at the academy, he had his first match since 1998 on April 4, 2000, where he defeated Venom in a Hardcore Street Fight. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels was also a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short period during his retirement. Feud with Triple H (2002–2004) On the June 3 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE television after an absence of 18 months when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that lasted for several years. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. Michaels's reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon. Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. Despite this, Michaels was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. On the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed the match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision and declared the match a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place in April at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, where Benoit successfully retained it, forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus. D-Generation X reunion (2005–2007) At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on SmackDown!, Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. Later, in a WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery) at Vengeance. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match against Carlito and Kurt Angle, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. Michaels followed this up with a short feud with Chris Masters, becoming the first person to cleanly defeat him at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music. On the October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw, he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match. Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series in a losing effort. On the December 26, 2005, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels's matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels's opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as D-X. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On Raw, the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw, D-X officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the D-X "crotch chops." At Vengeance, D-X defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, D-X once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match, finally ending the nine-month long feud. At Cyber Sunday, D-X took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat D-X in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team D-X emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in a clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over D-X, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of D-X. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the contest by the Winner of the match, The Undertaker. Various feuds and championship pursuits (2007–2009) On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a triple threat number one contender's match on the February 5 episode of Raw to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels's feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of Raw, performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels's eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage. A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had an in-ring contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During this, they started to fight, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. The next month, at No Mercy, Michaels lost a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Jericho. In December 2008, Michaels was written in a storyline where he lost his family's savings due to the global recession and reluctantly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at Armageddon. After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble, and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels defeated JBL at No Way Out, letting him out of his contract early, while still receiving full payment. On the March 2 Raw, Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov, and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 in April. Michaels then began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with The Undertaker from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point when all their matches resulted in interference. This renewed feud was two dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of the Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even briefly abandoning his "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick to portray a heaven-esque, bright side anti-Deadman Undertaker variant (Michaels is a real-life born again Christian). The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance from high in the air portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground. After a suspenseful, competitive wrestling match, Shawn Michaels was defeated, thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE. Final matches and second retirement (2009–2010) Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw, where he had, in storyline, left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H tried to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform D-X. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, D-X defeated Legacy. The two teams exchanged victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, D-X defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. D-X lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of Raw; the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. The following night, on the March 29 episode of Raw, Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building." In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010–2018) On the December 14, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his in-person television return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. On the February 13, 2012 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H about accepting The Undertaker's challenge for a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and announced he would be the special guest referee for it. Despite interference on Triple H's behalf from Michaels, The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania. After Michaels and The Undertaker assisted Triple H out of the ring and up the ramp, the three embraced. Michaels appeared at Raw 1000 on July 23 alongside fellow D-Generation X alumni Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow before Michaels struck him with Sweet Chin Music and Triple H delivered a Pedigree. The group then performed their signature poses before departing. Michaels appeared on the August 6 episode of Raw. He was confronted by Brock Lesnar (who was scheduled to face Triple H at SummerSlam) and Paul Heyman. Michaels announced he would be in Triple H's corner for the match. After the show ended, many WWE Superstars (including John Cena and The Undertaker) celebrated Michaels's career. The live audience festivities were titled "Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night", as the show took place in Michaels's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. On the following week's episode of Raw, Lesnar (kayfabe) broke Michaels's arm after putting Michaels in a Kimura Lock. As a result, Michaels was unable to appear; Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam. On the January 24, 2013 episode of NXT, Michaels announced a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. On the April 1, 2013 Raw, Michaels returned to offer to corner Triple H in his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. During that match, Michaels superkicked an interfering Paul Heyman, helping Triple H win and keep his job. He returned on the May 27 Raw in a backstage segment with John Cena, and again on the SummerSlam pre-show. In October 2013, Michaels won a fan poll to become special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. He performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan, allowing Orton to win. The next night on Raw, he explained that he was upset with Bryan for attacking Triple H during the match. He degraded Bryan for not showing him respect, turning heel for the first time since 2005. Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock on Michaels to end the segment. On December 9, he presented Bryan with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Later that night, Bryan attacked Michaels with a running knee after Michaels attacked CM Punk with Sweet Chin Music. All three legends then became involved in an altercation with Big Show. Michaels appeared at WrestleMania 31, interfering as a member of DX in the Sting-Triple H match, performing Sweet Chin Music to Sting. Michaels appeared on the October 19, 2015, episode of Raw, confronting Seth Rollins who was cutting a promo on relieving Kane of his duties as Director of Operations. At WrestleMania 32, Michaels made an appearance during the event in his in-ring attire, confronting The League of Nations alongside Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin where Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett before celebrating with Foley, Austin and The New Day. In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE, promoting his new film. Michaels was then confronted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal, before Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to Michaels's side, leading to a match between Big Cass and Mahal, with Michaels being in Big Cass's corner. Big Cass won the match after Michaels superkicked Rusev at ringside, distracting Mahal. On the March 13 episode of Raw, Michaels gave Roman Reigns advice about The Undertaker for their match at WrestleMania 33, before Braun Strowman attacked Reigns on the entrance ramp. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Michaels along with Terry Taylor teach the finishing class at the WWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes. Michaels and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years. One match return and NXT backstage work (2018–present) On the September 3, 2018, episode of Raw, Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On the October 8 edition of Raw, Michaels appeared with Triple H and announced that he was coming out of retirement to reform D-Generation X. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, D-Generation X defeated The Brothers of Destruction. The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award. Afterwards, Michaels confirmed that he would be going back into retirement. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Michaels was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show. On the February 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Michaels along with special guests Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting appeared during the main event segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. However, Flair would be attacked by Batista instead of appearing on-screen. In April 2019, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of D-Generation X as part of the 2019 class. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Legacy Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He received praises for several matches, including 15 Match of the Year awards between Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. WrestleMania. Sumit Rehal of Independent UK in his top 10 WrestleMania matches listed Michels 3 times (vs Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV). In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. His rivalry with Bret Hart has been named one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and more. After 8 years retired from in-ring competition, Michaels made his return at Crown Jewel, receiving criticism from the fans and media. PWTorch's Wade Keller said "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Personal life Hickenbottom's first marriage, to Theresa Wood, soon ended in an amicably settled divorce. He married Rebecca Curci, a former WCW Nitro Girl known as Whisper, on March 31, 1999, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only the couple and an Elvis impersonator were present. Their son, Cameron Kade, was born on January 15, 2000, and a daughter, Cheyenne, born on August 19, 2004, followed. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler, having wrestled in TNA and WWE. In 1996, Hickenbottom posed for a non-nude layout in Playgirl magazine. Only after he posed did he discover Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, for which some of his fellow wrestlers teased him. He is ambidextrous, and had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a boy. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position. In 1987, Hickenbottom developed a pattern of "heavy" substance abuse, which eventually alienated some of his closest friends. He contemplated suicide in the late 1980s, and suggested that psychological intervention was "probably sorely needed" by the late 1990s. His wife Rebecca observed: "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." Hickenbottom's fear that he was going to negatively influence his young son, prompted him to abandon his previous lifestyle. Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. Hickenbottom was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown, San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. In 2008, he appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network program with fellow professional wrestler Sting. Other media Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels joins his hunting partner and longtime friend, Keith Mark, owner and operator of the original MacMillan River Adventures camp in Yukon, Canada, as they hunt big-game animals around the world. This series airs on CarbonTV. Filmography Film Television HBK Line During their 2015–16 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. Pens' game-day staff would regularly play Michaels's theme "Sexy Boy" over the Consol Energy Center PA system after goals or excellent shifts by line members. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. Keisel also gave Michaels a tour of the city including at the Steelers headquarters and having lunch at Primanti Brothers in the city's Strip District. The Penguins lost the game in overtime 4–3 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. Michaels eventually befriended Keisel and attended his annual "Shear Da Beard" event in 2017. Outside of his numerous appearances with WWE, it was not Michaels first visit to Pittsburgh. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township. While the Penguins successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship the following year, the HBK Line was broken up when Kessel was moved to the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Bonino left the team in free agency. Book On February 10, 2015, Hickenbottom published an autobiography entitled Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar. It was co-written by David Thomas. Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty The Baltimore Sun Feud of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2007) Match of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2009) Match of the Year (2010) Wrestler of the Year (2008) Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2018) CBS Sports Worst Angle of the Year (2018) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty Continental Wrestling Association AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Chris Jericho Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Decade (2010-2019) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17 Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22 Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on Raw on April 23 Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010) Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996) Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996 Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 33 and No. 55 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Marty Jannetty and Diesel, respectively, in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Texas All-Star Wrestling TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Diamond & DJ Peterson Texas Wrestling Alliance TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) WWF European Championship (1 time) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1) Royal Rumble (1995, 1996) First Grand Slam Champion Fourth Triple Crown Champion Slammy Award (15 times) Best Finisher (1997) Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996) Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel Best Threads (1996) Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Leader of the New Generation (1996) Master of Mat Mechanics (1996) Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X; vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam; vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII; vs The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House; vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV; vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) Class of 2011 – individually Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Babyface (1996) Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder match at No Mercy Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Worst Match of the Year (2018) with Triple H vs. The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Most Charismatic (1995, 1996) Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) References Further reading External links 1965 births American football linebackers American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American people of English descent D-Generation X members Living people Professional wrestlers from Arizona Professional wrestling authority figures Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Texas State University alumni The Kliq members The New World Order (professional wrestling) members World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions	false	[ "Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard is an audio podcast that discusses topics, events, wrestlers and memorable moments through the lens of WWE executive Bruce Prichard. The show was launched in August 2016 on MLW Radio. The episodes' length typically ranges from two to four hours, and include discussions about previous WWE pay-per-views and former WWE wrestlers. A video version of the podcast called Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard debuted on the WWE Network on April 18, 2018. Season one has 13 episodes.\n\nFormat\nThe podcast is co-hosted by Conrad Thompson. Thompson sits down with Bruce Prichard, a former WWE executive who performed on camera and was behind the scenes with the company for over twenty years. Each week, Thompson and Prichard discuss a new topic which is typically a particular WWE event, WWE happening or WWE character. Prichard discusses his experiences and recalls the topic of the episode from his perspective. Initially, the topic of each episode was voted on by the fans through Facebook or Twitter, however following Prichard's return to WWE in 2019 causing a more limited recording schedule, Thompson and Prichard now determine the topics in advance. A version of the podcast is available without commercials for a fee. The free version of the podcast contains approximately 20-25 minutes of audio commercials per hour.\n\nReception\nIn 2017, Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard won two awards. The Academy of Podcasters named the podcast its Sports & Recreation podcast of the year. In addition, Sports Illustrated named the podcast its Sports Podcast of the Year in its annual Sports Media Awards.\n\nSpin-offs\nOn January 30, 2017, Thompson launched a second show with former WCW announcer Tony Schiavone titled What Happened When available on MLW Radio discussing stories from Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling.\n\nIn April 2018, another spin-off launched with Thompson and former WCW president Eric Bischoff known as 83 Weeks, covering the same topics as What Happened When, but from Bischoff's standpoint who ran WCW from 1994 through 1999.\n\nIn April 2018, Prichard and Thompson began doing a show for the WWE Network titled Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard. The show has the same format as the original podcast, the only difference between the two being that Something Else to Wrestle is a video version of the show. The first episode was on April 18, 2018.\n\nIn May 2019, Thompson began another spin-off with former WCW and WWE talent, and current All Elite Wrestling commentator Jim Ross, known as Grilling JR.\n\nIn January 2021, another spin-off was launched this time featuring WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, known as The Kurt Angle Show.\n\nLive shows\nPrichard and Thompson do multiple live shows per year, which have been successful with most being sell-outs. Unlike the audio podcast, the show will sometimes feature guests such as Pat Patterson and Jeff Jarrett. Something to Wrestle no longer does live shows as of Bruce Prichard's return to WWE in early 2019.\n\nEpisodes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n2016 podcast debuts\nAudio podcasts\nProfessional wrestling-related mass media\nProfessional wrestling podcasters\nWWE Network shows\nEntertainment-related YouTube channels\nHistory of WWE", "was a Japanese puroresu or professional wrestling promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by wrestlers loyal to Mutoh, who left AJPW in a mass exodus during June 2013. Mutoh served as the promotion's first president and the head of its parent company, kabushiki gaisha named GEN Sports Entertainment. In March 2017, Kaz Hayashi took over as the new president of Wrestle-1. The promotion held its first event on September 8, 2013, at Tokyo Dome City Hall.\n\nThe promotion shares its name with a series of professional wrestling events run by AJPW, K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships in the first half of the 2000s, but it is not considered a direct continuation of that project.\n\nOn April 1, 2020, Wrestle-1 ceased operations.\n\nHistory\n\nFormation\nOn November 1, 2012, IT company Speed Partners bought 100% of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) shares from main shareholder Keiji Mutoh and his business partners for ¥200 million. In late May 2013, Speed Partners president Nobuo Shiraishi fired AJPW president, Mutoh's longtime right-hand man Masayuki Uchida, and took over as the promotion's new president himself effective June 1, which led to Mutoh resigning as the chairman of the board and leaving the promotion. For the next weeks, Mutoh attempted to buy back his shares of the promotion from Speed Partners, but eventually gave up the attempt before the end of the month. During the rest of June, Masakatsu Funaki, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo, Ryota Hama, Hiroshi Yamato, Masayuki Kono, Koji Kanemoto, Minoru Tanaka, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Kai, Seiya Sanada, and Andy Wu all announced their resignation from AJPW out of loyalty to Mutoh and left the promotion following a June 30 event in Ryōgoku Kokugikan, which marked the official end of the eleven-year-long \"Mutoh All Japan\".\n\nOn July 10, Mutoh held a press conference to announce the foundation of his new promotion, named \"Wrestle-1\". Mutoh got the name from a series of professional wrestling events that were produced by his AJPW, K-1 and Pride Fighting Championships between 2002 and 2005. Wrestle-1 continues Mutoh's brand of \"Pro Wrestling Love\", which he had launched after taking over AJPW in 2002. Mutoh dubbed Wrestle-1's style of puroresu \"Fighting Entertainment\". As the label suggests, Wrestle-1 is considered more entertainment based than the traditional AJPW. The press conference was also attended by Funaki, Hama, Hayashi, Kai, Kondo, Kono, Nakanoue, Tanaka and Yamato. Andy Wu would also join the promotion, once he returned from an excursion to Mexico, along with trainees Brian Ishizaka, Daiki Inaba and Seiki Yoshioka, ring announcer Makoto Abe and referees Daichi Murayama and Daisuke Kanbayashi. The promotion announced its inaugural event for September 8, 2013, at Tokyo Dome City Hall. At the press conference, Mutoh stated that Wrestle-1 was open to working with other promotions and that he was looking to use Taiwan as a stepping stone towards an Asian and eventually global expansion. Mutoh also stated that he was open to the idea of having a women's division in Wrestle-1. On July 26, the Gaora television station announced that it would broadcast the inaugural event, as well as a 30-minute preview show, live on its channels. On July 30, Mutoh met with Jeff Jarrett in Nashville, Tennessee, United States to discuss a possible working relationship between Wrestle-1 and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Jarrett was later announced as a participant in Wrestle-1's October 6 event. Mutoh later also revealed that he wanted to form partnerships with promotions in Europe and Mexico, specifically mentioning Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA), and create a \"true\" world championship that would be recognized on three continents. On August 9, Mutoh revealed the promotion's official logo and a partial card for the inaugural event. Also announced was a sponsorship deal with the Ezaki Glico confectionery company, with its sales department and product manager Hiroki Kuwabara signed to Wrestle-1 as a conditioning coach.\n\nWrestle-1 Hataage Sen\n was Wrestle-1's inaugural event, which took place on September 8, 2013, at Tokyo Dome City Hall. On August 9, Wrestle-1 released the first partial card for the event, which revealed only the Wrestle-1 signed workers taking part in the event, but none of their partners or opponents. The event featured a women's match and the Japanese in-ring debut of Daiki Inaba. None of the other workers were revealed before the event, though Mutoh stated that TNA wrestlers would not be taking part in the event. The event aired in Japan on Gaora and internationally on internet pay-per-view (iPPV) through Niconico and Ustream. Tickets to the 2,500 seat arena were sold out the day they went on sale. Sports journalist Dave Meltzer wrote that this, coupled with AJPW's recent decline in attendance numbers, showed that \"fans are taking group as the real future of All Japan rather than All Japan\". The event featured outside participation from several freelancers as well as wrestlers from Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Dragon Gate, Michinoku Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Zero1 and World Wonder Ring Stardom. Koji Kanemoto, René Duprée, Seiya Sanada and Zodiac, who were with AJPW prior to Mutoh's departure, but had not announced their affiliation with Wrestle-1, made surprise appearances during the event. In fact, Duprée, who took part in the main event, was still officially AJPW's reigning Gaora TV Champion at the time of the event. Duprée returned the title belt to AJPW three days after the event. Bob Sapp, who had appeared in several of the old Wrestle-1 events, made an appearance in a tag team main event with Mutoh. Kenta Kobashi, who had the previous March announced that he would be joining AJPW following his retirement in May, worked the event as a color commentator.\n\nRegular tours\nWrestle-1 began running regular tours right after Hataage Sen; the first tour ran until September 22 and the second from October 6 to 14. Many of the outsiders taking part in the inaugural event became regular members of the Wrestle-1 roster with the exception of Bob Sapp, Fujita Hayato, Katsuyori Shibata, Kazushi Sakuraba and Masaaki Mochizuki. Though Wrestle-1 also did not have regular female wrestlers on its roster, each event included a women's match, featuring wrestlers such as Ryo Mizunami and Shuu Shibutani from Pro Wrestling Wave, Koharu Hinata, Makoto and Syuri from Wrestling New Classic, Hikaru Shida, Maki Narumiya, Risa Sera and Tsukasa Fujimoto from Ice Ribbon, and freelancers Akino and Hiroyo Matsumoto. Wrestle-1 sought to introduce an \"openweight division\", where its wrestlers would not be typecast as heavyweights or junior heavyweights, like in most Japanese promotions, but would be able to interact with each other across weight limits. On September 24, Wrestle-1 announced that Seiya Sanada had signed a contract to officially become part of the promotion's roster effective October 1. On October 6, Wrestle-1 held its first event in Korakuen Hall in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,750. On October 18, Mutoh announced his semi-retirement from in-ring action, saying that in the future he would be concentrating on running Wrestle-1.\n\nThe following month saw the continuation of a working relationship between Wrestle-1 and TNA, with A.J. Styles coming in to defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Seiya Sanada on November 16 and Jay Bradley and Rob Terry working the entire tour from November 16 to December 1. Meanwhile, Andy Wu also made his return from his seven-month Mexican excursion, making his debut for his new home promotion on November 16. During the event, Wrestle-1 announced its first ever event at Ryōgoku Kokugikan, set to take place on March 2, 2014. Mutoh later announced that this would mark only the first of four events Wrestle-1 intended to run at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in 2014.\n\n2014\nOn January 12, 2014, Manabu Soya, who had resigned from AJPW the previous month, joined Wrestle-1 as a freelancer, taking the role of an on-screen matchmaker, while recovering from a recent shoulder surgery. On January 26, Wrestle-1 held its first tryout, which resulted in three men being accepted to begin training at the promotion's dojo the following April.\n\nOn January 30 it was announced that the March 2 Ryōgoku Kokugikan event would feature a \"Wrestle-1 vs. TNA\" theme with thirteen wrestlers coming in to represent the American promotion in addition to Rob Terry, who had remained with Wrestle-1 since the past November. Jeff Jarrett, the original man behind the Wrestle-1-TNA relationship, had since parted ways with TNA and now the relationship was handled by Bob Ryder and John Gaburick on the Americans' side. On March 2 at Kaisen: Outbreak, three TNA titles were defended as part of Wrestle-1's first Ryōgoku Kokugikan event. While Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo failed to capture the TNA World Tag Team Championship and Kai the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Seiya Sanada defeated Austin Aries to become the new TNA X Division Champion. The event also saw the debut of another former AJPW worker, Taiyō Kea. The following day, it was announced that Sanada would be leaving Wrestle-1 to work for TNA indefinitely. Also in March, Wrestle-1 relocated their offices from Minami-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo to Hyakunincho, Shinjuku, Tokyo to their own four-story building called \"GEN Sports Palace\", which also includes the promotion's dojo. In April, Wrestle-1 established two more international relationships with British promotion All Star Wrestling (ASW) and German promotion European Wrestling Promotion (EWP). As part of the relationship, EWP wrestlers Ecki Eckstein and Leon Van Gasteren worked a tour with Wrestle-1 from April 27 to May 4, with Van Gasteren successfully defending the EWP Intercontinental Championship against Hiroshi Yamato on the final day.\n\nOn June 18, Wrestle-1 held a press conference to announce that effective July 1 the promotion would be joined by Akira, Jiro Kuroshio, Koji Doi, Rionne Fujiwara, Tajiri and Yusuke Kodama, after their previous promotion Wrestling New Classic went inactive following June 26. On July 1, Wrestle-1 was also joined by Hiroki Murase, a freelancer who had started his career with WNC in January 2013. Wrestle-1's second Ryōgoku Kokugikan event, Shōgeki: Impact, took place on July 6 and featured matches for ASW's British Light Heavyweight Championship, EWP's Intercontinental Championship, TNA's World Tag Team Championship and Zero1's World Heavyweight Championship with Hiroshi Yamato capturing the EWP title from Leon Van Gasteren, Masakatsu Funaki the Zero1 title from Kohei Sato and Seiki Yoshioka the ASW title from Dean Allmark. The following day, Seiya Sanada announced he had agreed to a contract with TNA, which meant that he would continue to spend most of his time in the United States, occasionally returning to take part in Wrestle-1's larger events. Sanada remained with TNA until April 2015. Meanwhile, Seiki Yoshioka left for an extended tour of the United Kingdom with ASW, during which he lost the British Light Heavyweight Championship back to Allmark.\n\nOn July 21, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of its first own title, the Wrestle-1 Championship, with the inaugural champion being determined in a sixteen-man single-elimination tournament taking place between September 21 and October 8. On August 8, Wrestle-1 announced that Manabu Soya had signed with the promotion, ending his days as a freelancer. On September 22, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of the Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship with the inaugural champions being determined in a round-robin tournament taking place between November 15 and 30. On September 25, Wrestle-1 and Pro Wrestling Zero1 announced that the two promotions would be coming together to hold three joint shows at Shinjuku Face between November 5 and 7. On October 8, Masayuki Kono defeated Kai in the finals of the sixteen-man tournament to become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Champion. The relationship between Wrestle-1 and TNA continued on October 12 with eleven Wrestle-1 wrestlers taking part in TNA's Bound for Glory event in Korakuen Hall. On November 1, Wrestle-1 held an event at Ryōgoku Kokugikan celebrating Keiji Mutoh's 30th anniversary in professional wrestling. The main event of the show saw Mutoh defeat Masayuki Kono to become the second Wrestle-1 Champion. On November 30, Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi and Shuji Kondo) won the First Tag League Greatest to become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions.\n\n2015\nOn February 25, 2015, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of a cruiserweight division and a new third title, which was on March 9 officially named the Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Championship. Starting on April 11, Wrestle-1 began holding shows at their dojo under the brand name \"Wrestle-1 Starting Point\", which were intended to showcase the promotion's younger wrestlers. On March 6, Minoru Tanaka won the tournament to become the inaugural Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Champion. Also in May, it was reported that the relationship between Wrestle-1 and TNA had come to an end. Seiya Sanada remained in the United States, working on the local independent circuit.\n\nIn March 2015, Wrestle-1's management was hit with several resignations, which led to Mutoh offering DDT Pro-Wrestling president Sanshiro Takagi a job in his promotion's management. On May 5, Takagi was officially revealed as Wrestle-1's new chief executive officer (CEO). His goal was to make Wrestle-1 more profitable by getting sales up and increasing the number of shows. There were no plans for Takagi to start wrestling for Wrestle-1 or for Wrestle-1 and DDT to exchange talent. On May 13, Wrestle-1 and Seiya Sanada held a press conference, where it was announced that the two sides had decided to amicably part ways when Sanada's contract with the promotion would expire two days later, so he could continue working in the United States full-time as a freelancer. Later that month, it was announced that Wrestle-1 would be teaming up with American Pro Wrestling Alliance (APWA) to hold their first tour of the United States, holding five shows in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, including one at the former ECW Arena, between June 23 and 28. However, on June 19, the tour was canceled with APWA citing a sponsor pulling out due to miscommunication between the two promotions as the reason. That same day, Wrestle-1 announced that Masakatsu Funaki would be leaving the promotion following his contract expiring on June 30. Meanwhile, Tajiri would only work sporadic Wrestle-1 events from July onwards. On June 26, Wrestle-1 announced the results of their recent contract negotiations with their wrestlers. 21 wrestlers had signed new contracts, including freelancer Kazma Sakamoto who in the process made Wrestle-1 his new home promotion, while Rionne Fujiwara became the second wrestler to leave the promotion following his contract expiring at the end of the month.\n\nOn July 13, Wrestle-1 announced the first \"Wrestle-1 Grand Prix\", a single-elimination tournament featuring 21 participants and taking place between August 2 and 30. The tournament was billed as the Wrestle-1 equivalent of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax. On August 3, Wrestle-1 announced the establishment of Puroresu Sōgō Gakuin (\"Pro wrestling comprehensive school\"), where Akira, Hiroshi Yamato, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo and Yasufumi Nakanoue would train both men and women in six-month-long terms. Graduates from the school are not automatically signed to Wrestle-1 and are free to join other promotions. The school's first term started two months later. On August 30, Wrestle-1 announced it was reviving two inactive titles on October 9; the UWA World Trios Championship and the F-1 Tag Team Championship, the latter being a comedy title Mutoh created in AJPW in 2006 for teams made up of a wrestler and an impressionist. On October 27, Wrestle-1 announced a new project named \"Wrestling Camp\", headed by Kaz Hayashi and former wrestler American Balloon, with the goal of recruiting more foreign wrestlers for the promotion.\n\n2016\nOn March 30, 2016, Wrestle-1 held a show to celebrate the conclusion of the first term of the Puroresu Sōgō Gakuin, while also announcing the graduation of Hana Kimura, Jun Tonsho, Reika Saiki and Seigo Tachibana. With two women graduating from the class, Keiji Mutoh teased the possibility of starting a women's division in Wrestle-1. On May 4, AJPW president Jun Akiyama made a surprise appearance for Wrestle-1, facing off with Keiji Mutoh with the two agreeing to a tag team match against each other on August 11. On June 28, Wrestle-1 announced that Akira, Minoru Tanaka, Ryota Hama, Tajiri and Yasufumi Nakanoue would all be leaving the promotion following the expiration of their contracts two days later. On August 11, Wrestle-1 presented an interpromotional six-man tag team match, which saw AJPW president Jun Akiyama take on former AJPW president Keiji Mutoh. In the match, the AJPW trio of Akiyama, Naoya Nomura and Yuma Aoyagi was victorious over the Wrestle-1 trio of Mutoh, Koji Doi and Kumagoro. On August 31, Kazma Sakamoto also left Wrestle-1 following the expiration of his contract. On September 18, Wrestle-1 announced a new sub-promotion Pro-Wrestling A.C.E. (Academy, Challenge, Entertainment), which was made up of rookies from their wrestling school. On December 20, Kai announced he would be leaving Wrestle-1 and becoming a freelancer at the end of the year.\n\n2017\nOn January 8, 2017, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of a new title, the Wrestle-1 Result Championship, meant for the promotion's younger wrestlers. On March 27, Wrestle-1 announced it was undergoing a change in management on April 1 with Keiji Mutoh moving on to the role of representative director, while Kaz Hayashi would become the new president. Also, Shuji Kondo takes over as the new executive vice president, while Sanshiro Takagi moves from being the CEO to the role of an advisor. On June 14, Wrestle-1 announced the creation of the Wrestle-1 Tag League in the fall and Wrestle-1 Cruiser Festival in the winter. On September 2, Sanshiro Takagi resigned from his advisory role in Wrestle-1. It was stated that the company would continue to have a friendly relationship with Takagi's DDT promotion.\n\n2018\nOn January 17, 2018, Wrestle-1 established a working relationship with Booker T's Reality of Wrestling (ROW) promotion.\n\n2019\nIn 2019, Wrestle-1 established the \"Wrestle-1 Alliance\", a promotional partnership with multiple U.S.-based wrestling companies.\n\n2020\nOn February 29, 2020, Wrestle-1 announced that they would be holding their final event on April 1, with all members of the roster being released from their contracts the day prior. In the last card, on April 1 (with no attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Manabu Soya won a 30-man battle royal, last eliminating Akira. Keiji Muto participated in the match prior to the main event, teaming with Hayashi, Kono and Kondo in a losing effort against Ashino, Inaba, Doi and Kuma Arashi, but did not participate in the battle royal.\n\nRoster\n\nNatives\nAndy Wu\nCIMA\nDaiki Inaba\nEl Lindaman\nKannazuki\nKaz Hayashi\nKeiji Mutoh\nManabu Soya\nMasakatsu Funaki\nMasato Tanaka\nMasayuki Kono\nMazada\nMinoru Tanaka\nNosawa Rongai\nJiro Kuroshio\nKai\nRyota Hama\nSeiki Yoshioka\nSeiya Sanada\nShotaro Ashino\nShuji Kondo\nT-Hawk\nTajiri\nTakanori Ito\nYusuke Kodama\nHiroki Murase/UTAMARO\nKoji Doi\nKumagoro/Kuma Arashi\n\nForeigners\nBob Sapp\nEl Hijo del Pantera\nJay Bradley\nRené Duprée\nRob Terry\nTaiyo Kea\nZodiac\n\nChampionships\n\nOther championships used by Wrestle-1\n\nTournaments\n\nSee also\nAll Japan Pro Wrestling\nPro Wrestling Zero1\nWrestling New Classic\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \nWrestle-1 on YouTube \n\n \nShinjuku\n2013 establishments in Japan\nTalent agencies based in Tokyo\nMass media companies based in Tokyo\nSports organizations established in 2013" ]
[ "Shawn Michaels", "Hall of Famer (2010-2011)", "What did he get in the hall of fame for?", "He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee.", "Did he win any other awards?", "Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker", "When did he win it?", "December 14", "Who else did he wrestle with?", "He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty." ]	C_1754af2e4240450798d9a7b700c912af_0	Did he make a dvd?	5	Did Shawn Michaels make a dvd?	Shawn Michaels	On the December 14 Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. He made his in-person TV return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. CANNOTANSWER	Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers	Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until a back injury forced his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years and returned to the ring for a match in his own Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in 2000. Michaels resumed his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 and retired ceremoniously in 2010, before being assigned as a trainer in 2016. He returned for a final match in 2018. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the number one entrant), the first WWF Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWF Triple Crown Champion, as well as a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee (2011 as singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007, was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship Raw program. Early life Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and said he performed a wrestling routine in his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1985) Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews, losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Texas All-Star Wrestling (1985–1986) After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. American Wrestling Association (1986–1987) Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (1987–1988) In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. Return to the WWF/E The Rockers (1988–1992) The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of the 1989 Survivor Series. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) before the title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995) At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building". At WrestleMania VIII, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage, held on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won the title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the Survivor Series, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw, but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel. In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid – a charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. On August 28, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite. Formation of the Kliq (1995–1996) Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and he went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship in July at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas at In Your House: Great White North, who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of the Kliq. This event has been cited as an example of the Kliq holding others down. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw, Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. WWF Champion (1996–1998) After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for the second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels's championship reign ended at the Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble. On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday, Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left the WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch, a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War, signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in November 1997 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to D-Generation X member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. First retirement and hiatus (1998–2002) At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win the match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War. Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Michaels re-joined D-X as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for a few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered a low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley, and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon in December 2000. Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. During his time as a teacher at the academy, he had his first match since 1998 on April 4, 2000, where he defeated Venom in a Hardcore Street Fight. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels was also a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short period during his retirement. Feud with Triple H (2002–2004) On the June 3 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE television after an absence of 18 months when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that lasted for several years. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. Michaels's reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon. Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. Despite this, Michaels was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. On the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed the match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision and declared the match a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place in April at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, where Benoit successfully retained it, forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus. D-Generation X reunion (2005–2007) At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on SmackDown!, Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. Later, in a WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery) at Vengeance. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match against Carlito and Kurt Angle, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. Michaels followed this up with a short feud with Chris Masters, becoming the first person to cleanly defeat him at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music. On the October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw, he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match. Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series in a losing effort. On the December 26, 2005, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels's matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels's opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as D-X. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On Raw, the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw, D-X officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the D-X "crotch chops." At Vengeance, D-X defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, D-X once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match, finally ending the nine-month long feud. At Cyber Sunday, D-X took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat D-X in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team D-X emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in a clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over D-X, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of D-X. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the contest by the Winner of the match, The Undertaker. Various feuds and championship pursuits (2007–2009) On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a triple threat number one contender's match on the February 5 episode of Raw to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels's feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of Raw, performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels's eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage. A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had an in-ring contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During this, they started to fight, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. The next month, at No Mercy, Michaels lost a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Jericho. In December 2008, Michaels was written in a storyline where he lost his family's savings due to the global recession and reluctantly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at Armageddon. After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble, and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels defeated JBL at No Way Out, letting him out of his contract early, while still receiving full payment. On the March 2 Raw, Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov, and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 in April. Michaels then began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with The Undertaker from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point when all their matches resulted in interference. This renewed feud was two dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of the Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even briefly abandoning his "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick to portray a heaven-esque, bright side anti-Deadman Undertaker variant (Michaels is a real-life born again Christian). The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance from high in the air portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground. After a suspenseful, competitive wrestling match, Shawn Michaels was defeated, thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE. Final matches and second retirement (2009–2010) Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw, where he had, in storyline, left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H tried to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform D-X. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, D-X defeated Legacy. The two teams exchanged victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, D-X defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. D-X lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of Raw; the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. The following night, on the March 29 episode of Raw, Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building." In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010–2018) On the December 14, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his in-person television return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. On the February 13, 2012 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H about accepting The Undertaker's challenge for a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and announced he would be the special guest referee for it. Despite interference on Triple H's behalf from Michaels, The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania. After Michaels and The Undertaker assisted Triple H out of the ring and up the ramp, the three embraced. Michaels appeared at Raw 1000 on July 23 alongside fellow D-Generation X alumni Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow before Michaels struck him with Sweet Chin Music and Triple H delivered a Pedigree. The group then performed their signature poses before departing. Michaels appeared on the August 6 episode of Raw. He was confronted by Brock Lesnar (who was scheduled to face Triple H at SummerSlam) and Paul Heyman. Michaels announced he would be in Triple H's corner for the match. After the show ended, many WWE Superstars (including John Cena and The Undertaker) celebrated Michaels's career. The live audience festivities were titled "Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night", as the show took place in Michaels's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. On the following week's episode of Raw, Lesnar (kayfabe) broke Michaels's arm after putting Michaels in a Kimura Lock. As a result, Michaels was unable to appear; Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam. On the January 24, 2013 episode of NXT, Michaels announced a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. On the April 1, 2013 Raw, Michaels returned to offer to corner Triple H in his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. During that match, Michaels superkicked an interfering Paul Heyman, helping Triple H win and keep his job. He returned on the May 27 Raw in a backstage segment with John Cena, and again on the SummerSlam pre-show. In October 2013, Michaels won a fan poll to become special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. He performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan, allowing Orton to win. The next night on Raw, he explained that he was upset with Bryan for attacking Triple H during the match. He degraded Bryan for not showing him respect, turning heel for the first time since 2005. Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock on Michaels to end the segment. On December 9, he presented Bryan with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Later that night, Bryan attacked Michaels with a running knee after Michaels attacked CM Punk with Sweet Chin Music. All three legends then became involved in an altercation with Big Show. Michaels appeared at WrestleMania 31, interfering as a member of DX in the Sting-Triple H match, performing Sweet Chin Music to Sting. Michaels appeared on the October 19, 2015, episode of Raw, confronting Seth Rollins who was cutting a promo on relieving Kane of his duties as Director of Operations. At WrestleMania 32, Michaels made an appearance during the event in his in-ring attire, confronting The League of Nations alongside Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin where Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett before celebrating with Foley, Austin and The New Day. In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE, promoting his new film. Michaels was then confronted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal, before Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to Michaels's side, leading to a match between Big Cass and Mahal, with Michaels being in Big Cass's corner. Big Cass won the match after Michaels superkicked Rusev at ringside, distracting Mahal. On the March 13 episode of Raw, Michaels gave Roman Reigns advice about The Undertaker for their match at WrestleMania 33, before Braun Strowman attacked Reigns on the entrance ramp. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Michaels along with Terry Taylor teach the finishing class at the WWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes. Michaels and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years. One match return and NXT backstage work (2018–present) On the September 3, 2018, episode of Raw, Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On the October 8 edition of Raw, Michaels appeared with Triple H and announced that he was coming out of retirement to reform D-Generation X. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, D-Generation X defeated The Brothers of Destruction. The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award. Afterwards, Michaels confirmed that he would be going back into retirement. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Michaels was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show. On the February 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Michaels along with special guests Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting appeared during the main event segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. However, Flair would be attacked by Batista instead of appearing on-screen. In April 2019, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of D-Generation X as part of the 2019 class. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Legacy Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He received praises for several matches, including 15 Match of the Year awards between Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. WrestleMania. Sumit Rehal of Independent UK in his top 10 WrestleMania matches listed Michels 3 times (vs Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV). In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. His rivalry with Bret Hart has been named one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and more. After 8 years retired from in-ring competition, Michaels made his return at Crown Jewel, receiving criticism from the fans and media. PWTorch's Wade Keller said "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Personal life Hickenbottom's first marriage, to Theresa Wood, soon ended in an amicably settled divorce. He married Rebecca Curci, a former WCW Nitro Girl known as Whisper, on March 31, 1999, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only the couple and an Elvis impersonator were present. Their son, Cameron Kade, was born on January 15, 2000, and a daughter, Cheyenne, born on August 19, 2004, followed. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler, having wrestled in TNA and WWE. In 1996, Hickenbottom posed for a non-nude layout in Playgirl magazine. Only after he posed did he discover Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, for which some of his fellow wrestlers teased him. He is ambidextrous, and had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a boy. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position. In 1987, Hickenbottom developed a pattern of "heavy" substance abuse, which eventually alienated some of his closest friends. He contemplated suicide in the late 1980s, and suggested that psychological intervention was "probably sorely needed" by the late 1990s. His wife Rebecca observed: "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." Hickenbottom's fear that he was going to negatively influence his young son, prompted him to abandon his previous lifestyle. Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. Hickenbottom was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown, San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. In 2008, he appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network program with fellow professional wrestler Sting. Other media Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels joins his hunting partner and longtime friend, Keith Mark, owner and operator of the original MacMillan River Adventures camp in Yukon, Canada, as they hunt big-game animals around the world. This series airs on CarbonTV. Filmography Film Television HBK Line During their 2015–16 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. Pens' game-day staff would regularly play Michaels's theme "Sexy Boy" over the Consol Energy Center PA system after goals or excellent shifts by line members. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. Keisel also gave Michaels a tour of the city including at the Steelers headquarters and having lunch at Primanti Brothers in the city's Strip District. The Penguins lost the game in overtime 4–3 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. Michaels eventually befriended Keisel and attended his annual "Shear Da Beard" event in 2017. Outside of his numerous appearances with WWE, it was not Michaels first visit to Pittsburgh. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township. While the Penguins successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship the following year, the HBK Line was broken up when Kessel was moved to the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Bonino left the team in free agency. Book On February 10, 2015, Hickenbottom published an autobiography entitled Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar. It was co-written by David Thomas. Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty The Baltimore Sun Feud of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2007) Match of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2009) Match of the Year (2010) Wrestler of the Year (2008) Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2018) CBS Sports Worst Angle of the Year (2018) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty Continental Wrestling Association AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Chris Jericho Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Decade (2010-2019) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17 Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22 Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on Raw on April 23 Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010) Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996) Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996 Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 33 and No. 55 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Marty Jannetty and Diesel, respectively, in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Texas All-Star Wrestling TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Diamond & DJ Peterson Texas Wrestling Alliance TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) WWF European Championship (1 time) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1) Royal Rumble (1995, 1996) First Grand Slam Champion Fourth Triple Crown Champion Slammy Award (15 times) Best Finisher (1997) Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996) Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel Best Threads (1996) Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Leader of the New Generation (1996) Master of Mat Mechanics (1996) Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X; vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam; vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII; vs The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House; vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV; vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) Class of 2011 – individually Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Babyface (1996) Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder match at No Mercy Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Worst Match of the Year (2018) with Triple H vs. The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Most Charismatic (1995, 1996) Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) References Further reading External links 1965 births American football linebackers American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American people of English descent D-Generation X members Living people Professional wrestlers from Arizona Professional wrestling authority figures Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Texas State University alumni The Kliq members The New World Order (professional wrestling) members World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions	true	[ "The Singles: 1996–2006 is a compilation album by the American rock band Staind, which was released through their current record label Atlantic Records in the UK on November 13, 2006, and in the US on November 14, 2006. A companion DVD, called Staind: The Videos, was released on the same date.\n\nTrack listing\n\nBonus Tracks\n\nNotes\n \"Suffocate\" did not make it on the tracklist.\n \"Just Go\" did not make it on the tracklist.\n \"Outside (Album Version)\" did not make it on the tracklist. \n \"Fade\" did not make it on the tracklist. \n \"How About You\" did not make it on the tracklist.\n \"King of All Excuses\" did not make it on the tracklist.\n \"Schizophrenic Conversations\" did not make it on the tracklist.\n \"Sober (Live from Hiro Ballroom)\" has slightly different lyrics than Tool in the chorus.\n\nReferences\n\nStaind compilation albums\n2006 compilation albums\nFlip Records (1994) albums", "Lonely Me is debut studio album by Hong Kong cantopop singer Charlene Choi, member of the popular duo Twins. The album is released in April 2009 in Canton-Hong Kong strike. The album consists of two discs: Disc 1, CD, contains 12 songs and disc 2 is a DVD with 3 music videos.\n\nBackground\nAfter Twins have break up in March 2008 (because of Edison Chen photo scandal involving Gillian Chung), the other member of duo Charlene Choi started to record her debut album. The album, entitled Lonely Me, was released on April 9, 2009. The album contains theme song for The Butterfly Lovers movie \"2 - 1\". The album consists of Two discs: CD (12 songs) and a DVD (3 music videos). The album features a duet and music video, \"Little Dimples\" features JJ Lin which also released in his sixth studio album Sixology by Ocean Butterflies.\n\nTrack listing\nCD\n\"2 - 1\" (theme song for The Butterfly Lovers movie)\n\"I'm Sorry\"\n\"Crossover\"\n\"Bowknot\"\n\"Hydrogen Ballon\"\n\"Knowing You, He Did Not\"\n\"2 - 1\" (Mandarin version)\n\"Make a Wish\"\n\"Small Dimple\" (Mandarin version) (featuring JJ Lin)\n\"Heartbeat Cantabile\"\n\"Little Dimples\" (featuring JJ Lin)\n\"Heart as Butterfly\"\n\nDVD\n\"2 - 1\" (music video)\n\"I'm Sorry\" (music video)\n\"Hydrogen Ballon\" (music video)\n\"Knowing You, He Did Not\" (music video)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n http://www.yesasia.com/us/lonely-me-cd-dvd/1019560806-0-0-0-en/info.html\n http://www.play-asia.com/lonely-me-cddvd-paOS-13-49-en-70-3c1d.html\n http://www.jpopasia.com/celebrity/charlenechoi/lyrics/lonely-me::9521.html\n http://www.mtv.com/artists/charlene-choi/discography/2442874/\n\n2009 debut albums\nCharlene Choi albums" ]
[ "Shawn Michaels", "Hall of Famer (2010-2011)", "What did he get in the hall of fame for?", "He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee.", "Did he win any other awards?", "Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker", "When did he win it?", "December 14", "Who else did he wrestle with?", "He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty.", "Did he make a dvd?", "Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers" ]	C_1754af2e4240450798d9a7b700c912af_0	what was the subject of the dvd?	6	What was the subject of the DVD that Shawn Michaels, Jim Ross and Hart made?	Shawn Michaels	On the December 14 Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he will serve in an ambassadorial role. He made his in-person TV return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. He appeared on the January 10, 2011 Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit him with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. CANNOTANSWER	The subject of the DVD would be their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal screwjob.	Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is known by the nicknames "Heartbreak Kid", "The Showstopper", and "Mr. WrestleMania". Michaels wrestled consistently for WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1988 until a back injury forced his first retirement in 1998. He performed in non-wrestling roles for the next two years and returned to the ring for a match in his own Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in 2000. Michaels resumed his wrestling career with WWE in 2002 and retired ceremoniously in 2010, before being assigned as a trainer in 2016. He returned for a final match in 2018. In the WWF/WWE, Michaels headlined pay-per-view events between 1989 and 2018, main-eventing the company's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, five times. He was the co-founder and original leader of the successful stable, D-Generation X. Michaels also wrestled in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he founded The Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty in 1985. After winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice, the team continued to the WWF as The Rockers and had a high-profile breakup in January 1992. Within the year, Michaels twice challenged for the WWF Championship and won his first Intercontinental Championship, heralding his arrival as one of the industry's premier singles stars. Michaels is a four-time world champion, having held the WWF Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once. He is also a two-time Royal Rumble winner (and the first man to win the match as the number one entrant), the first WWF Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWF Triple Crown Champion, as well as a two time WWE Hall of Fame inductee (2011 as singles wrestler and 2019 as part of D-Generation X). Michaels won the Pro Wrestling Illustrated "Match of the Year" reader vote a record eleven times, and his match against John Cena on April 23, 2007, was ranked by WWE as the best match ever aired on the company's flagship Raw program. Early life Hickenbottom was born on July 22, 1965, in Chandler, Arizona. The last of four children – Randy, Scott, and Shari are his older siblings – he was raised in a military family and spent a brief part of his early years in Reading, Berkshire, England, but grew up in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, Hickenbottom disliked the name Michael, so his family and friends just called him Shawn. Ever since, he has been referred to as Shawn. Additionally, Hickenbottom moved around frequently since his father was in the military. He knew he wanted to become a professional wrestler at the age of 12 and said he performed a wrestling routine in his high school's talent show, complete with fake blood. Hickenbottom was already an athlete; his career began at the age of six when he started playing football. He was a stand-out linebacker at Randolph High School on Randolph Air Force Base and eventually became captain of the football team. After graduating, Hickenbottom attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, but soon realized that college life was not for him. He then began pursuing a career in professional wrestling. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1984–1985) Hickenbottom began to train under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario. During his training, Hickenbottom adopted the ring name, "Shawn Michaels". After his training with Lothario, he debuted as Shawn Michaels with the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Mid-South Wrestling territory on October 16, 1984, against Art Crews, losing to Crews via swinging neckbreaker. Michaels's performance in his debut match impressed many veterans, including Terry Taylor. In January 1985, he debuted for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), the NWA territory in Dallas, Texas. In April 1985, Michaels went to work for another NWA territory in Kansas City called Central States Wrestling. There, he and tag team partner Marty Jannetty defeated The Batten Twins for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship, later losing it back to the Battens. Texas All-Star Wrestling (1985–1986) After leaving Kansas City, he returned to Texas to wrestle for Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW). During his time with TASW, Michaels replaced Nick Kiniski in the American Breed tag team, teaming with Paul Diamond. Michaels and Diamond were awarded the TASW Tag Team Championship by Chavo Guerrero Sr. The team was later renamed American Force. While in TASW, Michaels and Diamond feuded with Japanese Force. American Wrestling Association (1986–1987) Michaels made his national-level debut, as Sean Michaels, at the age of 20 in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in a victory over Buddhakhan on ESPN. He was once again teamed with Marty Jannetty, billed as The Midnight Rockers. The Midnight Rockers won the AWA World Tag Team Championship, defeating Doug Somers and Buddy Rose. World Wrestling Federation and return to AWA (1987–1988) In 1987, The Rockers were signed by a competing promotion: the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were fired from WWF two weeks later, for a bar incident (a misunderstanding, according to Michaels's autobiography). They then returned to AWA, where they won the AWA tag team titles for a second time, but were re-signed by WWF a year later. Return to the WWF/E The Rockers (1988–1992) The Rockers redebuted at a WWF live event on July 7, 1988. Due to WWF chairman Vince McMahon's desire to have his performers carry WWF-exclusive ring names, Michaels and Jannetty were renamed, as simply The Rockers. The team proved popular with both children and women and was a mid-card stalwart of television and pay-per-view shows for the next two years. During this time, Michaels headlined his first pay-per-view for the WWF when The Rockers were involved in the 4-on-4 Survivor Series match main event of the 1989 Survivor Series. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers unofficially won the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart), as Neidhart, half of the championship team, was in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers winning the title, but soon after Neidhart came to an agreement with management and was rehired. The championship was returned to the Hart Foundation, while the title change was never broadcast or even acknowledged on television (though The Rockers did have a successful title defense on November 3, 1990, against Power and Glory (Hercules and Paul Roma) before the title was returned to the Hart Foundation). When news spread, WWF explained that the original result was void due to a collapsed turnbuckle in the ring during the bout. A buckle had indeed broken, but not to a noticeable or dangerous extent during the match. The Rockers continued their partnership, eventually splitting on December 2, 1991, aired January 11, 1992, on Wrestling Challenge, during an incident on Brutus Beefcake's televised Barber Shop talk show promotional segment. Michaels superkicked Jannetty and threw him through a glass window on the set of Beefcake's talk show. Jannetty returned to the WWF the following year and enjoyed moderate success before leaving the company in 1994, while Michaels became a prominent villain of the early to mid-1990s as "The Boy Toy". Heartbreak Kid (1992–1995) At the suggestion of Curt Hennig, Michaels adopted the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid". Along with his new name came a new gimmick as a vain, cocky villain. He was put together with mirror-carrying manager, Sensational Sherri, who according to the storyline had become infatuated with him. Sherri even sang the first version of his new theme music, "Sexy Boy". During that period, after Michaels had wrestled his scheduled match at live events, his departure was announced with "Shawn Michaels has left the building", alluding to the phrase "Elvis has left the building". At WrestleMania VIII, Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first pay-per-view singles match after both men had simultaneously eliminated each other from that year's Royal Rumble. Michaels subsequently became a contender to the promotion's singles titles and failed to win the WWF Championship from champion Randy Savage in his first opportunity to compete for that title at British event UK Rampage, held on April 19 at the Sheffield Arena and broadcast on Sky Movies Plus (the match later aired in the US on the edition of June 15 of Prime Time Wrestling). Michaels was also unable to win the Intercontinental Championship from Bret Hart in the WWF's first ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, which was subsequently made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases. However, he won the title from The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, which aired on November 14. Shortly thereafter, he faced Hart for the WWF Championship in the main event of the Survivor Series, but lost the match. Originally the secondary main event, Michaels and Hart became the primary main event after The Ultimate Warrior was unable to compete and was replaced by Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) in the tag team match that involved Randy Savage against the team of Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. During this time, Michaels and Sherri split and he engaged himself in a feud with former tag team partner Marty Jannetty. Michaels lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jannetty on the May 17, 1993 episode of Raw, but regained it on June 6 with the help of his debuting "bodyguard" (and off-air friend) Diesel. In September 1993, Michaels was suspended for testing positive for steroid – a charge he never admitted. On WWF programs, his suspension was explained by his having neglected to defend the title often enough. After turning down World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s advances, Michaels returned to the WWF and made several appearances in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during a WWF/USWA cross-promotion. He returned to WWF television in November at the Survivor Series substituting for Jerry Lawler, who was dealing with legal issues, in a match pitting himself and three of Lawler's "Knights" against the Hart brothers, Bret, Bruce, Keith and Owen. In 1994, Michaels entered a rivalry with Razor Ramon, who had won the Intercontinental Championship, which had been vacated during Michaels's absence. Since Michaels had never been defeated in the ring for the title, he claimed to be the rightful champion and even carried around his old title belt. This feud culminated in a ladder match between the two at WrestleMania X. Michaels lost the match, which featured both his and Ramon's championship belts suspended above a ladder in the ring. This match was voted by fans as "Match of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It also received a five-star rating from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, the first of nine WWF/E matches to do so. Over the next few months, Michaels battled various injuries and launched the Heartbreak Hotel television talk show segment, mainly shown on Superstars. On August 28, Michaels and Diesel captured the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu). The next day at SummerSlam, Diesel lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ramon when Michaels accidentally superkicked Diesel. This triggered a split between Michaels and Diesel, a storyline that was drawn out until Survivor Series that November. Michaels went on to win the Royal Rumble in 1995, which set up a championship grudge match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel (who had gone on to win the WWF Championship from Bob Backlund). As part of the storyline, Michaels recruited Sid as his bodyguard for the build-up, lost the match and was attacked by Sid the following night. After this, Michaels took time off because Vince McMahon wanted Michaels to become a fan favorite. Formation of the Kliq (1995–1996) Michaels returned to the ring as a fan favorite in May 1995 and he went on to defeat Jeff Jarrett to win his third Intercontinental Championship in July at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks. This led to a title defense against Razor Ramon at SummerSlam in a ladder match, which Michaels won. Around this time, Michaels became the leader of a backstage group known as The Kliq. Critics perceive the group to have sufficient clout with WWF owner Vince McMahon, becoming dominant wrestling figures in the WWF for several years in the mid-1990s, causing friction with other wrestlers. Michaels disputes the perception, saying that McMahon pushed only deserving wrestlers. Michaels's fan base was later nicknamed "The Kliq" as an inside reference to the real "Kliq". In October 1995, Michaels was the victim of a legit assault outside a bar in Syracuse, New York. Due to not being able to compete, Michaels was forced to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship to his original opponent Dean Douglas at In Your House: Great White North, who in turn Douglas lost the championship to Razor Ramon, another member of the Kliq. This event has been cited as an example of the Kliq holding others down. During a match with Owen Hart on a November episode of Raw, Hart performed an enzuigiri that struck the back of Michaels's head. They continued the match, but Michaels collapsed in the ring, supposedly because he had suffered a concussion. The concussion was scripted, which was kept from most fans at the time. A retirement angle was written so that Michaels could take some time off after he came back from an injury too soon. WWF Champion (1996–1998) After teasing a retirement, Michaels returned to the WWF at the Royal Rumble match in 1996, which he wound up winning for the second year in a row, to receive a WWF Championship match in the main event at WrestleMania XII. Around this time, Jose Lothario became Michaels's on-screen manager. At WrestleMania XII, Michaels defeated WWF Champion Bret Hart in the overtime of their sixty-minute Iron Man match, which had ended in a scoreless tie. On May 19, Michaels and his fellow Kliq members were involved in the incident known as "Curtain Call". Diesel and Razor Ramon were about to leave WWF to company rival WCW. After Michaels won a match against Diesel, Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley came to the ring and joined Michaels and Diesel in a group-hug. As Diesel and Helmsley were seen as villains at the time, in contrast to Michaels and Ramon, this constituted a breach of "kayfabe", as acting out of character, which was rare and controversial at the time. As WCW gained momentum due to the signings of Hall and Nash, Michaels held the championship for most of the year. Michaels's championship reign ended at the Survivor Series event, where he lost to Sycho Sid, his former bodyguard. Michaels recaptured the championship from Sid in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble. On a special episode of Raw dubbed Thursday Raw Thursday, Michaels vacated the WWF Championship. He explained to fans that he was informed by doctors that he had conjured a knee injury and that he had to retire. His speech was regarded as controversial, as Michaels was allegedly unwilling to lose to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 (since it was noted that he was going to have a rematch with Hart at WrestleMania). Michaels contemplated thoughts of retirement and stated that he "had to find his smile again", which he had "lost" somewhere down the line. After knee surgery by Dr. James Andrews, Michaels returned a few months later, briefly teaming with Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. In his autobiography, Michaels reveals about his real-life feud with Bret Hart, claiming that Hart did interviews on live television claiming that he [Michaels] was faking his whole injury. By the spring of 1997, the real-life backstage conflict between Michaels and Hart was reaching its height. Both men were going out on television and frequently making personal, true to heart remarks about one another. Michaels briefly left the WWF in June of that year after a real backstage fight with Hart, just hours before a Raw Is War show, which allegedly resulted from Michaels making an on-air remark, known as the "Sunny Days" comment, implying that Hart (who was married at the time) was having an affair with Tammy Sytch, a manager and valet who was signed to the WWF as Sunny. Michaels and Austin were still WWF Tag Team Champions at the time during an ongoing feud with the Hart Foundation and a tournament was made to decide new tag team champions. Michaels eventually returned that summer in July. At SummerSlam, Michaels officiated the WWF Championship match between WWF Champion The Undertaker and Bret Hart. The match ended controversially, with Michaels hitting Undertaker with a chair (unintentionally, as he was aiming for Hart after he spat in his face). Michaels was then forced to award the championship to his nemesis, Bret Hart. The next night on Raw Is War, signs of a heel turn started to show as Michaels told the WWF fans what happened at SummerSlam was an accident and that he dealt with the Undertaker when the time came. At WWF One Night Only, held in Birmingham, England in September, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog to capture the WWF European Championship. The fans at the event were so appalled at the result of the match they booed Michaels out of the building to the extent that they littered the ring with garbage, cementing his second heel turn. With this win, Michaels became the first Grand Slam Champion. At In Your House: Badd Blood, Michaels defeated Undertaker in the first Hell in a Cell match, during which Michaels fell off the side of the high structure through a table. The match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer. In the fall, Michaels joined forces with real-life friend Hunter Hearst Helmsley (later known as Triple H), Helmsley's then real-life girlfriend Chyna, and Rick Rude to form the stable D-Generation X (DX). Michaels continued his rivalry with Bret Hart and his reformed Hart Foundation, which was now a pro-Canada stable. Michaels taunted the group and Canada by engaging in acts such as blowing his nose with and humping the Canadian Flag. Michaels later claimed the flag desecration was Hart's idea. Michaels's feud with the Hart Foundation culminated in a championship match at Survivor Series in November 1997 against Hart. Michaels came out of this match, dubbed by fans the "Montreal Screwjob", as the WWF Champion. Michaels now held both the WWF and European championships at the same time. Michaels dropped the European Championship to D-Generation X member Hunter Hearst Hemsley in a farcical match. First retirement and hiatus (1998–2002) At the 1998 Royal Rumble, in a casket match against The Undertaker, Michaels took a back body drop to the outside of the ring and hit his lower back on the casket, causing him to herniate two discs and crush one completely. Michaels went on to win the match but the injury rendered him unable to compete on the following month's No Way Out of Texas: In Your House as advertised, and forced him into retirement a night after losing the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV. After being away for nearly four months, Michaels made a surprise return to the WWF as a guest commentator on the July 13 episode of Raw Is War. Michaels continued to make non-wrestling appearances on WWF programming and on November 23 he replaced Sgt. Slaughter as the WWF Commissioner, eventually joining Vince McMahon's group of wrestlers called The Corporation. Throughout late 1998 and early 1999, Michaels made regular television appearances on Raw, in which he scheduled matches, throwing around his authority, and sometimes even deciding the outcome of matches. On the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Michaels re-joined D-X as a face, but disappeared from WWF television for a few weeks to have back surgery and by the time he returned DX was on the way of dissolving within the next couple of months. On November 23, 1999, Michaels made a special appearance for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling at the 10th Anniversary Show at the Yokohama Arena, serving as the guest referee for the H vs fake Hayabusa (Mr. Gannosuke) main event. He got himself involved in the match when Gannosuke delivered a low blow on him and he responded later on with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels made occasional appearances as the WWF Commissioner during the spring and summer of 1999, but remained absent from television after August until May 15, 2000, when he returned on Raw Is War to declare himself the special guest referee for The Rock and Triple H's Iron Man match at Judgment Day. One month later, Michaels briefly reappeared on Raw Is War to hand over the role of Commissioner to Mick Foley, and after another appearance in October did not make any in-arena appearances until mid-2002. He appeared briefly on television to make a speech at WWF New York during Armageddon in December 2000. Believing that his wrestling career was over, Michaels was interested in training individuals who wanted to become professional wrestlers. He saw potential in using his name and opened the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy (later the Texas Wrestling Academy) in 1999, after his lawyer Skip McCormick suggested the idea. During his time as a teacher at the academy, he had his first match since 1998 on April 4, 2000, where he defeated Venom in a Hardcore Street Fight. Michaels left the academy in 2002, giving co-founder Rudy Boy Gonzalez sole responsibility due to Michaels's new contract with WWE. Michaels was also a sportscaster for San Antonio's local news for a short period during his retirement. Feud with Triple H (2002–2004) On the June 3 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE television after an absence of 18 months when Kevin Nash announced him as a new member of the recently reformed New World Order (nWo). Michaels was the only nWo member to have never worked in WCW. After the nWo had disbanded, Triple H appeared to make amends with Michaels. This was solidified when Michaels pleaded Triple H to return to Raw. Later on, they came down to the ring sporting their DX music and attire. When the pair was about to perform their trademark "Suck It" taunt, Triple H turned on Michaels by performing a Pedigree on him. Continuing the angle, a week later, Triple H attacked Michaels from behind in a parking lot and put his head through a car window, in storyline. In response, Michaels challenged Triple H to "a fight" (a non-sanctioned match) at SummerSlam, which Triple H accepted, laying the foundation for a rivalry that lasted for several years. In his first WWE match since WrestleMania XIV, Michaels defeated Triple H at SummerSlam, but was attacked by Triple H with a sledgehammer after the match. At Survivor Series, Michaels won the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H in the first Elimination Chamber match. Michaels's reign as champion came to an end a month later when he lost the championship to Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell match, a series of three matches in which wrestlers attempt to win the majority of matches, at Armageddon. Michaels then began a rivalry with Chris Jericho, after Jericho claimed that he was the next Shawn Michaels. On January 13, 2003, after Jericho won a battle royal to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble, choosing number two in order to start the match with Michaels, who had already been named number one. At the Royal Rumble, Jericho, with the help of Christian, eliminated Michaels. Michaels later interfered in the match, causing Jericho to be eliminated. Michaels defeated Jericho at WrestleMania XIX. Despite this, Michaels was low-blowed after hugging Jericho. On the December 29, 2003 episode of Raw, Michaels seemingly defeated Triple H after a Sweet Chin Music for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas with Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee (Earl Hebner originally refereed the match, only to be knocked out by Triple H in the middle of the match). However, Bischoff reversed the decision and declared the match a draw due to both men's shoulders being on the mat. Angered by this, Michaels attacked Ric Flair and Bischoff. He was subsequently fired by Bischoff but rehired by Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a part of an ongoing feud with Triple H, the two competed alongside Chris Benoit in the main event at WrestleMania XX for the World Heavyweight Championship. The former DX partners both came up short in the match, however, as Benoit won the championship. The night before this, Michaels inducted Tito Santana in the WWE Hall of Fame. A triple threat WrestleMania rematch for the title took place in April at Backlash in Benoit's hometown of Edmonton, where Benoit successfully retained it, forcing Michaels to submit to a Sharpshooter. Due to the "Montreal Screwjob" incident, the Edmonton crowd booed Michaels, with chants of "You screwed Bret!" being heard during his match at Backlash. At Bad Blood in June, Michaels lost to Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. Four months later, he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H, after Edge interfered at Taboo Tuesday, when the fans voted for him ahead of Edge and Chris Benoit to face Triple H one more time. Following this, Michaels was out of action for a few months with a legit torn meniscus. D-Generation X reunion (2005–2007) At the Royal Rumble in 2005, Michaels competed in the Rumble match and eliminated Kurt Angle. In seeking revenge, Angle re-entered the ring and eliminated Michaels, and thus placed him in an ankle lock submission hold, outside the ring. Michaels issued a challenge to Angle for a match at WrestleMania 21, which Angle accepted when he appeared on Raw to attack Michaels. The following week on Raw, Marty Jannetty and Michaels had a one time reunion as The Rockers and defeated La Résistance (Robért Conway and Sylvain Grenier). Three days later on SmackDown!, Angle defeated Jannetty, after Angle made Jannetty submit to the ankle lock. To send a "message" to Michaels, Angle also humiliated Michaels's former manager, Sensational Sherri, when he applied the ankle lock hold on her. At WrestleMania in April, Angle defeated Michaels by submission, again with an ankle lock. Following the events of WrestleMania 21, the next night on Raw, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault Michaels. On the April 11 episode of Raw, Michaels approached General Manager Eric Bischoff, in which he demanded a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused to schedule such a match and instead told Michaels to find a partner. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels when Daivari was pinned. Later, in a WrestleMania rematch, Michaels defeated Kurt Angle (who was drafted to Raw in the draft lottery) at Vengeance. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Michaels and Hulk Hogan had a tag team match against Carlito and Kurt Angle, which they won. During the post-match pose, Michaels hit Hogan with his Sweet Chin Music, knocking Hogan to the ground and turning heel for the first time since 1998. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit where he superkicked Roddy Piper and then challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan accepted the following week. Hogan defeated Michaels at SummerSlam, and after the match Michaels extended his hand to him, saying "I needed to know, and I found out" and he and Hogan shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd, turning face once again. Michaels followed this up with a short feud with Chris Masters, becoming the first person to cleanly defeat him at Unforgiven with Sweet Chin Music. On the October 3 WWE Homecoming episode of Raw, he wrestled old rival Kurt Angle to a 2–2 draw in a 30-Minute Iron Man match. Afterwards, he challenged Angle to sudden-death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. He was part of Team Raw at Survivor Series in a losing effort. On the December 26, 2005, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon lauded Michaels for his part in the "Montreal Screwjob". Michaels said he was only being loyal to his company, he had moved on, and McMahon should move on as well. McMahon then began setting unusual stipulations for Michaels's matches and interfering on behalf of Michaels's opponents. During the Royal Rumble, McMahon made his way to the ring, and as Michaels stared at McMahon, Shane McMahon made a surprising appearance, eliminating Michaels from the match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, McMahon tried unsuccessfully to force Michaels to sign retirement papers. The following week, Michaels won a handicap match against the Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky and Mikey) and after the match, Michaels's former partner, Marty Jannetty, came down to help Michaels from the assault by the Spirit Squad. After the two reunited, McMahon offered Jannetty a contract if he "kissed his ass." The following week, Jannetty refused McMahon's offer and instead took Chris Masters's "Masterlock challenge." Michaels tried to help Jannetty, which ultimately resulted in Shane attacking Michaels and forcing him to kiss his father's behind. At Saturday Night's Main Event XXXII, Shane defeated Michaels in a Street Fight after he applied a sharpshooter on Michaels, which led to McMahon immediately ordering for the bell to be rung, even though Michaels did not submit, which was an allusion to the "Montreal Screwjob". Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, Michaels defeated McMahon at WrestleMania 22 in a No Holds Barred match. At Backlash, The McMahons (Vince and Shane) defeated Michaels and "God" in a tag team match, with help from the Spirit Squad in a no disqualification match. On the May 22 episode of Raw, the Spirit Squad was scripted to injure Michaels's knee. This angle was written so that Michaels could have surgery on his knee, which had been legitimately injured for some time. In 2006, a series of events took place which suggested a reunion of Michaels and Triple H as D-X. They began at WrestleMania 22, where both Michaels and Triple H performed the crotch chop, during their matches. On Raw, the two continued to deliver chops, as Michaels feuded with Vince McMahon and Triple H went to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship, repeatedly butting heads with Vince McMahon in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw, D-X officially reunited. During Triple H's gauntlet match, which had him compete against the Spirit Squad. Michaels came in to help Triple H, and the two did the D-X "crotch chops." At Vengeance, D-X defeated the Spirit Squad in a 5–on–2 handicap match. They also defeated the Spirit Squad at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII in a 5-on-2 elimination match and defeated The McMahons at SummerSlam. At Unforgiven, D-X once again defeated the McMahons and ECW World Champion The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match, finally ending the nine-month long feud. At Cyber Sunday, D-X took on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton). The fan-selected referee Eric Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the ill-gotten win and the plaudit of being the first tag team to defeat D-X in a tag team match since their reformation in June 2006. At Survivor Series, however, Team D-X emerged victorious against Team Rated-RKO in a clean sweep victory. At New Year's Revolution, Triple H suffered a legit torn right quadriceps during their match with Rated-RKO. Rated-RKO claimed victory over D-X, citing Triple H's injury, as the "end" of D-X. On the January 15 episode of Raw, Michaels lived up to his word of "dealing" with Rated-RKO, from his comments the previous week before, when he took out Randy Orton with a con-chair-to after a handicap match against Edge and Orton. At the Royal Rumble, Michaels was the last man eliminated in the contest by the Winner of the match, The Undertaker. Various feuds and championship pursuits (2007–2009) On the January 29 episode of Raw, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with WWE Champion John Cena after defeating Rated-RKO. He then defeated both Edge and Orton in a triple threat number one contender's match on the February 5 episode of Raw to earn a shot at the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania 23, Cena retained the championship, after he made Michaels submit to the STFU. The next night on Raw, Michaels and Cena competed in two back-to-back ten team battle royals, winning the first and losing the World Tag Team Championship in the second to The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) when Michaels threw Cena over the top rope. Michaels's feud with Cena continued and he faced off with Cena, Edge and Randy Orton in a fatal four-way Match at Backlash for the WWE Championship. Cena retained the championship when Michaels performed Sweet Chin Music on Cena, causing him to fall on Orton for the pinfall. Michaels then entered a feud with Randy Orton when Orton claimed that he could beat Michaels. The week before their scheduled match at Judgment Day, after Michaels won a match against then-World Heavyweight Champion Edge, Orton attacked him, punting Michaels in the head. Orton assaulted Michaels again prior to their match at Judgment Day, interrupting Michaels's interview segment. Michaels collapsed during their match, causing Orton to win by referee stoppage. Afterwards, Orton continued the beating, when he performed an RKO to a fallen Michaels. Michaels was then removed out of the ring in a stretcher. During the feud, Michaels suffered a storyline concussion. This injury was used to keep Michaels out of action, as he required surgery for his knee. Michaels made his return on the October 8 episode of Raw, performing Sweet Chin Music to newly crowned WWE Champion, Randy Orton, during his title ceremony at the end of the show and then celebrating over the knocked-out champion as Vince McMahon watched. At Cyber Sunday, Michaels was voted by the fans to face Orton for the WWE Championship, though he won via disqualification when Orton hit Michaels with a low blow, which resulted in Orton retaining the championship. Michaels got another opportunity at the WWE Championship, when he was granted his rematch against Orton at Survivor Series. In their match, Michaels was banned from using Sweet Chin Music upon request by Orton, referring to as Michaels superkicking Orton week after week. Michaels lost the match, when Orton performed an RKO for the win, which ended their feud. As part of the storyline involving Ric Flair, Michaels faced Flair in a Career Threatening match at WrestleMania XXIV, in which he won by performing Sweet Chin Music and thus ending Flair's career. Afterwards, Batista confronted Michaels about his actions at WrestleMania, calling him selfish and egotistical. The two faced off at Backlash with Chris Jericho as the guest referee. Michaels won after faking a knee injury and performing Sweet Chin Music. Jericho then confronted Michaels on this matter, in which Michaels admitted to faking the injury in order to defeat Batista. Michaels then defeated Jericho at Judgment Day. At One Night Stand, Michaels lost to Batista in a stretcher match, thus ending their feud. On the June 9 episode of Raw, Michaels was attacked by Chris Jericho during his talk show segment, The Highlight Reel, being thrown directly through a television screen. The following week, it was revealed that, within the context of the storyline, Michaels had suffered a detached retina. At The Great American Bash, a match between Michaels and Jericho was scheduled, in which Jericho assaulted Michaels's eye, which caused Jericho to win by referee stoppage. A month later at SummerSlam, Michaels announced his retirement from professional wrestling. That night, Jericho punched Michaels's wife in the face. On the August 25 episode of Raw, Michaels renounced his retirement and challenged Jericho to an unsanctioned match at Unforgiven, which Jericho accepted. The next week, they had an in-ring contract signing for the unsanctioned match. During this, they started to fight, causing a legit small triceps tear for Michaels. He was medically cleared to compete at Unforgiven, and beat Jericho so severely that the referee called the match, making Michaels the winner. Later that night, Jericho replaced CM Punk in the World Heavyweight Championship scramble match, and won the title. The next month, at No Mercy, Michaels lost a ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship to Jericho. In December 2008, Michaels was written in a storyline where he lost his family's savings due to the global recession and reluctantly accepted a one-year general employment contract from John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) at Armageddon. After failing to help JBL win the World Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at the Royal Rumble, and being derided for it, Michaels agreed to face JBL in "All or Nothing" match at No Way Out in February. Michaels defeated JBL at No Way Out, letting him out of his contract early, while still receiving full payment. On the March 2 Raw, Michaels became the first person to defeat Vladimir Kozlov, and so earned a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 in April. Michaels then began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with The Undertaker from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point when all their matches resulted in interference. This renewed feud was two dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of the Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even briefly abandoning his "Heartbreak Kid" gimmick to portray a heaven-esque, bright side anti-Deadman Undertaker variant (Michaels is a real-life born again Christian). The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance from high in the air portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground. After a suspenseful, competitive wrestling match, Shawn Michaels was defeated, thus extending The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak to 17–0. Their match was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time. After WrestleMania, Michaels took a hiatus from WWE. Final matches and second retirement (2009–2010) Michaels returned to WWE programming in a series of segments that aired on the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw, where he had, in storyline, left the WWE. Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H tried to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform D-X. After several incidents during the segments, Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) at SummerSlam. At SummerSlam, D-X defeated Legacy. The two teams exchanged victories, with their feud concluding in October. Two months later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, D-X defeated Chris Jericho and Big Show to win the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC). On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels buried the hatchet with long-time rival Bret Hart, as they shook hands and hugged in the ring. In contrast to the storylines featured on the show, this was in fact a real-life reconciliation which laid to rest animosities surrounding the Montreal Screwjob. While some cast doubts on its sincerity, both men have confirmed that it was indeed genuine. D-X lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Triple Threat match to the team of The Miz and Big Show on the February 8 episode of Raw; the match also included The Straight Edge Society (CM Punk and Luke Gallows). At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Michaels cost The Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels lost to The Undertaker and, as a result, he was forced to retire due to the match stipulation, the same way Michaels ended Ric Flair's career. The following night, on the March 29 episode of Raw, Michaels gave an emotional farewell speech, departing with the familiar sentence, "Shawn Michaels has left the building." In an interview with Bill Simmons of ESPN.com shortly after his retirement, Michaels stated that his decision to retire came a month before WrestleMania 25, when a backstage employee asked about his son Cameron, and, in response to Shawn telling the employee that he'd just turned nine, the employee said that he was "halfway gone"; meaning that he was halfway to his eighteenth birthday, and after that, he'd be "gone". The statement affected Michaels deeply; he did not want to be absent when his son left home, so he decided that year would be his last year as an active wrestler. WWE Hall of Famer and sporadic appearances (2010–2018) On the December 14, 2010 episode of Raw, Michaels won the Slammy Award for Moment of the Year for his match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. Michaels accepted the award via satellite. Three days later, he announced a long-term deal with WWE, where he would serve in an ambassadorial role. Michaels made his in-person television return at the December 11 Tribute to the Troops taping, where he and Triple H had a one-night only DX reunion. Michaels appeared on the January 10, 2011 episode of Raw, where he was announced as a WWE Hall of Fame class of 2011 inductee. After being ridiculed by Alberto Del Rio later that night, Michaels hit Del Rio with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 28 episode of Raw, Michaels addressed Triple H and The Undertaker about their match at WrestleMania XXVII. Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2 by Triple H. They were also joined by fellow Kliq members Kevin Nash (who had returned to WWE for the Royal Rumble) and Sean Waltman. He returned on the June 27 episode of Raw, where he was confronted by CM Punk, and superkicked David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty. Later that night, when Diamond Dallas Page's special appearance was interrupted by Drew McIntyre, he superkicked McIntyre. In June 2011, Jim Ross, Michaels and Hart announced that the three were working on a DVD chronicling the careers of Hart and Michaels that the WWE was planning to release in October 2011. The subject of the DVD was their on-screen rivalry and real-life conflicts, with a particular focus on the Montreal Screwjob. In his tweet, Hart described working on the DVD as a "cathartic" experience, and Ross asserted that both Hart and Michaels had been very honest and emotional in their interviews. The DVD, Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart: WWE's Greatest Rivalries, was released in November 2011. On the February 13, 2012 episode of Raw, Michaels confronted Triple H about accepting The Undertaker's challenge for a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII, and announced he would be the special guest referee for it. Despite interference on Triple H's behalf from Michaels, The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania. After Michaels and The Undertaker assisted Triple H out of the ring and up the ramp, the three embraced. Michaels appeared at Raw 1000 on July 23 alongside fellow D-Generation X alumni Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. The group were interrupted by Damien Sandow before Michaels struck him with Sweet Chin Music and Triple H delivered a Pedigree. The group then performed their signature poses before departing. Michaels appeared on the August 6 episode of Raw. He was confronted by Brock Lesnar (who was scheduled to face Triple H at SummerSlam) and Paul Heyman. Michaels announced he would be in Triple H's corner for the match. After the show ended, many WWE Superstars (including John Cena and The Undertaker) celebrated Michaels's career. The live audience festivities were titled "Shawn Michaels Appreciation Night", as the show took place in Michaels's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. On the following week's episode of Raw, Lesnar (kayfabe) broke Michaels's arm after putting Michaels in a Kimura Lock. As a result, Michaels was unable to appear; Lesnar defeated Triple H at SummerSlam. On the January 24, 2013 episode of NXT, Michaels announced a tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Tag Team Champions. On the April 1, 2013 Raw, Michaels returned to offer to corner Triple H in his match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29. During that match, Michaels superkicked an interfering Paul Heyman, helping Triple H win and keep his job. He returned on the May 27 Raw in a backstage segment with John Cena, and again on the SummerSlam pre-show. In October 2013, Michaels won a fan poll to become special guest referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship. He performed Sweet Chin Music on Bryan, allowing Orton to win. The next night on Raw, he explained that he was upset with Bryan for attacking Triple H during the match. He degraded Bryan for not showing him respect, turning heel for the first time since 2005. Bryan applied the "Yes!" Lock on Michaels to end the segment. On December 9, he presented Bryan with the Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year. Later that night, Bryan attacked Michaels with a running knee after Michaels attacked CM Punk with Sweet Chin Music. All three legends then became involved in an altercation with Big Show. Michaels appeared at WrestleMania 31, interfering as a member of DX in the Sting-Triple H match, performing Sweet Chin Music to Sting. Michaels appeared on the October 19, 2015, episode of Raw, confronting Seth Rollins who was cutting a promo on relieving Kane of his duties as Director of Operations. At WrestleMania 32, Michaels made an appearance during the event in his in-ring attire, confronting The League of Nations alongside Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin where Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett before celebrating with Foley, Austin and The New Day. In late 2016, Michaels became a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Michaels returned to WWE, promoting his new film. Michaels was then confronted by Rusev, Lana and Jinder Mahal, before Enzo Amore and Big Cass came to Michaels's side, leading to a match between Big Cass and Mahal, with Michaels being in Big Cass's corner. Big Cass won the match after Michaels superkicked Rusev at ringside, distracting Mahal. On the March 13 episode of Raw, Michaels gave Roman Reigns advice about The Undertaker for their match at WrestleMania 33, before Braun Strowman attacked Reigns on the entrance ramp. According to Pro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Michaels along with Terry Taylor teach the finishing class at the WWE Performance Center, the last of four levels of classes. Michaels and numerous other WWE legends appeared on the January 22, 2018 episode of Raw 25 Years. One match return and NXT backstage work (2018–present) On the September 3, 2018, episode of Raw, Michaels made a special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down, during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On the October 8 edition of Raw, Michaels appeared with Triple H and announced that he was coming out of retirement to reform D-Generation X. On the October 29 edition of Raw, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, D-Generation X defeated The Brothers of Destruction. The match was poorly received by fans and critics alike, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Worst Match of the Year" award. Afterwards, Michaels confirmed that he would be going back into retirement. On November 27, 2018, it was announced that Michaels was officially working as a writer and producer on WWE's NXT brand and show. On the February 25, 2019 episode of WWE Raw, Michaels along with special guests Ricky Steamboat, Kurt Angle and Sting appeared during the main event segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. However, Flair would be attacked by Batista instead of appearing on-screen. In April 2019, Michaels was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for the second time as a member of D-Generation X as part of the 2019 class. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Legacy Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He received praises for several matches, including 15 Match of the Year awards between Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Also, his match at WrestleMania 24 against Ric Flair was named Match of the Decade by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer gave him two 5 stars matches (the Ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X and the first Hell in a Cell against The Undertaker at Bad Blood 1997). After several acclaimed matches at WrestleMania, Michaels has been known as Mr. WrestleMania. Sumit Rehal of Independent UK in his top 10 WrestleMania matches listed Michels 3 times (vs Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV). In 2016, Dave Richard of CBS Sports ranked his match against Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV as the best main event in WrestleMania history. His rivalry with Bret Hart has been named one of the best rivalries in WWE history. Michaels is cited as an inspiration for many wrestlers such as Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and more. After 8 years retired from in-ring competition, Michaels made his return at Crown Jewel, receiving criticism from the fans and media. PWTorch's Wade Keller said "Michaels shows glimpses and didn't embarrass himself". Personal life Hickenbottom's first marriage, to Theresa Wood, soon ended in an amicably settled divorce. He married Rebecca Curci, a former WCW Nitro Girl known as Whisper, on March 31, 1999, at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only the couple and an Elvis impersonator were present. Their son, Cameron Kade, was born on January 15, 2000, and a daughter, Cheyenne, born on August 19, 2004, followed. His cousin Matt Bentley is also a professional wrestler, having wrestled in TNA and WWE. In 1996, Hickenbottom posed for a non-nude layout in Playgirl magazine. Only after he posed did he discover Playgirl has a mostly homosexual readership, for which some of his fellow wrestlers teased him. He is ambidextrous, and had trouble differentiating between right and left, which affected his football games as a boy. He uses his right hand to draw and color and his left hand to write. He typically kicks with his right leg in Sweet Chin Music, but uses either arm for his signature elbow drop, depending on the position. In 1987, Hickenbottom developed a pattern of "heavy" substance abuse, which eventually alienated some of his closest friends. He contemplated suicide in the late 1980s, and suggested that psychological intervention was "probably sorely needed" by the late 1990s. His wife Rebecca observed: "There was something in him that he despised, and he was self-destructing." Hickenbottom's fear that he was going to negatively influence his young son, prompted him to abandon his previous lifestyle. Hickenbottom became a born-again Christian on April 24, 2002. He was raised a Catholic, but became a non-denominational Christian because of his wife. His later ring attire often incorporated cross symbols and he made a praying gesture on his knees during ring entrances. Hickenbottom was in the audience for a televised service of John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in his hometown, San Antonio, where he is also a Bible teacher. In 2008, he appeared on a Trinity Broadcasting Network program with fellow professional wrestler Sting. Other media Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures Michaels is the host of the outdoor television show, Shawn Michaels' MacMillan River Adventures. Michaels joins his hunting partner and longtime friend, Keith Mark, owner and operator of the original MacMillan River Adventures camp in Yukon, Canada, as they hunt big-game animals around the world. This series airs on CarbonTV. Filmography Film Television HBK Line During their 2015–16 season, the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League named a line, consisting of Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, the "HBK Line" due to the fact that the trio's first initials, of their last names, recall Michaels's "Heartbreak Kid" moniker. Pens' game-day staff would regularly play Michaels's theme "Sexy Boy" over the Consol Energy Center PA system after goals or excellent shifts by line members. After weeks of having fun with Penguins fans on Twitter, the team officially invited Michaels for their Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning (whose fanbase contains a sizable number of pro wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan and Titus O'Neil, due to Tampa long being a home base for many wrestlers), upon which Michaels accepted. Michaels met with Penguins' owner Mario Lemieux and sat with former Pittsburgh Steelers's defensive lineman Brett Keisel during the game. Keisel also gave Michaels a tour of the city including at the Steelers headquarters and having lunch at Primanti Brothers in the city's Strip District. The Penguins lost the game in overtime 4–3 but went on to defeat the Lightning in the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, eventually defeating the San Jose Sharks for the Stanley Cup. Michaels eventually befriended Keisel and attended his annual "Shear Da Beard" event in 2017. Outside of his numerous appearances with WWE, it was not Michaels first visit to Pittsburgh. In 2013, he appeared at the opening of the first Field & Stream store in suburban Cranberry Township. While the Penguins successfully defended their Stanley Cup championship the following year, the HBK Line was broken up when Kessel was moved to the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Bonino left the team in free agency. Book On February 10, 2015, Hickenbottom published an autobiography entitled Wrestling for My Life: The Legend, the Reality, and the Faith of a WWE Superstar. It was co-written by David Thomas. Championships and accomplishments American Wrestling Association AWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty The Baltimore Sun Feud of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2007) Match of the Year (2008) Match of the Year (2009) Match of the Year (2010) Wrestler of the Year (2008) Cauliflower Alley Club Art Abrams Lifetime Achievement/Lou Thesz Award (2018) CBS Sports Worst Angle of the Year (2018) Central States Wrestling NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Marty Jannetty Continental Wrestling Association AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Marty Jannetty Pro Wrestling Illustrated Feud of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Chris Jericho Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Decade (2000–2009) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Decade (2010-2019) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Match of the Year (1993) vs. Marty Jannetty on Monday Night Raw on May 17 Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (1995) vs. Diesel at WrestleMania XI Match of the Year (1996) vs. Bret Hart in an Iron Man match at WrestleMania XII Match of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H at WrestleMania XX Match of the Year (2005) vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 Match of the Year (2006) vs. Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 22 Match of the Year (2007) vs. John Cena on Raw on April 23 Match of the Year (2008) vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2010) Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1995, 1996) Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996 Ranked No. 10 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Ranked No. 33 and No. 55 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Marty Jannetty and Diesel, respectively, in 2003 Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Texas All-Star Wrestling TASW Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Paul Diamond TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Paul Diamond & DJ Peterson Texas Wrestling Alliance TWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE WWF World Heavyweight Championship (3 times) World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) WWF Intercontinental Championship (3 times) WWF European Championship (1 time) WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Triple H WWF/World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Diesel (2), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1), John Cena (1), Triple H (1) Royal Rumble (1995, 1996) First Grand Slam Champion Fourth Triple Crown Champion Slammy Award (15 times) Best Finisher (1997) Best Slammin' Jammin' Entrance (1996) Best Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel Best Threads (1996) Double-Cross of the Year (2013) – For turning on Daniel Bryan and costing him the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell. Leader of the New Generation (1996) Master of Mat Mechanics (1996) Match of the Year (1994, 1996, 1997, 2008, 2009) – vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X; vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at SummerSlam; vs Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII; vs The Undertaker at Badd Blood: In Your House; vs Ric Flair at WrestleMania XXIV; vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Moment of the Year (2010) – vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Squared Circle Shocker (1996) – Won for collapsing; Owen Hart accepts the award for making Michaels collapse Worst Tag Team (1994) – with Diesel WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) Class of 2011 – individually Class of 2019 – as a member of D-Generation X Wrestling Observer Newsletter Best Babyface (1996) Feud of the Year (2004) vs. Chris Benoit and Triple H Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho Match of the Year (1994) vs. Razor Ramon in a ladder match at WrestleMania X Match of the Year (2008) vs. Chris Jericho in a ladder match at No Mercy Match of the Year (2009) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV Match of the Year (2010) vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI Worst Match of the Year (2018) with Triple H vs. The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2011) Greatest Rivalries: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Most Charismatic (1995, 1996) Tag Team of the Year (1989) with Marty Jannetty as The Rockers Worst Feud of the Year (2006) with Triple H vs. Shane and Vince McMahon Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2003) References Further reading External links 1965 births American football linebackers American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American people of English descent D-Generation X members Living people Professional wrestlers from Arizona Professional wrestling authority figures Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Texas State University alumni The Kliq members The New World Order (professional wrestling) members World Heavyweight Champions (WWE) WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWF European Champions WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions	false	[ "Garfield is a U.S. comic strip created by Jim Davis that has been the subject of numerous television specials and series. Many of these specials have been compiled on DVD releases. \n\nIn July 2004, the DVD Garfield as Himself, was released. DVD Talk critic Randy Miller judged the Garfield as Himself specials to be \"quite enjoyable.\" The DVD debuted 35th in sales. That year, Garfield Holiday Celebrations appeared 23rd in TV DVD sales for the week of November 10, 2007. In 2014, Entertainment Weekly reported copies of the DVD \"were selling on eBay like rare collector’s items.\"\n\nThe Garfield Holiday Collection was released on November 4, 2014, sold only by Walmart, and was also made available for digital download on November 11 that year. Davis explained that in compiling the DVD, he went beyond the holiday-themed specials to include personal favorites.\n\nThe content of Garfield DVDs varies between countries; listed below are all of the episodes linked to each release.\n\nDVDs\n\nCompilations\n\nSeries\nGarfield and Friends releases:\n\nReferences\n\nGarfield mass media and merchandise\nLists of home video releases", "Olympia 06 is the name of the only live album recorded by the French singer Grégory Lemarchal. It was recorded during the only series of concerts given by the artist at the Olympia of Paris in 2006 in order to support his debut album Je deviens moi, and was released on October 23, 2006. It contains a cover version of Lucie Silvas' song \"What You're Made of\", recorded in live version as a duet with her, and another version with Nolwenn Leroy.\n\nThe album met success in France and in Belgium (Wallonia), particularly the DVD which was charted again just after the singer's death, topping the French Videos Chart on the chart edition of May 5, 2007. This DVD is currently still charted.\n\nFormats and track listing\n\n CD album\n\n Digital download\n\n DVD\n\nThe DVD contains the same track listing.\n\nCertifications\n\nCharts\n\nCD\n\nDVD\n\nReferences\n\nGrégory Lemarchal albums\nAlbums recorded at the Olympia (Paris)\n2006 live albums\n2006 video albums" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing" ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?	1	Can you provide me a little information on Niki Lauda's return to racing?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	false	[ "\"Right Where You Want Me\" was the lead single released in the U.S from Jesse McCartney's second album of the same name. It was used as the title song for the Disney Channel Original Movie Return to Halloweentown, and is also featured in the video game Thrillville: Off the Rails.\n\nOn August 3, 2006 McCartney brought the world premiere of this music video to TRL.\n\nRadio Disney Edit\nMcCartney recorded an edited version of the song for Radio Disney and it is featured on Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 9. He performed at the Radio Disney 10th Birthday Concert. The slightly suggestive lines, please don't take your time was replaced to you've been on my mind and Baby don't be gentle. I can handle anything. to Girl don't keep me waiting. Now's the time to get away..\nMajor edits were in the 1st and 2nd verses, and also the bridge of the song:\nNeed to lose control to Need to just let go.\nPlayed it slow to Let it flow.\nGirl, I'm gonna let you have your way with me to Girl, There's something about you that I can't explain.\nWhen you move like that it's heard to breathe to I wouldn't have it any other way.\nTrying to keep my body still to can't believe this feeling's real.\n\nLyrics\n\nThe lyrics of the song tells about a man who is wooing a woman, and a man asks her to take things slowly to get to know each other well.\n\nMusic video\nThe video features Jesse following a lady, along with clips of him in the recording studio with his band. In the end, the video features both of them driving cars at the same time with them smiling at each other, hinting a mutual attraction to each other. The video received heavy rotation on MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel. \nHowever, Disney Channel removed the scenes with Jesse and the lady, and instead aired two versions that features Jesse in the recording studio with his band. The first version features Return to Halloweentown clips and the second version aired without the movie clips. The first version was heavily played on the channel in 2006, as it was the theme song of Return To Halloweentown, and it promoted both the movie and the song on Radio Disney, making stay on its Top 30 countdown throughout 2006. The second version can only be seen on Disney.com.\n\nFormats and track listing\n\nCD 1\n\"Right Where You Want Me\" (Album Version) 3:32\n\"Running Away\" - 3:32\n\nCD 2\n\"Right Where You Want Me\" (Radio Edit) 3:05\n\"Feels Like Sunday\" - 3:48\n\"We Can Go Anywhere\" - 3:35\nRight Where You Want Me (Radio Disney Edit) (3:05)\n\nHidden Track Remixes\n\"Right Where You Want Me\" [Eddie Joe Vocal Edit]\n\"Right Where You Want Me\" [Adam Code Club Dance Remix]\n\"Right Where You Want Me\" [Adam Code Karaoke Remix]\n\nOfficial Versions\nOfficial/Radio Edit- 3:05\nAlbum Version- 3:32\nRadio Disney Edit- 3:03\n\nCharts performance\nThe song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart of December 11, 2006, at number 67. The song eventually peaked at number 33 on the chart and becoming 2nd top 40 song in the country.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2006 singles\n2006 songs\nJesse McCartney songs\nHollywood Records singles\nSongs written by Andy Dodd\nSongs written by Jesse McCartney\nSongs written by Adam Watts (musician)", "This is an alphabetical list of songs recorded by Ada Jones.\n\nA\n \"All Aboard for Blanket Bay\" (1911)\n \"All She Gets from the Iceman Is Ice\" (1908) [Edison]\n \"All She Gets from the Iceman Is Ice\" (1908) [Victor]\n \"Any Little Girl that's a Nice Little Girl Is the Right Little Girl for Me\" (1911)\n \"Arab Love Song\" (1909)\n\nB\n \"Barney McGee\" (1909)\n \"Beatrice Fairfax, Tell Me What to Do\" (1916)\n \"Beautiful Eyes\" (1909) [Columbia]\n \"Beautiful Eyes\" (1909) [Indestructible]\n \"Bedtime at the Zoo\" (1914)\n \"Before I Go and Marry, I Will Have a Word with You\" (1910)\n \"By the Light of the Silvery Moon\" (1909) [Indestructible]\n \"By the Light of the Silvery Moon\" (1910) [Edison]\n\nC\nCall Me Up Some Rainy Afternoon (1910)\n\nCan't You See I'm Lonely (1905)\n\nCome Over Here, It's a Wonderful Place (1917)\n\nCross My Heart and Hope to Die (1917)\n\nD\nDon't Get Married Any More, Ma (1906) [Indestructible]\n\nDon't Get Married Any More, Ma (1907) [Edison]\n\nDon't Get Married Any More, Ma (1907) [Victor]\n\nDown in Gossip Row (1912)\n\nF\nFraidy Cat (1910)\n\nG\nGames of Childhood Days (1909)\n\nGoodbye Alexander (World War I Song) (1918)\n\nGoodbye Molly Brown (1909)\n\nGrand Baby or Baby Grand (1913)\n\nH\nHas Anybody Here Seen Kelly (1910)\n\nHave You Seen My Henry Brown (1906)\n\nHe Lost Her in the Subway (1907)\n\nHe Never Even Said Goodbye (1907)\n\nHe's Me Pal (1910)\n\nHe's the Makin's of a Dam'd Fine Man (1916)\n\nI\nI Just Can't Make My Eyes Behave (1907)\n\nI Miss You Honey, Miss You All the Time (1910)\n\nI Remember You (1909)\n\nI Should Worry and Get Wrinkles (1913)\n\nI Want to Be a Merry Merry Widow (1908)\n\nIf I Knock the L Out of Kelly (1916)\n\nIf That's Your Idea of a Wonderful Time (1915)\n\nIf the Man in the Moon Were a Coon (1907) [Victor]\n\nIf the Man in the Moon Were a Coon (1907) [Columbia]\n\nIf They'ed Only Move Old Ireland Over Here (1914)\n\nI'm in Love With the Slide Trombone (1907)\n\nI'm Looking for a Nice Young Fellow Who Is Looking for a Nice Young Girl (1911)\n\nI'm the Only Star that Twinkles on Broadway (1906)\n\nIrish Blood (1910) [Edison]\n\nIrish Blood (1910) [Indestructible]\n\nIs There Anything Else I Can Do For You (1910)\n\nIt's Got to Be Someone I Love (1911) [Victor]\n\nIt's Got to Be Someone I Love (1913) [Edison]\n\nI've Got Rings on My Fingers (1909) [Indestructible]\n\nI've Got Rings on My Fingers (1909) [Columbia]\n\nI've Got the Finest Man (1913)\n\nJ\nJust Plain Folks (1911) [Columbia]\n\nJust Plain Folks (1913) [Edison]\n\nM\nMister Othello (1909)\n\nMother May I Go in For a Swim (1915)\n\nMy Carolina Lady (1905)\n\nMy Hula Hula Love (1911)\n\nMy Irish Rose (1907)\n\nMy Pony Boy (1909)\n\nN\nNix on the Glow Worm, Lena (1910)\n\nNow I Have to Call Him Father (1909)\n\nO\nOh, Mr. Dream Man, Please Let Me Dream Some More (1912)\n\nOh, You Blondy! (1910)\n\nOh, You Candy Kid (1909)\n\nOh, What I Know About You (1910)\n\nOut of a City of Six Million People, Why Did You Pick on Me (1916)\n\nP\nPoor John (1907) [Edison]\n\nPoor John (1907) [Victor]\n\nPut on Your Slippers and Fill Up Your Pipe, You're Not Going Bye-Bye Tonight (1917) [Victor]\n\nPut on Your Slippers and Fill Up Your Pipe, You're Not Going Bye-Bye Tonight (1917) [Edison]\n\nPut on Your Slippers, You're in for the Night (1911)\n\nPut Your Arms Around Me Honey (1913) [Edison]\n\nR\nRed Head (1909)\n\nRing Ting-a-ling (1912)\n\nRow! Row! Row! (1913)\n\nS\nSeesaw (1908)\n\nShe Forgot to Bring Him Back (1907) [Indestructible]\n\nShe Forgot to Bring Him Back (1908) [Edison]\n\nShe Forgot to Bring Him Back (1908) [Victor]\n\nSo Long Mary (1906)\n\nSome Boy (1913)\n\nSomebody Loves You (1913)\n\nSomebody's Coming To My House\n(1913)\n[Edison]\n\nSweet Marie (1893)\n\nT\nThat Dublin Rag (1911)\n\nThe Bullfrog and the Coon (1907)\n\nThe Yama Yama Man (1909)\n\nThey Always Pick On Me (1911)\n\nTickle Toes (1910)\n\nTop of the Morning (Bridget McCue) (1911)\n\nW\nWaiting at the Church (My Wife Won't Let Me) (1906)\n\nWe've Kept the Golden Rule (1911)\n\nWhen Grandma Was a Girl (????)\n\nWhistle and I'll Wait for You (1909)\n\nWhistling Jim (1913)\n\nWilhelm, the Grocer (1913)\n\nWillie's Got Another Girl Now (1909)\n\nWoman of Importance (1906)\n\nWouldn't You Like to Have Me for a Sweetheart (1907)\n\nY\nYou Can Look and You Can Listen (1908) [Indestructible]\n\nYou Can Look and You Can Listen (1909) [Victor]\n\nYou Can Tango, You Can Trot, Dear but Be Sure and Hesitate (1914)\n\nYou Will Have to Sing an Irish Song (1908) [Victor]\n\nYou Will Have to Sing an Irish Song (1911) [Columbia]\n\nYpsilanti (1915)\n\nAda Jones with Len Spencer\nA Coon Courtship (1907)\n\nA Darktown Courtship (Bashful Henry and Lovin' Lucy) (1906) [Columbia]\n\nA Darktown Courtship (Bashful Henry and Lovin' Lucy) (1906) [Victor]\n\nBecky and Izzy (A Yiddish Courtship) (1907)\n\nBlondy and Her Johnny (1907)\n\nBronco Bob and His Little Cheyenne (1907) [Edison]\n\nBronco Bob and His Little Cheyenne (1907) [United]\n\nCherry Hill Jerry (1907)\n\nChimmie and Maggie at the Hippodrome (1905)\n\nChimmie and Maggie in Nickel Land (1907)\n\nComing Home from Coney Island (1906)\n\nDance Hall Scene (1907)\n\nDown on the Farm (1906)\n\nFlannigan St. Patrick's Day (1906)\n\nFritzy and Louisa (1906) [Edison]\n\nFritzy and Louisa (1906) [Victor]\n\nFritzy and Louisa (1906) [Silvertone]\n\nFun at the Music Counter (1908)\n\nHenry and Hilda at the Schuetzenfest (1908)\n\nHenry's Return (1907)\n\nHerman & Minnie (1907)\n\nHouse Cleaning Time (1908) [Edison]\n\nHouse Cleaning Time (1908) [Victor]\n\nHouse Cleaning Time (1908) [Indestructible]\n\nHow Matt Got the Mitten (1907)\n\nItalian Specialty (1906)\n\nJim Jackson's Last Farewell (1906)\n\nJimmie and Maggie at the Hippodrome (1905)\n\nKatrina's Valentine (1905)\n\nKrausmeyer Taking the Census (1910)\n\nLet Me See You Smile (1906)\n\nLouis and Lena (About Luna Park in Coney Island) (1905)\n\nMaggie Clancy's New Piano (1906)\n\nMandy and Her Man (1906)\n\nMeet Me Down at the Corner (1907) [Edison]\n\nMeet Me Down at the Corner (1907) [Victor]\n\nMr. and Mrs. Murphy (1905)\n\nMuggsy's Dream (1908)\n\nPeaches and Cream (1906) [Victor]\n\nPeaches and Cream (1913) [Edison]\n\nRudolph and Rosie at the Roller Rink (1908)\n\nSadie and Abie (1906)\n\nSantiago Flynn (A Spanish-Irish Episode) (1907)\n\nSchoolday Frolics (1907)\n\nSi Perkins' Barn Dance (1909) [Victor]\n\nSi Perkins' Barn Dance (1914) [Edison]\n\nSweet Peggy Magee (1909) [Victor]\n\nSweet Peggy Magee (1917) [Edison]\n\nThe Courtship of Barney and Eileen (1905)\n\nThe Fair Fisher and Her Catch (1905)\n\nThe Golden Wedding (1905) [Edison 9148]\n\nThe Golden Wedding (1906) [Columbia]\n\nThe Golden Wedding (1906) [Victor]\n\nThe Golden Wedding (1912) [Edison 1871]\n\nThe Original Cohens (1906)\n\nThe Widow Dooley (1908)\n\nAda Jones with Walter Van Brunt\nAll Alone (1911)\n\nBilly, Billy, Bounce Your Baby Doll (1913)\n\nCome Along My Mandy (1910)\n\nCome Josephine in My Flying Machine (1911)\n\nEmmaline (1910)\n\nI Live Uptown (1912)\n\nI'll Sit Right on the Moon (1912)\n\nI'm Afraid, Pretty Maid, I'm Afraid (1912)\n\nIt's Got to Be Someone I Love (1911)\n\nIt's Nice to Be Nice, to a Nice Little Girl Like You (1911)\n\nI've Got to Make Love to Somebody (1909)\n\nMy Little Lovin' Sugar Babe (1912)\n\nOh What a Night (1913)\n\nTake Me on a Honeymoon (1909)\n\nThat Was before I Met You (1911)\n\nWhen I Get You Alone Tonight (1913)\n\nWhen Sunday Rolls Around (1911)\n\nYou're My Baby (1912)\n\nAda Jones with Will C. Robbins\nHe'd Keep on Saying Good Night (1914)\n\nIf You Can't Get a Girl in the Summertime (1915)\n\nMy Little Girl (1915)\n\nExternal links\nRecordings at archive.org.\n\nJones, Ada\nJones, Ada" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged." ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	What did he do to get burns?	2	What did Niki Lauda do to get burns?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	true	[ "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains is a 1987 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann and written by Michael Campus. The film stars Val Kilmer, Charles Durning, Sônia Braga, Kyra Sedgwick, James Keach, Elisha Cook, Jr. and Clancy Brown. The film premiered on HBO on October 31, 1987.\n\nPlot\nIt is 1922. Robert Elliott Burns is having flashbacks of the horrors of World War I and is on the streets protesting for himself angry at his inability to find a job and society's apathy towards veterans. The next day, he is at his parents' home and his brother Vincent, a minister, tries to console him. Elliot says he's had enough and wants to go down to Florida to find work.\n\nElliot is heading to Florida by train and by the time he stops outside of Atlanta, he is now a penniless vagrant. He joins a group of vagrants around a campfire that intend to rob him, but another man saves him from it. He offers Burns a chance to make some money by robbing a country store. Burns goes with the man to rob it, but tries to back out at the last second. The man holds him at gunpoint to rob the cash register, which contains only $5. The man knocks Burns out with his weapon and runs away, leaving Burns to be apprehended by local police. He is taken to court and his lawyer tells him he should plead guilty. The judge gives him a trumped up sentence of six to ten years hard labor.\n\nBurns is taken to the Fulton County prison camp. It is a foul place consisting of wooden shacks, stocks, sweatboxes, and pure filth. He has iron chains attached to his legs and meets the warden, Harold Hardy, a fat, angry, and spiteful man of Irish descent who hates people from the North. Hardy calls him a \"Yankee\" and tells him to feel guilty and get used to chain gang life to make it easier on himself. He has one of his guards, Mr. Trump, escort Burns to his quarters. Burns is introduced to a foul shack of filthy, exhausted men and meets an elderly prisoner, Pappy Glue who laughs at him when he says he didn't commit the crime he was imprisoned for. He is introduced to an inedible meal of pig fat, bitter corn pone, and sorghum molasses and gags trying to eat it and gives his plate to a veteran prisoner enjoying and devouring it.\n\nThe next morning, the men are awakened at 5 am. Burns sleeps through the removal of the chains and is thrown on the floor by Trump. The men are taken to a quarry to dig rocks out of the ground with pick axes for 15 hours a day, with only a short lunch break of cowpeas and corn mush. A fellow prisoner, George Seals, falls over from exhaustion. Trump kicks him in the face and Seals pleads for water and to not be hit. That night after work, Seals is hung upside down and beaten several times with a leather strap by Trump and left there overnight. By dawn, he's died from the beatings and overwork and placed in a pine box.\n\nThe next day, the men are digging out dirt with pick axes and Burns is struggling to \"keep the lick\" towards the end of their shift. A black prisoner sings \"There's Gold in the Ground\" to help the men keep working. That night, the men are having their chains checked and Warden Hardy wants to smell the men to make sure they put in a good days work. He taunts Burns, asking how much he likes the chain gang, and Burns smarts off to him about Southern hospitality. He is taken by Hardy and two guards and put into a sweatbox until the next night.\n\nBurns is removed from the sweatbox and thrown onto the floor of the sleeping cabin. He declares to Pappy Glue he needs to get out of there. Pappy tells him he needs to get used to the life on the chain gang because the only way he is getting out is the same way as Seals.\n\nSometime later the men are working on the railroad putting metal ties on the tracks with sledgehammers. Burns notices Big Sam, a towering black prisoner, can really swing the hammer. During a lunch break, Burns talks Big Sam into bending his shackles with the sledgehammer by hitting it against the track. That way, Burns can slide the chains off and \"hang it on a limb\" or escape. Sam does it with the guards backs turned and Burns is in extreme pain from it.\n\nThat night, the men return to camp. Burns has his chains checked by Trump and they are checked out fine. Hardy again asks Burns if he likes the chain gang, but this time, Burns obediently answers yes. In his bunk, Burns removes the shackles in front of Pappy and invites him to come along. Pappy declines but gives him $5, wishing him luck.\n\nThe next day, Burns asks to \"get out here\", to relieve himself in the woods. While doing do, he removes his shackles, then makes a run for it. The guards and dogs run after him but he eludes them and takes a boat in the swamp to freedom. Warden Hardy is furious, screaming out to Burns that he promises to find him. Later on that day, Burns is at a train station in Marietta and just before boarding, he thinks the police are about to catch him. But instead they catch a vagrant. He boards the train and makes it across the Tennessee border.\n\nA year later, Burns is now living in Chicago and rents a room from Emily Pacheco, a Portuguese divorcee. She is very nice and courteous but an overly possessive woman. He types a letter to his brother Vincent about his work status and trying to get authorities to convince them of his innocence. She tells Burns to stop writing and typing so much and they go to a movie together. She keeps trying to get Burns' interest, but he's not in love with her and just doesn't feel the chemistry, but nevertheless, they sleep together after he reveals to her about trying to start a magazine business and be a statesman. He moves forward with starting the business.\n\nBurns receives a letter from his brother Vincent that their father is dying. He goes back to New Jersey to attend the funeral afterwards. His mother is very upset that he wasn't ever able to come back to visit. Burns arrives home and Emily is all over him begging him to marry her, but he wants alone time.\n\nOne day while cleaning Burns' room, Emily comes across some papers he's been typing and there are flashbacks to his time on the chain gang being put in a sweatbox and treated like an animal. Emily is disturbed at the writing. Burns makes it home that night after a very successful day of selling his first magazine subscription and she reveals the papers he's written. He's very distressed, but she consoles him and asks him to make love to her and blackmails him into marriage.\n\nBy 1929, Burns is making it big in Chicago as a magazine publisher and motivational speaker. He's working long hours and neglecting Emily who is becoming increasingly possessive and jealous. While speaking at a dinner engagement, Burns meets a woman named Lilian Salo. After a few dates, he falls in love with her, much to Emily's dismay. He wants an amicable divorce, but she is furious and refuses.\n\nA few days later at work, Burns is apprehended by police. Georgia authorities want Burns extradited back, but his lawyer refuses. They meet with a Georgia prison official in front of the judge assigned to hear the case. The official says if extradition is granted, he will have to go back to Georgia and serve the remainder of his sentence, plus additional time for escaping. But if he comes back voluntarily, he can serve a reduced term of 45 days and be paroled. He would also serve the time as a trustee at one of the honor farms.\n\nBurns accepts the deal. However, he is returned to the same Fulton County camp he escaped from where Warden Hardy is waiting for him. When presented with the court agreement Burns signed in Chicago, Hardy says that \"he is in Georgia now and things will be done Georgia's way.\" In the chow hall, Hardy berates Burns for his success and tells the prisoners that they are not to ever talk to him. Hardy also tells the guards to kill Burns if he tries to escape again.\n\nA month later, Burns is out working and secretly asking prisoners of the whereabouts of Big Sam, the black prisoner, the helped him get away, and Pappy Glue. It turns out that Big Sam clubbed a guard and was moved to another prison in Southern Georgia and Pappy Glue died from beatings soon after Burns escaped. Burns is angry and pauses for a few seconds and asks to wipe off the sweat, but Trump refuses to let him do so.\n\nThat night at dinner, Hardy reads out a list of men not doing a hard days work and for them to get their whipping. Burns is included. Burns declares it's a lie, but none of the guards or Hardy defend him. He is tied to a tree and given ten lashes.\n\nSome time later, Lillian comes to visit Burns assuring him of clemency, parole, or pardon. They embrace and the guards try to remove him, but he resists it and is beaten and placed in the stocks. Warden Hardy assures Burns he won't live to see himself get out despite people from up north trying to do so, and that the parole board turned him down. Burns realizes he was duped and will have to serve the remainder of his sentence.\n\nBurns' brother comes to visit sometime later and tells him that his business is gone, but indirectly signals to him that there is money left from his business hidden inside a package of Lucky Strike cigarettes to help him get out. Mr. Rayford, another guard who works with Trump, detects Vincent giving Burns a package of cigarettes and wants to check it, but ends up taking a few of them for himself and gives Burns the package back. Later on, Burns finds over $100 in cash in it and feels it will be his ticket to freedom.\n\nBurns is back working later on and Trump has made him a trustee. Trump orders Burns to fill up the water pail while he goes in a country store to get a soda pop. While Trump is in the store, Burns talks to a local man that approaches him. The man says he's read about Burns in the papers and thinks he's had the short end of the stick on what has happened to him and that he would get him out if he could. Burns shows him a $50 bill and asks him to meet him the next day with his car, a hacksaw, and a change of clothes. The man is apprehensive, knowing he risks being put on the same chain gang, but Burns promises him another $50 if he can get him over the state line.\n\nThe next day, Burns is working diligently and the man shows up. He asks to \"get out\" to relieve himself, and Rayford allows him to do so. Burns immediately runs for the man's car and Rayford shoots at him for trying to escape but misses. Warden Hardy is more furious than ever, telling the guards they will lose their jobs if they don't catch him.\n\nSome time later, Burns is seen typing his new book which says that he is a fugitive, he moves around a lot and can't keep jobs for long. The book he is writing depicts his time on the chain gang and it's horrific conditions. He specifically mentions the men who died while he was imprisoned and dedicates the book to them. Burns briefly visits his brother about his situation, who tells him there are several people asking to have movie rights to the book. Burns grants his brother Power of Attorney before disappearing into the night.\n\nSome time later, Burns visits his former love Lilian, who is now married. She says she had been praying for him the entire time and she is happy to see him alive and well. He later goes to a local library to read his published book and hears on the radio that it will be made into a movie. Burns anonymously attends a screening of the movie I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and has flashbacks to his time there. He is satisfied to find that the movie accurately reflects what he has been through. Phone calls, telegrams, and letters flood the Georgia Department of Corrections demanding a reform of the prison system.\n\nThe film ends with scenes of the Fulton County Camp now empty and abandoned. It is noted that Robert Elliot Burns finally received a pardon after many years of struggle in 1944 and that the Georgia chain gang system was abolished.\n\nCast \nVal Kilmer as Robert Elliott Burns / Eliot Roberts\nCharles Durning as Warden Hardy\nSônia Braga as Emily Del Pino Pacheco\nKyra Sedgwick as Lillian Salo\nJames Keach as Father Vincent Godfrey Burns\nElisha Cook, Jr. as Pappy Glue\nClancy Brown as Flagg\nWilliam Sanderson as Trump\nTaj Mahal as Bones\nTaylor Presnell as George Seales\nPaul Benjamin as Big Sam\nBill Bolender as Rayford\nEsther Benson as Mother Burns\nBurt Conway as Father Burns\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1987 television films\n1987 films\nAmerican films\nEnglish-language films\nAmerican drama films\n1987 drama films\nHBO Films films\nFilms about miscarriage of justice\nDrama films based on actual events\nFilms directed by Daniel Mann\nFilms set in 1922\nFilms set in 1929\nFilms set in 1944", "Get a Life is the sixth studio album by Stiff Little Fingers, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music).\n\nTrack listing\n\"Get a Life\" (Burns) – 5:53\n\"Can't Believe in You\" (Burns) – 4:58\n\"The Road to Kingdom Come\" (Burns) – 3:27\n\"Walk Away\" (Burns) – 5:20\n\"No Laughing Matter\" (Burns) – 2:52\n\"Harp\" (Burns) – 3:49\n\"Forensic Evidence\" (Burns) – 3:39\n\"Baby Blue (What Have They Been Telling You?)\" (Burns) – 4:02\n\"I Want You\" (Russell Emanuel, Dolphin Taylor) – 4:05\n\"The Night That the Wall Came Down\" (Burns) – 3:51\n\"Cold\" (Burns) – 4:10\n\"When the Stars Fall from the Sky\" (Burns, Foxton) – 3:50\n\"What If I Want More\" (Burns) – 1:38\n\nPersonnel\nStiff Little Fingers\nJake Burns\t - vocals, guitar\nBruce Foxton - bass, backing vocals\nDolphin Taylor - drums, backing vocals\nTechnical\nJamie Cullum -\tassistant engineer, assistant\nThe Engine Room - mixing\nKarl Trout - artwork, graphic design, art direction, concept design\n\nReferences\n\n1994 albums\nStiff Little Fingers albums" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames" ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	How bad were his burns?	3	How bad were Niki Lauda's burns?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head,	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	true	[ "James Burns (c. 1952 – December 26, 2017) was an American television producer and writer who co-created MTV Unplugged with Robert Small in 1989.\n\nUnplugged, which originally aired on MTV from 1989 to 1999, featured well-known musicians performing acoustic versions of their songs. The show, which was also produced by Burns and Small, earned three Primetime Emmy Awards during its initial ten-year run. Artists appearing on the series included Nirvana, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, LL Cool J, and 10,000 Maniacs.\n\nIn 1989, Burns and television producer Robert Small joined together to co-create and produce MTV Unplugged, a new series featuring artists performing acoustic, stripped down versions of their songs. According to Robert Small, Burns believed that a show like Unplugged would create another venue for reaching audiences besides music videos, which were highly popular at the time. Small told the New York Post that Burns thought, \"How can we create another avenue for artists?....It allowed for artists to show another side, for instance, a lot of hip-hop artists had the chance to be more lyrical and poetic.\"\n\nMTV Unplugged debuted on MTV on November 26, 1989. The first season featured Elton John, Aerosmith, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. By the early 1990s, the show, helmed by Burns and Small, became a bonafide television and music industry hit.\n \nSince leaving the Unplugged series, Burns had largely switched from television production to theater. He also worked as an executive producer and writer during his decades-long career.\n\nBurns was struck by a taxi cab while crossing the corner of 87th Street and Fifth Avenue with his dog on the Upper East Side on Saturday, December 23, 2017. He lived in the area. He suffered severe head injuries and was taken to New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition. Burns died from his injuries at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital in New York City hospital on Tuesday, December 26, 2017, at the age of 65.\n\nFollowing Burns' death, MTV released a statement reading, \"MTV was deeply saddened to learn of Jim Burns’ passing. As co-creator of the beloved 'Unplugged' franchise, his groundbreaking work continues to resonate with audiences around the world. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones.\" Robert Small, Burns' collaborator on Unplugged, also paid tribute, saying: \"He was a terrific human being. He could make fun of people without making them feel bad. He just had a knack for making people happy.\"\n\nIn September 2017, just months before Burns' death, MTV Unplugged returned to television with new performances Shawn Mendes, Bleachers, and A-ha.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nDate of birth unknown\nYear of birth uncertain\n\n1950s births\n2017 deaths\nTelevision producers from New York City\nShowrunners\nAmerican television writers\nPeople from the Upper East Side\nScreenwriters from New York (state)", "Burns Cottage, the first home of Robert Burns is located in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was built by his father, William Burness in 1757. Burns, Scotland's national poet, was born there on 25 January 1759. It is a simple two-roomed clay and thatch cottage and has been fully restored to become part of Robert Burns Birthplace Museum.\n\nThe museum has a bust of Burns by Patric Park.\n\nHistory\nThe cottage has had a number of uses, including a spell as a pub, run by a Mr Goudie from Riccarton who saw the opportunity to exploit Burns's developing reputation. \nAt first therefore the cottage was not greatly valued. The Suffragettes recognised its importance, having once endeavoured to set the cottage alight.\n\nIn 1818, the English poet John Keats took a trip to Scotland to visit the home, years after Burns' death in 1796. Before Keats arrived, he wrote to a friend that \"one of the pleasantest means of annulling self is approaching such a shrine as the cottage of Burns — we need not think of his misery — that is all gone — bad luck to it — I shall look upon it all with unmixed pleasure.\" but his encounter with the cottage's alcoholic custodian returned him to thoughts of misery.\n\nPictures\n\nSee also\nBurns Cottage (Atlanta), a reproduction of Burns' birthplace, built in 1911\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Burns Cottage\n Pictures of Burns Cottage, Alloway\n\n \nB\nLiterary museums in Scotland\nBiographical museums in Scotland\nBurns, Robert\nBuildings and structures in Ayr" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames", "How bad were his burns?", "Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head," ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	4	Besides Niki Lauda's burns, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	false	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames", "How bad were his burns?", "Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising." ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Did he suffer any more injuries?	5	Did Niki Lauda suffer any more injuries besides the burns?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	false	[ "Queenstown Lakes District Council v Palmer CA83/98 [1998] NZCA 190; [1999] 1 NZLR 549 is a cited case in New Zealand regarding the claiming of damages for nervous shock from witnessing an accident.\n.\n\nBackground\nMark Palmer and his wife were tourists from the US, and went white water rafting on the Shotover River.\n\nTragedy struck, when his wife drowned in the river, and whilst Palmer did not suffer any physical injuries, he suffered post traumatic injury for witnessing her death.\n\nPalmer sued the rafting company and the local council for damages for his mental injuries.\n\nThe council defended the matter by claiming that the ACC law prohibited awarding damages for injury in NZ.\n\nHowever, Thomas said the law was changed in 1992 with the Accident Rehabilitation Act, where section 14(1) now excluded cover for mental injury for witnessing an accident.\n\nHeld\nThe Court of Appeal confirmed that section 14(1) now allowed people to sue for mental injury resulting in witnessing an accident.\n\nReferences\n\nCourt of Appeal of New Zealand cases\nNew Zealand tort case law\n1998 in New Zealand law\n1998 in case law\nQueenstown-Lakes District", "Ronald Phillips (30 March 1947 – 18 April 2002) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.\n\nPlaying career\nA left sided midfielder who also played as winger, Phillips began his career with Bolton Wanderers. After 145 league appearances and a loan spell with Chesterfield, Phillips joined Bury in 1975 for a two-year spell.\n\nEarly in 1977–78 Phillips joined Chester, where he became part of one of the club's most successful teams. His four-year stint at Sealand Road was largely successful, although Phillips did suffer the indignity of missing an open goal for Chester in a televised match at Blackpool in December 1978.\n\nPhillips left Chester in February 1981 and briefly joined Chorley before signing for Barrow in the Alliance Premier League. But he suffered a serious leg injury shortly after signing and left him in plaster for six months, effectively ending his playing career at a serious level.\n\nAfter his football career ended Phillips worked for an insurance company and later established a successful newsagents business. Unfortunately he began to suffer from depression, leading to his death from self-inflicted injuries in April 2002.\n\nReferences\n\n1947 births\n2002 deaths\nPeople from Worsley\nEnglish footballers\nEnglish Football League players\nNational League (English football) players\nAssociation football wingers\nBolton Wanderers F.C. players\nChesterfield F.C. players\nBury F.C. players\nChester City F.C. players\nChorley F.C. players\nBarrow A.F.C. players" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames", "How bad were his burns?", "Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.", "Did he suffer any more injuries?", "I don't know." ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Did he win any races?	6	Did Niki Lauda win any races?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate,	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	true	[ "The 1954 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo was the seventh edition of the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo. It included eleven races: all the races form the 1953 edition were retained with no additions. Ferdinand Kübler won his third individual championship (although he did not win any of the races) while Belgium won the nations championship.\n\nRaces\n\nFinal standings\n\nRiders\n\nNations\n\nReferences\n\n \nChallenge Desgrange-Colombo\nChallenge Desgrange-Colombo", "Bret Holmes Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that fields the No. 23 Chevrolet SS part-time in the ARCA Menards Series and the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.\n\nHistory\n\nARCA Menards Series\nAfter GMS Racing closed down their ARCA team after the 2015 season to focus on expanding their Truck Series team in 2016, driver Bret Holmes, who was going to start the season with Empire Racing, and his father Stacy Holmes purchased the team's assets and ran part-time in the series in 2016. Their debut came in the race at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The GMS No. 23 had won the 2015 championship with Grant Enfinger driving. Enfinger had moved up to the Truck Series with GMS in 2016, driving part-time for the team in their No. 24 and No. 33 trucks. Enfinger would become a driver coach and crew chief for Holmes' ARCA team and would also drive the car in one race, which was at Pocono and he would win that race, giving the team a win in its first season. \n\nBHR would field the No. 23 full-time in 2017 with Holmes driving, and although he did not win any races, he finished sixth in the standings. In 2018, Holmes and his team intended on running full-time again. However, halfway through the season, the team did not run any races except for the second Pocono race due to lack of sponsorship, although Wayne Peterson Racing used the team's car number in two races to keep collecting owner points for the No. 23 in case sponsorship was found and the team could compete again. Holmes would drive Ken Schrader Racing's No. 52 car in three of the final ten races of the season. BHR returned full-time in 2019, and Holmes finished third in the standings although he did not win any races. \n\nIn 2020, Holmes won his first race in the series at Kansas in July. He went on to win the championship despite his team having older equipment and struggling to find sponsorship, narrowly beating Michael Self, who drove a fully sponsored car for the powerhouse Venturini Motorsports team.\n\nIn 2021, the No. 23 car only ran part-time with Holmes driving it in four races and JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer (also a former GMS ARCA and Truck Series driver) driving it in five races.\n\nNASCAR Camping World Truck Series\nOn July 31, 2020, Holmes told reporter Chris Knight that he was looking at debuting his team in the Truck Series for select races in 2021. On January 14, 2021, Holmes announced that he and Sam Mayer would run part-time schedules for his own team in the Truck Series, which would field the No. 32 truck. (The team chose the No. 32 as it is the No. 23 backwards, and the No. 23 was being used by GMS Racing in the Truck Series.) On March 6, 2021, it was revealed that the team had purchased the owner points of the No. 28 FDNY Racing truck, which attempted the season-opener at Daytona, in order to be more likely to qualify for races without qualifying if an entry list had over 40 trucks. Ty Dillon would drive the truck in the season-finale at Phoenix.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\nNASCAR teams\nARCA Menards Series teams" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames", "How bad were his burns?", "Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.", "Did he suffer any more injuries?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any races?", "despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate," ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Why did he dislike his teammate?	7	Why did Niki Lauda dislike his new teammate?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	"We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team."	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	true	[ "Just My Type: A Book About Fonts is a nonfiction book by Simon Garfield, a British journalist and non-fiction author. The book touches on typography in our daily lives, specifically why people dislike Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Trajan Capitals; the overwhelming European popularity of Helvetica; and how a font can make a person seem such a way, such as masculine, feminine, American, British, German, or Jewish.\n\nOverview \nThe first chapter, \"We Don't Serve Your Type\", is about why people dislike the font Comic Sans. Other widely disliked fonts are discussed in chapter 21, \"The Worst Fonts in the World\". Chapter 2, \"Capital Offence\", details font etiquette, while chapter 3, \"Legibility vs. Readability\", details the difference between a font being \"legible\" and a font being \"readable.\" Chapters 4, \"Can a font make me popular?\"; 9, \"What is it about the Swiss?\"; 13, \"Can a font be German, or Jewish?\"; and 14, \"American Scottish\", detail how a font can make somebody or something look. Chapter 7, \"Baskerville is Dead (Long Live Baskerville)\", and various \"fontbreaks\" detail the histories of specific fonts.\n\nCritical reception \nReception of Just My Type by non-professional reviewers was overwhelmingly positive. The New York Times praised the book, saying that it \"does for typography what Lynne Truss's best-selling Eats, Shoots & Leaves did for punctuation\" and that it is a \"smart, funny, and accessible book\". BBC declared it a \"well-written, anecdote-filled romp through the highs and lows of fontdom\". The Guardian declared it \"bouncy, well-informed, and wittily-designed\".\n\nOn the other hand, historian of typography Paul Shaw, in a review of the US edition, while admitting the book is \"full of fascinating stories and trivia about type\" stated that \"[u]nfortunately, many of these stories are incomplete or superficial and the trivia often more odd than informative\". He goes on to list in detail numerous errors in the book.\n\nJust My Type was named one of the Amazon.com Best Books of the Month for September 2011.\n\nReferences \n\n2010 books\nTypography", "The following is a list of anti-cultural, anti-national, and anti-ethnic terms, where \"anti-cultural\" means sentiments of hostility towards a particular culture, \"anti-national\" refers to sentiments of hostility towards a particular state or other national administrative entity, and \"anti-ethnic\" refers to ethnic hatred or sentiments of hostility towards an ethnic group. \n\nThe use of all of these terms is controversial, as they tend to be used prominently in local rhetorical appeals to fallacy—namely the natural confusion between politically directed opposition and ethnically directed hostility, often deliberately disregarding this distinction for propaganda purposes.\n\nThese discriminatory attitudes are similar in nature to various religion-based hostile movements, such as Christianophobia and Anti-Catholicism, based on the mixture of xenophobia and ideological/political opposition.\n\nAnti-\n\nAnti-religious terms\n\nTheophobia\nAtheophobia\n\nWhile religion related phobias are formally defined as negative attitudes towards religions, they can also include negative attitudes towards cultures that are associated with specific religions.\n Antisemitism\n Anti-Judaism\n Anti-Christianity\n Anti-Catholicism\n Anti-Eastern Orthodox sentiment\n Anti-Protestantism\n Anti-Mormonism\n Anti-Hinduism\n Anti-Buddhist sentiment\n Anti-Paganism\n Anti-atheism\n Anti-Muslim\n\nAnti-ideological terms\n\n-phobia\nThe suffix -phobia has gained popularity in its non-clinical use to refer to various negative attitudes.\n\nAlbanophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of Albanians. \nAnglophobia – fear or dislike of England, English culture, English language, Germanic people etc.\nArmenophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of Armenians.\nAtheophobia – fear, dislike, and hatred of atheism, atheists, and/or anything atheistic.\nBuddhophobia - fear, dislike and hatred of Buddhism, Buddhists and things Buddhist. \nChilephobia – fear, dislike and hatred of Chileans.\nChristophobia – fear, dislike and hatred of Christianity, Christians and things Christian.\nFrancophobia – fear or dislike of the French.\nGermanophobia – fear or dislike of Germans\nHellenophobia or Grecophobia – fear or dislike of Greeks.\nHibernophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of the Irish.\nHungarophobia – fear, dislike of the Hungarians\nHinduphobia - fear, dislike and hatred of Hinduism, Hindus and things Hindu. \nHispanophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of Spaniards or Hispanics\nIndophobia – fear or hatred of Indians and Hindu culture in particular. \nIranophobia – fear or dislike of Iranians, Iranian culture, etc.\nIslamophobia – fear, dislike and hatred of Islam, Muslims and things Islamic.\nItalophobia – fear or dislike of Italians.\nJapanophobia or Nipponophobia – fear or hatred of the Japanese.\nJudeophobia – fear or hatred of Jews. Antisemitism relates to Jews as a race, while Judeophobia relates to Judaism as a religion.\nLusophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of the Portuguese\nMexicanophobia – fear, dislike and hatred of Mexicans.\nPolonophobia – fear or dislike of Poles, Polish culture, etc.\nRussophobia – fear of Russia or Russians.\nSerbophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of Serbs. \nSinophobia – fear or dislike of the Chinese, Chinese culture, etc.\nTurkophobia – fear, dislike or hatred of Turks. \nVascophobia - fear, dislike or hatred of Basques\n\nStereotypes\n List of ethnic slurs\n Stereotypes of Africans\n Stereotypes of Americans\nStereotypes of groups within the United States\n Stereotypes of Argentines\n Stereotypes of Germans\n Stereotypes of Nigerians\n Stereotypes of South Asians\n Stereotypes of Jews\n\nReferences\n\nAnti-national sentiment\nLists of words" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames", "How bad were his burns?", "Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.", "Did he suffer any more injuries?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any races?", "despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate,", "Why did he dislike his teammate?", "\"We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team.\"" ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Did they ever argue?	8	Did Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann ever argue?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	false	[ "Modernization theory is the predominant explanation for emergence of nationalism among scholars of nationalism. Prominent modernization scholars, such as Ernest Gellner, Benedict Anderson and Eric Hobsbawn, argue that nationalism is a phenomenon that arose with the processes of modernization during the late 18th century. Processes that lead to the emergence of nationalism include industrialization and democratic revolutions.\n\nModernization theory stands in contrast to primordialism and perennialism, which hold that nations are biological, innate phenomena or that they have ancient roots. Critics such as Anthony D. Smith and Philip Gorski argue that nationalisms did exist prior to modernity. Critics have argued that modernization theory's applicability to nationalism in European colonies is limited, as more modernized colonies did not undergo nationalist mobilization earlier.\n\nSee also \n\n Primordialism\n Gellner's theory of nationalism\n Ethnosymbolism\n Modernization theory\n Nationalism studies\n Social constructivism\n\nReferences \n\nSociocultural evolution theory\nModernity\nNationalism studies", "The 1961 New Democratic Party founding convention was held in Ottawa from July 31 to August 4 to elect a leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada. This convention formally closed down the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party, the New Party clubs, and merged them with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) to form the NDP. It is also known for the divisive leadership vote in which Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas was elected over national CCF leader Hazen Argue. Over 2000 delegates attended the five-day convention held at the Ottawa Coliseum.\n\nCCF leadership succession crisis\n\nBy 1960, progress was being made in creating a new party from the old CCF, and the trade union movement as represented by the CLC. There were still leadership issues left unresolved in the CCF in the summer of 1960, and the party's president, David Lewis was forced to try to keep the federal House of Commons leader from causing an open leadership crisis. Since M. J. Coldwell, the CCF's national leader, lost his seat in the House of Commons, he constantly was thinking of resigning his post, but was asked by the party, many times, to stay on as national leader. With Coldwell's defeat, the CCF caucus chose Hazen Argue as the new House leader. During the lead-up to the 1960 CCF convention, Argue was pressing for Coldwell to step down. This leadership challenge would mean that plans for an orderly transition to the New Party would be in jeopardy, something that the CLC's and CCF's organizers, headed by Lewis, did not want. They wanted as their leader Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas, the most successful social democratic leader in Canada. To prevent their plans from being derailed, Lewis had to try to find a way to persuade Argue not to force a vote on the question of the party's leadership at the convention: Lewis was unsuccessful. There was a split between the parliamentary caucus and the party's executive that made it to the convention floor. Coldwell quit and Argue became the last National Leader of the CCF.\n\nIn the mid-1970s, David Lewis reflected on this incident and he realized that he did not handle the leadership transition well:\n\nNaming the party\n\nIn July and August 1961, the CCF became the New Democratic Party (NDP), after a long process of deciding what to name the party. The party used a preferential ballot system to make the decision from four choices: New Party, New Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Canadian Democratic Party.\n In the end, the name New Democratic Party won on Thursday evening, 3 August, narrowly beating out New Party 784 to 743 votes.\n\nLeadership vote\nThere were only two candidates, Saskatchewan premier T.C. Douglas, and National CCF leader Hazen Argue. Their nomination speeches were covered live on coast-to-coast television, something that did not happen before with the CCF. On Thursday evening, 3 August, the newly named party elected Douglas as its leader by a convincing 1391 to 380 victory over Argue. Six months later, Argue quit the party and crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party.\n\nFederal council elections\nOn the last day of the convention, Friday, 4 August, the convention voted for 15 members to serve on the 82-seat federal council, the other 67 positions were filled by provincial or affiliate sections. There was some controversy that a slate was proposed, and distributed by union members and CCF establishment types, that did not include Hazen Argue. The convention's chairman, University of Toronto professor George Grube, was the leading candidate on the slate, and he did win the most votes. Twelve of the slate's 15 candidates won, but Hazen Argue was not able to break the slate and he was defeated. The delegates elected McGill University professor, and former CCF activist, Michael Oliver as the party's first president. The co-president was Montreal labour activist Gerard Picard. David Lewis, as the former president of the CCF, turned-down both positions, and accepted being a vice-president. Eamon Park, a union executive member with the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), was elected as the party's first treasurer. In recognition for his years of service as the National CCF's leader, M. J. Coldwell was unanimously voted in as the NDP's honorary chairman, a ceremonial post with no real power.\n\nSee also\n Co-operative Commonwealth Federation\n New Democratic Party\n Major James Coldwell\n T.C. Douglas\n\nFootnotes\n\nReferences\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n\nNew Democratic Party\n1961\nNew Democratic Party leadership election" ]
[ "Niki Lauda", "Return to racing", "Can you provide me a little information on the Return to racing?", "Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged.", "What did he do to get burns?", "Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames", "How bad were his burns?", "Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head,", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising.", "Did he suffer any more injuries?", "I don't know.", "Did he win any races?", "despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate,", "Why did he dislike his teammate?", "\"We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team.\"", "Did they ever argue?", "I don't know." ]	C_8dd79d4ac5674ad3ba1e016103b23fca_1	Is there any additional information regarding his teammate?	9	Is there any additional information regarding Niki Lauda's teammate?	Niki Lauda	After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory - and the first for Ferrari since 1972 - followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years; Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda famously gave away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It would be a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the 23-kilometre (14 mi) circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit- i.e. the lack of fire marshals; fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Most of the other drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976 during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before they were able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. Since the accident he has always worn a cap to cover the scars on his head. He has arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Lauda returned to race only six weeks (three races) later, appearing at the Monza press conference with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted AGV crash helmet so as to not be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were close friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and an inevitable pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. CANNOTANSWER	served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari.	Andreas Nikolaus Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time F1 World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in F1 history to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. As an aviation entrepreneur, he founded and ran three airlines: Lauda Air, Niki, and Lauda. He was also a consultant for Scuderia Ferrari and team manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years. Afterwards, he worked as a pundit for German TV during Grand Prix weekends and acted as non-executive chairman of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, of which Lauda owned 10%. Having emerged as Formula One's star driver amid a title win and leading the championship battle, Lauda was seriously injured in a crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring during which his Ferrari 312T2 burst into flames, and he came close to death after inhaling hot toxic fumes and suffering severe burns. He survived and recovered sufficiently to race again just six weeks later at the Italian Grand Prix. Although he lost that year's titleby just one pointto James Hunt, he won his second championship the year after, during his final season at Ferrari. After a couple of years at Brabham and two years' hiatus, Lauda returned and raced four seasons for McLaren between 1982 and 1985 – during which he won the title by half a point over his teammate Alain Prost. Early years in racing Niki Lauda was born on 22 February 1949 in Vienna, Austria, to a wealthy paper manufacturing family. His paternal grandfather was the Viennese-born industrialist Hans Lauda. Lauda became a racing driver despite his family's disapproval. After starting out with a Mini, Lauda moved on into Formula Vee, as was normal in Central Europe, but rapidly moved up to drive in private Porsche and Chevron sports cars. With his career stalled, he took out a £30,000 bank loan, secured by a life insurance policy, to buy his way into the fledgling March team as a Formula Two (F2) driver in 1971. Because of his family's disapproval, he had an ongoing feud with them over his racing ambitions and abandoned further contact. Lauda was quickly promoted to the F1 team, but drove for March in F1 and F2 in 1972. Although the F2 cars were good (and Lauda's driving skills impressed March principal Robin Herd), March's 1972 F1 season was catastrophic. Perhaps the lowest point of the team's season came at the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport Park, where both March cars were disqualified within three laps of each other, just past 3/4 of the race distance. Lauda took out another bank loan to buy his way into the BRM team in 1973. Lauda was instantly quick, but the team was in decline; although the BRM P160E was quick and easy to drive it was not reliable and its engine lacked power. Lauda's star was on the rise after he ran 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix that year, and Enzo Ferrari became interested. When his BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni left to rejoin Ferrari in 1974, team owner Enzo Ferrari asked him what he thought of Lauda. Regazzoni spoke so favourably of Lauda that Ferrari promptly signed him, paying him enough to clear his debts. Ferrari (1974–1977) After an unsuccessful start to the 1970s, culminating in a disastrous start to the 1973 season, Ferrari regrouped completely under Luca di Montezemolo and were resurgent in 1974. The team's faith in the little-known Lauda was quickly rewarded by a second-place finish in his debut race for the team, the season-opening Argentine Grand Prix. His first Grand Prix (GP) victory – and the first for Ferrari since 1972 – followed only three races later in the Spanish Grand Prix. Although Lauda became the season's pacesetter, achieving six consecutive pole positions, a mixture of inexperience and mechanical unreliability meant Lauda won only one more race that year, the Dutch GP. He finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship and demonstrated immense commitment to testing and improving the car. The 1975 F1 season started slowly for Lauda; after no better than a fifth-place finish in the first four races, he won four of the next five driving the new Ferrari 312T. His first World Championship was confirmed with a third-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza; Lauda's teammate Regazzoni won the race and Ferrari clinched their first Constructors' Championship in 11 years. Lauda then picked up a fifth win at the last race of the year, the United States GP at Watkins Glen. He also became the first driver to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes, which was considered a huge feat as the Nordschleife section of the Nürburgring was two miles longer than it is today. Lauda did not win the German Grand Prix from pole position there that year; after battling hard with Patrick Depailler for the lead for the first half of the race, Lauda led for the first 9 laps but suffered a puncture at the Wippermann, 9 miles into the 10th lap and was passed by Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Tom Pryce and Jacques Laffite; Lauda made it back to the pits with a damaged front wing and a destroyed left front tyre. The Ferrari pit changed the destroyed tyre and Lauda managed to make it to the podium in 3rd behind Reutemann and Laffite after Hunt retired and Pryce had to slow down because of a fuel leak. Lauda was known for giving away any trophies he won to his local garage in exchange for his car to be washed and serviced. Unlike 1975 and despite tensions between Lauda and Montezemolo's successor, Daniele Audetto, Lauda dominated the start of the 1976 F1 season, winning four of the first six races and finishing second in the other two. By the time of his fifth win of the year at the British GP, he had more than double the points of his closest challengers Jody Scheckter and James Hunt, and a second consecutive World Championship appeared a formality. It was a feat not achieved since Jack Brabham's victories in 1959 and 1960. He also looked set to win the most races in a season, a record held by the late Jim Clark since 1963. 1976 Nürburgring crash A week before the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, even though he was the fastest driver on that circuit at the time, Lauda urged his fellow drivers to boycott the race, largely because of the circuit's safety arrangements, citing the organisers' lack of resources to properly manage such a huge circuit, including lack of fire marshals, fire and safety equipment and safety vehicles. Formula One was quite dangerous at the time (three of the drivers that day later died in Formula One incidents: Tom Pryce in 1977; Ronnie Peterson in 1978; and Patrick Depailler in 1980), but a majority of the drivers voted against the boycott and the race went ahead. On 1 August 1976, during the second lap at the very fast left kink before Bergwerk, Lauda was involved in an accident where his Ferrari swerved off the track, hit an embankment, burst into flames, and made contact with Brett Lunger's Surtees-Ford car. Unlike Lunger, Lauda was trapped in the wreckage. Drivers Arturo Merzario, Lunger, Guy Edwards, and Harald Ertl arrived at the scene a few moments later, but before Merzario was able to pull Lauda from his car, he suffered severe burns to his head and inhaled hot toxic gases that damaged his lungs and blood. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live ("I Was There -- May 21, 2019"; "Niki Lauda speaks in 2015"), Lauda said, "...there were basically two or three drivers trying to get me out of the car, but one was Arturo Merzario, the Italian guy, who also had to stop there at the scene, because I blocked the road; and he really came into the car himself, and uh, triggered my, my seatbelt loose, and then pulled me out. It was unbelievable, how he could do that, and I met him afterwards, and I said, 'How could you do it?!'. He said, 'Honestly, I do not know, but to open your seatbelt was so difficult, because you were pushing so hard against it, and when it was open, I got you out of the car like a feather...'." As Lauda was wearing a modified helmet, it didn't fit him properly; the foam had compressed and it slid off his head after the accident, leaving his face exposed to the fire. Although Lauda was conscious and able to stand immediately after the accident, he later lapsed into a coma. While in hospital he was given the last rites, but he survived. Lauda suffered extensive scarring from the burns to his head, losing most of his right ear as well as the hair on the right side of his head, his eyebrows, and his eyelids. He chose to limit reconstructive surgery to replacing the eyelids and getting them to work properly. After the accident he always wore a cap to cover the scars on his head. He arranged for sponsors to use the cap for advertising. With Lauda out of the contest, Carlos Reutemann was taken on as his replacement. Ferrari boycotted the Austrian Grand Prix in protest at what they saw as preferential treatment shown towards McLaren driver James Hunt at the Spanish and British Grands Prix. Return to racing Lauda missed only two races, appearing at the Monza press conference six weeks after the accident with his fresh burns still bandaged. He finished fourth in the Italian GP, despite being, by his own admission, absolutely petrified. F1 journalist Nigel Roebuck recalls seeing Lauda in the pits, peeling the blood-soaked bandages off his scarred scalp. He also had to wear a specially adapted crash helmet so as not to be in too much discomfort. In Lauda's absence, Hunt had mounted a late charge to reduce Lauda's lead in the World Championship standings. Hunt and Lauda were friends away from the circuit, and their personal on-track rivalry, while intense, was cleanly contested and fair. Following wins in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix, Hunt stood only three points behind Lauda before the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix. Lauda qualified third, one place behind Hunt, but on race day there was torrential rain and Lauda retired after two laps. He later said that he felt it was unsafe to continue under these conditions, especially since his eyes were watering excessively because of his fire-damaged tear ducts and inability to blink. Hunt led much of the race before his tires blistered and a pit stop dropped him down the order. He recovered to third, thus winning the title by a single point. Lauda's previously good relationship with Ferrari was severely affected by his decision to withdraw from the Japanese Grand Prix, and he endured a difficult 1977 season, despite easily winning the championship through consistency rather than outright pace. Lauda disliked his new teammate, Reutemann, who had served as his replacement driver. Lauda was not comfortable with this move and felt he had been let down by Ferrari. "We never could stand each other, and instead of taking pressure off me, they put on even more by bringing Carlos Reutemann into the team." Having announced his decision to quit Ferrari at season's end, Lauda left earlier after he won the Drivers' Championship at the United States Grand Prix because of the team's decision to run the unknown Gilles Villeneuve in a third car at the Canadian Grand Prix. Brabham and first retirement (1978–1979) Joining Parmalat-sponsored Brabham-Alfa Romeo in 1978 for a $1 million salary, Lauda endured two unsuccessful seasons, remembered mainly for his one race in the Brabham BT46B, a radical design known as the Fan Car: it won its first and only race at the Swedish GP, but Brabham did not use the car in F1 again; other teams vigorously protested the fan car's legality and Brabham team owner Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time was maneuvering for acquisition of Formula One's commercial rights, did not want to fight a protracted battle over the car, but the victory in Sweden remained official. The Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo flat-12 began the 1978 season at the third race in South Africa. It suffered from a variety of troubles that forced Lauda to retire the car 9 out of 14 races. Lauda's best results, apart from the wins in Sweden and Italy after the penalization of Mario Andretti and Gilles Villeneuve, were 2nd in Monaco and Great Britain, and a 3rd in the Netherlands. The Alfa flat-12 engine was too wide for ground effect designs in that the opposed cylinder banks impeded with the venturi tunnels, so Alfa designed a V12 for 1979. It was the fourth 12-cylinder engine design that propelled the Austrian in F1 since 1973. Lauda's 1979 F1 season was again marred by retirements and poor pace, even though he won the non-championship 1979 Dino Ferrari Grand Prix with the Brabham-Alfa. In the single-make BMW M1 Procar Championship, driving for the British Formula Two team Project Four Racing (led by Ron Dennis) when not in a factory entry, Lauda won three races for P4 plus the series. Decades later, Lauda won a BMW Procar exhibition race event before the 2008 German Grand Prix. In September, Lauda finished 4th in Monza, and won the non-WC Imola event, still with the Alfa V12 engine. After that, Brabham returned to the familiar Cosworth V8. In late September, during practice for the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, Lauda cut short a practice session and promptly informed team principal Ecclestone, that he wished to retire immediately, as he had no more desire to "continue the silliness of driving around in circles". Lauda, who in the meantime had founded Lauda Air, a charter airline, returned to Austria to run the company full-time. McLaren comeback, third world title, and second retirement (1982–1985) In 1982, Lauda returned to racing, for an unprecedented $3 million salary. After a successful test with McLaren, the only problem was to convince then team sponsor Marlboro that he was still capable of winning. Lauda proved he was when, in his third race back, he won the Long Beach Grand Prix. Before the opening race of the season at Kyalami race track in South Africa, Lauda was the organiser of the so-called "drivers' strike"; Lauda had seen that the new Super Licence required the drivers to commit themselves to their present teams and realised that this could hinder a driver's negotiating position. The drivers, with the exception of Teo Fabi, barricaded themselves in a banqueting suite at Sunnyside Park Hotel until they had won the day. The 1983 season proved to be transitional for the McLaren team as they were making a change from Ford-Cosworth engines, to TAG-badged Porsche turbo engines, and Lauda did not win a race that year, with his best finish being second at Long Beach behind his teammate John Watson. Some political maneuvering by Lauda forced a furious chief designer John Barnard to design an interim car earlier than expected to get the TAG-Porsche engine some much-needed race testing; Lauda nearly won the last race of the season in South Africa. Lauda won a third world championship in 1984 by half a point over teammate Alain Prost, due only to half points being awarded for the shortened 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. His Austrian Grand Prix victory that year is so far the only time an Austrian has won his home Grand Prix. Initially, Lauda did not want Prost to become his teammate, as he presented a much faster rival. However, during the two seasons together, they had a good relationship and Lauda later said that beating the talented Frenchman was a big motivator for him. The whole season continued to be dominated by Lauda and Prost, who won 12 of 16 races. Lauda won five races, while Prost won seven. However, Lauda, who set a record for the most pole positions in a season during the 1975 season, rarely matched his teammate in qualifying. Despite this, Lauda's championship win came in Portugal, when he had to start in eleventh place on the grid, while Prost qualified on the front row. Prost did everything he could, starting from second and winning his seventh race of the season, but Lauda's calculating drive (which included setting the fastest race lap), passing car after car, saw him finish second behind his teammate which gave him enough points to win his third title. His second place was a lucky one though as Nigel Mansell was in second for much of the race. However, as it was his last race with Lotus before joining Williams in 1985, Lotus boss Peter Warr refused to give Mansell the brakes he wanted for his car and the Englishman retired with brake failure on lap 52. As Lauda had passed the Toleman of F1 rookie Ayrton Senna for third place only a few laps earlier, Mansell's retirement elevated him to second behind Prost. The 1985 season was a disappointment for Lauda, with eleven retirements from the fourteen races he started. He did not start the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps after crashing and breaking his wrist during practice, and he later missed the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch; John Watson replaced him for that race. He did manage fourth at the San Marino Grand Prix, 5th at the German Grand Prix, and a single race win at the Dutch Grand Prix where he held off a fast-finishing Prost late in the race. This proved to be his last Grand Prix victory, as after announcing his impending retirement at the 1985 Austrian Grand Prix, he retired for good at the end of that season. Lauda's final Formula One Grand Prix drive was the inaugural Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia. After qualifying 16th, a steady drive saw him leading by lap 53. However, the McLaren's ceramic brakes suffered on the street circuit and he crashed out of the lead at the end of the long Brabham Straight on lap 57 when his brakes finally failed. He was one of only two drivers in the race who had driven in the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix, the other being World Champion Keke Rosberg, who won in Adelaide in 1985 and took Lauda's place at McLaren in 1986. Helmet Lauda's helmet was originally a plain red with his full name written on both sides and the Raiffeisen Bank logo in the chin area. He wore a modified AGV helmet in the weeks following his Nürburgring accident so as the lining would not aggravate his burned scalp too badly. In 1982, upon his return to McLaren, his helmet was white and featured the red "L" logo of Lauda Air instead of his name on both sides, complete with branding from his personal sponsor Parmalat on the top. From 1983 to 1985, the red and white were reversed to evoke memories of his earlier helmet design. Later management roles In 1993, Lauda returned to Formula One in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari. Halfway through the 2001 season, Lauda assumed the role of team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team. The team, however, failed to improve and Lauda was made redundant, together with 70 other key figures, at the end of 2002. In September 2012 he was appointed non-executive chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. He took part in negotiations to sign Lewis Hamilton to a three-year deal with Mercedes in 2013. Roles beyond Formula One Lauda returned to running his airline, Lauda Air, on his second Formula One retirement in 1985. During his time as airline manager, he was appointed consultant at Ferrari as part of an effort by Montezemolo to rejuvenate the team. After selling his Lauda Air shares to majority partner Austrian Airlines in 1999, he managed the Jaguar Formula One racing team from 2001 to 2002. In late 2003, he started a new airline, Niki. Similar to Lauda Air, Niki was merged with its major partner Air Berlin in 2011. In early 2016, Lauda took over chartered airline Amira Air and renamed the company LaudaMotion. As a result of Air Berlin's insolvency in 2017, LaudaMotion took over the Niki brand and asset after an unsuccessful bid by Lufthansa and IAG. Lauda held a commercial pilot's licence and from time to time acted as a captain on the flights of his airline. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993 and from 1996 provided commentary on Grands Prix for Austrian and German television on RTL. He was, however, criticized for calling Robert Kubica a "polack" (an ethnic slur for Polish people) on air in May 2010 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Lauda is sometimes known by the nickname "the Rat", "SuperRat" or "King Rat" because of his prominent buck teeth. He was associated with both Parmalat and Viessmann, sponsoring the ever-present cap he wore from 1976 to hide the severe burns he sustained in his Nürburgring accident. Lauda said in a 2009 interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit that an advertiser was paying €1.2 million for the space on his red cap. In 2005, the Austrian post office issued a stamp honouring him. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 22nd on their "top drivers of all-time" list. Niki Lauda wrote five books: The Art and Science of Grand Prix Driving (titled Formula 1: The Art and Technicalities of Grand Prix Driving in some markets) (1975); My Years With Ferrari (1978); The New Formula One: A Turbo Age (1984); Meine Story (titled To Hell and Back in some markets) (1986); Das dritte Leben (en. The third life) (1996). Lauda credited Austrian journalist Herbert Volker with editing the books. Film and television The 1976 F1 battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt was dramatized in the film Rush (2013), where Lauda was played by Daniel Brühl—a portrayal that was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Lauda made a cameo appearance at the end of the film. Lauda said of Hunt's death, "When I heard he'd died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn't surprised, I was just sad." He also said that Hunt was one of the very few he liked, one of a smaller number of people he respected and the only person he had envied. Lauda appeared in an episode of Mayday titled "Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits" regarding the events of Lauda Air Flight 004, and described running an airline as more difficult than winning three Formula 1 championships. Personal life The name of his mother is Elisabeth. Lauda had two sons with first wife the Chilean-Austrian Marlene Knaus (married 1976, divorced 1991): Mathias, a race driver himself, and Lukas, who acted as Mathias's manager. In 2008, he married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant for his airline. In 2005, she donated a kidney to Lauda when the kidney he received from his brother in 1997 failed. In September 2009, Birgit gave birth to twins. On 2 August 2018 it was announced that Lauda had successfully undergone a lung transplant operation in his native Austria. Lauda spoke fluent Austrian German, English, and Italian. Lauda came from a Roman Catholic family. In an interview with Zeit he stated that he left the church for a time to avoid paying church taxes, but went back when he had his two children baptised. Death and legacy On 20 May 2019, Lauda died in his sleep, aged 70, at the University Hospital of Zürich, where he had been undergoing dialysis treatment for kidney problems, following a period of ill health. A statement issued on behalf of his family reported that he had died peacefully, surrounded by family members. Various current and former drivers and teams paid tributes on social media and during the Wednesday press conference session before the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. A moment of silence was held before the race. Throughout the weekend, fans and drivers were encouraged to wear red caps in his honour, with the Mercedes team painting their halo device red with a sticker stating "Niki we miss you" instead of their usual silver scheme. His funeral, at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, was attended by many prominent Formula One figures (including Gerhard Berger, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Jean Alesi, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, and Valtteri Bottas), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many Austrian politicians, including Alexander Van der Bellen among others. The Haas VF-19's mini shark fin section of the engine cover (the top) was painted red with Lauda's name and his years of birth and death. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel wore special helmets in remembrance. Lauda is widely considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. Racing record Career summary Complete European Formula Two Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Formula One non-championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete BMW M1 Procar Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Other race results 24 Hours Nürburgring: 1st,1973 1000 km of Spa Francorchamps: 1st,1973 4 hours of Monza: 1st,1973 4 hours of Zandvoort: 1st,1974, 3rd,1972 Diepholz SRP/GT: 1st,1970 6 hours of Nurbugring: 2nd,1971 9 hours of Kyalami: 3rd,1972 Taurenpokal Salzburgring: 1st,1971 Books AKA For the Record: My Years with Ferrari (British edition). See also History of Formula One Hunt–Lauda rivalry Lauda Air Italy Sport in Austria References External links 1949 births 2019 deaths A1 Grand Prix team owners Austrian aviators Austrian expatriates in Spain Austrian Formula One drivers Austrian racing drivers Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian motorsport people BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year winners Brabham Formula One drivers BRDC Gold Star winners BRM Formula One drivers Chief executives in the airline industry Commercial aviators European Formula Two Championship drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Ferrari people Formula One World Drivers' Champions Formula One race winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees International Race of Champions drivers Kidney transplant recipients March Formula One drivers McLaren Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Vienna World Sportscar Championship drivers Lauda family Airline founders Jaguar in Formula One Mercedes-Benz in Formula One Niki Lauda	true	[ ".ba is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administered by the University Teleinformation Center.\n\nSecond-level domains\nThe procedure for registering domains within .ba is slightly more complicated than in other ccTLDs; the process is defined by laws and regulations of BiH institutions. For more information, please see Regulations regarding the registration of the BA domain. While international domains can be bought by anyone without any additional requests and documents, .BA domains can be registered by only entities that meet all requirements listed in the Regulations. While domain registration is free, a local presence is needed. Any company that has a registered name or registered trademark in Bosnia–Herzegovina can register an eponymous .BA domain (provided that the domain is not already taken), though some additional caveats apply.\n\nPrivately-owned second-level domains are permitted, which for-profit companies use. But there are also standardised second level domains:\n.edu.ba for educational organisations\n.gov.ba for governmental authorities\n.net.ba for network operators\n.org.ba for non profit organisations\nThe rules for the standardised second level domains are fairly well enforced.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n IANA Delegation Record for .BA\n \n\nCommunications in Bosnia and Herzegovina\nCountry code top-level domains\nInternet in Bosnia and Herzegovina\nCouncil of European National Top Level Domain Registries members\n\nsv:Toppdomän#B", "Viraval (also known as Viraval Village) is a part of Navsari Nagarpalika located in south Gujarat, India.\n\nViraval village is located in Navsari Tehsil of Navsari district in Gujarat, India. It is situated 3km away from Navsari, which is both district & sub-district headquarter of Viraval village. As per 2009 stats, Viraval village is also a gram panchayat.\n\nThe total geographical area of the village is 501.95 hectares. Viraval has a total population of around 9000 people. There are about 1,375 houses in Viraval village. Navsari is the nearest town to Viraval which is approximately 3km away.\n\nShree Ram temple, Jaldevi ma temple and BOB bank are also located in Viraval.\n\nExternal links\n Kadiawas - additional information regarding Viraval\n\nVillages in Navsari district" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English" ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	What was he trying in america	1	What was Ricky Martin trying in america?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "Jonas Michaëlius (1577 - after 1638) was the first clergyman to lead a congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in America.\n\nBiography\nHe was probably born Jonas Joannis Michielsz in Hoorn. He studied at the University of Leyden from 1600-1605, and worked as a clergyman in various towns in Brabant from 1607-1612, from 1612-14 in \"Nieuwbokswoude\" (modern Nibbixwoud), and from 1614-1624 in Hem. He married in 1614. In 1624 he traveled, presumably with the fleet of Piet Hein, to Salvador, Brazil, where he served until the town was recaptured by the Portuguese in May 1625. From there he crossed the Atlantic to Guinea where he stayed until 1627. After briefly returning to the Netherlands, he went to New Amsterdam in January 1628, and was thus the first minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in what would become the United States. He organized a consistory, and administered the sacraments, but returned to Holland in a few years, probably before the arrival of his successor, Everardus Bogardus, in 1633.\n\nMichaëlius' wife died in New Amsterdam shortly after his arrival. The classis of Amsterdam wished to send Michaëlius back to America in 1637, but he did not return owing to political opposition from New Amsterdam.\n\nIt was long supposed that Bogardus was the first Reformed Church clergyman in the future United States, but the precedence of Michaëlius was established by a letter from him to Adrian Smoutius, dated New Amsterdam, 11 August 1628, which was found in the late 19th century in the Dutch archives at The Hague. In this letter he describes the degraded state of the natives, and proposes to educate their children without trying to redeem the parents. The letter is printed in an appendix to Mary L. Booth's History of the City of New York (New York, 1859).\n\nSee also\n Collegiate School (New York)\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\n1577 births\n1638 deaths \nPeople from Hoorn\nLeiden University alumni\n17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers\nPeople of New Netherland\nReformed Church in America ministers", "João Evangelista Belfort Duarte, commonly known as Belfort Duarte (November 27, 1883 – November 27, 1918), was a Brazilian football central defender. The Belfort Duarte Award is named after him.\n\nPlaying career \n\nBorn in São Luís, Maranhão state, he started his career in 1902, with Mackenzie College, where he translated the football rules to Portuguese. He was also one of the club's founders. Belfort Duarte worked for Light & Power company in 1906. He joined America-RJ in 1906, changing the club's colors from black to red in 1908. With America, he won the Campeonato Carioca in 1913. Belfort Duarte played his last game in 1915, against Flamengo.\n\nCoaching career \n\nAfter his retirement, he started a coaching career, managing America in 1916, winning the state championship in that year.\n\nDeath \n\nBelfort Duarte was murdered on his birthday, November 27, 1918, in a favela located in Campo Belo, Minas Gerais state, when he was trying to hide from the Spanish flu.\n\nLegacy \n\nThe Belfort Duarte Award was instituted in 1946, by the Brazilian National Sports Council, after Belfort Duarte. The award is given to the football player who completes ten years without being booked with a red card. This award was named after Belfort Duarte because in a game he mentioned to the referee that he committed a foul in his club's penalty area.\n\nReferences \n\n1883 births\n1918 deaths\nBrazilian footballers\nBrazilian football managers\nAmerica Football Club (RJ) players\nPeople from São Luís, Maranhão\nMale murder victims\nAssociation football central defenders\nBrazilian murder victims" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999" ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	What was this for	2	What was Ricky Martin's english album for?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "\"What I Go to School For\" is the debut single of English pop punk band Busted. It was written by James Bourne, Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis, Steve Robson, and John McLaughlin and produced by Steve Robson. The song was inspired by a teacher that Matt Willis had a crush on at school.\n\nThe song was released on 16 September 2002 and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. A young Jade Ewen (who would later join girl group Sugababes) appears in the music video.\n\nBackground\nMatt Willis told the Essex Chronicle that the song came about after a night out in TOTs 2000 (now known as Talk nightclub) in James Bourne's hometown of Southend-on-Sea. \"We were too young, we got drunk and went to TOTs,\" Willis said. \"Then we walked home and continued drinking on the way – it took us ages. When we got back to James' house, we went to his bedroom and just picked up the guitar and that’s when we started writing What I Go to School For.\"\n\nIn 2003, the real-life inspiration for the song was revealed to be Willis' former teacher Michelle Blair, who made a surprise appearance on The Frank Skinner Show on ITV during an interview with Willis. Blair, who was 28 and had been married for three years at the time of her appearance on The Frank Skinner Show, was Willis' dance teacher at the Sylvia Young Theatre School when Willis was 15. Speaking about the surprise appearance with Willis on the show, Blair said: \"It was hilarious – he looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up. I only found out the song was about me after it came out – it's really flattering.\" Blair said that at the time she was not aware of her pupil's crush on her, but that she did remember him from the dance classes: \"He was quite cheeky and charming and always had something to say in class. He used to tell us he was in a band, but I never dreamed they were going to be this big and I certainly hadn't a clue I was going to feature in one of their songs!\"\n\nCommenting on the veracity of these events as portrayed in the song, Blair said: \"I think he's used a bit of artistic licence in the song. It was a dance class so we never used any pencils but I suppose he had ample opportunity to look at my bum. There was never any tree outside my bedroom window though – I think I might have noticed a Peeping Tom.\" Reflecting on his time under the tutelage of Miss Blair, Willis said, \"She was kind of nice and there was always something really sexy about her.\" Being identified as the object of adolescent lust, and the subject of a pop song, hasn't caused any friction with her husband, according to Blair: \"My husband thinks its (sic) hilarious and takes the mickey. I don't think he's really worried I'm going to run off with a pop star. I'm proud of them. Looking back it was obvious Matt had what it takes.\"\n\nOn 29 October 2012, Michelle Blair appeared as the correct answer in the \"line-up\" section of BBC Two panel Never Mind the Buzzcocks.\n\nMusical\nWhat I Go to School For became the title of a musical theatre production produced by Youth Music Theatre UK following the story of Busted from their origins in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, through to their break-up in 2005. The musical was written by Elliot Davis with songs from the Busted albums and new music by James Bourne. It was directed by Steven Dexter and played at the Theatre Royal, Brighton in 2016.\n\nMusic video\nThe video for the song features model Lorna Roberts as Miss McKenzie, the object of the band's desire. Then 14-year-old Jade Ewen, who later joined the Sugababes, appears in the video as a schoolgirl. The filming of the What I Go To School For video was later parodied in the video for the Busted song Nineties.\n\nTrack listings\n\nUK CD1 and Australian CD single\n \"What I Go to School For\" (single version) – 3:30\n \"What I Go to School For\" (acoustic version) – 3:26\n \"What I Go to School For\" (alternative version) – 3:31\n \"What I Go to School For\" (instrumental mix) – 3:28\n \"What I Go to School For\" (CD-ROM video)\n\nUK CD2\n \"What I Go to School For\" (single version)\n \"Brown Eyed Girl\"\n Interactvie interview (CD-ROM video)\n\nUK cassette single\n \"What I Go to School For\"\n \"Dawson's Geek\"\n \"What I Go to School For\" (acoustic version)\n\nUS enhanced CD single\n \"What I Go to School For\" (radio version)\n \"What I Go to School For\" (album version)\n \"What I Go to School For\" (CD-ROM video)\n\nCharts and certifications\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nCover versions\n \"What I Go to School For\" was parodied by the Amateur Transplants on their 2004 album Fitness to Practice.\n The Jonas Brothers covered the song for their 2006 album It's About Time.\n\nReferences\n\n2002 debut singles\n2002 songs\nBusted (band) songs\nIsland Records singles\nSongs about school\nSongs written by Charlie Simpson\nSongs written by James Bourne\nSongs written by Matt Willis\nSongs written by Steve Robson\nUniversal Records singles", "\"Unconditional Love\" is a song by 2Pac featuring Nanci Fletcher. The song was released posthumously as promotional single for his 1998 Greatest Hits album. To date, the explicit version of the song has only been released on the promotional single. The song peaked at number 73 on the airplay chart.\n\nOverview\n\nThe song was written by 2Pac for fellow Death Row rapper M.C. Hammer. 2Pac recorded a demo of it himself before giving the song to Hammer, this demo is what was used for songs release. Hammer's version was first released on Family Affair in 1998. Hammer would later dance and read the lyrics to this song on the first VH1 Hip Hop Honors in 2004.\n\nAccording to the Family Affair album insert, \"Unconditional Love\" lyrics were written and arranged by 2Pac and the songs producer, Johnny \"J\". Johnny \"J\" was credited for producing both versions of the song. \n\nHammer wrote this about the song: \"This song was given to me as a gift from the late Tupac Shakur. He told me this was a song about how true love is unconditional. He wanted me to rap it because it reflected what I stand for. The secret is this is also what he stood for. We know that our Bible says that God's love is unconditional. Thank you Tupac for this beautiful, spiritual song.\" Hammer would later go on to mention his friendship with Tupac and the gift of this song to him in a TBN interview.\n\nMusic video\nA video for \"Unconditional Love\" was filmed between January 11–12, 1999. It features Tha Realest (looking and sounding like 2Pac) recording this song in the studio.\n\nTrack listing\n\n \"Unconditional Love\" featuring Nanci Fletcher (Clean Version)\n \"Unconditional Love\" featuring Nanci Fletcher (LP Version)\n\nReferences\n\nTupac Shakur songs\n1998 singles\nSongs released posthumously\n1998 songs\nSongs written by Tupac Shakur" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market." ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	What was the album called and did it sell well	3	What was Ricky Martin's english album called and did the album sell well?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release,	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "Destination Universe is the second studio album by Material Issue, released on Mercury Records in 1992. The new album was not as well received by critics as the debut album, nor did it sell as well. The album included the single \"What Girls Want\" and was, like their debut album, produced by Jeff Murphy.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Jim Ellison \n\"What Girls Want\" - 3:55\n\"When I Get This Way (Over You)\" - 4:09\n\"Next Big Thing\" - 3:12\n\"Who Needs Love\" - 2:52\n\"Destination You\" - 2:49\n\"Everything\" - 3:48\n\"Ballad of a Lonely Man\" - 3:27\n\"Girl from Out of This World\" - 3:56\n\"So Easy to Love Somebody\" - 2:49\n\"Don't You Think I Know\" - 3:47\n\"The Loneliest Heart\" - 2:38\n\"Whole Lotta You\" - 2:52\n\"If Ever You Should Fall\" 2:41\n\nReferences\n\n1992 albums\nMercury Records albums\nMaterial Issue albums", "Khaled, released in 1992, is Khaled's self-titled album. The album was produced by Michael Brook and Don Was.\n\nThe album was primarily sung in Khaled's native Algerian Arabic dialect with the exception of \"Ne m'en voulez pas\", which was sung in French.\n\nProduction\n\nKhaled signed with French record label Barclay Records, then brought in American record producer Don Was to \"incorporate American R&B—to Americanize the music\", which Don Was achieved by combining Khaled's live musicians with loops and beats from his Macintosh computer and a keyboard. The result of these sessions in the studio that combined Khaled's rai with Was' R&B, was, according to Was, \"pretty wild music.\"\n\nReception\nThe response from the Arab public was mixed. Many of the more conservative Arabs stopped buying his records and going to his concerts, feeling offended by exposure to what they perceived as the liberal West, and by what they saw as \"(selling) out to Western commercialism\". Others saw this as new, cool, and revolutionary, and he attracted a new audience.\n\nThe music from the album, especially \"Didi,\" was played in French nightclubs and on Hip Hip Hourah, and the album began to sell well throughout France. The French emcee Malek Sultan of hip-hop band IAM called Khaled the \"Public Enemy Arabe\". Khaled is regarded as the first raï artist to successfully cross over into the French pop market.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Didi\" – 5:02\n \"El Arbi\" – 3:35\n \"Wahrane\" – 4:27\n \"Ragda\" – 3:51\n \"El Ghatli\" – 4:07\n \"Liah Liah\" – 4:21\n \"Mauvais Sang\" – 6:13\n \"Braya\" – 4:46\n \"Ne m'en voulez pas\" – 4:57\n \"Sbabi\" – 4:05\n \"Harai\" – 3:57\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nKhaled (musician) albums\n1992 albums\nAlbums produced by Don Was\nBarclay (record label) albums\nWrasse Records albums" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.", "What was the album called and did it sell well", "The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release," ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	Why is this so special	4	Why is Ricky Martin's english album so special?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist.	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "A pourquoi story (\"pourquoi\" means \"why\" in French), also known as an origin story, pourquoi tale or an etiological tale, is a fictional narrative that explains why something is the way it is, for example why a snake has no legs, or why a tiger has stripes. Many legends and folk tales are pourquoi stories. A more pejorative term for these stories is a just-so story, coined by English writer Rudyard Kipling in 1902.\n\nExamples\nPourquoi stories include:\n Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, many of which give explanations for the origin of animals and their characteristics.\n Australian Aboriginal dreamtime stories, such as the Rainbow Serpent.\n Certain tall tales include pourquoi elements, such as Pecos Bill taming his horse, Widowmaker. The horse bucked and kicked so much that she dug out the Grand Canyon.\n The Epic of Gilgamesh includes many pourquoi stories from Mesopotamian folklore: how the Beqa'a Valley was formed, why meat becomes rancid when left in the rain, and why snakes shed their skins while people (who are mortal) do not.\n Origin stories, explaining how a comic book hero or heroine came to have their special characteristics.\n Alamat, very loosely translated into \"legend,\" are stories in Philippine folk literature which explain how things came to be. They normally involve people being transformed into animals and plants because of certain untoward habits they have. An example would be the Alamat of the Pineapple where a girl who is too lazy to look for things is transformed into a fruit with numerous \"eyes.\"\n Tinga Tinga Tales include many pourquoi stories from African cultures, such as \"Why Giraffe has a Long Neck,\" \"Why Crocodile has a Bumpy Back,\" \"Why Moles Live Underground,\" and lots more.\n\nSee also\n\n Founding myth\n Just-so story\n\nReferences\n\nHow & Why Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell\nChildren's Storytellers, Authors & Artists\n\nLiterary genres", "Why Shit So Crazy? (stylized as Why S#!+ So Crazy? on the DVD cover) is a one-hour stand-up comedy special by Reggie Watts, aired and then released as a dual DVD/CD package by Comedy Central in 2010. The special features Watts in live performance at New York venues Galapagos, The Bellhouse, and Le Poisson Rouge, bookended with brief sketches and a music video of Watts' \"Fuck Shit Stack\". Next to stand-up comedy, songs, and freestyle rapping, the DVD/CD contains special features and deleted scenes, all completely uncensored and uncut.\n\nReferences\n\n2010s comedy films" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.", "What was the album called and did it sell well", "The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release,", "Why is this so special", "became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist." ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	Who wrote the album	5	Who wrote Ricky Martin's english album?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa.	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "The Undisputed Truth is the third and final studio album by Seventh Star. It was released by Facedown Records on June 12, 2007.\n\nCritical reception\n\nAwarding the album three stars for AllMusic, Stewart Mason wrote, \"[T]here's little here that will attract listeners who aren't already Christian-leaning metalcore fans.\" Peter John Willoughby, giving the album a seven out of ten at Cross Rhythms, wrote, \"It's hardcore for the masses done by genuine guys we'll miss.\" Rating the album a seven out of ten from Indie Vision Music, Rand wrote that \"they have cut a great album\".\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\n2007 albums\nFacedown Records albums\nSeventh Star (band) albums", "Faith & Family is the debut studio album by American singer and Kutless lead vocalist Jon Micah Sumrall. BEC Recordings released the album on February 24, 2015. Sumrall worked with Dave Lubben, in the production of this album.\n\nCritical reception\n\nGiving the album three and a half stars from CCM Magazine, Matt Conner wrote, \"The tender acoustic set should please both Kutless fans who see a softer side as well as AC listeners\". Scott Fryberger, rating the album three stars for Jesus Freak Hideout, said, \"Faith & Family is a pretty by-the-book Christian contemporary pop album.\" In another three star review by the same publication, Christopher Smith wrote, \"Faith & Family is a pleasing listen, but it lacks the components of a memorable record.\" Awarding the album four stars at Christian Review Magazine, Christian St. John wrote, \"Every track on Faith & Family is well written and played.\" Laura Chambers, giving the album a 3.6 out of 5 for Christian Music Review, wrote, \"Faith and Family is a scrapbook of days past, struggles borne and hopes realized.\" Rating the album three stars from Louder Than the Music, Philip Aldis said, \"Faith and Family is a collection of perfectly produced sounds that sweetly pan from my left ear to my right.\" Joshua Andre, awarding the album three and a half stars at 365 Days of Inspiring Media, wrote, \"With acoustic, worship and pop/rock all working together in harmony; Faith And Family is sure to wow us.\"\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\n2015 albums\nBEC Recordings albums" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.", "What was the album called and did it sell well", "The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release,", "Why is this so special", "became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist.", "Who wrote the album", "It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa." ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	Was anyone featureed	6	Was anyone featured on Ricky Martin's english album?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "\"Did Anyone Approach You?\" is a song by the Norwegian band A-ha. It was the third single to be taken from their 2002 album Lifelines. It was recorded at The Alabaster Room in New York City sometime between June 2001 and January 2002.\n\nTrack listing\n \"Did Anyone Approach You? (Original Album Version)\" (4:11)\n \"Did Anyone Approach You? (Turner Remix)\" (3:43)\n \"Did Anyone Approach You? (Reamped)\" (4:51)\n \"Did Anyone Approach You? (Tore Johansson Remix)\" (5:55)\n \"Afternoon High (Demo Version)\" (4:40)\n \"Did Anyone Approach You? (Video Clip)\" (4:11)\n\nVideo\nThe video was filmed by Lauren Savoy, the wife of A-ha guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy. It was shot at Ullevaal Stadion on 6 June 2002, the first concert on the band's Lifelines tour.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2002 singles\nA-ha songs\nSongs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy\nWarner Music Group singles\n2002 songs", "\"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" is the second single from English pop singer Gareth Gates' debut studio album, What My Heart Wants to Say (2002). It was written by Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson, and David Kreuger and produced by Magnusson and Kreuger. The single was released on 8 July 2002, entering the UK Singles Chart at 1 and staying there for three weeks, going platinum for sales exceeding 600,000 copies. It was then released in mainland Europe in 2003, reaching No. 1 on the Dutch, Norwegian, and Swedish charts. The video for the single was filmed in Venice, Italy.\n\nTrack listings\n UK CD single\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" – 3:50\n \"Forever Blue\" – 2:56\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" (Video) – 3:50\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" (Behind The Scenes Footage) – 2:00\n\n German CD single\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" – 3:50\n \"Forever Blue\" – 2:56\n \"Unchained Melody\" – 3:53\n \"Unchained Melody\" (Music Video) – 3:53\n\n German Mini CD single\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" – 3:50\n \"Forever Blue\" – 2:56\n\n Australian CD single\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" – 3:50\n \"What My Heart Wants To Say\" (Single Remix) – 4:12\n \"Unchained Melody\" – 3:53\n \"Unchained Melody\" (Music Video) – 3:53\n\n Unchained Melody UK CD single\n \"Unchained Melody\" – 3:53\n \"Evergreen\" – 3:41\n \"Anything Is Possible\" – 4:05\n\n Unchained Melody German CD single\n \"Unchained Melody\" – 3:53\n \"What My Heart Wants To Say\" (Single Remix) – 4:12\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" (Live Version) – 4:09\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" (Video) – 3:50\n \"What My Heart Wants To Say\" (Video) – 4:12\n \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" (Behind The Scenes Footage) – 2:00\n\n Unchained Melody German Mini CD single\n \"Unchained Melody\" – 3:53\n \"Evergreen\" – 3:41\n\n Unchained Melody Australian CD single\n \"Unchained Melody\" (Australian Radio Mix) – 3:20\n \"Unchained Melody\" – 3:53\n \"Evergreen\" – 3:41\n \"Anything Is Possible\" – 4:05\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nDecade-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nCover versions\n In 2002, singer Mathias Holmgren covered the song as \"Något Som Kan Hända\", with Swedish lyrics by Ulf Georgsson.\n In 2003, German singer Jens Bogner released a version with German lyrics titled \"Das kann doch jedem mal passieren\" (That can happen to anyone) on his album \"Alles, was ich will\".\n Greek singer Sarbel made a Greek-language cover entitled \"Ένας από μας\".\n In 2018 \"Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)\" was included on the soundtrack of the Chinese series, Meteor Garden.\n\nReferences\n\n19 Recordings singles\n2002 singles\n2002 songs\nDutch Top 40 number-one singles\nGareth Gates songs\nNumber-one singles in Norway\nNumber-one singles in Scotland\nNumber-one singles in Sweden\nRCA Records singles\nSingle Top 100 number-one singles\nSongs about infidelity\nSongs written by David Kreuger\nSongs written by Jörgen Elofsson\nSongs written by Per Magnusson\nSyco Music singles\nUK Singles Chart number-one singles" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.", "What was the album called and did it sell well", "The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release,", "Why is this so special", "became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist.", "Who wrote the album", "It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa.", "Was anyone featureed", "The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet \"Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)\" and Meja on \"Private Emotion" ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	What did this do	7	What did featuring Madonna do?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)", "What Did I Do To Deserve This My Lord!? 2 (formerly known as Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time To Tighten Up Security!, known as Yūsha no Kuse ni Namaiki da or2, 勇者のくせになまいきだor2, literally \"For a hero, [you are] quite impudent/cheeky/bold] 2)\" in Japan) is a real-time strategy/god game for the PlayStation Portable, sequel to What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?.\n\nThe game was released in Japan in 2008, and was announced for a North American release during Tokyo Game Show 2009. This release was delayed until May 4, 2010, due to NIS America changing the game's name from Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman! 2: Time to Tighten Up Security! to What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 to avoid conflict with the Batman license.. The UMD release includes the first game.\n\nGameplay \nThe gameplay is almost identical to the first game, with a few different additions and changes. These include 'Mutation' (monsters can mutate in three forms: by deformity, by obesity and by gigantism) and 'The Overlord's Chamber', where you can grow monsters and observe their evolution.\nWhat Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 contains \"4 times more stages, 3.3 times more monsters and 2.3 times more heroes\" than the first game.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n\n2008 video games\nGod games\nPlayStation Portable games\nPlayStation Portable-only games\nReal-time strategy video games\nSony Interactive Entertainment games\nVideo game sequels\nVideo games developed in Japan" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.", "What was the album called and did it sell well", "The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release,", "Why is this so special", "became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist.", "Who wrote the album", "It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa.", "Was anyone featureed", "The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet \"Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)\" and Meja on \"Private Emotion", "What did this do", "Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title \"Latin Music Goes Pop!\". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson" ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	Who did this beat out	8	Who did Ricky Martin beat out?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "Pakistan competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 44 competitors, all men, took part in 35 events in 7 sports. Here, they won their first Olympic Games gold medal by defeating India in the final of the men's hockey competition. The country also landed their first individual Olympic Games medal, a bronze, through welterweight wrestler Mohammad Bashir in the freestyle contests. Making this Pakistan's most successful Olympics to date.\n\nMedalists\n Gold medal in the men's hockey competition and a bronze medal in the men's freestyle wrestling\n\nAthletics\n\nMen's 100 metres\n\n Abdul Khaliq\n Heat 2; 11.2 (→ did not advance)\n\n Iftikhar Shah\n Heat 7; Retired\n\nMen's 200 metres\n\n Iftikhar Shah\n Heat 1; Non-starter\n\n Abdul Khaliq\n Heat 4; 23.1 (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's 5,000 metres\n\n Mubarak Shah\n Heat 4; 15:43.0 (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's 4x100 metres relay\n\n Abdul Malik, Muhammad Ramzan Ali, Ghulam Raziq and Abdul Khaliq\n Heat 3; 42.5 (→ advanced to semifinals)\n 2nd semifinal; 42.8 (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's 110 metres hurdles\n\n Ghulam Raziq\n Heat 4; 14.6 (→ advanced to quarter-finals)\n 2nd quarter-final; 14.4 (→ advanced to semifinals)\n 2nd semifinal; 14.3 (→ did not advance)\n\n Abdul Malik\n Heat 5; 15.4 (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's 400 metres hurdles\n\n Muhammad Yaqub\n Heat 3; 52.8 (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's 3,000 metres steeplechase\n\n Mubarak Shah\n Heat 2; 9:20.0 (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's long jump\n\n Muhammad Ramzan Ali\n Qualification 3rd series; Failed to record a jump\n\nMen's hop, step and jump\n\n Muhammad Khan\n Qualification 3rd series; 14.43m (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's pole vault\n\n Allah Ditta\n Qualification; 4.00m (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's putting the shot\n\n Haider Khan\n Qualification; 16.47m (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's throwing the hammer\n\n Muhammad Iqbal\n Qualification; 60.86m (→ qualified for final)\n Final; 61.79m finished 12th out of 15\n\nMen's throwing the discus\n\n Haider Khan\n Qualification; 46.57m (→ did not advance)\n\nMen's throwing the javelin\n\n Mohammad Nawaz\n Qualification 2nd series; 70.05m (→ did not advance)\n\nBoxing\n\nMen's bantamweight (up to 54 kg)\n\n Mohammad Nasir\n Round 1 thirtyseconds of final; Bye\n Round 2 sixteenths of final; Beat S Akbarzadeh (IRN) on pts\n Round 3 eighths of final; Lost to M Thein (BUR) on pts\n\nMen's lightweight (up to 60 kg)\n\n Ghulam Sarwar\n Round 1 thirtyseconds of final; Bye\n Round 2 sixteenths of final; Lost to A Hernandez (MEX) on pts\n\nMen's middleweight (up to 75 kg)\n\n Sultan Mahmood\n Round 1 sixteenths of final; Lost to T Walasek (POL) on pts\n\nMen's light heavyweight (up to 81 kg)\n\n Mohammad Safdar\n Round 1 sixteenths of final; Bye\n Round 2 eighths of final; Lost to G Saraudi (ITA) on pts\n\nMen's featherweight (up to 54 to 57;kg)\nSaeed Hassan Butt\nFinal round fought with Mohammed Rashid. Outcome:Silver medalist in east pakistan dhaka olympics(Pakistan).\n\nCycling\n\nMen's individual scratch sprint\n\n Mohammad Ashiq\n Heat 7; (→ sent to repechage)\n Repechage 5th; 12.8 Lost to L Mucino (MEX)\n\n Abdul Raziq Baloch\n Heat 8; (→ sent to repechage)\n Repechage 4th; 12.1 Lost to H Francis (USA)\n\nMen's tandem sprint\n\n Mohammad Ashiq and Abdul Raziq Baloch\n Heat 2; Not present\n\nMen's 1,000 metres standing start time trial\n\n Mohammad Ashiq\n 1:20.17 finished 25th out of 25\n\nHockey\n\nMen's Team Competition\n\nElimination rounds Round B\n Defeated (3-0)\n Defeated (8-0)\n Defeated (10-0)\n\nQuarter-finals\n Defeated (2-1)\n\nSemifinals\n Defeated (1-0)\n\nFinal\n Defeated (1-0)\n\nPakistan won the gold medal\n\nTeam Roster\n Abdul Hamid (captain)\n Ghulam Rasool (vice-captain)\n Abdul Rashid (gk)\n Rony Gardner (gk)\n Munir Dar\n Manzoor Hussain Atif\n Khurshid Aslam\n Bashir Ahmed\n Anwar Ahmed Khan\n Zafar Hayat\n Habib Ali Kiddie\n Noor Alam\n Khawaja Zakauddin\n Abdul Waheed\n Zafar Ali Khan\n Naseer Bunda\n Motiullah\n Mushtaq Ahmad\n\nShooting\n\nFour shooters represented Pakistan in 1960.\n\n25 m pistol\n Mohammad Iqbal\n 253/248 = 501 finished 55th out of 57\n\n50 m pistol\n Zafar Ahmed Muhammad\n Elimination rounds Group One; 59/77/74/79 = 289 finished 31st out of 33\n\n300 m rifle, three positions\n Abdul Aziz Wains\n Elimination rounds Group One; 153/180/154 = 487 19th out of 20\n\n50 m rifle, three positions\n Saifi Chaudhry\n Elimination rounds Group Two; 185/160/161 = 506 finished 34th out of 38\n\n50 m rifle, prone\n Saifi Chaudhry\n Elimination rounds Group One; 95/89/96/93 = 373 finished 39th out of 43\n\nWeightlifting\n\nMen's bantamweight (57 kg)\n\n Mohammad Azam Mian\n Press not counted\n Snatch 82.5kg\n Jerk 100kg\n Total 182.5kg Unplaced\n\nMen's lightweight (67.5 kg)\n\n Abdul Ghani Butt\n Press not counted\n Snatch 92.5kg\n Jerk 125.0kg\n Total 217.5kg Unplaced\n\nWrestling\n\nMen's flyweight (52 kg)\n\n Nawab Din\n 1st round; Beat S O'Connor (IRL) by fall\n 2nd round; Beat V Dimitrov (BUL) on pts\n 3rd round; Lost to M Matsubara (JPN) by fall\n 4th round; Lost to A Bilek (TUR) by fall\n\nNawab Din ranked 9th out of 17\n\nMen's bantamweight (57 kg)\n\n Muhammad Siraj-Din\n 1st round; Beat W Pilling (GBR) by fall\n 2nd round; Lost to T Jaskari (FIN) on pts\n 3rd round; Lost to M Shakhov (USSR) on pts\n\nSiraj Din ranked joint 10th out of 19\n\nMen's featherweight (62 kg)\n\n Muhammad Akhtar\n 1st round; Beat M Kederi (AFG) by fall\n 2nd round; Lost to T Sato (JPN) on pts\n 3rd round; Beat J Zurawski (POL) on pts\n 4th round; Beat V Rubashvili (USSR) on pts\n 5th round; Lost to M Dagistanli (TUR) by fall\n\nMohammad Akhtar ranked 6th out of 25\n\nMen's lightweight (67 kg)\n\n Mohammad Din\n 1st round; Beat to M Tajiki (IRN) by fall\n 2nd round; Beat N Stamulis (AUS) on pts\n 3rd round; Beat R Bielle (FRA) on pts\n\nMohammad Din ranked joint 12th out of 24\n\nMen's welterweight (73 kg)\n\n Mohammad Bashir\n 1st round; Beat Peter Amey (GRB) by fall\n 2nd round; Beat Juan Rolon (ARG) on pts\n 3rd round; Lost to Goudarzi Emam Habibi (IRN) on pts\n 4th round; Beat Karl Bruggmann (SWI) by fall\n 5th round; Beat Gaetano De Vescovi (ITA) on pts\n Final round bout 1; Lost to Ismail Ogan (TUR) on pts\n Final round bout 3; Lost to Douglas Blubaugh (USA) by fall\n\nMohammad Bashir won the bronze medal after being ranked 3rd out of 23\n\nMen's middleweight (79 kg)\n\n Faiz Mohammad\n 1st round; admitted to second round\n 2nd round; Lost to T Nagai (JPN) on pts\n 3rd round; Beat M A Khokan (AFG) on pts\n\nFaiz Mohammad ranked 11th out of 19\n\nMen's heavyweight (over 87 kg)\n\n Muhammad Nazir\n 1st round; Lost to L Djiber (BUL) by fall\n 2nd round; Beat N Subhani (AFG) on pts\n 3rd round; Lost to H Kaplan (TUR) by fall\n\nMohammad Nazir ranked 12th out of 17\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Olympic Reports\nInternational Olympic Committee results database\n\nNations at the 1960 Summer Olympics\n1960\n1960 in Pakistani sport", "The 2008 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Tulane competed as a member of the Conference USA.\n\nThe team was led by second-year head coach Bob Toledo. Tulane finished the season with a 2–10 record. Despite this, sports columnist King Kaufman declared the Green Wave the national champions. In a Salon article, meant more to point out the flaws in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) than make a real argument in Tulane's favor, he wrote:\n\"Tulane beat Louisiana-Monroe, who beat Troy, who beat Middle Tennessee, who beat Maryland, who beat Wake Forest, who beat Mississippi ... [who beat BCS champions] Florida ... [and] also beat Texas Tech, who beat Texas, who beat [BCS runners-up] Oklahoma.\"\n\nSchedule\n\nReferences\n\nTulane Green Wave\nTulane Green Wave football seasons\nTulane Green Wave football" ]
[ "Ricky Martin", "1999-2002: Crossover to English", "What was he trying in america", "After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999", "What was this for", "in an attempt to cross over to the United States market.", "What was the album called and did it sell well", "The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release,", "Why is this so special", "became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist.", "Who wrote the album", "It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa.", "Was anyone featureed", "The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet \"Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)\" and Meja on \"Private Emotion", "What did this do", "Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title \"Latin Music Goes Pop!\". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson", "Who did this beat out", "Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of \"Ask for More\", a promotional single and commercial" ]	C_fe907a545efb49ad960c0a3908a4292c_0	What was this part of	9	What was the promotional single part of?	Ricky Martin	After receiving commercial success throughout Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Martin prepared his first English album in 1999 in an attempt to cross over to the United States market. The self-titled album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 661,000 copies in its first week of release, became the most successful album debut on the Billboard charts by a Hispanic artist. It contained material by writers and producers such as Desmond Child, Diane Warren, William Orbit, George Noriega and his longtime childhood friend Draco Rosa. The album also featured special guests: Madonna on the Spanish-English duet "Be Careful (Cuidado con mi Corazon)" and Meja on "Private Emotion". Two weeks after the album's release, Martin was featured on the cover of Time with the title "Latin Music Goes Pop!". Before the album's release, Janet Jackson collaborated with Ricky Martin for the Latin American version of "Ask for More", a promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi. The first and most prominent single was "Livin' la Vida Loca", which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is Ricky Martin's biggest hit. The video for "Livin 'La Vida Loca" was directed by Wayne Isham and starring model Nina Moric. It was followed by "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Both tracks peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs. "Livin' la Vida Loca" is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition of other Latin artists (first Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias, then later Shakira) into the English-speaking market easier. Ricky Martin became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7x platinum in the United States, selling over 22 million copies worldwide. In October 1999, Martin embarked on a very successful year-long Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. After this success, a new English-language album, Sound Loaded, was released in November 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA. "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" (duet with Christina Aguilera) peaked at number twelve and thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Both singles reached number one on the Hot Latin Songs. Sound Loaded has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish greatest hits album entitled La Historia, which went to number one for five weeks on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard 200. It also topped the chart in Sweden for three weeks. The album contained reworkings of two of his early songs "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida". In November 2001, an English-language greatest hits album, The Best of Ricky Martin was released outside North America. It contained two new remixes of "Amor". CANNOTANSWER	promotional single and commercial released as part of an advertising campaign for soft drink company Pepsi.	Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, as his discography spans multiple genres, including Latin pop, pop, dance, reggaeton, and salsa. Dubbed the "King of Latin Pop", the "King of Latin Music", and the "Latin Pop God", he is regarded as one of the most influential artists in the world. Born in San Juan, Martin began appearing in television commercials at the age of 9 and began his musical career at age 12, as a member of Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. He started his solo career in 1991 while in Sony Music Mexico, gaining recognition in Latin America with the release of his first two studio albums, Ricky Martin (1991) and Me Amaras (1993), both of which were focused on ballads. Martin's third album, A Medio Vivir (1995), helped him rose to prominence in European countries. The chart-topping single "María", incorporated a mixture of Latin music genres and became his first international hit. His international success was further solidified with his fourth album, Vuelve (1998). The album, which earned Martin his first Grammy Award, spawned chart-topping hits "Vuelve" and "La Copa de la Vida". Martin performed the latter at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and is known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide. His first English album, Ricky Martin (1999) became his first US Billboard 200 number one. The lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Martin's success in the late '90s is generally seen as the beginning of the "Latin explosion". He has been credited for getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition, paving the way for a large number of Latin artists to achieve a global success. Martin has since established his status as a sex symbol and a pop icon, releasing several successful albums, including all-time Latin bestsellers Almas del Silencio (2003) and MTV Unplugged (2006), as well as Grammy Award winner A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). He has also amassed many successful singles and chart-topper hits, including "She Bangs", "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", "Tal Vez", "Tu Recuerdo", "La Mordidita", "Vente Pa' Ca", and "Canción Bonita". As an actor, Martin gained popularity and stardom for his role in the hit soap opera General Hospital (1994-1996), while his portrayal of Antonio D'Amico in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018) marked the acting opportunity of his career, garnering him an Emmy nomination. He also starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita in 2012, which broke the theatre's box-office sales record seven times. Having sold over 70 million records worldwide, Martin is one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. He has scored 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs number-one songs, and won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards, a Guinness World Record, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time, the Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time, and the Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time by Billboard. His philanthropy and activism focus on LGBT rights and fighting against human trafficking; in 2004, he founded The Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's existence. Life and career 1971–1982: Early life Enrique Martín Morales was born on December 24, 1971, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother, Doña Nereida Morales, is a former accountant; his father, Enrique Martín Negroni, is a former psychologist who previously worked as a regional supervisor for a Puerto Rican mental-health agency. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and although his mother had custody of Martin, he could also move freely between his father's house in the middle-class suburb of University Gardens in San Juan, and his paternal grandmother's house nearby. In an interview with People, he told the magazine the he "never had to make decisions" about who he loved more, and he was "always happy". Martin has two older maternal half-brothers, Fernando and Ángel Fernández, two younger paternal half-brothers, Eric and Daniel Martín, and a younger paternal half-sister, Vanessa Martín. Martin has Spanish heritage of Basque and Canarian descent. As he explained to ABC, the Martins traveled from Spain to Puerto Rico in 1779. He also has some Corsican origin through his paternal grandmother. Martin grew up Catholic. The people closest to him called him "Kiki" (a nickname that comes from Enrique). He began singing at age six, using wooden kitchen spoons as make-believe microphones; he often sang songs by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, as well as English-language rock groups such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon. His mother's side of the family was musically inclined and his maternal grandfather was a poet. Martin later reflected on his time spent with his family as a child: "Every time I find myself in front of an audience, be it twenty people or one hundred thousand, once again I feel the energy that consumed me back at the family gatherings of my youth." He attended Colegio Sagrado Corazón, a bilingual Catholic grade school in University Gardens since fourth grade and was an "average" student there. When he was nine years old, he began appearing in television commercials for products such as soft drinks, toothpaste, and fast food restaurants, most notably Orange Crush and Burger King. In a year and a half, he starred in 11 commercials. 1983–1989: Menudo After achieving moderate fame in his country for his appearances in television commercials, Martin auditioned for membership in Menudo. Formed in Puerto Rico in 1977, Menudo members were usually replaced when they hit 16 in order to keep the band "full of fresh-faced members". Although the executives enjoyed his dancing and singing at his first two auditions, Martin was rejected because he was too short. By the third audition, his persistence impressed executives, and in 1984, 12-year-old Martin became a member. A month after joining Menudo, he made his debut performance with the group at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in San Juan. During this performance, he inadvertently disobeyed the choreography by walking around the stage, when it was planned that he would stay still, and was chastised by the band manager after the show: "The mistake was such a big deal that from that moment on, never again did I move when I wasn't supposed to move. That was the discipline of Menudo: You either did things the way you were told or you were not part of the group." Although Martin enjoyed traveling and performing onstage with Menudo, he found the band's busy schedule and strict management exhausting, and later reflected that the experience "cost" him his childhood. Despite this, Martin acknowledged his "opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with so many amazing people" during his time with the group. During his time with Menudo, he became a "key-member of the group" and a "fan-favorite", while the band released 11 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Evolución () (1984) and their highest-charting and longest-running album on the US Billboard 200, Menudo (1985). The former featured Martin's debut single, "Rayo de Luna" () and the latter included the hit single "Hold Me". "Hold Me" became the group's first and only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 62. It was ranked among the "100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Billboard, the "75 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and the "30 Best Boy Band Songs" by Complex. Besides the musical career, Martin appeared with other members of Menudo in the American romantic comedy/drama television series, The Love Boat (1985), and the Argentine soap opera, Por Siempre Amigos (1987). He also developed an interest in philanthropy when the group became UNICEF ambassadors, often working with impoverished children in third world countries. His experiences as an ambassador affected him greatly and inspired him to continue working with charities later in his life. Finally, Martin left the band in July 1989, at age 17, hoping to rest and evaluate his career path; he stayed a few extra months after his "age-mandated retirement" came around. He performed his final show with the group at the same venue where he had performed his first performance as a member. Referred to as the "Most Iconic Latino Pop Music Band", Menudo was ranked as one of the Biggest Boy Bands of All Time by Us Weekly in 2021. The group has sold around 20 million records worldwide, and has been acknowledged as the "Most Successful Latin Boy Band of All Time" by Billboard. Martin returned to Puerto Rico to "get a break from the pressures of the group, the promotional tours, and the constant stress of work", but although his parents' divorce had not affected him before, suddenly began to affect him; his parents "began fighting more than ever" and they were forcing him to "choose between the two people in the world" he loved most. As he understood they did this because they loved him and wanted the best for him, he "forgave all of the pain and anger they caused" him. He graduated from the high school, and 13 days after turning 18, he moved to New York City to celebrate his financial independence; since he was a minor during his time with Menudo, Martin was not allowed to access his own bank accounts. 1990–1994: Acting and first solo albums Martin was accepted into New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1990, but before classes began, his friend invited him to Mexico City. He attended the musical comedy play, Mama Ama el Rock () there, and was offered to stay and replace one of the actors. He accepted the offer, dropped out the university and moved from New York to Mexico City to perform in the play. While he was performing onstage in Mama Ama el Rock, a producer in the audience took notice of Martin's acting and offered him a role in the Mexican telenovela Alcanzar una estrella () (1990). Martin also joined the cast for the second season of the show, titled Alcanzar una estrella II (1991). A film based on the TV series, titled Más que alcanzar una estrella () (1992), was also produced in which Martin starred, and earned him an El Heraldo Award for his role. A Sony Discos executive noticed Martin's acting in the soap operas and offered him his first solo music recording contract. Eager to record his first solo album and hustled by the executive, Martin signed the contract without reading its conditions and inadvertently signed a deal in which he would only be paid one cent for each album sold! Despite viewing the contract as unfair, Martin referred to the record as "the start of something phenomenal" for him. After working "around the clock" to finish filming Alcanzar una estrella II and recording music, he released his debut solo album, Ricky Martin, on November 26, 1991. The album peaked at number five on the US Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and spent a total of 41 weeks on the list. It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, was certified gold in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and spawned his first solo hit singles, "Fuego Contra Fuego" (), "El Amor de Mi Vida" (), and "Dime Que Me Quieres" (). Both "Fuego Contra Fuego" and "El Amor de Mi Vida" reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks, peaking at numbers three and eight, respectively. To promote the album, Martin embarked on a successful Latin American tour, breaking box office records, which the singer referred to as "an indescribable feeling, almost like coming home". After the success of Ricky Martin and its subsequent tour, Martin's record company met him with the Spanish musician Juan Carlos Calderón to work on his second studio album, Me Amaras () (1993). Although Martin felt "very grateful" for the opportunity to work with Calderón, he noted, "I always felt that that record was more his than mine." The album sold over one million copies worldwide and was certified triple-platinum in Chile. In 1994, Martin's agent encouraged him to move to Los Angeles to act in an American sitcom called Getting By. The show was canceled after two seasons, but soon afterward, Martin was given the role of Miguel Morez on the popular hit soap opera General Hospital; Morez, a bartender and singer, known for his long and flowing hair, was a Puerto Rican citizen hiding in the United States from his lover's criminal mastermind father and created a love triangle with his fiancé Lily Rivera and Brenda. Martin portrayed the role for two years and gained huge popularity and stardom, becoming "one of the most-talked about actors on the soap opera". Despite this, Martin felt he lacked chemistry with the rest of the General Hospital cast and observed that people treated him differently because of his Puerto Rican accent. At the time, it was relatively uncommon for Latin actors to appear on American television, and people suggested that he take accent reduction classes, which he refused. 1995–1997: Breakthrough with A Medio Vivir In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career, and began working on his third studio album, A Medio Vivir (). The album was released on September 12, 1995, and became a huge success; it sold over three million copies or even seven million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified gold in the United States, platinum in France, 4× platinum in Spain, and 6× platinum in Argentina, as well as many other certifications in Latin American countries. It spawned several successful hits, including "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo" (), "María", and "Volverás" (). On "María", which was released as the second single from the album, Martin allowed himself "to go into a very Latin, African sound". He created a mix of different Latin music genres instead of singing a romantic ballad, the style that he focused on it in his first two albums, while Latin pop music in general was mainly made up of it at the time. Although Martin was satisfied with the track and he describes it as a song that he is "extremely proud of", the first time he played it for a record label executive, the man said: "Are you crazy? You have ruined your career! I can't believe you are showing me this. You're finished — this is going to be your last album." Despite this, the track became Martin's breakthrough song and his first international hit. It topped the charts in 20 countries, and has sold over five million physical copies worldwide. As a result, the song was featured in the 1999 edition of The Guinness Book of Records as the biggest Latin hit. It was also the Song of the Summer in Spain in 1996 and was the second best-selling single in the world that year. In Australia, "María" spent six weeks at number one, topped the country's year-end chart in 1998, and was certified platinum. The song also spent nine weeks at number one in France, and was certified diamond. It has sold over 1.4 million copies in France. Additionally, the track reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, and became Martin's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. To promote A Medio Vivir, he embarked on the worldwide A Medio Vivir Tour, that lasted for more than two years, through which he performed 63 shows and visited Europe, Latin America and the United States. During an interview with The Miami Herald in 1996, Martin expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. In a few days, he received a phone call from producer Richard Jay-Alexander, and was offered the role of Marius Pontmercy in the play Les Misérables. After the conclusion of the A Medio Vivir Tour in Latin America, Martin returned to New York to appear in the play in an eleven-week run. He greatly enjoyed the experience, calling his time in the play an "honor" and "the role of [his] life". Martin continued to tour after the conclusion of the show's run, and noted that his audiences were growing in both size and enthusiasm. 1998–1999: Vuelve While the A Medio Vivir Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his fourth album Vuelve (). He called the experience of touring and recording at the same time "brutal and incredibly intense". As he was finishing the record in 1997, "María" caught the attention of FIFA. They contacted Martin and asked him to create a song as the 1998 FIFA World Cup anthem. He stated about the request: "I have to admit that the challenge made me a bit nervous, but the massive growth potential for my career was such that I decided to accept." Following his acceptance, musicians K.C. Porter, Robi Rosa, and Desmond Child joined him and they started working on a song titled "La Copa de la Vida" (English: "The Cup of Life"). Martin wrote about the recording: "La Copa de la Vida" was included as the eighth track on Vuelve, released February 12, 1998, The album became a huge success; it sold over eight million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling Spanish-language album in history, according to his label. Also, some sources have reported the album's sales as six million copies worldwide. It spent 26 weeks atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Canada, the album peaked at number three and was certified double platinum. Vuelve spawned big hits, including the title track, "La Copa de la Vida", "Perdido Sin Ti" (), and "La Bomba" (). "La Copa de la Vida" grew to be an international success, appearing on the charts in more than 60 countries, and reaching number one in 30 countries, Both "Vuelve" and "Perdido Sin Ti" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart; the former also reached number one in On July 12, 1998, Martin performed "La Copa de la Vida" as the official anthem at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in France, in front of more than a billion TV viewers around the world. To promote Vuelve, Martin embarked on the worldwide Vuelve Tour; he performed in Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, and the United States. Although Latin music was not important to the Recording Academy or the mainstream music industry at the time, Tommy Mottola, then-chief of Columbia Records, was certain about Martin's stardom and pushed hard to have him on the Grammy Awards ceremony. During an interview with Billboard, Mottola told the magazine about it: "There was tremendous resistance from the Grammys. They did not want an 'unknown' to perform, yet we he had already sold 10 million copies of Vuelve worldwide. To me, that was absolutely UNACCEPTABLE." Finally, on February 24, 1999, cavorting with a 15-piece band alongside and a large number of dancers and percussionists, Martin performed a bilingual version of "La Copa de La Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics. At the same night, Vuelve earned Martin his first Grammy award, for Best Latin Pop Performance. After he accepted the award and expressed how important it was to the Latin community, the American singer-songwriter Madonna came on the stage and hugged him. 1999–2000: Crossover to English In October 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin has been working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve. In April 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that the album was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999. However, the huge interest in the disc, following Martin's performance at the Grammy Awards, encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11. Tom Corson, the senior vice president of marketing at Columbia explained: "Quite simply, the market has demanded it. People have been wanting this record for a while, and it's now reached the point where we have to get it out there immediately." Tim Devin, the general manager of Tower Records in New York added about Martin: "He's always been one of our strongest Latin artists, but interest in him has picked up considerably since that performance." Ricky Martin debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 661,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, becoming the largest sales week by any album in 1999. It also broke the record as the largest first-week sales for any pop or Latin artist in history, as well as any Columbia Records artist during the SoundScan era. With this album, Martin became the first male Latin act in history to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was certified 7× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over seven million copies in the US and breaking the record as the best-selling album by a Latin artist in the country. Only within three months, Ricky Martin became the best-selling album ever by a Latin artist. According to different sources, the album has sold over 15 million copies or even 17 million copies worldwide. It was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. The album was supported by four singles; the lead single "Livin' la Vida Loca" () topped the charts in more than 20 countries and is considered to be Martin's biggest hit, and one of the best-selling singles of all time. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks, becoming Martin's first number one single on the chart. Additionally, it broke several records on Billboard charts. It also spent eight consecutive weeks atop the Canada Top Singles chart and topped the country's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number one and stayed there for three weeks, making Martin the first Puerto Rican artist in history to hit number one. The track was ranked as the best '90s pop song by Elle, and was listed among the Best Latin Songs of All Time by Billboard. It was nominated for four categories at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Its Spanish version reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in the United States, and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards. "She's All I Ever Had" was released as the second single from the album in June 1999. It peaked at numbers two and three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canada Top Singles charts, respectively. The Spanish version, "Bella" () topped the charts in five countries, as well as Billboards Hot Latin Tracks chart. To further promote Ricky Martin, he embarked on the worldwide Livin' la Vida Loca Tour. In the United States, the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000 by a Latin artist, earning over $36.3 million with 44 dates and drawing 617,488 fans. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour grossed $51.3 million in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with 60 shows and drawing an audience of 875,151. International dates were not reported to Boxscore and would push the tour's grosses higher. 2000–2005: Sound Loaded, Almas del Silencio, and Life While the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour had not been concluded yet, Martin returned to the studio to record his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded. The album was released on November 14, 2000. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 318,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The album has sold over seven million copies or even eight million copies worldwide, according to different sources, being certified double platinum in the US. The album featured two hit singles, "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely". The former reached number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. It was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards. The Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" reached the summit of the Hot Latin Tracks chart and won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was re-recorded along with American singer Christina Aguilera, peaking at number one in five countries, as well as the top five in Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, among others. It was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The solo Spanish version, entitled "Sólo Quiero Amarte" topped the Hot Latin Tracks chart. Both "She Bangs" and "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are certified silver in the UK. In February 2001, Martin released a Spanish compilation album entitled La Historia (), which spent five weeks at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart, topped the charts in Argentina and Sweden, and was certified quadruple Latin platinum in the United States. Following the success of Ricky Martin and Sound Loaded, he initially planned to release the third English-language album as his seventh studio album, which was supposed to be his first complete work in the field of songwriting. Despite Sony Music Entertainment's original plan, he decided to release a Spanish-language album: "I woke up five months ago, and I said 'We're doing an album in Spanish.' Everyone went nuts. They said, 'You don't have time; you have to release an album in English because of timing issues with your career.' And that's fine. But I told them, 'In five months, you'll have a kick-ass album' [in Spanish]. Martin's seventh studio album, Almas del Silencio () was released in May 2003. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with first-week sales of 65,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, breaking the record as the largest first-week sales for a Spanish-language album in the US. The album also debuted at number 12 on Billboard 200, tying the 2002 album, Quizás () as the chart's highest Spanish-language debut. The album also debuted at number one in "at least 13 Latin American markets" and sold over two million copies worldwide. Almas del Silencio spawned three Hot Latin Tracks chart-topper hits: "Tal Vez" (), "Jaleo", and "Y Todo Queda en Nada" (). "Tal Vez" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart on the week of April 12, 2003, marking the first number one debut since February 1998, and becoming the sixth song overall in the chart's history to do so. It spent a total of 11 weeks at this position, surpassing "Livin' la Vida Loca" as Martin's longest number-one single on the chart, and was the longest-running number one of 2003. It also topped the charts in several Latin American markets. In October 2005, Martin released his third English album, Life. He commented on the album: "I was really in touch with my emotions. I think this album is very multi-layered, just like life is. It's about feeling anger. It's about feeling joy. It's about feeling uncertainty. It's about feeling. And all my emotions are part of this production". To promote Life, Martin embarked on the worldwide One Night Only with Ricky Martin tour. 2006–2012: MTV Unplugged, Música + Alma + Sexo, and Evita Although Martin's team and MTV had discussed an MTV Unplugged for years, but it became more serious after Martin's the One Night Only tour, which featured an acoustic segment. Finally, Martin taped his MTV Unplugged set in Miami in August 2006, performing both romantic ballads and up-tempo tropical dance songs. During the performance, he debuted three new tracks, including "Tu Recuerdo" (), which was released to radio stations as the lead single from his debut live album MTV Unplugged (2006). The album debuted at number one on the Top Latin Albums chart and sold over two million copies worldwide, marking his highest-certified album in Mexico. It won two Latin Grammy awards and was nominated for Album of the Year. "Tu Recuerdo" reached number one in five countries, as well as the Billboards Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts. The track was certified quadruple platinum in Mexico and was nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The artist then embarked on the Black and White Tour in 2007, including four sold-out shows at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico. The concerts in Puerto Rico were compiled into his second live album Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour (2007). Later that year, he released his first Italian song, "Non siamo soli" () as a duet with Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti. The song debuted at number one in Italy and spent eleven consecutive weeks atop the chart. In January 2011, Martin launched his ninth studio album, Música + Alma + Sexo (). The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the highest-charting primarily-Spanish language set since Dreaming of You (1995) by American singer Selena. It holds the record as the highest-charting Latin album of the 2010s, and represents the highest-ever chart debut on the Billboard 200 for a Sony Music Latin release. Música + Alma + Sexo also peaked at number one in Argentina and Venezuela, as well as Billboards Top Latin Albums. Its lead single, "Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tú" (English: "The Best Thing About Me Is You") reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video at the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour in 2011. In February 2012, he appeared as Spanish teacher David Martinez on the twelfth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, The Spanish Teacher. Martin starred as Ché in the Broadway revival of the musical Evita from March 2012 to January 2013. The show became a hit, breaking the theatre's box-office sales record after only six performances. Sine then, it broke its own record six times and was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 66th Tony Awards. The show's soundtrack album debuted at number one on Billboards cast album chart. 2013–2018: The Voice, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace Martin served as a coach on the second season of the Australian singing competition television series The Voice in 2013. In the same year, he released a compilation album, entitled Greatest Hits: Souvenir Edition, which reached number two in Australia, as well as a new single, entitled "Come with Me", which debuted at number three in the country. The artist then embarked on the Ricky Martin Live tour in Australia in October 2013. He continued serving as a coach on both the third and fourth seasons of The Voice Australia in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In 2014, Lars Brandle from Billboard stated in an article: "Through his high-profile slot on The Voice, Ricky's profile in Australia has never been as big as it is right now." On February 25, 2014, Wisin released a song titled "Adrenalina" () from his album El Regreso del Sobreviviente (), which featured Jennifer Lopez and Martin, and became the Univision's 2014 World Cup song. It received commercial success, peaking in the top-five of Bulgaria, Mexico, Spain, and Billboards Hot Latin Songs chart. Its accompanying music video has accumulated over 850 million views on YouTube. Later that year, Martin released his single "Vida" () for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The song reached the top five in Spain and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. Also in 2014, he served as a coach on the fourth season of The Voice Mexico, and embarked on the Live in Mexico tour. In February 2015, Martin released his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (). The album debuted at number one on Billboards Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one in Argentina. It won the award for Best Latin Pop Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 1st Latin American Music Awards. The album spawned three Hot Latin Songs top-10 hits: "Adiós" (), "Disparo al Corazón" (), and "La Mordidita" (). "Disparo al Corazón" was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "La Mordidita" experienced huge commercial success, being certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States. Its accompanying music video has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. To promote the album, Martin embarked on the One World Tour from 2015 to 2017. He served as an executive producer and a judge on the American singing competition series La Banda (), which premiered in 2015 and 2016 on Univision. The first season was "looking for the next Latin boy band", while the second season was looking for a Latin girl band. The contestants would compete for a recording deal with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music. CNCO, known as the first boy band to make reggaeton, was the winner of the first season. Martin became their manager and produced the band's debut album, Primera Cita () (2016), along with Wisin; the album debuted at number one on Top Latin Albums and featured the hit single "Reggaetón Lento (Bailemos)" (). CNCO opened many dates on One World Tour in 2016. In 2020, Leila Cobo from Billboard compared the group with Menudo, noting: "Not since Menudo had a Latin boy band melted our hearts or made us dance quite like CNCO". On September 23, 2016, Martin released a song called "Vente Pa' Ca" (), featuring Colombian singer Maluma. The song became one of the biggest Spanish-language songs of 2016, reaching number one in seven countries, as well as Billboards Latin Airplay, Latin Pop Airplay, and Tropical Airplay charts. It also reached top five in Spain and on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs, being certified quadruple platinum in Spain and diamond in Mexico. The track was nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The accompanying music video has received over 1.75 billion views on YouTube. Martin signed a concert residency, named All In, to perform at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 2017 and 2018. He portrayed fashion designer Gianni Versace's partner Antonio D'Amico in the FX true crime anthology television series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, marking "the acting opportunity of his career". The role garnered him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Running from January to March 2018, The Assassination of Gianni Versace received generally favorable reviews and numerous awards and nominations, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Creative Arts Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In February 2018, Martin released a song titled "Fiebre" (), featuring Wisin & Yandel. The song was commercially successful in Latin America, reaching number one in Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Uruguay. It also reached the summit of the Billboard Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. 2019–present: Amici di Maria De Filippi, PausaPlay, and Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Martin performed "Havana", "Pégate" (), and "Mi Gente" (), alongside Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Young Thug, and Arturo Sandoval, as the opening performance. Martin served as a coach on the eighteenth season of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi () in 2019. In the same year, Maluma released a song called "No Se Me Quita" () from his album 11:11, which featured Martin. The song reached number one in Mexico and was certified quadruple platinum in the country. Martin hosted the 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in November 2019, along with Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega. The artist started recording his eleventh studio album, initially titled Movimiento (), in the second half of 2019, inspired by the 2019 political protests in Puerto Rico. He embarked on the Movimiento Tour in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent personal experiences, he decided to split the tour's associated album in two extended plays, Pausa () and Play; the former was released in May 2020, while the latter is set to release as his eleventh studio album. Pausa was nominated for Album of the Year and won the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The second single from the EP, "Tiburones" () reached number one in Argentina and Puerto Rico, and was also nominated for Song of the Year at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Martin starred as the voice of villainous miniature figure Don Juan Diego in the American Christmas musical fantasy film Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey. The film was released on Netflix on November 13, 2020, and received generally favorable reviews. In April 2021, Martin released his hit single "Canción Bonita" () with Colombian singer Carlos Vives, which experienced huge commercial success in Latin America, reaching number one in 12 countries. It was also nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Later that year, he released "Qué Rico Fuera" () with Chilean-American singer Paloma Mami, as the lead single from Play. The song peaked at number one in four countries, as well as the top 10 on Billboards Latin Pop Airplay. In the same year, he embarked on his first co-headlining tour, the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert alongside Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias. Artistry Influences As a child, Martin used to sing songs by Menudo and American rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Journey, and REO Speedwagon, which were what his "older siblings were listening to at the time". While Martin and his brothers spent their time listening to classic rock, their mother would interrupt them to make them listen to Latin music. She brought him CDs of Fania All-Stars, Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and Gilberto Santa Rosa that slowly made him appreciate the richness of Puerto Rican culture. Also, she once took them to a Fania All-Stars concert, which Martin is "beyond grateful" for it. He expresses that thanks to her mother, those influences had a "profound effect" on his musical career. Martin has also cited Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Madonna for teaching him "the beauty of pop". He stated about Madonna: "I was very influenced by her and her music. I know every choreography of Madonna." Additionally, he mentions Carlos Santana, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, and Gloria Estefan as the artists who paved the way for him, naming Feliciano as one of the people who inspired him when he was a teenager: "I was always fascinated with his music." In addition to the musical influences, Martin is inspired by David Bowie's "ambiguous sexuality". While growing up, he used to ask himself if he wanted to be like the openly gay singer Elton John or he just liked him, admiring his music, colors, and wigs. Musical styles and themes Considered to be a versatile artist, Martin describes his music as Latin pop, saying: "When you say 'Latin pop', the spectrum is so broad, It's inevitable to not be influenced by everything that’s happening in the industry, but always keeping your identity firm by knowing who you are." He has also described his music as fusion, while noting that he does not "ride the waves that are in fashion at the moment". Music critics have described his songs as Latin pop, pop, dance, ballad, reggaeton, Latin, African, rock, salsa, flamenco, urban, samba, cumbia, merengue, rumba, Latin funk, bomba, batucada, vallenato, dancehall, mambo, Europop, house, disco, EDM, dance-pop, electro, techno, dubstep, world music, Middle Eastern, folk-pop, bossa nova, pop rock, soft pop, soft rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, trap, hip hop, doo-wop, ska, and rock' n' roll. Martin sings in Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, and French. About his lyrics, Martin has emphasized that although his music will always make the listener dance, it does not mean his lyrics "have to be meaningless" and he sings about love and heartbreak, as well as "things that are good for a society", such as "freedom, freedom of expression, and social justice". He has also declared that as a Latino, he is not afraid of sexuality and sings about sexuality and sensuality, bringing his culture with him onstage. Voice Martin possesses a dramatic tenor vocal range. Peter Gilstrap from Variety commented that his "powerful voice" is "capable of belt or lilt", while The Jerusalem Posts Noa Amouyal described his voice as "soulful" and "very powerful". In 1995, Enrique Lopetegui of the Los Angeles Times noted Martin's "improved vocal skills" on A Medio Vivir. Also from the Los Angeles Times, Ernesto Lechner later praised his vocal for being "charismatic enough to handle both ballads and up-tempo tunes". Similarly, Billboards Chuck Taylor expressed "She's All I Ever Had" boasts "a versatility that contrasts nicely" with Martin's previous single, "Livin' la Vida Loca", labeling his vocal on the former "tender and heartfelt". Steve Gerrard of the Montreal Rocks complimented "his vocal maturity" on A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Music videos and performances Billboard labeled Martin "a video icon", and ranked him as the 79th Greatest Music Video Artist of All Time in 2020, stating: "From the moment he sashayed up to the mic in 'Livin La Vida Loca' all dressed in black, and gave us that look, the Menudo alum became the most memorable and watchable drop-dead handsome guy in pop music." He has collaborated with various directors to produce his music videos, including Carlos Perez, Wayne Isham, Jessy Terrero, Simón Brand, Gustavo Garzón, Nigel Dick, Kacho Lopez, and Memo del Bosque. "Livin' la Vida Loca" was nominated for Video of the Year at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, making Martin the first Latin artist in history to receive a nomination in this category. It won two primary awards for Best Pop Video and Best Dance Video, and was voted three additional awards in the International Viewer's Choice categories, making it rank among the videos with most wins in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards. The explicit sexual scenes of the music video for "She Bangs" were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. The video was awarded Best Music Video at the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards, Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the 2001 Billboard Music Video Awards, and Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards. Martin has been noticed for "dance moves of his own" and his "bon-bon shaking dance moves". Carol Sandoval from VIX named him the "best dancer on any stage worldwide", highlighting his hips movement and "successful turns". He was ranked as the ninth best male dancer by the Evening Standard and the tenth Male Singer Who Can Dance by WatchMojo, being the only Latin entertainer on both lists. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "an incredible dancer". Billboards Jessica Roiz labeled him "a true showman", noting his "many outfit changes", "various dance performances", and "different stage set for each song". Jon Pareles of The New York Times described him as "an all-around showman" and Varietys Peter Gilstrap called him "every inch the showman", both recognizing his vocal abilities, while the former also commented he is "a dancer as muscular and hard-working as anyone in his troupe", mentioning his "likable, good-hearted character" and "steadfast Puerto Rican pride". Music critics have mostly praised his concerts for the choreographies, video screens, visual effects, stage, Latin influences, and Martin's vocals, costume changes, energy, sensuality, dance moves, and gestures, while the quality of sounds and sound mixes have received mixed reviews. Billboards Marjua Estevez described Martin's performance of "La Copa de la Vida" at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as "the most memorable Latin performance at a Grammy Awards show", and the publication ranked it as the 54th Greatest Award Show Performance of All Time on their 2017 list. The performance was additionally placed on a 2017 unranked list of "Top 20 Best Grammy Performances of All Time" by Gold Derby, and on a 2019 list of "The Most Unforgettable Grammys Performances of All Time" by InStyle. Public image Martin became a teen idol with his debut as a member of Menudo, and a pop icon following global fame as a solo artist. Journalists have written about his humble personality and "beautiful soul". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Scott Feinberg introduced Martin as "one of the most acclaimed and admired creative artists ever". La República staff described him as "one of the most admired and desired singers", while authors of ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most respected Latin stars in the world", "one of the most prodigious voices in music in Spanish", and "one of the most beloved talents in the entertainment industry worldwide". Also from ¡Hola!, Cristina Noé named him "one of the most loved artists in the world", while a writer of Clarín named him "one of the most applauded Latin singers on the planet". Metro Puerto Rico stated that he "raised the name of Puerto Rico internationally". He was ranked as one of the top-10 "emerging personalities" of 2010 by Google Zeitgeist. In 2014, Gay Star News referred to Martin as "the most famous Latin pop star in the world", while Variety described him as "Puerto Rico's arguably most famous son" in 2021. He is ranked as the second-most famous Latin music artist in the United States, according to YouGov surveys in 2021. During the 2000s, Martin was known for "guarding his private life" and being "uncomfortable discussing intimate aspects of his personal life"; he used to insist on asking public to focus on his music and "steered interviewers away from his personal life". However, he chose to live both his "professional and personal life", making his private life public since the early 2010s. In 2021, he went on the cover of People with the title "No More Secrets" and told the magazine that he is "a man with no secrets", stating that he is "more comfortable in his own skin than ever before". Martin is one of the most followed celebrities on social media, with accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. He stated about social media that he wishes he had "something as powerful as" them since his debut: "Obviously I like to have direct contact with the public, with the media. It's extremely important, but today, from my home, I can talk to millions of people and see their immediate reaction." He is noticed for his friendly interactions with his fans, who are called "Sexy Souls". Wax statues of Martin are on display at the Madame Tussauds wax museums in San Francisco, Sydney, and Orlando. The last one was moved from Las Vegas to Orlando for the opening of the museum in spring 2015. Fashion Martin is considered to be a sex symbol, and journalists describe him as "the Latin heartthrob". His fashion and style evolution, from "as '80s as you'd expect" during his time with Menudo to "a style groove, often opting for sharp, tailored suits with clean lines" since 2009, has been noticed by the media. Natalia Trejo from ¡Hola! described him as "one of the most stylish Latin men in the entertainment industry", highlighting his "baggy leather pants", "tailored suits", and "color-block blazers" that have marked "some of the noteworthy trends of each decade". The reviewer also commented that Martin is "an example of mixing business with casual" and has "always had a personal sense of style". JD Institute of Fashion Technology views Martin as a fashion icon, praising him for "pushing the fashion boundaries with every new look". In 1997, he went on the cover of People en Españols first edition of 25 Most Beautiful; he has since "been a constant presence" on their 25 or 50 Most Beautiful lists. Two years later, he was featured on the cover of both Rolling Stone and Time magazines. Martin is considered to be one of the sexiest men in the world, according to various publications. In 2012, he was voted the sexiest man alive on Broadway.com. The following year, VH1 ranked him as the 28th Sexiest Artist of All Time, stating: "Ricky looks like the model in the magazine ads you stare at in awe thinking, 'There's no way he's that perfect in person'." In 2014, Entertainment Tonight listed him among the Sexiest Men Alive, while Revista Estilo placed him on the list of "the 10 Sexiest Singers" in 2016. He was ranked at number 16 on the list of "the 50 Hottest Men of All Time" by Harper's Bazaar in 2018, being the only Latin man on their list. In 2019, TN described Martin as "the sexiest man in the world". He has been noted for looking younger than his age, with Billboards Chris Payne labeling him "ageless". The singer has attended several fashion shows, including the Giorgio Armani show at Milan Fashion Week in 2011, the Marc Jacobs show in 2013, the Berluti menswear spring-summer 2020 show at Paris Fashion Week, the Dior men's pre-fall 2020 show, and the Virgil Abloh Spring-Summer 2022 show held by Louis Vuitton. Personal life Sexual orientation and early relationships According to an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Martin experienced his first kiss at age 13 and lost his virginity at age 14 in Argentina. In 1990, shortly after he had arrived in Mexico to star in Mama Ama el Rock, he met a woman, who was the host of a television show. They began dating quickly and broke up a few months later. In 1992, he fell in love with Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán, who was separated from her husband at the time. They began dating together until Guzmán returned to her husband and pretended Martin was her assistant on a phone call, while she was sleeping with her husband. In an interview with Univision, Martin admitted that she broke his heart. In the same year, Martin was rumored to have a relationship with Argentine tennis player Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini's sister-in-law, Catherine Fulop confirmed the rumor in 2020. During the time he was playing in General Hospital, he met a "very handsome" man at a radio station, "stopped fearing [his] sexuality", and started dating him. Martin's mother supported him when she discovered that he was in love with a man, saying: "I love you, my son, I'm so happy for you. Bring it on. I'm right behind you." However, after the relationship ended, Martin "locked [his] feelings even deeper inside" and began dating women again. He recalls: "I already felt it was hard to be a Latino in Hollywood; what could have been more difficult than being Latino and gay?" Martin began dating Mexican television host Rebecca de Alba in 1994; they were in an on-and-off relationship until 2005. In May 2021, Alba revealed that she became pregnant several times in her life, but lost all of the embryos, expressing that one of them belonged to Martin. Martin also had relationships with Lilly Melgar, Adriana Biega, Maital Saban, and Inés Misan during his break-up times with Alba in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He declared that "there was chemistry with them" and he "wasn't fooling anyone". In August 2008, Martin became a father to twin boys named Matteo and Valentino, born via gestational surrogacy. He explained that he chose surrogacy to become a parent for being "intriguing and faster" than adoption, which was complicated and could take a long time. In March 2010, Martin publicly came out as gay via a message on his website, stating: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am." Years later, he revealed that although his music was "heard all over the world" and he "could high five God" in 1999, he "wasn't living to the fullest" and was sad and depressed. He kept asking himself, "Am I gay? Am I bisexual? Am I confused? What am I?", explaining: "Sexuality is one complicated thing. It's not black and white. It's filled with colors. When I was dating women, I was in love with women. It felt right, it felt beautiful." In an interview with Vanity Fair, he declared: "There was love, passion. I do not regret anything, any of the relationships I lived, they taught me a lot, both men and women." Martin also told Fama!: "I know that I like both men and women, I'm against sexual labels, we are simply human beings with emotional and sexual needs. I like to enjoy sex in total freedom, so I'm open to having sex with a woman if I feel desire." Despite this, he expressed that he wouldn't be interested in "an ongoing relationship with a woman", stating: "Men are my thing". In 2000, American broadcast journalist Barbara Walters asked Martin about his sexuality on national television: "You could stop these rumors. You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" In 2021, Martin, who answered with "I just don't feel like it" at the time, revealed that her question made him "felt violated", since he "was just not ready to come out" and was "very afraid"; he said that it resulted "a little PTSD" that "still haunts him". Martin dated Puerto Rican economist Carlos González Abella from 2010 to 2014, as his first relationship with a man after his coming out as gay. Marriage Syrian-Swedish painter Jwan Yosef shared a photo of himself and Martin on Instagram on March 30, 2016, with the caption: "Obviously we're starting a band." Soon it was rumored that Yosef is Martin's new boyfriend. Martin confirmed their relationship on April 18, 2016, and they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the amfAR Inspiration Gala. Martin later revealed that he met Yosef on Instagram and they "were talking for like six months without [him] hearing his voice". Subsequently, Martin went to London, where Yosef were living, and they met each other. On November 15, 2016, during an interview on The Ellen Show, he announced that he has proposed to Yosef and they are engaged. In January 2018, Martin confirmed that he has secretly married Yosef: "I'm a husband, but we're doing a heavy party in a couple of months, I'll let you know." On December 31, 2018, they announced that they have welcomed their first daughter together, named Lucia Martin-Yosef. Martin later explained that Lucia was born on December 24, coinciding with his 47th birthday. In September 2019, while accepting an award at the 23rd annual Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Dinner, he announced that they are expecting their fourth child. On October 29, 2019, he shared a photo of himself, Yosef, and their new-born son, named Renn Martin-Yosef, with the caption: "Our son Renn Martin-Yosef has been born." Beliefs and religion During an interview with People in 2002, Martin expressed that he believes in "love", "the power of healing", and "God", thanks to his parents. The name he chose for his son Matteo means "gift from God". According to his statements in a 2021 interview, he still believes in God. He was raised Catholic but he said is not "the person who would ever look down upon one religion". He expressed that he also admires and likes Buddhist philosophy, but does not subscribe to the religion, since if he does, he cannot "be of anything else"; he does not want to be limited in certain aspects and follow a religion's specific rules. He tries to remain "open to everything" and makes "a concerted effort to always find new teachings and new paths" everywhere he goes and in every situation he finds himself in. Martin believes that everyone can "decide what makes them happy" and although "everyone needs to accept the life they were given", it does not mean they "should not live it as fully as possible". Health and sports Martin began practicing yoga after a trip to Thailand in 1997. He also began practicing meditation following a trip to India. In 2021, he explained that he gets up every morning at 5:30, before his family and puts himself in a lotus position and oxygenates his body. He also expressed that has a gym in his house, saying: "If I have space to see myself in the mirror and put on my products, then I also have to have space for my body." During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in 2017, Martin revealed that he "was diagnosed with high cholesterol" at age 18. Although he did not pay attention to the high cholesterol at the time, it made him decide to become a vegetarian since 2013 to reduce cholesterol, despite loving meat as "a Latin man". In 2020, he opened up that he suffered from anxiety for the first time in his life, following the COVID-19 lockdowns, stating that making music became his "medicine". Real estate In March 2001, Martin purchased a 7,082-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $6.4 million; he sold the unit for $10.6 million in 2005. In September 2004, he paid $11.9 million for a 11,000-square-feet Mediterranean-style villa in Los Angeles, which he sold in 2006 for $15 million. In May 2005, he purchased a 9,491-square-feet house in Miami Beach for $10 million; he sold the villa for $10.6 million in 2012. In 2007, he paid $16.2 million for a mansion in Golden Beach. He sold the property in 2012 for $12.8 million, incurring a loss. In the same year, he bought a 3,147-square-feet condominium in New York City for $5.9 million; he sold the condo for $7.1 million in 2017. In 2014, he rented a 900-square-metre mansion in Sydney, which became famous as "the Bronte Wave House" and was sold for $16 million in May 2015, marking one of the most expensive properties sold in the city that year. In December 2016, he purchased a 11,300-square-feet mansion in Beverly Hills. The estate, which is Martin's current house, has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms with outdoor seating areas scattered throughout a 33,000-square-feet. It is a "private getaway in the middle of the city", located up the street from the Beverly Hills Hotel. Martin also owns a property in Puerto Rico and a private 19.7-acre island in Brazil. He purchased the latter for $8 million in 2008. Legacy and influence Martin has been regarded as the "King of Latin Pop" by various publications, such as the Grammy Awards, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Time, People, Vogue, The Independent, Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Tonight Canada, NBC News, and ABC News. Additionally, he has been referred to as the "King of Latin Music", the "Latin Pop God", the "Latin King of Pop", the "Latin American King of Pop", the "Latin King", the "Crossover Latin King", the "Puerto Rican Pop King", the "Salsa-Pop King", and the "King of World Cup". Martin is known as one of the most influential artists in the world. Billboard ranked him as one of the 30 Most Influential Latin Artists of All Time, while NBC News introduced him as an "influential Latin celebrity". In 2014, he won the award for the most influential international artist at the 18th China Music Awards. He was ranked among "25 musicians who broke barriers" by Stacker in 2019, while in 2020, Spin ranked him at number 27 on the list of "most influential artists of the past 35 years", as the only Latin artist on their list. In 2022, Show News named him "the most influential global artist in history". Martin's song "María (Pablo Flores Remix)", which was ranked among the "Greatest Latin Pop Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone, and "11 remixes of classic Latin hits" by Billboard, "launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s", according to the latter. Olivier Pérou from Le Point commented that "some have even learned, thanks to him, to count to three in Spanish" following the popularity of the song. "La Copa de la Vida", which has been hailed as the Best World Cup Anthem of All-Time by multiple sources, became a "musical template" for World Cup anthems, and Martin's Latin and dance crossover style has been much copied in the anthems, as well as soccer chant "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in the lyrics, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As believed by Esquire, the song "inaugurated this musical subgenre" of Latin. Joy Bhattacharjya from The Economic Times wrote about "La Copa de la Vida" that it was the first World Cup anthem to have a video just "as ubiquitous as the song", going on to write: "Since then, official songs have an important part to play in every World Cup." In his review for Pitchfork, Corban Goble wrote that if World Cup anthems someday would be "given their own textbook", "La Copa de la Vida" would be "the standard-bearer for the whole genre". Martin is known as the pioneer in getting Latin pop music genre to mainstream recognition. Following his performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys, and the success of "Livin' la Vida Loca" and Ricky Martin (1999), he opened the gates for many Latin artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Santana, and Enrique Iglesias who released their crossover albums and followed him onto the top of the charts. His performance of "The Cup of Life" at the Grammys not only changed the course of his career, but also altered how people regard Latin music in America. It has been known as a game-changer for Latin music worldwide, that effectively ushered in the "Latin explosion". Then-United Talent Agency head Rob Prinz described the rendition as "the single biggest game changing moment for any artist in the history of the Grammys". According to Billboard, it has been cited as the beginning of the "Latin Pop invasion", which powerfully affected the US mainstream. Jesús Triviño Alarcón from Tidal Magazine stated, "that single performance opened up the mainstream market for the Latinx legends", mentioning the names of Anthony, Shakira, and Lopez. InStyle staff wrote about it: "With his leather pants, big smile and energetic performance of 'The Cup of Life', Ricky Martin almost personally kicked off the so-called Latin Explosion of the late '90s." Mariana Best of San Antonio Express-News commented that the performance "is recognized for bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene". In 2018, Diego Urdaneta from Vice credited the song as "one of those that laid the first stones so that J Balvin and Bad Bunnys of today can be at the top of the pyramid", labeling it "a milestone for Latin music". According to Entertainment Tonight, "Livin' la Vida Loca" paved the way for a large number of other Latin artists, and is "credited as the song that helped other Latin artists break through to English-speaking markets". As believed by Spin, the song "lit the fuse for the Latin pop explosion of the '90s". Lucas Villa from Spin wrote about it: "When the world went loca for Ricky, he led the way for other Latin music superstars like Spain's Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's Shakira and Nuyoricans like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to make their marks beyond the Spanish-speaking crowds." He also described Martin as "a trailblazer in globalizing Latinx culture" in his Grammy.com article. Also from Grammy.com, Ernesto Lechner described "Livin' la Vida Loca" as "the manifesto for all the fun-loving, tropically tinged Latin hit singles that followed", stating that Martin led "the Latin music explosion that took over the U.S. at the tail end of the '90s". According to The Independent, the single is "widely regarded as the song that began the first Latin pop explosion". Peoples Jason Sheeler credited it as the song that "led the way for the late-'90s so-called 'Latin explosion' that dominated pop music into the new century: Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez". Angie Romero from Billboard wrote: "If you look up 'crossover' in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Ricky shaking his bon bon and/or 'Livin' la Vida Loca'." Leila Cobo named "Livin' la Vida Loca" one of the genre's biggest singles of the past 50 years in his 2021 book Decoding "Despacito": An Oral History of Latin Music. She also wrote about his impact in Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" chapter: "Ricky Martin’s phenomenal success opened the door for a string of Latin artists who waved the flags of their heritage, but who sang in English." Additionally, she compared Martin's song with Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" (2017) in one of her Billboard articles: "'Livin', like 'Despacito', became not just a global hit but a cultural phenomena that transcended all barriers of language and nationality." In another article, she described it as the song that "ignited the late-'90s Latin explosion". Also from Billboard, Gary Trust wrote: "The song helmed a Latin pop boom in the U.S., with Jenner Lopez, Marc Anthony and others crossing over, as well." Writing for LiveAbout.com, Bill Lamb credited the song as "the record which kicked off a wave of major Latin performers hitting the pop mainstream". Jim Farber from Daily News noted that Ricky Martin "provides a textbook example of how to mix Latin beats with pop tunes and rock intonations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic Kevin C. Johnson described Martin as Latin music's "pretty-faced poster boy" who is "taking the music to places Jon Secada, Selena and Santana never could". He also mentioned that even "Gloria Estefan at her peak, failed to muster up the kind of hype and hoopla surrounding Martin". Celia San Miguel of Tidal Magazine stated that Martin "highlighted the public's thirst for a different kind of pop" in 1999, noting the album's "fusion-heavy" and "hip-shaking rhythms associated with Latin music". She mentioned that the album "spawned 1999's Latin music boom", emphasizing the fact that Martin created the "spark" of the "Latin Pop Explosion", which was followed by 1999 albums, On the 6 by Lopez, Enrique by Iglesias, and Anthony's eponymous album. She continued crediting "Martin and the paths he created" responsible for the Latin music and Spanish and Spanglish lyrics being "a commonplace phenomenon on English-language radio" in 2019. In her review for Grammy.com, Ana Monroy Yglesias said Martin led a "major music moment in 1999" with Ricky Martin, and along with him, "the first major boom of Spanish-language artists", such as Shakira and Lopez, came into the "U.S. pop landscape". The late '90s Latin explosion also resulted in the launch of the Latin Recording Academy. Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the president and chief executive officer of the Latin Recording Academy, expressed that the plan of its launch was "immediately after the Ricky Martin success". Cuban American musician and producer Emilio Estefan added: "After the success with Ricky Martin, everybody opened their eyes and realized how important it was to bring diversity and multiethnic elements into [mainstream American] music." Many artists have cited Martin as an influence or declared themselves as his fan, including Abraham Mateo, Bad Bunny, Camila Cabello, Camilo, Carla Morrison, Christian Chávez, CNCO, Danna Paola, Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, J-Hope, Jimin, Karol G, India Martínez, Luis Fonsi, Maite Perroni, Maluma, Neha Mahajan, Pedro Capó, Prince Royce, Rauw Alejandro, Rosalía, Sebastián Ligarde, Sebastián Yatra, Shakira, Tini, Vadhir Derbez, William Hung, Wisin, and Ximena Sariñana. Both Maluma and J Balvin have described Martin as a "teacher" and credited him as an artist who "opened the doors" for them, while Maluma has also expressed: "Ricky Martin is one of the artists I wanted to be growing up. He's my idol in the industry".Citations regarding J Balvin's statements about Martin: Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny talked about Martin's legacy during an episode of Behind the Music: "There's no doubt that he opened the door for an entire generation of Latin artists. I am doing great things today in the music industry thanks to those doors that he opened." He also mentioned that he is inspired by Martin's coming out as gay: "You don't have to be gay to be inspired by that action of honesty and freedom, of being yourself against the world despite everything you deserve. I look at it like a very inspiring moment for anybody. At least for me, it's very inspirational." Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta explained to The Guardian that "some Latin stars such as Maluma and Bad Bunny sing in their native language" and do not need to sing in English to get noticed, because they already had representatives like Shakira, Martin, and Jennifer Lopez, but since her country "hasn't had a major international pop star before", she uses "whatever language will get the market's attention". Portrayal in television In July 2019, SOMOS Productions, Endemol Shine Boomdog, and Piñolywood Studios announced the production of a biographical web television series about Menudo, titled Subete a Mi Moto. Consisting of 15 episodes of 60 minutes each, the series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 9, 2020 in Mexico, Latin America, and Spain. It was filmed in Mexico and Puerto Rico, and Martin was portrayed by actors Felipe Albors and Ethan Schwartz. The series premiered in the United States on February 14, 2021 on Estrella TV. On the review aggregation website Tomatazos, the first season has a positive score of 75%. The website's critical consensus summary states, "A good trip to the past that recalls a band that defined the youth of a certain public, but that doesn't ignore the darkest moments in the lives of its members." Other ventures Books On August 19, 2010, Martin announced that he had been working on his memoir, mentioning its title as Me and publish date as November 2, 2010. He expressed that writing the book was "one of the reasons" he decided to come out earlier that year. The book also had a Spanish edition title Yo (), which was published simultaneously by Celebra. He stated that writing his memoir allowed him "to explore the different paths and experiences" that have led him to be who he is, noting that it "was not easy but allowed for an incredible spiritual journey". Me spent several weeks at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. In 2019, ¡Hola! staff ranked the book among "12 Books by Celebrities to Inspire and Motivate You", while Book Riot placed it on an unranked list of the "Best Celebrity Books You Should Read This Year" in 2020. Martin's first children's book Santiago the Dreamer in Land Among the Stars was published by Celebra and illustrated by Patricia Castelao in November 2013 for ages between five to nine. Its Spanish-language edition, Santiago El Soñador en Entre Las Estrellas, was published simultaneously. Martin expressed that the book was inspired by his "personal life, with fantasy added to it", as well as "a lot of cartoons". Products and endorsements Martin endorsed the 2012 Viva Glam campaign with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj, which raised $270 million for the Mac AIDS Fund. In October 2020, Martin announced that he would launch his company, Martin Music Lab in partnership with music engineers Jaycen Joshua and Michael Seaberg. The company is centered around a new audio technique called "Orbital Audio", that "creates a new type of immersive, headphone listening experience". Martin used the technique on his EP Pausa, while several artists including Bad Bunny, Residente, Myke Towers, and A$AP Rocky are going to work with the company. The latter plans to release his whole upcoming studio album, using "Orbital Audio". Martin is going to expand the technique "beyond the music industry and tap into the movies, sports and, most notably, the wellness and meditation space". In 2021, Martin partnered with skin care company Kumiko. The skincare line, created by Chilean cosmetologist Catalina Aguirre, is the first to combine "mesotherapy, matcha, and cutting-edge European technology into unique multi-action formulas that penetrate the dermis with powerful anti-aging properties and lifting benefits". Activism Philanthropy While on a trip to India in 2002, Martin witnessed three minor girls who were about to be sold into prostitution and rescued them. The following year, he became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and then met with activists and decided to fight against human trafficking, which is the second-most lucrative crime in the world. In 2004, Martin launched the Ricky Martin Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on denouncing human trafficking and educating about the crime's "existence through research and community initiatives, anchored in the defense of children and youth rights". In the same year, he appealed to the United Nations for international help to fight against sex tourism. In January 2005, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Martin visited Thailand to assess the needs of the minor survivors who were "extremely vulnerable to traffickers". Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation signed an alliance in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct 224 homes for the tsunami-affected families. The project was completed in December 2006. In March 2006, the foundation collaborated with the International Organization for Migration in the Llama y Vive () campaign, which focuses on facilitating "the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of young people, victims of child trafficking and prosecution of traffickers". In January 2010, along with many celebrities, Martin operated the charity telethon Hope for Haiti Now to raise donations for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Later that year, the Ricky Martin Foundation created the first program of community social action against child trafficking in Martin's native Puerto Rico, titled "Se Trata" (). In 2012, the foundation participated in the making of the Child Protection Model Law on the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. In 2016, Martin visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon and played with the children and talked to them in an informal refugee camp. Following the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, the Ricky Martin Foundation helped people and handed over homes that were rebuilt after the losses; Martin launched a viral campaign of selling a black T-shirt with the Puerto Rican flag stamped on it in order to raise the funds. The T-shirts were designed by Martin's twin boys Matteo and Valentino, while many celebrities including Will Smith, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony, Luis Fonsi, and Maluma supported the campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Martin created a campaign to help health care workers through the non-profit organization Project Hope. He expressed: "As you know, health care professionals are extremely vulnerable and professionals around the world don’t have personal protection equipment they need to prevent them getting infected." In February 2021, Martin collaborated with Antonia Novello to launch mass vaccination events in Puerto Rico. Following the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Martin honored an effort called "Black Out Tuesday" and launched the hashtag #knowthestruggle, giving his social media to the voices of the community that are "looking for justice", to learn more about what is happening. For his humanitarian efforts and fighting against human trafficking, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the Peace Summit Award by the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, the TIP Report Hero Award by the United States Department of State, the Spirit of Hope Award by Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award, the Award of Inspiration by amfAR Gala, the Leader of Change Award by the Foundation for Social Change, the Humanitarian Award by the Global Gift Foundation, the Humanitarian Award by the Hispanic Federation, the Corazón Latino Award by the iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, the International Humanitarian Award by the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Agent of Change Award by the International Peace Honors, the PODER Social Leadership Awards, and the Agent of Change Award by the Premios Juventud. Politics On January 20, 2001, during the first inauguration of George W. Bush, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" and danced with him. Martin's view of Bush changed over the Iraq War, as expressed in his declaration to BBC News that he will "always condemn war and those who promulgate it". He also stuck up his middle finger while singing the president's name in his 2003 song "Asignatura Pendiente" at a concert. At the 2010 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Martin expressed his disagreement with the Arizona SB 1070 bill, a proposed law that would have required police officers to request documents from individuals whom they suspected to be illegal immigrants. Martin campaigned for the 44th president of the United States Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and thanked him for an "outstanding presidency" in 2016, while calling him "an amazing leader". Also in 2016, he was an active ally to the Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaign, while condemning Donald Trump's hateful comments about immigrants. He also performed his hits during the "Hillary Clinton: She's With Us" concert at the Greek Theatre on June 6, 2016. Telegramgate, also known as Chatgate, was a political scandal involving Ricardo Rosselló, then Governor of Puerto Rico, which began on July 8, 2019, with the leak of hundreds of pages of a group chat on the messaging application Telegram between Rosselló and members of his cabinet. The messages were considered vulgar, misogynistic, and homophobic toward several individuals and groups, including Martin. Therefore, Martin, Bad Bunny, Residente and several other artists, and more than half a million Puerto Ricans led the call to take to the streets of Puerto Rico, demanding Rosselló's resignation. In September 2020, Martin, Luis Fonsi, and actress Eva Longoria attended a campaign event in Kissimmee, Florida to support the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the 2020 United States presidential election. During an interview with Variety, Martin stated: "I've been supporting Biden forever, I think he is the only option we have and he is great and he has been in politics all his life. This is the moment. We all need to get together and be loud about the course of this nation." Following the election of Biden as 45th president of the United States, Martin said "Bye-bye" to Trump on social media, and shared a photo of himself along with Biden on Instagram. In May 2021, Martin demonstrated his support for the Ni una menos movement, condemning femicides and violence against women in Puerto Rico, while calling authorities to protect women. He further expressed that no woman should fear for her safety and urged authorities to take steps in order to prevent these acts. In the same month, he supported the 2021 Colombian protests. Later that year, the singer raised his voice in support of the 2021 Cuban protests against the Castro regime for the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis, stating: "This is very important. Our brothers and sisters in Cuba need us to inform the world what they are experiencing today. Let's fill the networks before they remove the internet in the country. Humanitarian aid for Cuba NOW." LGBT advocacy As a gay man, Martin actively supports LGBT rights worldwide since his coming out in 2010. Even before coming out, he was noted by the mainstream media for being popular among gay men and having a large gay fan base. He also went on the cover of the American LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate in July 1999. Despite this, he admitted that he felt homosexuality was evil since he was raised as a Catholic and targeted his anger toward others, especially gay men: "I was very angry, very rebellious. I used to look at gay men and think, 'I'm not like that, I don't want to be like that, that's not me.' I was ashamed." He added that he "had internalized homophobia" back then. He is currently considered to be a gay icon, with PinkNews labeling him "a strong advocate of LGBT rights" who "expressed support for equal marriage" since coming out. As the first mainstream Latin music artist to come out, Martin's coming out was a game-changer for "Latin Pride". Billboards Lucas Villa stated: "With Martin's announcement, gay artists, who had long kept their sexual identities a secret, finally had a beacon of hope. If Martin could come out with his career unscathed, there was hope for other artists in Latin music to start doing the same." He added that since then, "a growing number of Latin artists have either come out after years in the spotlight, or many have simply started their careers by embracing their gay identities". In 2010, GLAAD then-president Jarrett Barrios expressed that Martin's coming out as gay leads "hundreds of millions of people" to have "a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay", adding that "his decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide". In 2019, Human Rights Campaign then-president Alphonso David expressed that Martin "has used his international stage to advocate for LGBTQ people around the world" with his "unique voice and passionate activism". The following year, Suzy Exposito from Rolling Stone argued that with risking his career and coming out, Martin "set the scene for Bad Bunny to be free in many ways that, during his own breakthrough moment, he could not". Martin expressed support for same-sex marriage during an interview on Larry King Live in 2010. He has then delivered speeches about LGBT rights at the United Nations Homophobia Conference, the GLAAD Media Awards, and the Human Rights Campaign. He also raised his voice to support gay marriage in Puerto Rico before its legalization in 2015. In March 2016, Martin met with Chilean LGBT rights group Fundación Iguales to learn about the challenges LGBT citizens face there. AT the meeting, he said that he wants "equal marriage rights for Chile" and he wants his sons to grow up in a world where "there are no second-class citizens". Following the Colombia's highest court voting against an anti same-sex marriage proposal in April 2016, Martin tweeted: "Love and equality win, Colombia says YES to same-sex marriage." During an interview with Vulture, Martin talked about his role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace and how he wanted his portrayal to help "normalize open relationships". In June 2019, he published an open letter slamming the religious liberty bill, saying: "As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBTT community, I am vehemently opposed to the proposed measure imposed upon us under the guise of religious freedom, that projects us to the world as a backwards country." Puerto Rico's then-governor backed down and withdrew his support of the bill following Martin's statement. In June 2020, Martin performed his song "Recuerdo" with Carla Morrison for a virtual event, Can't Cancel Pride: Helping LGBTQ+ People in Need, to raise visibility and funds for LGBTQ+ communities. He appeared at the virtual event in the following year as well. In February 2021, Martin was named national spokesperson for the onePULSE Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on managing "the design and construction of the permanent national memorial and museum dedicated to the Pulse nightclub tragedy". Later that year, he expressed that he wants to "normalize families like" his, in an interview with People. Several of Martin's music videos feature diversity in sexual orientations and same-sex couples, including "The Best Thing About Me Is You", "Disparo al Corazón", "Fiebre", and "Tiburones". For his activism and advocacy for LGBTQ community, Martin has been honored with numerous accolades, including the GLAAD Vito Russo Award, the Gala Vanguard Award by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the International Icon Award by the British LGBT Awards, the National Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign, the Trailblazer Award by the LGBT Center Dinner, the Celebrity Activist of the Year by LGBTQ Nation, and the Legacy Award by Attitude Awards. Achievements Throughout his career, Martin has won over 200 awards (most awarded male Latin artist), including two Grammy Awards, five Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards (tied for most wins by a Latin artist), two American Music Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, a Billboard Music Video Award, nine Billboard Latin Music Awards, eight World Music Awards, fourteen Lo Nuestro Awards (including the Excellence Award), and a Guinness World Record. As an actor, he was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2007, Martin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. Martin is ranked among the Greatest Latin Artists of All Time and the Greatest Hot Latin Songs Artists of All Time by Billboard, while his album Vuelve was placed at number five on Billboards Top 20 Latin Albums Of All Time in 2018. In 1998, his song, "Perdido Sin Ti" reached the top of the Latin Pop Airplay chart, displacing Martin's own "Vuelve", making him the first artist on the chart's history to replace himself. His song "Livin' la Vida Loca" became the first number-one song on Billboard Hot 100, which was made entirely in Pro Tools, and achieved the first number one hit for his label, Columbia. It also became the first song in history to top Billboards Adult Pop Airplay, Pop Airplay, and Rhythmic Airplay charts, holding its record as the only song to do so for 14 years. On May 15, 1999, it became the first single ever to rule four different Billboard charts and made Martin the first act to simultaneously scale a pop, Latin, and dance chart. Two weeks later, he became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard 200, Hot Latin Tracks, Hot Dance Music/Club Play, Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, Top 40 Tracks, and the Billboard Hot 100. His song "Tal Vez" (2003) marked the first number one debut on Billboard Hot Latin Songs in the 21st century. Martin is the first and only artist with Spanish-language entries on Billboard Hot 100 in three decades. In 2020, he became the first and only artist in history to enter the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart across five decades, including his work as part of Menudo. The following year, he became the first male Latin artist in history to have 4 songs from different decades to have over 100 million streams on Spotify. He owns the record as the artist with most top 20s on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart, with 51 songs, and is the runner-up of most top 10s. He is the fourth artist with the most number one songs in the history of the Hot Latin Songs chart. Additionally, he holds the record as the most Spanish-language entries on ARIA top 50 singles chart, with three. On October 11, 2007, then-mayor of Miami Beach, Florida David Dermer awarded him the key to the city of Miami Beach. Puerto Rico named August 31 the "International Ricky Martin Day" in 2008. The Government of Spain granted Spanish nationality to Martin in 2011, for being "recognized in different artistic facets". In 2018, in recognition of "his dedication to the island and people of Puerto Rico, his philanthropic work to eliminate human trafficking across the Caribbean, and his commitment to the arts", the singer received a proclamation naming June 7 the "Ricky Martin Day" in New York City. Throughout his career, Martin has sold over 70 million records making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. In 2020, La Opinión estimated his net worth at US$120 million. Discography Ricky Martin (1991) Me Amaras (1993) A Medio Vivir (1995) Vuelve (1998) Ricky Martin (1999) Sound Loaded (2000) Almas del Silencio (2003) Life (2005) Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015) Filmography Mas Que Alcanzar una estrella (1992) Hercules – Latin American dub (1997) Idle Hands (1999) Ricky Martin: One Night Only (1999) Minions – Latin American dub (2015) The Latin Explosion: A New America (2015) Ricky Martin: Behind the Vegas Residency (2017) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) El cuartito (2021) Theatre Les Misérables (1996), Broadway – Marius Pontmercy Evita (2012), Broadway – Ché Tours and residenciesHeadlining tours Ricky Martin Tour (1992) Me Amaras Tour (1993–1994) A Medio Vivir Tour (1995–1997) Vuelve World Tour (1998) Livin' la Vida Loca Tour (1999–2000) One Night Only with Ricky Martin (2005–2006) Black and White Tour (2007) Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour (2011) Ricky Martin Live (2013–2014) Live in Mexico (2014) One World Tour (2015–2018) Ricky Martin en Concierto (2018-2019) Movimiento Tour (2020-2022)Co-headlining tour Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert (with Enrique Iglesias) (2021)Residency' All In (2017–2018) See also Honorific nicknames in popular music List of artists who reached number one in the United States List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of Latin pop artists List of multilingual bands and artists List of Puerto Rican Grammy Award winners and nominees List of Puerto Ricans List of Urbano artists Notes References Book sources External links 1971 births Living people 20th-century LGBT people 20th-century Puerto Rican male actors 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century Puerto Rican male actors 21st-century Puerto Rican male singers 21st-century Puerto Rican singers American gay actors American gay musicians American humanitarians American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters Columbia Records artists Echo (music award) winners Grammy Award winners Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American musicians Latin Grammy Award winners Latin music songwriters Latin pop singers Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year honorees LGBT entertainers from Puerto Rico LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT Latin musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from San Juan, Puerto Rico Menudo (band) members MTV Europe Music Award winners Naturalised citizens of Spain Puerto Rican activists Puerto Rican expatriates in Australia Puerto Rican expatriates in Mexico Puerto Rican expatriates in Spain Puerto Rican male film actors Puerto Rican male soap opera actors Puerto Rican male television actors Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Canarian descent Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican philanthropists Puerto Rican pop singers Puerto Rican record producers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sony Music Latin artists Sony Music Spain artists Spanish-language singers of the United States UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors World Music Awards winners	false	[ "The Everlasting Tour is the seventh headlining concert tour by American recording artist, Martina McBride. The tour supports the singer's twelfth studio album, Everlasting (2014). The tour mainly visited North America, playing over 100 shows in the United States and Canada.\n\nSetlist\nThe following setlist was obtained from the concert held on February 12, 2015, at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.\n\"When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues\"\n\"Wild Angels\"\n\"Wild Night\"\n\"Suspicious Minds\"\n\"Valentine\"\n\"Blessed\"\n\"I'm Gonna Love You Through It\"\n\"My Babe\"\n\"Perfect\"\n\"In My Daughter's Eyes\"\n\"Little Bit of Rain\"\n\"Anyway\"\n\"Come See About Me\n\"In The Basement\"\n\"Bring It On Home to Me\"\n\"Whatever You Say\" / \"Where Would You Be\"\n\"Love's the Only House\"\n\"A Broken Wing\"\n\"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted\"\nEncore \n\"Son of a Preacher Man\"\n\"Baby What You Want Me to Do\"\n\"This One's For The Girls\"\n\"Independence Day\"\n\nTour dates\n\nFestivals and other miscellaneous performances\n\nThis concert was a part of the \"St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Greeley Stampede\"\nThis concert was a part of \"HawkFest\"\nThis concert was a part of \"FunFest\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"NatsLive Free Postgame Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Thunder Valley Summer Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"End of Summer Concerts Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Rodeo Austin\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Riverbend Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Burlington Steamboat Days\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Summerfest\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Let Freedom Sing\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Stanislaus County Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Toyota Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Santa Barbara County Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Last Chance Stampede and Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Medicine Hat Stampede\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Mission Hill Summer Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Sweetwater County Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Deschutes County Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Douglas County Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Richland County Fair and Rodeo\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Montana Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Brown County Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Knox Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Live at the Garden Concert Series\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Gulf Coast Jam\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Durham Fair\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Norsk Høstfest\"\n\nBox office score data\n\nPersonnel\n Vinnie Ciesielski – trumpet\n Shelly Fairchild – backing vocals\n Greg Foresman – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals\n Greg Herrington – drums\n John Hinchey – trombone\n Randy Leago – baritone saxophone, harmonica\n Jim Medlin – keyboards\n Martina McBride – lead vocals, harmonica\n Wendy Moten – backing vocals\n Shandra Penix – backing vocals\n Glenn Snow – bass guitar, backing vocals\n Tyler Summer – tenor saxophone\n\nReferences\n\nMartina McBride concert tours\n2014 concert tours\n2015 concert tours", "The Same Trailer Different Tour (also known as the Same Tour Different Trailer) was the first concert tour by American recording artist Kacey Musgraves. The tour supported her debut studio album, Same Trailer Different Park (2013). The tour played 80 concerts in North America and Europe. The tour was produced by AEG Live and The Messina Group.\n\nOpening acts\nRayland Baxter \nJohn & Jacob \nSugar + the Hi-Lows \nCount This Penny \nHumming House\n\nSetlist\nThe following setlist was obtained from the September 19, 2013 concert, held at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, New York. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.\n \n\"The Trailer Song\"\n\"Stupid\"\n\"Silver Lining\"\n\"Island in the Sun\"\n\"I Miss You\"\n\"Blowin' Smoke\"\n\"Keep It to Yourself\"\n\"I Put a Spell on You\"\n\"Mama's Broken Heart\"\n\"High Time\"\n\"Back on the Map\"\n\"It Is What It Is\"\n\"Step Off\" / \"Three Little Birds\"\n\"Merry Go 'Round\"\nEncore\n\"Rainbow\"\n\"My House\"\n\"Follow Your Arrow\"\n\nTour dates\n\nFestivals and other miscellaneous performances\nThis concert was a part of the \"Ocean City Sunfest\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Farm Aid\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Southern Ground Music & Food Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"8 Man Jam\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Harvest Music Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"State Fair of Texas\"\nThis concert was a part of \"We Can Survive\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Christmas Jam\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Glastonbury Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Orvieto4ever\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Cornbury Music Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Lulu’s Barkin’ BBQ\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Life Is Beautiful\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Country for Kids Concert\"\nThis concert was a part of \"Opry at The Ryman\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"Stagecoach Festival\"\nThis concert was a part of the \"New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival\"\n\nBox office score data\n\nExternal links\nKacey Musgraves Official Website\n\nReferences\n\n2013 concert tours\n2014 concert tours\n2015 concert tours\nKacey Musgraves" ]
[ "Norm O'Neill", "Test debut" ]	C_baff9fdd38f3450abb1dc86c3df32d24_1	When was his test debut?	1	When was Norm O'Neill's test debut?	Norm O'Neill	Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4-0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. CANNOTANSWER	he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth.	Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958. Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India. His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25. O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings. Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965. O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era. He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level. He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2018. Early years The son of a builder, O'Neill was born in Carlton, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He had no cricketing associations on his father's side of the family, but his maternal uncle, Ron Campion, played for the Glebe club in Sydney Grade Cricket. Campion trained for cricket near the O'Neill family home, at Bexley Oval. O'Neill accompanied his uncle to cricket from the age of seven and was given batting practice at the end of each session. At Bexley Primary school, O'Neill was denied a chance to play cricket as the school did not field a team. Moving on to Kogarah Intermediate High School, O'Neill played cricket in defiance of a teacher who recommended that he take up athletics. As a teenager, O'Neill idolised Keith Miller after his uncle took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground: O'Neill saw Miller play that day and was impressed with the way he hit the ball off the back foot. Under his uncle's guidance, O'Neill joined the St George Cricket Club, in the Sydney Grade competition. He steadily moved up through the grades and broke into the first grade side at the age of 16. Sensing his potential, the club's selectors informed him that regardless of form, he would play the full season, which allowed him to be uninhibited in his batting. He made 108 in seven innings. The next season, he was out 12 times leg before wicket in 15 innings, and run out in the other three. O'Neill attributed his failures to over-aggressiveness and resolved to improve his patience. In the second match of the new season, the 17-year-old O'Neill made his first century. With all five state selectors onlooking, he made 28 in the next match and was called into the state squad. Shield debut O'Neill made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 18 against South Australia during the 1955–56 season. His lack of contribution was highlighted against the backdrop of his team's crushing innings victory: O'Neill failed to score a run or take a wicket. New South Wales bowled first and had South Australia at 6/49 when Miller introduced O'Neill's occasional leg spin, presumably to ease the debutant's nerves by bringing him into the game. The home team struck 18 from three overs. O'Neill was listed to bat in the lower middle order but after the top order had made a big start, Miller brought O'Neill up. He came in against the second new ball and was clean bowled. O'Neill was dropped and did not play another match for the season, but had gained invaluable experience. O'Neill steadily rose in the 1956–57 season. At the start of the season, with many players still on international duty during the closing stages of the tour to England and the subsequent stopover in the Indian subcontinent, O'Neill was recalled and made 60 and 63 not out against Queensland at the start of the season. This saw him retain his place when the Test players returned. After making a pair of single-figures scored, he made a sequence of three 60s against South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, He was rewarded with selection in the one-off match between Ray Lindwall's XI and Neil Harvey's XI, which doubled as a national selection trial, before making his first ton (127) against South Australia. He ended the season with 567 runs at 43.61, and earned selection for a non-Test tour of New Zealand under Ian Craig, in a team composed mainly of young players. He made 102 not out in the only "Test" match that he played, helping to set up a ten-wicket win. heading the tour averages with 218 runs at 72.66. Despite this, he was overlooked for the 1957–58 Test tour of South Africa. It was regarded as one of the most controversial decisions of the decade. O'Neill responded during the 1957–58 Sheffield Shield season weakened by the absence of the Test players, aggregating 1,005 runs at 83.75 and taking 26 wickets at 20.42 with his leg spinners, thus topping the national bowling and batting averages. Prior to the season, he had never taken a first-class wicket. In the opening match of the summer, he took 3/74 against Queensland. He then took a total of 5/51 scored 33 and 48 not out in a six-wicket win over Western Australia before taking 3/52 and adding two fifties in the return match. He then broke through for his first century of the season, scoring 114 and taking 3/44 in a ten-wicket win over South Australia. However, he reached more productive levels in the second half of the season. This comprised 175 against Victoria, 74 and 48 against Queensland, 125 and 23* against South Australia and 233 against Victoria. His 233 was made in little over four hours and featured 38 fours. It was the first time that a New South Welshman (let alone a twenty-year-old) had scored 1,000 in a Shield season. Bradman and Bill Ponsford were the only others before him. He added 12 wickets in the final four matches, including 2/50 and 4/40 in the match against Queensland. O'Neill's performances played a large part in his state's fifth consecutive title. These performances led former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly to compare him to Bradman and former Test opening batsman Jack Fingleton to lament his non-selection for the South African tour and its reflection on the plight of Australian cricket. At the time, his employers refused to make allowances for him to play sport, forcing him to begin work at six in the morning. As a result, he considered moving to South Australia, where a grocery magnate offered him employment and financial incentives. However, he stayed after state officials intervened, with Sir Ronald Irish, the Australian chairman of Rothmans, providing him with a job in Sydney. At the time, O'Neill had another offer. Having represented his state in baseball and been nominated in the All-Australian team in 1957, he was approached by the New York Yankees, having had experience at a pitcher and short stop. O'Neill was offered a fee more than 25 times that for a single Test match, as well as travel costs and accommodation, to trial with the Yankees. He agreed, but Irish dissuaded him less than a week before his scheduled departure. Test debut Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958–59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4–0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. Career peak The following season O'Neill was Australia's leading batsman during the 1959–60 tour to Pakistan and India, where he was a part of the last Australian team to win a Test on Pakistani soil for 39 years. After a quiet match in the First Test eight-wicket win in Dacca in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in which he scored two and 26 not out, O'Neill played a key role in the victory in the Second Test in Lahore that was to Australia's last in Pakistan until 1998. O'Neill made his maiden Test century of 134 in the first innings to give Australia a 245-run lead. He then took his maiden Test wicket in Pakistan's second innings, that of Shujauddin. This left Australia chasing a target of 122 in the last two hours on the final day. The chase was on schedule with O'Neill partnering Neil Harvey when the Pakistanis began wasting time to prevent an Australian victory. This was implemented by swapping fielders very slowly when the left and right-handed combination of Harvey and O'Neill took a single, and overs began taking seven minutes instead of three. To counter this, Harvey deliberately backed away when a ball was aimed at the stumps and threw away his wicket by letting himself be bowled for 37. This allowed Benaud to come in and bat with O'Neill so that the two right-handed batsmen would give no opportunity to waste time by switching the field. Benaud then threatened Pakistani captain Imtiaz Ahmed with a formal complaint over the time-wasting, and proceedings returned to their normal pace. Australia made the target with a few minutes to spare, with O'Neill on 43. O'Neill failed to make double figures in the final Test, which was drawn, but ended the series with 218 runs at 72.66. In another tour match, against the President's XI, O'Neill scored an unbeaten 52 in a low-scoring match as Australia stumbled to their target of 116 with only three wickets in hand. O'Neill's performances in Pakistan was such that the parents in one cricket-following Karachi family named their new son Anil for its resemblance to O'Neill. Anil Dalpat went on to become the first Hindu to represent Pakistan, playing nine Tests in the 1980s as a wicketkeeper. On the five-Test Indian series which followed, O'Neill started slowly, aggregating 60 runs in the first two Tests, which were shared 1–1. He returned to form with a leg-side dominated 163 in a high-scoring draw in the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium in Bombay. After scoring 40 in an innings victory in the Fourth Test in Madras, Australia needed a draw in the Fifth Test in Calcutta with four players injured or ill, while Benaud had a dislocated spinning finger. O'Neill scored 113 in the first innings to help a depleted team take a 137-run first innings lead and prevent India from squaring the series. He was Australia's leading scorer in the Tests, with 376 runs at 62.66. He also made his highest first-class score of 284, against an Indian President's XI in Ahmedabad. He was the top scorer for the whole subcontinental Test tour, with 594 runs in eight matches at 66.00. He returned to Australia and played in one match for New South Wales at the end of the 1959–60 season, scoring 175 as his state defeated Western Australia and won a seventh Shield in a row. Prior to the following Australian summer, O'Neill was part of an International Cavaliers team that toured South Africa. He scored 133 runs at 21.83. In the lead-up to the 1960–61 home Tests series against the West Indies, O'Neill scored 156 not to set up an innings win for his state over the tourists. He then struck 181 in the first innings of the opening match at Brisbane, his highest Test score. The innings prompted teammate Bob Simpson to say "if God gave me an hour to watch someone I'd seen, I'd request to see Norman O'Neill. He had the style." Australia took a first innings lead and O'Neill made 26 in the second innings as Australia collapsed towards a likely defeat before recovering; the match ended in the first Tied Test in history. This was the peak of O'Neill's career. Having played 14 Tests, he was averaging 67.68 with the bat. He then struck 114 as his state defeated the tourists by an innings, and he made 40 and a duck as the Australians took the series lead in the Second Test. He made 70 and 71 in the Third Test loss in Sydney, one of the few players able to combat Lance Gibbs effectively, top-scoring in the first innings and second top-scoring in the second innings. He then made 65 in the second innings in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, where Australia held on by one wicket for a draw. He contributed 48 in the second innings of the Fifth Test as Australia appeared headed for a series victory. However, a late collapse ensued, and Australia scraped home by two wickets to take the series 2–1. O'Neill ended the series with 522 runs at 52.20. O'Neill gained attention during the summer for frequently losing his wicket by impulsively sweeping. This was attributed to the dominance of his bottom hand, which saw his bat swinging across the line of flight of the ball. Despite the criticism, he was at the peak of his international career, having made 1398 runs at 58.35 in his first 18 Tests. Wisden Cricketer of the Year O'Neill was selected for the tour of England in 1961, and he warmed up by scoring centuries in consecutive matches against Tasmania for the Australian squad. During the English summer, O'Neill scored 1981 runs at 60.03, narrowly missing becoming only the fourth post-war player after Don Bradman, Neil Harvey and Bill Lawry to make 2,000 runs in an Ashes tour. In the third match against Yorkshire, which was O'Neill's second for the tour, he scored an unbeaten 100 marked by his cover driving. He followed this with a 74 against Lancashire before a 124 two matches later against Glamorgan, which was described by Wisden as the best of the season. He scored 73 against Gloucestershire and made 122 on his first appearance at Lord's, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Australia went on to win by 63 runs. In the next match against Sussex, O'Neill was carried from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and after failing to bat in either innings, it appeared he would be sidelined for a substantial period. However, he recovered to be selected for the First Test at Edgbaston, just five days later. He made 82 as Australia scored 9/516 declared and took a 321-run first innings lead, but England could not be dismissed in the second innings and salvaged a draw. He continued his form with an unbeaten 104 against Kent between the Tests. The "Battle of the Ridge" in the Second Test at Lord's—the home of cricket—was an unhappy one for O'Neill. On an erratic pitch with a visible ridge that caused uneven bounce, O'Neill made one and a duck as an Australia scraped home by five wickets in a low-scoring match. He returned to the county matches and scored 162 against Lancashire, before scoring 27 and 19 as England squared the series in the Third Test at Headingley. O'Neill then scored 142 against Northamptonshire, but the hosts were able to tie the scores when stumps were drawn with four wickets in hand. After rectifying a technical fault, O'Neill made 67 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series tied at 1–1, helping Australia take a narrow victory to retain the Ashes. Heading into the final Test, O'Neill had a consistent run, scoring three fifties in four innings. He made his first century against England in the Fifth Test at The Oval with 117 as Australia drew the match to take the series. He did so after being given a "lucky coin" by a spectator and being dropped at second slip when he was on 19. He scored 324 runs at 40.50 in the Tests and was subsequently named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1962. Following the Tests, O'Neill added four half-centuries in five innings in a consistent run towards the close of the tour. He left English soil with 138 against Minor Counties, in a non-first-class match. In all first-class matches, he made seven centuries, and his run aggregate was second only to Lawry, who made 2,019 runs. International decline After this tour, his form began to decline, as he became prone to uncertain and fidgety starts to his innings, which earned him the nickname "Nervous Norm". A persistent knee injury increasingly troubled him and was to end his career. The 1961–62 Australian team was purely domestic with no touring Test team, and New South Wales completed their ninth Sheffield Shield title in a row, O'Neill had a poor season, scoring only 377 runs at 25.13, passing fifty only twice. The 1962–63 home Ashes series was Australia's first Test matches in 18 months. After an unproductive season last year, O'Neill started the new summer with 15 and 2/30 for a Western Australia Combined XI against Ted Dexter's Englishmen. His victims with the ball were Dexter and batsman Tom Graveney. He then made his first century in over a year, scoring 131 against Western Australia for his state. O'Neill completed his preparation for the Tests by helping New South Wales to defeat Dexter's men by an innings. He scored 143 and took 2/36, removing Graveney and leading batsman Colin Cowdrey. O'Neill made 56 in the First Test drawn at Brisbane but failed to pass 20 in the next two matches, which were shared by the two teams. After his wife made him a pair of "lucky lemon socks", he scored 100 in the first innings of the drawn Fourth Test in Adelaide, which turned out to be his last Test century with fifteen Tests before the end of his career. With Alan Davidson injured during the match, O'Neill was required to bowl substantially, conceding 49 runs in what was his most expensive performance to date. He scored 73 in the Fifth Test in Sydney to finish the series with 310 runs at 34.44, substantially below his career average of 53.8 prior to the series. He also took two wickets, one in each of the Third and Fifth Tests, removing Fred Titmus and Dexter respectively. Outside the Tests, O'Neill struggled and passed 25 once in eight other non-Test innings. This was a 93 against arch-rivals Victoria, which was not enough to prevent defeat. Victoria went on to win the Sheffield Shield and end New South Wales' nine-year winning streak. At the end of the season, he embarked on a tour with the International Cavaliers, which toured Africa, mostly playing against provincial teams. He played in seven matches and had a productive series, scoring 541 runs at 41.54 including a century and four fifties. He also bowled more frequently than usual taking seven wickets at 53.29. The following season in 1963–64, O'Neill started poorly, passing 12 only once in his first six innings. However, he was retained for the team for the First Test against South Africa in Brisbane, where he scored 82 and 19 not out in a drawn match. He continued his resurgence with 36 and 61 not out the following fixture against Victoria, but was injured during the second innings and forced to retire hurt. This meant that he missed the Second Test, which Australia won by eight wickets. O'Neill returned and scored half centuries in each of the next two Tests. He also took two wickets to end the series with 285 runs at 40.71 and three wickets at 32.33. He added a further two half-centuries in the remaining Shield matches. O'Neill retained his place for the 1964 tour to England, and scored a century against Western Australia for the touring squad before departing for the northern hemisphere. After failing to pass 16 in his first two outings, he struck form against Glamorgan, scoring 65 and an unbeaten 109. He then added 151 and 17 not out, leading the way as the Australians defeated the MCC by nine wickets in a dress rehearsal for the Tests. However, O'Neill scored 98 in the first four innings of the opening two Tests and was forced out of the Third Test with a knee injury, the only non-draw of the series, which Australia won. Nevertheless, he passed 50 in each of the four tour matches during this period, including a 134 against Yorkshire and 90 against Northamptonshire. O'Neill returned for the final two Tests and ended the series with only 156 runs at 31.20 in five Tests without passing fifty and going wicketless. He added another century against Kent and two further fifties in the closing stages of the English summer. His 1964–65 tour of the subcontinent on the way back to Australia was even worse, a far cry from his leading role in the previous tour to the subcontinent. After making 40 and 0 in the First Test win in Madras, he was unable to bat either innings in the Second Test in Bombay after being hospitalised due to persistent vomiting, injury as Australia ceded their series lead. He missed the remainder of the series, the Third Test in Calcutta and a one-off Test in Pakistan. Upon his return home, he has a shortened domestic season before Australia left for the West Indies. In five domestic matches, he scored 357 runs at 59.50, including a 133 not against South Australia. O'Neill started the 1964–65 tour of the West Indies strongly, scoring a century in the first match against Jamaica. He was often injured during the tour, but was at his most productive with the bat since the last series against the Caribbean team four years earlier. He made many starts, passing 20 in six of his seven Test innings, but was unable to convert them into big scores. In the First Test, O'Neill was struck on the hand by Wes Hall and was sent to hospital for X-rays after a break was suspected. During the Second Test, it was the turn of Charlie Griffith to send O'Neill to hospital, after hitting him on the forearm and causing a large bruise. His 51 and 74* in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, the last Test of his career, was the only time he passed 50 for the series. He ended with 266 runs at 44.33, missing the Fifth Test due to a broken hand. He managed a healthy return with the ball, taking nine of his 17 Test wickets in the series with an average of 25.55. This included his Test best of 4/41 with his leg-spin in the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In this match, he cleaned up the hosts' tail in the first innings, removing Jackie Hendriks, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs. At the end of the tour, O'Neill garnered controversy by writing outspoken newspaper columns accusing opposition pace spearhead Charlie Griffith of chucking. He was one of several Australians who took exception to Griffith's bowling action, and he put his name to a series of feature articles in Sydney's Daily Mirror. These labelled Griffith as "an obvious chucker", saying the hosts had been "wrong to play" him. O'Neill stated that "If he is allowed to continue throwing, he could kill someone". O'Neill also expressed his desire to not have to face bowling that he deemed to be illegal. When the Daily Mirror syndicated the columns, London's Daily Mail ignored an embargo and printed the pieces while the Australians were on their homeward flight, putting O'Neill in breach of his tour contract, which forbade players from commenting in the media during tours. The West Indies lodged an official complaint with Australia, and the Australian Cricket Board replied that it deplored the published comments, although noting that as O'Neill's touring contract had expired at the end of the tour, the point was moot. Nevertheless, the ACB changed its stance on players' writing, so that they could no longer comment on a tour until three months after its conclusion. The event is often perceived to have been a factor in O'Neill's eventual departure from the national scene. Outside the Tests, O'Neill performed strongly in three matches against regional teams, scoring centuries in each of them. He scored 125, 125, and 101 in his only three innings, against Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Retirement The following season, O'Neill was overlooked for selection in all five Tests against the touring England team. Returning to New South Wales, he scored 473 runs at 39.42, including two centuries. O'Neill was omitted from the squad that toured South Africa in 1966–67, ending his Test career. He continued his Shield career while his former teammates were on the other side of the Indian Ocean, compiling 741 runs at 74.10 in a strong season. He started the season with 117 against Western Australia, before scoring a pair of 78s in the return match, helping his team to a tense 13-run win. He then scored 128 and 22 not out against Victoria and finished his season with 160 and 80 against South Australia, scoring a majority of his team's first innings score. As a result, he was selected for an Australian Second XI to tour New Zealand. He scored 69 runs at 17.25 in two international matches and made his last first-class century, scoring 101 and 58 not out against Auckland. O'Neill retired upon his return to Australia due to a knee injury. He left a reputation as a highly entertaining batsman who did not manage to fulfil his early promise. "A disappointment he was, perhaps, but his cricket will be recalled when those of lesser gifts are forgotten", opined the writer EW Swanton. In 61 matches for New South Wales, he scored 5419 runs at 52.61. He compiled 3879 runs at 61.57 for St George in grade competition before transferring to Sutherland in the 1965–66 club. He scored 168 on his new club's first day in the competition. A cigarette salesman by trade, he became a commentator in retirement. He married Gwen Wallace, a track and field athlete who won relay gold for Australia at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. They had two sons and a daughter. Their eldest child Mark O'Neill represented New South Wales and Western Australia in the 1980s. O'Neill also co-owned a racehorse with Richie Benaud, Barry Jarman and Ray Steele, named Pall Mallan, and it won a race in 1961. On 3 March 2008, O'Neill died in Erina, New South Wales, due to the effects of throat cancer. He was 71. Style Standing six feet tall, O'Neill was compared to Don Bradman upon his entry into Test cricket. At his best, he was a dynamic stroke maker who was a crowd favourite because of his ability to score at a high pace, in particular with his power off the back foot. He was noted for his nimble footwork, which he used to negate spin bowling; however, this slowed in his later career as he put on weight. O'Neill particularly liked to sweep the slower bowlers. He often put too much emphasis on his right hand, allowing a large space between his hands on the bat handle, and then turning his right shoulder too square towards the bowler. The renowned English batsman and captain Wally Hammond said that O'Neill was the best all-round batsman he had seen since World War II. O'Neill's tall build, strength and good looks also drew comparison to his boyhood idol Keith Miller. Despite the comparisons to Bradman, O'Neill was much taller and broader, and was often impetuous whereas Bradman was known for his patience and lack of rashness. O'Neill was also criticised for hitting across the line early in his innings. O'Neill was highly regarded for his style and entertainment values. Teammate Alan Davidson said "once set he was the most exhilarating player you'd ever want to see—he was dynamite. He'd play attacking shots off balls other people would only think of defending. He had wonderful skill and technique. His shots off the back foot down the ground off fast bowlers—you can't really describe how good they were." His captain for Australia and New South Wales, Richie Benaud said that he was "one of the greatest entertainers we've had in Australian cricket". O'Neill's style led the British writer EW Swanton to say "the art of batting, he reminded us, was not dead, merely inexplicably dormant" Wisden opined that "A high innings by O'Neill is a thing of masterful beauty. His stroking is delectable, immense in its power." Later in his career, O'Neill became a nervous and superstitious batsman, particular at the start of an innings. He wrote "batting is a lonely business" in his 1964 autobiography Ins and Outs, opining that he sometimes found first-class cricket to be "depressing and lonely". He was regarded as an excellent fieldsman at cover, with a powerful and accurate throw, described by Wisden as a "dream throw" honed from a junior career as a baseballer. He was named as utility player in the 1957 All Australian baseball team, and his ability was such that he was approached by Major League Baseball scouts. Before the retirement of Neil Harvey, he and O'Neill fielded in tandem in the covers and the pair were regarded as the finest fielding combination of the time. Test match performance References Notes External links 1937 births 2008 deaths Australia Test cricketers Australian baseball players Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricket commentators Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from esophageal cancer International Cavaliers cricketers New South Wales cricketers St George cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year	false	[ "Sarel Erwee (born 10 November 1989) is a South African professional cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler who plays for KwaZulu Natal. He was born in Pietermaritzburg. He made his international debut for the South Africa cricket team in February 2022.\n\nCareer\nErwee made his List A debut in January 2008, against KZN Inland. As a lower-order batsman, he scored just a single run in his debut. He made his first-class debut in October 2008 against South Western Districts. Batting in the upper order, he scored 8 runs in his debut innings. He was included in the KZN Inland squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup.\n \nIn November 2017, he scored his first century in Twenty20 cricket, when he made 103 not out for Dolphins against Cape Cobras in the 2017–18 Ram Slam T20 Challenge.\n\nIn September 2018, he was named in KwaZulu-Natal Inland's squad for the 2018 Africa T20 Cup. The following month, he was named in Durban Heat's squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the Durban Heat team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament.\n\nIn December 2020, Erwee was named in South Africa's Test squad for their series against Sri Lanka. In January 2021, Erwee was named in South Africa's Test squad for their series against Pakistan. In April 2021, he was named in KwaZulu-Natal's squad, ahead of the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa. In May 2021, Erwee was again named in South Africa's Test squad, this time for their series against the West Indies. In December 2021, Erwee received another call-up to South Africa's Test squad, this time for their home series against India. In January 2022, he received a further call-up to the Test side, for their tour of New Zealand. He made his Test debut on 17 February 2022, for South Africa against New Zealand. In the second Test of the series, Erwee scored his first century in Test cricket, with 108 runs in the first innings.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nSarel Erwee at Cricket Archive\n\n1989 births\nLiving people\nSouth African cricketers\nSouth Africa Test cricketers\nDolphins cricketers\nKwaZulu-Natal cricketers\nKwaZulu-Natal Inland cricketers", "John Thomas Ward (11 March 1937 – 12 January 2021) was a New Zealand cricketer who played as a wicket-keeper in eight Test matches between 1964 and 1968. Ward's Test captain John Reid said that he was \"easily the best wicketkeeper in New Zealand in his time, but was plagued by injury.\"\n\nCricket career\nWard made his first-class debut for South Island against North Island in a trial match for the 1958 tour of England. He took five catches in the first innings, and was selected as Eric Petrie's deputy on the tour. He made his Plunket Shield debut for Canterbury in 1959–60, and was selected to tour South Africa in 1961-62, where he served as deputy to Artie Dick.\n\nHe finally made his Test debut in 1963–64 in the First Test against the South African touring team, but then lost his place to Dick, who was a superior batsman. He replaced Dick for the Third Test against Pakistan in New Zealand in 1964–65, and went on the tour of India and Pakistan in 1965 as the sole wicket-keeper. He made his highest Test score of 35 not out in the First Test against India, when he and Richard Collinge put on 61 for the last wicket, but injury forced him out after the Indian leg of the tour, and Dick again replaced him. Later that year, in England, Ward returned to the side, replacing Dick for the Third Test. His last Test was the Fourth Test against India in 1967-68.\n\nHe continued to play for Canterbury until the end of the 1970–71 season. He scored his only first-class fifty against Wellington in 1969-70 when, batting at number five, he made 54 not out.\n\nHis son Barry kept wicket for Canterbury in the 1986–87 season. Ward died in Timaru on 12 January 2021 after a short illness, aged 83.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1937 births\n2021 deaths\nNew Zealand Test cricketers\nNew Zealand cricketers\nCanterbury cricketers\nCricketers from Timaru\nSouth Island cricketers\nWicket-keepers" ]
[ "Norm O'Neill", "Test debut", "When was his test debut?", "he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth." ]	C_baff9fdd38f3450abb1dc86c3df32d24_1	Did he win?	2	Did Norm O'Neill win the match against the England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth?	Norm O'Neill	Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4-0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. CANNOTANSWER	He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs.	Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958. Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India. His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25. O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings. Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965. O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era. He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level. He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2018. Early years The son of a builder, O'Neill was born in Carlton, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He had no cricketing associations on his father's side of the family, but his maternal uncle, Ron Campion, played for the Glebe club in Sydney Grade Cricket. Campion trained for cricket near the O'Neill family home, at Bexley Oval. O'Neill accompanied his uncle to cricket from the age of seven and was given batting practice at the end of each session. At Bexley Primary school, O'Neill was denied a chance to play cricket as the school did not field a team. Moving on to Kogarah Intermediate High School, O'Neill played cricket in defiance of a teacher who recommended that he take up athletics. As a teenager, O'Neill idolised Keith Miller after his uncle took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground: O'Neill saw Miller play that day and was impressed with the way he hit the ball off the back foot. Under his uncle's guidance, O'Neill joined the St George Cricket Club, in the Sydney Grade competition. He steadily moved up through the grades and broke into the first grade side at the age of 16. Sensing his potential, the club's selectors informed him that regardless of form, he would play the full season, which allowed him to be uninhibited in his batting. He made 108 in seven innings. The next season, he was out 12 times leg before wicket in 15 innings, and run out in the other three. O'Neill attributed his failures to over-aggressiveness and resolved to improve his patience. In the second match of the new season, the 17-year-old O'Neill made his first century. With all five state selectors onlooking, he made 28 in the next match and was called into the state squad. Shield debut O'Neill made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 18 against South Australia during the 1955–56 season. His lack of contribution was highlighted against the backdrop of his team's crushing innings victory: O'Neill failed to score a run or take a wicket. New South Wales bowled first and had South Australia at 6/49 when Miller introduced O'Neill's occasional leg spin, presumably to ease the debutant's nerves by bringing him into the game. The home team struck 18 from three overs. O'Neill was listed to bat in the lower middle order but after the top order had made a big start, Miller brought O'Neill up. He came in against the second new ball and was clean bowled. O'Neill was dropped and did not play another match for the season, but had gained invaluable experience. O'Neill steadily rose in the 1956–57 season. At the start of the season, with many players still on international duty during the closing stages of the tour to England and the subsequent stopover in the Indian subcontinent, O'Neill was recalled and made 60 and 63 not out against Queensland at the start of the season. This saw him retain his place when the Test players returned. After making a pair of single-figures scored, he made a sequence of three 60s against South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, He was rewarded with selection in the one-off match between Ray Lindwall's XI and Neil Harvey's XI, which doubled as a national selection trial, before making his first ton (127) against South Australia. He ended the season with 567 runs at 43.61, and earned selection for a non-Test tour of New Zealand under Ian Craig, in a team composed mainly of young players. He made 102 not out in the only "Test" match that he played, helping to set up a ten-wicket win. heading the tour averages with 218 runs at 72.66. Despite this, he was overlooked for the 1957–58 Test tour of South Africa. It was regarded as one of the most controversial decisions of the decade. O'Neill responded during the 1957–58 Sheffield Shield season weakened by the absence of the Test players, aggregating 1,005 runs at 83.75 and taking 26 wickets at 20.42 with his leg spinners, thus topping the national bowling and batting averages. Prior to the season, he had never taken a first-class wicket. In the opening match of the summer, he took 3/74 against Queensland. He then took a total of 5/51 scored 33 and 48 not out in a six-wicket win over Western Australia before taking 3/52 and adding two fifties in the return match. He then broke through for his first century of the season, scoring 114 and taking 3/44 in a ten-wicket win over South Australia. However, he reached more productive levels in the second half of the season. This comprised 175 against Victoria, 74 and 48 against Queensland, 125 and 23* against South Australia and 233 against Victoria. His 233 was made in little over four hours and featured 38 fours. It was the first time that a New South Welshman (let alone a twenty-year-old) had scored 1,000 in a Shield season. Bradman and Bill Ponsford were the only others before him. He added 12 wickets in the final four matches, including 2/50 and 4/40 in the match against Queensland. O'Neill's performances played a large part in his state's fifth consecutive title. These performances led former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly to compare him to Bradman and former Test opening batsman Jack Fingleton to lament his non-selection for the South African tour and its reflection on the plight of Australian cricket. At the time, his employers refused to make allowances for him to play sport, forcing him to begin work at six in the morning. As a result, he considered moving to South Australia, where a grocery magnate offered him employment and financial incentives. However, he stayed after state officials intervened, with Sir Ronald Irish, the Australian chairman of Rothmans, providing him with a job in Sydney. At the time, O'Neill had another offer. Having represented his state in baseball and been nominated in the All-Australian team in 1957, he was approached by the New York Yankees, having had experience at a pitcher and short stop. O'Neill was offered a fee more than 25 times that for a single Test match, as well as travel costs and accommodation, to trial with the Yankees. He agreed, but Irish dissuaded him less than a week before his scheduled departure. Test debut Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958–59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4–0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. Career peak The following season O'Neill was Australia's leading batsman during the 1959–60 tour to Pakistan and India, where he was a part of the last Australian team to win a Test on Pakistani soil for 39 years. After a quiet match in the First Test eight-wicket win in Dacca in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in which he scored two and 26 not out, O'Neill played a key role in the victory in the Second Test in Lahore that was to Australia's last in Pakistan until 1998. O'Neill made his maiden Test century of 134 in the first innings to give Australia a 245-run lead. He then took his maiden Test wicket in Pakistan's second innings, that of Shujauddin. This left Australia chasing a target of 122 in the last two hours on the final day. The chase was on schedule with O'Neill partnering Neil Harvey when the Pakistanis began wasting time to prevent an Australian victory. This was implemented by swapping fielders very slowly when the left and right-handed combination of Harvey and O'Neill took a single, and overs began taking seven minutes instead of three. To counter this, Harvey deliberately backed away when a ball was aimed at the stumps and threw away his wicket by letting himself be bowled for 37. This allowed Benaud to come in and bat with O'Neill so that the two right-handed batsmen would give no opportunity to waste time by switching the field. Benaud then threatened Pakistani captain Imtiaz Ahmed with a formal complaint over the time-wasting, and proceedings returned to their normal pace. Australia made the target with a few minutes to spare, with O'Neill on 43. O'Neill failed to make double figures in the final Test, which was drawn, but ended the series with 218 runs at 72.66. In another tour match, against the President's XI, O'Neill scored an unbeaten 52 in a low-scoring match as Australia stumbled to their target of 116 with only three wickets in hand. O'Neill's performances in Pakistan was such that the parents in one cricket-following Karachi family named their new son Anil for its resemblance to O'Neill. Anil Dalpat went on to become the first Hindu to represent Pakistan, playing nine Tests in the 1980s as a wicketkeeper. On the five-Test Indian series which followed, O'Neill started slowly, aggregating 60 runs in the first two Tests, which were shared 1–1. He returned to form with a leg-side dominated 163 in a high-scoring draw in the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium in Bombay. After scoring 40 in an innings victory in the Fourth Test in Madras, Australia needed a draw in the Fifth Test in Calcutta with four players injured or ill, while Benaud had a dislocated spinning finger. O'Neill scored 113 in the first innings to help a depleted team take a 137-run first innings lead and prevent India from squaring the series. He was Australia's leading scorer in the Tests, with 376 runs at 62.66. He also made his highest first-class score of 284, against an Indian President's XI in Ahmedabad. He was the top scorer for the whole subcontinental Test tour, with 594 runs in eight matches at 66.00. He returned to Australia and played in one match for New South Wales at the end of the 1959–60 season, scoring 175 as his state defeated Western Australia and won a seventh Shield in a row. Prior to the following Australian summer, O'Neill was part of an International Cavaliers team that toured South Africa. He scored 133 runs at 21.83. In the lead-up to the 1960–61 home Tests series against the West Indies, O'Neill scored 156 not to set up an innings win for his state over the tourists. He then struck 181 in the first innings of the opening match at Brisbane, his highest Test score. The innings prompted teammate Bob Simpson to say "if God gave me an hour to watch someone I'd seen, I'd request to see Norman O'Neill. He had the style." Australia took a first innings lead and O'Neill made 26 in the second innings as Australia collapsed towards a likely defeat before recovering; the match ended in the first Tied Test in history. This was the peak of O'Neill's career. Having played 14 Tests, he was averaging 67.68 with the bat. He then struck 114 as his state defeated the tourists by an innings, and he made 40 and a duck as the Australians took the series lead in the Second Test. He made 70 and 71 in the Third Test loss in Sydney, one of the few players able to combat Lance Gibbs effectively, top-scoring in the first innings and second top-scoring in the second innings. He then made 65 in the second innings in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, where Australia held on by one wicket for a draw. He contributed 48 in the second innings of the Fifth Test as Australia appeared headed for a series victory. However, a late collapse ensued, and Australia scraped home by two wickets to take the series 2–1. O'Neill ended the series with 522 runs at 52.20. O'Neill gained attention during the summer for frequently losing his wicket by impulsively sweeping. This was attributed to the dominance of his bottom hand, which saw his bat swinging across the line of flight of the ball. Despite the criticism, he was at the peak of his international career, having made 1398 runs at 58.35 in his first 18 Tests. Wisden Cricketer of the Year O'Neill was selected for the tour of England in 1961, and he warmed up by scoring centuries in consecutive matches against Tasmania for the Australian squad. During the English summer, O'Neill scored 1981 runs at 60.03, narrowly missing becoming only the fourth post-war player after Don Bradman, Neil Harvey and Bill Lawry to make 2,000 runs in an Ashes tour. In the third match against Yorkshire, which was O'Neill's second for the tour, he scored an unbeaten 100 marked by his cover driving. He followed this with a 74 against Lancashire before a 124 two matches later against Glamorgan, which was described by Wisden as the best of the season. He scored 73 against Gloucestershire and made 122 on his first appearance at Lord's, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Australia went on to win by 63 runs. In the next match against Sussex, O'Neill was carried from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and after failing to bat in either innings, it appeared he would be sidelined for a substantial period. However, he recovered to be selected for the First Test at Edgbaston, just five days later. He made 82 as Australia scored 9/516 declared and took a 321-run first innings lead, but England could not be dismissed in the second innings and salvaged a draw. He continued his form with an unbeaten 104 against Kent between the Tests. The "Battle of the Ridge" in the Second Test at Lord's—the home of cricket—was an unhappy one for O'Neill. On an erratic pitch with a visible ridge that caused uneven bounce, O'Neill made one and a duck as an Australia scraped home by five wickets in a low-scoring match. He returned to the county matches and scored 162 against Lancashire, before scoring 27 and 19 as England squared the series in the Third Test at Headingley. O'Neill then scored 142 against Northamptonshire, but the hosts were able to tie the scores when stumps were drawn with four wickets in hand. After rectifying a technical fault, O'Neill made 67 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series tied at 1–1, helping Australia take a narrow victory to retain the Ashes. Heading into the final Test, O'Neill had a consistent run, scoring three fifties in four innings. He made his first century against England in the Fifth Test at The Oval with 117 as Australia drew the match to take the series. He did so after being given a "lucky coin" by a spectator and being dropped at second slip when he was on 19. He scored 324 runs at 40.50 in the Tests and was subsequently named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1962. Following the Tests, O'Neill added four half-centuries in five innings in a consistent run towards the close of the tour. He left English soil with 138 against Minor Counties, in a non-first-class match. In all first-class matches, he made seven centuries, and his run aggregate was second only to Lawry, who made 2,019 runs. International decline After this tour, his form began to decline, as he became prone to uncertain and fidgety starts to his innings, which earned him the nickname "Nervous Norm". A persistent knee injury increasingly troubled him and was to end his career. The 1961–62 Australian team was purely domestic with no touring Test team, and New South Wales completed their ninth Sheffield Shield title in a row, O'Neill had a poor season, scoring only 377 runs at 25.13, passing fifty only twice. The 1962–63 home Ashes series was Australia's first Test matches in 18 months. After an unproductive season last year, O'Neill started the new summer with 15 and 2/30 for a Western Australia Combined XI against Ted Dexter's Englishmen. His victims with the ball were Dexter and batsman Tom Graveney. He then made his first century in over a year, scoring 131 against Western Australia for his state. O'Neill completed his preparation for the Tests by helping New South Wales to defeat Dexter's men by an innings. He scored 143 and took 2/36, removing Graveney and leading batsman Colin Cowdrey. O'Neill made 56 in the First Test drawn at Brisbane but failed to pass 20 in the next two matches, which were shared by the two teams. After his wife made him a pair of "lucky lemon socks", he scored 100 in the first innings of the drawn Fourth Test in Adelaide, which turned out to be his last Test century with fifteen Tests before the end of his career. With Alan Davidson injured during the match, O'Neill was required to bowl substantially, conceding 49 runs in what was his most expensive performance to date. He scored 73 in the Fifth Test in Sydney to finish the series with 310 runs at 34.44, substantially below his career average of 53.8 prior to the series. He also took two wickets, one in each of the Third and Fifth Tests, removing Fred Titmus and Dexter respectively. Outside the Tests, O'Neill struggled and passed 25 once in eight other non-Test innings. This was a 93 against arch-rivals Victoria, which was not enough to prevent defeat. Victoria went on to win the Sheffield Shield and end New South Wales' nine-year winning streak. At the end of the season, he embarked on a tour with the International Cavaliers, which toured Africa, mostly playing against provincial teams. He played in seven matches and had a productive series, scoring 541 runs at 41.54 including a century and four fifties. He also bowled more frequently than usual taking seven wickets at 53.29. The following season in 1963–64, O'Neill started poorly, passing 12 only once in his first six innings. However, he was retained for the team for the First Test against South Africa in Brisbane, where he scored 82 and 19 not out in a drawn match. He continued his resurgence with 36 and 61 not out the following fixture against Victoria, but was injured during the second innings and forced to retire hurt. This meant that he missed the Second Test, which Australia won by eight wickets. O'Neill returned and scored half centuries in each of the next two Tests. He also took two wickets to end the series with 285 runs at 40.71 and three wickets at 32.33. He added a further two half-centuries in the remaining Shield matches. O'Neill retained his place for the 1964 tour to England, and scored a century against Western Australia for the touring squad before departing for the northern hemisphere. After failing to pass 16 in his first two outings, he struck form against Glamorgan, scoring 65 and an unbeaten 109. He then added 151 and 17 not out, leading the way as the Australians defeated the MCC by nine wickets in a dress rehearsal for the Tests. However, O'Neill scored 98 in the first four innings of the opening two Tests and was forced out of the Third Test with a knee injury, the only non-draw of the series, which Australia won. Nevertheless, he passed 50 in each of the four tour matches during this period, including a 134 against Yorkshire and 90 against Northamptonshire. O'Neill returned for the final two Tests and ended the series with only 156 runs at 31.20 in five Tests without passing fifty and going wicketless. He added another century against Kent and two further fifties in the closing stages of the English summer. His 1964–65 tour of the subcontinent on the way back to Australia was even worse, a far cry from his leading role in the previous tour to the subcontinent. After making 40 and 0 in the First Test win in Madras, he was unable to bat either innings in the Second Test in Bombay after being hospitalised due to persistent vomiting, injury as Australia ceded their series lead. He missed the remainder of the series, the Third Test in Calcutta and a one-off Test in Pakistan. Upon his return home, he has a shortened domestic season before Australia left for the West Indies. In five domestic matches, he scored 357 runs at 59.50, including a 133 not against South Australia. O'Neill started the 1964–65 tour of the West Indies strongly, scoring a century in the first match against Jamaica. He was often injured during the tour, but was at his most productive with the bat since the last series against the Caribbean team four years earlier. He made many starts, passing 20 in six of his seven Test innings, but was unable to convert them into big scores. In the First Test, O'Neill was struck on the hand by Wes Hall and was sent to hospital for X-rays after a break was suspected. During the Second Test, it was the turn of Charlie Griffith to send O'Neill to hospital, after hitting him on the forearm and causing a large bruise. His 51 and 74* in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, the last Test of his career, was the only time he passed 50 for the series. He ended with 266 runs at 44.33, missing the Fifth Test due to a broken hand. He managed a healthy return with the ball, taking nine of his 17 Test wickets in the series with an average of 25.55. This included his Test best of 4/41 with his leg-spin in the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In this match, he cleaned up the hosts' tail in the first innings, removing Jackie Hendriks, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs. At the end of the tour, O'Neill garnered controversy by writing outspoken newspaper columns accusing opposition pace spearhead Charlie Griffith of chucking. He was one of several Australians who took exception to Griffith's bowling action, and he put his name to a series of feature articles in Sydney's Daily Mirror. These labelled Griffith as "an obvious chucker", saying the hosts had been "wrong to play" him. O'Neill stated that "If he is allowed to continue throwing, he could kill someone". O'Neill also expressed his desire to not have to face bowling that he deemed to be illegal. When the Daily Mirror syndicated the columns, London's Daily Mail ignored an embargo and printed the pieces while the Australians were on their homeward flight, putting O'Neill in breach of his tour contract, which forbade players from commenting in the media during tours. The West Indies lodged an official complaint with Australia, and the Australian Cricket Board replied that it deplored the published comments, although noting that as O'Neill's touring contract had expired at the end of the tour, the point was moot. Nevertheless, the ACB changed its stance on players' writing, so that they could no longer comment on a tour until three months after its conclusion. The event is often perceived to have been a factor in O'Neill's eventual departure from the national scene. Outside the Tests, O'Neill performed strongly in three matches against regional teams, scoring centuries in each of them. He scored 125, 125, and 101 in his only three innings, against Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Retirement The following season, O'Neill was overlooked for selection in all five Tests against the touring England team. Returning to New South Wales, he scored 473 runs at 39.42, including two centuries. O'Neill was omitted from the squad that toured South Africa in 1966–67, ending his Test career. He continued his Shield career while his former teammates were on the other side of the Indian Ocean, compiling 741 runs at 74.10 in a strong season. He started the season with 117 against Western Australia, before scoring a pair of 78s in the return match, helping his team to a tense 13-run win. He then scored 128 and 22 not out against Victoria and finished his season with 160 and 80 against South Australia, scoring a majority of his team's first innings score. As a result, he was selected for an Australian Second XI to tour New Zealand. He scored 69 runs at 17.25 in two international matches and made his last first-class century, scoring 101 and 58 not out against Auckland. O'Neill retired upon his return to Australia due to a knee injury. He left a reputation as a highly entertaining batsman who did not manage to fulfil his early promise. "A disappointment he was, perhaps, but his cricket will be recalled when those of lesser gifts are forgotten", opined the writer EW Swanton. In 61 matches for New South Wales, he scored 5419 runs at 52.61. He compiled 3879 runs at 61.57 for St George in grade competition before transferring to Sutherland in the 1965–66 club. He scored 168 on his new club's first day in the competition. A cigarette salesman by trade, he became a commentator in retirement. He married Gwen Wallace, a track and field athlete who won relay gold for Australia at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. They had two sons and a daughter. Their eldest child Mark O'Neill represented New South Wales and Western Australia in the 1980s. O'Neill also co-owned a racehorse with Richie Benaud, Barry Jarman and Ray Steele, named Pall Mallan, and it won a race in 1961. On 3 March 2008, O'Neill died in Erina, New South Wales, due to the effects of throat cancer. He was 71. Style Standing six feet tall, O'Neill was compared to Don Bradman upon his entry into Test cricket. At his best, he was a dynamic stroke maker who was a crowd favourite because of his ability to score at a high pace, in particular with his power off the back foot. He was noted for his nimble footwork, which he used to negate spin bowling; however, this slowed in his later career as he put on weight. O'Neill particularly liked to sweep the slower bowlers. He often put too much emphasis on his right hand, allowing a large space between his hands on the bat handle, and then turning his right shoulder too square towards the bowler. The renowned English batsman and captain Wally Hammond said that O'Neill was the best all-round batsman he had seen since World War II. O'Neill's tall build, strength and good looks also drew comparison to his boyhood idol Keith Miller. Despite the comparisons to Bradman, O'Neill was much taller and broader, and was often impetuous whereas Bradman was known for his patience and lack of rashness. O'Neill was also criticised for hitting across the line early in his innings. O'Neill was highly regarded for his style and entertainment values. Teammate Alan Davidson said "once set he was the most exhilarating player you'd ever want to see—he was dynamite. He'd play attacking shots off balls other people would only think of defending. He had wonderful skill and technique. His shots off the back foot down the ground off fast bowlers—you can't really describe how good they were." His captain for Australia and New South Wales, Richie Benaud said that he was "one of the greatest entertainers we've had in Australian cricket". O'Neill's style led the British writer EW Swanton to say "the art of batting, he reminded us, was not dead, merely inexplicably dormant" Wisden opined that "A high innings by O'Neill is a thing of masterful beauty. His stroking is delectable, immense in its power." Later in his career, O'Neill became a nervous and superstitious batsman, particular at the start of an innings. He wrote "batting is a lonely business" in his 1964 autobiography Ins and Outs, opining that he sometimes found first-class cricket to be "depressing and lonely". He was regarded as an excellent fieldsman at cover, with a powerful and accurate throw, described by Wisden as a "dream throw" honed from a junior career as a baseballer. He was named as utility player in the 1957 All Australian baseball team, and his ability was such that he was approached by Major League Baseball scouts. Before the retirement of Neil Harvey, he and O'Neill fielded in tandem in the covers and the pair were regarded as the finest fielding combination of the time. Test match performance References Notes External links 1937 births 2008 deaths Australia Test cricketers Australian baseball players Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricket commentators Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from esophageal cancer International Cavaliers cricketers New South Wales cricketers St George cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year	true	[ "Karl Cordin (born 3 November 1948) is an Austrian former alpine skier who did only compete in Downhill Races; he competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics, becoming 7th silver medal at FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1970 in downhill.\n\nBiography\nCording did win three World Cup races: on February 21, 1970, at Jackson Hole, on December 20th, 1970, at Val-d’Isère, and on December 18, 1973, at Zell am See; he did become five-times second and twice third too. He also could achieve the Downhill World Cup in 1969-70.\nHe won the silver medal in the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1970 and became fourth in the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships 1974; in both races he was overtaken by a racer with a higher number. In 1970, he was in lead (and it looked that he could gain the gold medal) - but Bernhard Russi did win. In 1974, he was on the way to win the bronze medal, but Willi Frommelt did catch it.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1948 births\nLiving people\nAustrian male alpine skiers\nOlympic alpine skiers of Austria\nAlpine skiers at the 1972 Winter Olympics\nFIS Alpine Ski World Cup champions", "The 1972 UEFA European Under-23 Championship, which spanned two years (1970–72) had 23 entrants. Czechoslovakia U-23s won the competition.\n\nThe 23 national teams were divided into eight groups. The group winners played off against each other on a two-legged home-and-away basis until the winner was decided. There was no finals tournament or 3rd-place playoff.\n\nQualifying Stage\n\nDraw\nThe allocation of teams into qualifying groups was based on that of UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying tournament with several changes, reflecting the absence of some nations:\n Group 2 and 8 had the same competing nations\n Group 1 did not include Wales\n Group 3 did not include England and Malta\n Group 4 did not include Northern Ireland and Cyprus\n Group 5 did not include Belgium and Scotland\n Group 6 did not include Republic of Ireland\n Group 7 did not include Luxembourg\n\nGroup 1\n\nGroup 2\n\nGroup 3\n\nGroup 4\n\nGroup 5\n\nGroup 6\n\nGroup 7\n\nGroup 8\n\nKnockout Stages\n{\|width=100%\n\|valign=\"center\"\|\nQuarter Finals\n Bulgaria 2–2 Netherlands\n Netherlands 0–0 Bulgaria\n Bulgaria 2–0 Netherlands\n2–2: win playoff match\n\n Denmark 2–0 Greece\n Greece 5–0 Denmark\n win 5–2 on aggregate\n\n Soviet Union 3–1 West Germany\n West Germany 0–0 Soviet Union\n win 3–1 on aggregate\n\n Sweden 1–0 Czechoslovakia\n Czechoslovakia 3–1 Sweden\n win 3–2 on aggregate\|width=\"5%\"\| \n\|valign=\"center\"\|\nSemi Finals\n Czechoslovakia 2–0 Greece\n Greece 2–1 Czechoslovakia win 3–2 on aggregate Soviet Union 4–0 Bulgaria\n Bulgaria 3–3 Soviet Union win 7–3 on aggregate\|width=\"5%\"\| \n\|valign=\"center\"\|\nFinal\n Soviet Union 2–2 Czechoslovakia\n Czechoslovakia 3–1 Soviet Union win 5–3 on aggregate finish as Champions\n\|}\n\nSee also\n UEFA European Under-21 Championship\n\nExternal links\n RSSSF Results Archive at rsssf.com\n\nUEFA European Under-21 Championship\n1970–71 in European football\n1971–72 in European football\n1972 in youth association football" ]
[ "Norm O'Neill", "Test debut", "When was his test debut?", "he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth.", "Did he win?", "He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs." ]	C_baff9fdd38f3450abb1dc86c3df32d24_1	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	3	Besides Norm O'Neill's test debut against the England cricket team, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	Norm O'Neill	Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4-0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. CANNOTANSWER	Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches.	Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958. Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India. His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25. O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings. Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965. O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era. He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level. He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2018. Early years The son of a builder, O'Neill was born in Carlton, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He had no cricketing associations on his father's side of the family, but his maternal uncle, Ron Campion, played for the Glebe club in Sydney Grade Cricket. Campion trained for cricket near the O'Neill family home, at Bexley Oval. O'Neill accompanied his uncle to cricket from the age of seven and was given batting practice at the end of each session. At Bexley Primary school, O'Neill was denied a chance to play cricket as the school did not field a team. Moving on to Kogarah Intermediate High School, O'Neill played cricket in defiance of a teacher who recommended that he take up athletics. As a teenager, O'Neill idolised Keith Miller after his uncle took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground: O'Neill saw Miller play that day and was impressed with the way he hit the ball off the back foot. Under his uncle's guidance, O'Neill joined the St George Cricket Club, in the Sydney Grade competition. He steadily moved up through the grades and broke into the first grade side at the age of 16. Sensing his potential, the club's selectors informed him that regardless of form, he would play the full season, which allowed him to be uninhibited in his batting. He made 108 in seven innings. The next season, he was out 12 times leg before wicket in 15 innings, and run out in the other three. O'Neill attributed his failures to over-aggressiveness and resolved to improve his patience. In the second match of the new season, the 17-year-old O'Neill made his first century. With all five state selectors onlooking, he made 28 in the next match and was called into the state squad. Shield debut O'Neill made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 18 against South Australia during the 1955–56 season. His lack of contribution was highlighted against the backdrop of his team's crushing innings victory: O'Neill failed to score a run or take a wicket. New South Wales bowled first and had South Australia at 6/49 when Miller introduced O'Neill's occasional leg spin, presumably to ease the debutant's nerves by bringing him into the game. The home team struck 18 from three overs. O'Neill was listed to bat in the lower middle order but after the top order had made a big start, Miller brought O'Neill up. He came in against the second new ball and was clean bowled. O'Neill was dropped and did not play another match for the season, but had gained invaluable experience. O'Neill steadily rose in the 1956–57 season. At the start of the season, with many players still on international duty during the closing stages of the tour to England and the subsequent stopover in the Indian subcontinent, O'Neill was recalled and made 60 and 63 not out against Queensland at the start of the season. This saw him retain his place when the Test players returned. After making a pair of single-figures scored, he made a sequence of three 60s against South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, He was rewarded with selection in the one-off match between Ray Lindwall's XI and Neil Harvey's XI, which doubled as a national selection trial, before making his first ton (127) against South Australia. He ended the season with 567 runs at 43.61, and earned selection for a non-Test tour of New Zealand under Ian Craig, in a team composed mainly of young players. He made 102 not out in the only "Test" match that he played, helping to set up a ten-wicket win. heading the tour averages with 218 runs at 72.66. Despite this, he was overlooked for the 1957–58 Test tour of South Africa. It was regarded as one of the most controversial decisions of the decade. O'Neill responded during the 1957–58 Sheffield Shield season weakened by the absence of the Test players, aggregating 1,005 runs at 83.75 and taking 26 wickets at 20.42 with his leg spinners, thus topping the national bowling and batting averages. Prior to the season, he had never taken a first-class wicket. In the opening match of the summer, he took 3/74 against Queensland. He then took a total of 5/51 scored 33 and 48 not out in a six-wicket win over Western Australia before taking 3/52 and adding two fifties in the return match. He then broke through for his first century of the season, scoring 114 and taking 3/44 in a ten-wicket win over South Australia. However, he reached more productive levels in the second half of the season. This comprised 175 against Victoria, 74 and 48 against Queensland, 125 and 23* against South Australia and 233 against Victoria. His 233 was made in little over four hours and featured 38 fours. It was the first time that a New South Welshman (let alone a twenty-year-old) had scored 1,000 in a Shield season. Bradman and Bill Ponsford were the only others before him. He added 12 wickets in the final four matches, including 2/50 and 4/40 in the match against Queensland. O'Neill's performances played a large part in his state's fifth consecutive title. These performances led former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly to compare him to Bradman and former Test opening batsman Jack Fingleton to lament his non-selection for the South African tour and its reflection on the plight of Australian cricket. At the time, his employers refused to make allowances for him to play sport, forcing him to begin work at six in the morning. As a result, he considered moving to South Australia, where a grocery magnate offered him employment and financial incentives. However, he stayed after state officials intervened, with Sir Ronald Irish, the Australian chairman of Rothmans, providing him with a job in Sydney. At the time, O'Neill had another offer. Having represented his state in baseball and been nominated in the All-Australian team in 1957, he was approached by the New York Yankees, having had experience at a pitcher and short stop. O'Neill was offered a fee more than 25 times that for a single Test match, as well as travel costs and accommodation, to trial with the Yankees. He agreed, but Irish dissuaded him less than a week before his scheduled departure. Test debut Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958–59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4–0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. Career peak The following season O'Neill was Australia's leading batsman during the 1959–60 tour to Pakistan and India, where he was a part of the last Australian team to win a Test on Pakistani soil for 39 years. After a quiet match in the First Test eight-wicket win in Dacca in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in which he scored two and 26 not out, O'Neill played a key role in the victory in the Second Test in Lahore that was to Australia's last in Pakistan until 1998. O'Neill made his maiden Test century of 134 in the first innings to give Australia a 245-run lead. He then took his maiden Test wicket in Pakistan's second innings, that of Shujauddin. This left Australia chasing a target of 122 in the last two hours on the final day. The chase was on schedule with O'Neill partnering Neil Harvey when the Pakistanis began wasting time to prevent an Australian victory. This was implemented by swapping fielders very slowly when the left and right-handed combination of Harvey and O'Neill took a single, and overs began taking seven minutes instead of three. To counter this, Harvey deliberately backed away when a ball was aimed at the stumps and threw away his wicket by letting himself be bowled for 37. This allowed Benaud to come in and bat with O'Neill so that the two right-handed batsmen would give no opportunity to waste time by switching the field. Benaud then threatened Pakistani captain Imtiaz Ahmed with a formal complaint over the time-wasting, and proceedings returned to their normal pace. Australia made the target with a few minutes to spare, with O'Neill on 43. O'Neill failed to make double figures in the final Test, which was drawn, but ended the series with 218 runs at 72.66. In another tour match, against the President's XI, O'Neill scored an unbeaten 52 in a low-scoring match as Australia stumbled to their target of 116 with only three wickets in hand. O'Neill's performances in Pakistan was such that the parents in one cricket-following Karachi family named their new son Anil for its resemblance to O'Neill. Anil Dalpat went on to become the first Hindu to represent Pakistan, playing nine Tests in the 1980s as a wicketkeeper. On the five-Test Indian series which followed, O'Neill started slowly, aggregating 60 runs in the first two Tests, which were shared 1–1. He returned to form with a leg-side dominated 163 in a high-scoring draw in the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium in Bombay. After scoring 40 in an innings victory in the Fourth Test in Madras, Australia needed a draw in the Fifth Test in Calcutta with four players injured or ill, while Benaud had a dislocated spinning finger. O'Neill scored 113 in the first innings to help a depleted team take a 137-run first innings lead and prevent India from squaring the series. He was Australia's leading scorer in the Tests, with 376 runs at 62.66. He also made his highest first-class score of 284, against an Indian President's XI in Ahmedabad. He was the top scorer for the whole subcontinental Test tour, with 594 runs in eight matches at 66.00. He returned to Australia and played in one match for New South Wales at the end of the 1959–60 season, scoring 175 as his state defeated Western Australia and won a seventh Shield in a row. Prior to the following Australian summer, O'Neill was part of an International Cavaliers team that toured South Africa. He scored 133 runs at 21.83. In the lead-up to the 1960–61 home Tests series against the West Indies, O'Neill scored 156 not to set up an innings win for his state over the tourists. He then struck 181 in the first innings of the opening match at Brisbane, his highest Test score. The innings prompted teammate Bob Simpson to say "if God gave me an hour to watch someone I'd seen, I'd request to see Norman O'Neill. He had the style." Australia took a first innings lead and O'Neill made 26 in the second innings as Australia collapsed towards a likely defeat before recovering; the match ended in the first Tied Test in history. This was the peak of O'Neill's career. Having played 14 Tests, he was averaging 67.68 with the bat. He then struck 114 as his state defeated the tourists by an innings, and he made 40 and a duck as the Australians took the series lead in the Second Test. He made 70 and 71 in the Third Test loss in Sydney, one of the few players able to combat Lance Gibbs effectively, top-scoring in the first innings and second top-scoring in the second innings. He then made 65 in the second innings in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, where Australia held on by one wicket for a draw. He contributed 48 in the second innings of the Fifth Test as Australia appeared headed for a series victory. However, a late collapse ensued, and Australia scraped home by two wickets to take the series 2–1. O'Neill ended the series with 522 runs at 52.20. O'Neill gained attention during the summer for frequently losing his wicket by impulsively sweeping. This was attributed to the dominance of his bottom hand, which saw his bat swinging across the line of flight of the ball. Despite the criticism, he was at the peak of his international career, having made 1398 runs at 58.35 in his first 18 Tests. Wisden Cricketer of the Year O'Neill was selected for the tour of England in 1961, and he warmed up by scoring centuries in consecutive matches against Tasmania for the Australian squad. During the English summer, O'Neill scored 1981 runs at 60.03, narrowly missing becoming only the fourth post-war player after Don Bradman, Neil Harvey and Bill Lawry to make 2,000 runs in an Ashes tour. In the third match against Yorkshire, which was O'Neill's second for the tour, he scored an unbeaten 100 marked by his cover driving. He followed this with a 74 against Lancashire before a 124 two matches later against Glamorgan, which was described by Wisden as the best of the season. He scored 73 against Gloucestershire and made 122 on his first appearance at Lord's, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Australia went on to win by 63 runs. In the next match against Sussex, O'Neill was carried from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and after failing to bat in either innings, it appeared he would be sidelined for a substantial period. However, he recovered to be selected for the First Test at Edgbaston, just five days later. He made 82 as Australia scored 9/516 declared and took a 321-run first innings lead, but England could not be dismissed in the second innings and salvaged a draw. He continued his form with an unbeaten 104 against Kent between the Tests. The "Battle of the Ridge" in the Second Test at Lord's—the home of cricket—was an unhappy one for O'Neill. On an erratic pitch with a visible ridge that caused uneven bounce, O'Neill made one and a duck as an Australia scraped home by five wickets in a low-scoring match. He returned to the county matches and scored 162 against Lancashire, before scoring 27 and 19 as England squared the series in the Third Test at Headingley. O'Neill then scored 142 against Northamptonshire, but the hosts were able to tie the scores when stumps were drawn with four wickets in hand. After rectifying a technical fault, O'Neill made 67 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series tied at 1–1, helping Australia take a narrow victory to retain the Ashes. Heading into the final Test, O'Neill had a consistent run, scoring three fifties in four innings. He made his first century against England in the Fifth Test at The Oval with 117 as Australia drew the match to take the series. He did so after being given a "lucky coin" by a spectator and being dropped at second slip when he was on 19. He scored 324 runs at 40.50 in the Tests and was subsequently named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1962. Following the Tests, O'Neill added four half-centuries in five innings in a consistent run towards the close of the tour. He left English soil with 138 against Minor Counties, in a non-first-class match. In all first-class matches, he made seven centuries, and his run aggregate was second only to Lawry, who made 2,019 runs. International decline After this tour, his form began to decline, as he became prone to uncertain and fidgety starts to his innings, which earned him the nickname "Nervous Norm". A persistent knee injury increasingly troubled him and was to end his career. The 1961–62 Australian team was purely domestic with no touring Test team, and New South Wales completed their ninth Sheffield Shield title in a row, O'Neill had a poor season, scoring only 377 runs at 25.13, passing fifty only twice. The 1962–63 home Ashes series was Australia's first Test matches in 18 months. After an unproductive season last year, O'Neill started the new summer with 15 and 2/30 for a Western Australia Combined XI against Ted Dexter's Englishmen. His victims with the ball were Dexter and batsman Tom Graveney. He then made his first century in over a year, scoring 131 against Western Australia for his state. O'Neill completed his preparation for the Tests by helping New South Wales to defeat Dexter's men by an innings. He scored 143 and took 2/36, removing Graveney and leading batsman Colin Cowdrey. O'Neill made 56 in the First Test drawn at Brisbane but failed to pass 20 in the next two matches, which were shared by the two teams. After his wife made him a pair of "lucky lemon socks", he scored 100 in the first innings of the drawn Fourth Test in Adelaide, which turned out to be his last Test century with fifteen Tests before the end of his career. With Alan Davidson injured during the match, O'Neill was required to bowl substantially, conceding 49 runs in what was his most expensive performance to date. He scored 73 in the Fifth Test in Sydney to finish the series with 310 runs at 34.44, substantially below his career average of 53.8 prior to the series. He also took two wickets, one in each of the Third and Fifth Tests, removing Fred Titmus and Dexter respectively. Outside the Tests, O'Neill struggled and passed 25 once in eight other non-Test innings. This was a 93 against arch-rivals Victoria, which was not enough to prevent defeat. Victoria went on to win the Sheffield Shield and end New South Wales' nine-year winning streak. At the end of the season, he embarked on a tour with the International Cavaliers, which toured Africa, mostly playing against provincial teams. He played in seven matches and had a productive series, scoring 541 runs at 41.54 including a century and four fifties. He also bowled more frequently than usual taking seven wickets at 53.29. The following season in 1963–64, O'Neill started poorly, passing 12 only once in his first six innings. However, he was retained for the team for the First Test against South Africa in Brisbane, where he scored 82 and 19 not out in a drawn match. He continued his resurgence with 36 and 61 not out the following fixture against Victoria, but was injured during the second innings and forced to retire hurt. This meant that he missed the Second Test, which Australia won by eight wickets. O'Neill returned and scored half centuries in each of the next two Tests. He also took two wickets to end the series with 285 runs at 40.71 and three wickets at 32.33. He added a further two half-centuries in the remaining Shield matches. O'Neill retained his place for the 1964 tour to England, and scored a century against Western Australia for the touring squad before departing for the northern hemisphere. After failing to pass 16 in his first two outings, he struck form against Glamorgan, scoring 65 and an unbeaten 109. He then added 151 and 17 not out, leading the way as the Australians defeated the MCC by nine wickets in a dress rehearsal for the Tests. However, O'Neill scored 98 in the first four innings of the opening two Tests and was forced out of the Third Test with a knee injury, the only non-draw of the series, which Australia won. Nevertheless, he passed 50 in each of the four tour matches during this period, including a 134 against Yorkshire and 90 against Northamptonshire. O'Neill returned for the final two Tests and ended the series with only 156 runs at 31.20 in five Tests without passing fifty and going wicketless. He added another century against Kent and two further fifties in the closing stages of the English summer. His 1964–65 tour of the subcontinent on the way back to Australia was even worse, a far cry from his leading role in the previous tour to the subcontinent. After making 40 and 0 in the First Test win in Madras, he was unable to bat either innings in the Second Test in Bombay after being hospitalised due to persistent vomiting, injury as Australia ceded their series lead. He missed the remainder of the series, the Third Test in Calcutta and a one-off Test in Pakistan. Upon his return home, he has a shortened domestic season before Australia left for the West Indies. In five domestic matches, he scored 357 runs at 59.50, including a 133 not against South Australia. O'Neill started the 1964–65 tour of the West Indies strongly, scoring a century in the first match against Jamaica. He was often injured during the tour, but was at his most productive with the bat since the last series against the Caribbean team four years earlier. He made many starts, passing 20 in six of his seven Test innings, but was unable to convert them into big scores. In the First Test, O'Neill was struck on the hand by Wes Hall and was sent to hospital for X-rays after a break was suspected. During the Second Test, it was the turn of Charlie Griffith to send O'Neill to hospital, after hitting him on the forearm and causing a large bruise. His 51 and 74* in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, the last Test of his career, was the only time he passed 50 for the series. He ended with 266 runs at 44.33, missing the Fifth Test due to a broken hand. He managed a healthy return with the ball, taking nine of his 17 Test wickets in the series with an average of 25.55. This included his Test best of 4/41 with his leg-spin in the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In this match, he cleaned up the hosts' tail in the first innings, removing Jackie Hendriks, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs. At the end of the tour, O'Neill garnered controversy by writing outspoken newspaper columns accusing opposition pace spearhead Charlie Griffith of chucking. He was one of several Australians who took exception to Griffith's bowling action, and he put his name to a series of feature articles in Sydney's Daily Mirror. These labelled Griffith as "an obvious chucker", saying the hosts had been "wrong to play" him. O'Neill stated that "If he is allowed to continue throwing, he could kill someone". O'Neill also expressed his desire to not have to face bowling that he deemed to be illegal. When the Daily Mirror syndicated the columns, London's Daily Mail ignored an embargo and printed the pieces while the Australians were on their homeward flight, putting O'Neill in breach of his tour contract, which forbade players from commenting in the media during tours. The West Indies lodged an official complaint with Australia, and the Australian Cricket Board replied that it deplored the published comments, although noting that as O'Neill's touring contract had expired at the end of the tour, the point was moot. Nevertheless, the ACB changed its stance on players' writing, so that they could no longer comment on a tour until three months after its conclusion. The event is often perceived to have been a factor in O'Neill's eventual departure from the national scene. Outside the Tests, O'Neill performed strongly in three matches against regional teams, scoring centuries in each of them. He scored 125, 125, and 101 in his only three innings, against Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Retirement The following season, O'Neill was overlooked for selection in all five Tests against the touring England team. Returning to New South Wales, he scored 473 runs at 39.42, including two centuries. O'Neill was omitted from the squad that toured South Africa in 1966–67, ending his Test career. He continued his Shield career while his former teammates were on the other side of the Indian Ocean, compiling 741 runs at 74.10 in a strong season. He started the season with 117 against Western Australia, before scoring a pair of 78s in the return match, helping his team to a tense 13-run win. He then scored 128 and 22 not out against Victoria and finished his season with 160 and 80 against South Australia, scoring a majority of his team's first innings score. As a result, he was selected for an Australian Second XI to tour New Zealand. He scored 69 runs at 17.25 in two international matches and made his last first-class century, scoring 101 and 58 not out against Auckland. O'Neill retired upon his return to Australia due to a knee injury. He left a reputation as a highly entertaining batsman who did not manage to fulfil his early promise. "A disappointment he was, perhaps, but his cricket will be recalled when those of lesser gifts are forgotten", opined the writer EW Swanton. In 61 matches for New South Wales, he scored 5419 runs at 52.61. He compiled 3879 runs at 61.57 for St George in grade competition before transferring to Sutherland in the 1965–66 club. He scored 168 on his new club's first day in the competition. A cigarette salesman by trade, he became a commentator in retirement. He married Gwen Wallace, a track and field athlete who won relay gold for Australia at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. They had two sons and a daughter. Their eldest child Mark O'Neill represented New South Wales and Western Australia in the 1980s. O'Neill also co-owned a racehorse with Richie Benaud, Barry Jarman and Ray Steele, named Pall Mallan, and it won a race in 1961. On 3 March 2008, O'Neill died in Erina, New South Wales, due to the effects of throat cancer. He was 71. Style Standing six feet tall, O'Neill was compared to Don Bradman upon his entry into Test cricket. At his best, he was a dynamic stroke maker who was a crowd favourite because of his ability to score at a high pace, in particular with his power off the back foot. He was noted for his nimble footwork, which he used to negate spin bowling; however, this slowed in his later career as he put on weight. O'Neill particularly liked to sweep the slower bowlers. He often put too much emphasis on his right hand, allowing a large space between his hands on the bat handle, and then turning his right shoulder too square towards the bowler. The renowned English batsman and captain Wally Hammond said that O'Neill was the best all-round batsman he had seen since World War II. O'Neill's tall build, strength and good looks also drew comparison to his boyhood idol Keith Miller. Despite the comparisons to Bradman, O'Neill was much taller and broader, and was often impetuous whereas Bradman was known for his patience and lack of rashness. O'Neill was also criticised for hitting across the line early in his innings. O'Neill was highly regarded for his style and entertainment values. Teammate Alan Davidson said "once set he was the most exhilarating player you'd ever want to see—he was dynamite. He'd play attacking shots off balls other people would only think of defending. He had wonderful skill and technique. His shots off the back foot down the ground off fast bowlers—you can't really describe how good they were." His captain for Australia and New South Wales, Richie Benaud said that he was "one of the greatest entertainers we've had in Australian cricket". O'Neill's style led the British writer EW Swanton to say "the art of batting, he reminded us, was not dead, merely inexplicably dormant" Wisden opined that "A high innings by O'Neill is a thing of masterful beauty. His stroking is delectable, immense in its power." Later in his career, O'Neill became a nervous and superstitious batsman, particular at the start of an innings. He wrote "batting is a lonely business" in his 1964 autobiography Ins and Outs, opining that he sometimes found first-class cricket to be "depressing and lonely". He was regarded as an excellent fieldsman at cover, with a powerful and accurate throw, described by Wisden as a "dream throw" honed from a junior career as a baseballer. He was named as utility player in the 1957 All Australian baseball team, and his ability was such that he was approached by Major League Baseball scouts. Before the retirement of Neil Harvey, he and O'Neill fielded in tandem in the covers and the pair were regarded as the finest fielding combination of the time. Test match performance References Notes External links 1937 births 2008 deaths Australia Test cricketers Australian baseball players Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricket commentators Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from esophageal cancer International Cavaliers cricketers New South Wales cricketers St George cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Norm O'Neill", "Test debut", "When was his test debut?", "he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth.", "Did he win?", "He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches." ]	C_baff9fdd38f3450abb1dc86c3df32d24_1	Why was he selected?	4	Why was Norm O'Neill selected for the test debut?	Norm O'Neill	Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4-0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958. Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India. His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25. O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings. Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965. O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era. He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level. He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2018. Early years The son of a builder, O'Neill was born in Carlton, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He had no cricketing associations on his father's side of the family, but his maternal uncle, Ron Campion, played for the Glebe club in Sydney Grade Cricket. Campion trained for cricket near the O'Neill family home, at Bexley Oval. O'Neill accompanied his uncle to cricket from the age of seven and was given batting practice at the end of each session. At Bexley Primary school, O'Neill was denied a chance to play cricket as the school did not field a team. Moving on to Kogarah Intermediate High School, O'Neill played cricket in defiance of a teacher who recommended that he take up athletics. As a teenager, O'Neill idolised Keith Miller after his uncle took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground: O'Neill saw Miller play that day and was impressed with the way he hit the ball off the back foot. Under his uncle's guidance, O'Neill joined the St George Cricket Club, in the Sydney Grade competition. He steadily moved up through the grades and broke into the first grade side at the age of 16. Sensing his potential, the club's selectors informed him that regardless of form, he would play the full season, which allowed him to be uninhibited in his batting. He made 108 in seven innings. The next season, he was out 12 times leg before wicket in 15 innings, and run out in the other three. O'Neill attributed his failures to over-aggressiveness and resolved to improve his patience. In the second match of the new season, the 17-year-old O'Neill made his first century. With all five state selectors onlooking, he made 28 in the next match and was called into the state squad. Shield debut O'Neill made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 18 against South Australia during the 1955–56 season. His lack of contribution was highlighted against the backdrop of his team's crushing innings victory: O'Neill failed to score a run or take a wicket. New South Wales bowled first and had South Australia at 6/49 when Miller introduced O'Neill's occasional leg spin, presumably to ease the debutant's nerves by bringing him into the game. The home team struck 18 from three overs. O'Neill was listed to bat in the lower middle order but after the top order had made a big start, Miller brought O'Neill up. He came in against the second new ball and was clean bowled. O'Neill was dropped and did not play another match for the season, but had gained invaluable experience. O'Neill steadily rose in the 1956–57 season. At the start of the season, with many players still on international duty during the closing stages of the tour to England and the subsequent stopover in the Indian subcontinent, O'Neill was recalled and made 60 and 63 not out against Queensland at the start of the season. This saw him retain his place when the Test players returned. After making a pair of single-figures scored, he made a sequence of three 60s against South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, He was rewarded with selection in the one-off match between Ray Lindwall's XI and Neil Harvey's XI, which doubled as a national selection trial, before making his first ton (127) against South Australia. He ended the season with 567 runs at 43.61, and earned selection for a non-Test tour of New Zealand under Ian Craig, in a team composed mainly of young players. He made 102 not out in the only "Test" match that he played, helping to set up a ten-wicket win. heading the tour averages with 218 runs at 72.66. Despite this, he was overlooked for the 1957–58 Test tour of South Africa. It was regarded as one of the most controversial decisions of the decade. O'Neill responded during the 1957–58 Sheffield Shield season weakened by the absence of the Test players, aggregating 1,005 runs at 83.75 and taking 26 wickets at 20.42 with his leg spinners, thus topping the national bowling and batting averages. Prior to the season, he had never taken a first-class wicket. In the opening match of the summer, he took 3/74 against Queensland. He then took a total of 5/51 scored 33 and 48 not out in a six-wicket win over Western Australia before taking 3/52 and adding two fifties in the return match. He then broke through for his first century of the season, scoring 114 and taking 3/44 in a ten-wicket win over South Australia. However, he reached more productive levels in the second half of the season. This comprised 175 against Victoria, 74 and 48 against Queensland, 125 and 23* against South Australia and 233 against Victoria. His 233 was made in little over four hours and featured 38 fours. It was the first time that a New South Welshman (let alone a twenty-year-old) had scored 1,000 in a Shield season. Bradman and Bill Ponsford were the only others before him. He added 12 wickets in the final four matches, including 2/50 and 4/40 in the match against Queensland. O'Neill's performances played a large part in his state's fifth consecutive title. These performances led former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly to compare him to Bradman and former Test opening batsman Jack Fingleton to lament his non-selection for the South African tour and its reflection on the plight of Australian cricket. At the time, his employers refused to make allowances for him to play sport, forcing him to begin work at six in the morning. As a result, he considered moving to South Australia, where a grocery magnate offered him employment and financial incentives. However, he stayed after state officials intervened, with Sir Ronald Irish, the Australian chairman of Rothmans, providing him with a job in Sydney. At the time, O'Neill had another offer. Having represented his state in baseball and been nominated in the All-Australian team in 1957, he was approached by the New York Yankees, having had experience at a pitcher and short stop. O'Neill was offered a fee more than 25 times that for a single Test match, as well as travel costs and accommodation, to trial with the Yankees. He agreed, but Irish dissuaded him less than a week before his scheduled departure. Test debut Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958–59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4–0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. Career peak The following season O'Neill was Australia's leading batsman during the 1959–60 tour to Pakistan and India, where he was a part of the last Australian team to win a Test on Pakistani soil for 39 years. After a quiet match in the First Test eight-wicket win in Dacca in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in which he scored two and 26 not out, O'Neill played a key role in the victory in the Second Test in Lahore that was to Australia's last in Pakistan until 1998. O'Neill made his maiden Test century of 134 in the first innings to give Australia a 245-run lead. He then took his maiden Test wicket in Pakistan's second innings, that of Shujauddin. This left Australia chasing a target of 122 in the last two hours on the final day. The chase was on schedule with O'Neill partnering Neil Harvey when the Pakistanis began wasting time to prevent an Australian victory. This was implemented by swapping fielders very slowly when the left and right-handed combination of Harvey and O'Neill took a single, and overs began taking seven minutes instead of three. To counter this, Harvey deliberately backed away when a ball was aimed at the stumps and threw away his wicket by letting himself be bowled for 37. This allowed Benaud to come in and bat with O'Neill so that the two right-handed batsmen would give no opportunity to waste time by switching the field. Benaud then threatened Pakistani captain Imtiaz Ahmed with a formal complaint over the time-wasting, and proceedings returned to their normal pace. Australia made the target with a few minutes to spare, with O'Neill on 43. O'Neill failed to make double figures in the final Test, which was drawn, but ended the series with 218 runs at 72.66. In another tour match, against the President's XI, O'Neill scored an unbeaten 52 in a low-scoring match as Australia stumbled to their target of 116 with only three wickets in hand. O'Neill's performances in Pakistan was such that the parents in one cricket-following Karachi family named their new son Anil for its resemblance to O'Neill. Anil Dalpat went on to become the first Hindu to represent Pakistan, playing nine Tests in the 1980s as a wicketkeeper. On the five-Test Indian series which followed, O'Neill started slowly, aggregating 60 runs in the first two Tests, which were shared 1–1. He returned to form with a leg-side dominated 163 in a high-scoring draw in the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium in Bombay. After scoring 40 in an innings victory in the Fourth Test in Madras, Australia needed a draw in the Fifth Test in Calcutta with four players injured or ill, while Benaud had a dislocated spinning finger. O'Neill scored 113 in the first innings to help a depleted team take a 137-run first innings lead and prevent India from squaring the series. He was Australia's leading scorer in the Tests, with 376 runs at 62.66. He also made his highest first-class score of 284, against an Indian President's XI in Ahmedabad. He was the top scorer for the whole subcontinental Test tour, with 594 runs in eight matches at 66.00. He returned to Australia and played in one match for New South Wales at the end of the 1959–60 season, scoring 175 as his state defeated Western Australia and won a seventh Shield in a row. Prior to the following Australian summer, O'Neill was part of an International Cavaliers team that toured South Africa. He scored 133 runs at 21.83. In the lead-up to the 1960–61 home Tests series against the West Indies, O'Neill scored 156 not to set up an innings win for his state over the tourists. He then struck 181 in the first innings of the opening match at Brisbane, his highest Test score. The innings prompted teammate Bob Simpson to say "if God gave me an hour to watch someone I'd seen, I'd request to see Norman O'Neill. He had the style." Australia took a first innings lead and O'Neill made 26 in the second innings as Australia collapsed towards a likely defeat before recovering; the match ended in the first Tied Test in history. This was the peak of O'Neill's career. Having played 14 Tests, he was averaging 67.68 with the bat. He then struck 114 as his state defeated the tourists by an innings, and he made 40 and a duck as the Australians took the series lead in the Second Test. He made 70 and 71 in the Third Test loss in Sydney, one of the few players able to combat Lance Gibbs effectively, top-scoring in the first innings and second top-scoring in the second innings. He then made 65 in the second innings in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, where Australia held on by one wicket for a draw. He contributed 48 in the second innings of the Fifth Test as Australia appeared headed for a series victory. However, a late collapse ensued, and Australia scraped home by two wickets to take the series 2–1. O'Neill ended the series with 522 runs at 52.20. O'Neill gained attention during the summer for frequently losing his wicket by impulsively sweeping. This was attributed to the dominance of his bottom hand, which saw his bat swinging across the line of flight of the ball. Despite the criticism, he was at the peak of his international career, having made 1398 runs at 58.35 in his first 18 Tests. Wisden Cricketer of the Year O'Neill was selected for the tour of England in 1961, and he warmed up by scoring centuries in consecutive matches against Tasmania for the Australian squad. During the English summer, O'Neill scored 1981 runs at 60.03, narrowly missing becoming only the fourth post-war player after Don Bradman, Neil Harvey and Bill Lawry to make 2,000 runs in an Ashes tour. In the third match against Yorkshire, which was O'Neill's second for the tour, he scored an unbeaten 100 marked by his cover driving. He followed this with a 74 against Lancashire before a 124 two matches later against Glamorgan, which was described by Wisden as the best of the season. He scored 73 against Gloucestershire and made 122 on his first appearance at Lord's, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Australia went on to win by 63 runs. In the next match against Sussex, O'Neill was carried from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and after failing to bat in either innings, it appeared he would be sidelined for a substantial period. However, he recovered to be selected for the First Test at Edgbaston, just five days later. He made 82 as Australia scored 9/516 declared and took a 321-run first innings lead, but England could not be dismissed in the second innings and salvaged a draw. He continued his form with an unbeaten 104 against Kent between the Tests. The "Battle of the Ridge" in the Second Test at Lord's—the home of cricket—was an unhappy one for O'Neill. On an erratic pitch with a visible ridge that caused uneven bounce, O'Neill made one and a duck as an Australia scraped home by five wickets in a low-scoring match. He returned to the county matches and scored 162 against Lancashire, before scoring 27 and 19 as England squared the series in the Third Test at Headingley. O'Neill then scored 142 against Northamptonshire, but the hosts were able to tie the scores when stumps were drawn with four wickets in hand. After rectifying a technical fault, O'Neill made 67 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series tied at 1–1, helping Australia take a narrow victory to retain the Ashes. Heading into the final Test, O'Neill had a consistent run, scoring three fifties in four innings. He made his first century against England in the Fifth Test at The Oval with 117 as Australia drew the match to take the series. He did so after being given a "lucky coin" by a spectator and being dropped at second slip when he was on 19. He scored 324 runs at 40.50 in the Tests and was subsequently named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1962. Following the Tests, O'Neill added four half-centuries in five innings in a consistent run towards the close of the tour. He left English soil with 138 against Minor Counties, in a non-first-class match. In all first-class matches, he made seven centuries, and his run aggregate was second only to Lawry, who made 2,019 runs. International decline After this tour, his form began to decline, as he became prone to uncertain and fidgety starts to his innings, which earned him the nickname "Nervous Norm". A persistent knee injury increasingly troubled him and was to end his career. The 1961–62 Australian team was purely domestic with no touring Test team, and New South Wales completed their ninth Sheffield Shield title in a row, O'Neill had a poor season, scoring only 377 runs at 25.13, passing fifty only twice. The 1962–63 home Ashes series was Australia's first Test matches in 18 months. After an unproductive season last year, O'Neill started the new summer with 15 and 2/30 for a Western Australia Combined XI against Ted Dexter's Englishmen. His victims with the ball were Dexter and batsman Tom Graveney. He then made his first century in over a year, scoring 131 against Western Australia for his state. O'Neill completed his preparation for the Tests by helping New South Wales to defeat Dexter's men by an innings. He scored 143 and took 2/36, removing Graveney and leading batsman Colin Cowdrey. O'Neill made 56 in the First Test drawn at Brisbane but failed to pass 20 in the next two matches, which were shared by the two teams. After his wife made him a pair of "lucky lemon socks", he scored 100 in the first innings of the drawn Fourth Test in Adelaide, which turned out to be his last Test century with fifteen Tests before the end of his career. With Alan Davidson injured during the match, O'Neill was required to bowl substantially, conceding 49 runs in what was his most expensive performance to date. He scored 73 in the Fifth Test in Sydney to finish the series with 310 runs at 34.44, substantially below his career average of 53.8 prior to the series. He also took two wickets, one in each of the Third and Fifth Tests, removing Fred Titmus and Dexter respectively. Outside the Tests, O'Neill struggled and passed 25 once in eight other non-Test innings. This was a 93 against arch-rivals Victoria, which was not enough to prevent defeat. Victoria went on to win the Sheffield Shield and end New South Wales' nine-year winning streak. At the end of the season, he embarked on a tour with the International Cavaliers, which toured Africa, mostly playing against provincial teams. He played in seven matches and had a productive series, scoring 541 runs at 41.54 including a century and four fifties. He also bowled more frequently than usual taking seven wickets at 53.29. The following season in 1963–64, O'Neill started poorly, passing 12 only once in his first six innings. However, he was retained for the team for the First Test against South Africa in Brisbane, where he scored 82 and 19 not out in a drawn match. He continued his resurgence with 36 and 61 not out the following fixture against Victoria, but was injured during the second innings and forced to retire hurt. This meant that he missed the Second Test, which Australia won by eight wickets. O'Neill returned and scored half centuries in each of the next two Tests. He also took two wickets to end the series with 285 runs at 40.71 and three wickets at 32.33. He added a further two half-centuries in the remaining Shield matches. O'Neill retained his place for the 1964 tour to England, and scored a century against Western Australia for the touring squad before departing for the northern hemisphere. After failing to pass 16 in his first two outings, he struck form against Glamorgan, scoring 65 and an unbeaten 109. He then added 151 and 17 not out, leading the way as the Australians defeated the MCC by nine wickets in a dress rehearsal for the Tests. However, O'Neill scored 98 in the first four innings of the opening two Tests and was forced out of the Third Test with a knee injury, the only non-draw of the series, which Australia won. Nevertheless, he passed 50 in each of the four tour matches during this period, including a 134 against Yorkshire and 90 against Northamptonshire. O'Neill returned for the final two Tests and ended the series with only 156 runs at 31.20 in five Tests without passing fifty and going wicketless. He added another century against Kent and two further fifties in the closing stages of the English summer. His 1964–65 tour of the subcontinent on the way back to Australia was even worse, a far cry from his leading role in the previous tour to the subcontinent. After making 40 and 0 in the First Test win in Madras, he was unable to bat either innings in the Second Test in Bombay after being hospitalised due to persistent vomiting, injury as Australia ceded their series lead. He missed the remainder of the series, the Third Test in Calcutta and a one-off Test in Pakistan. Upon his return home, he has a shortened domestic season before Australia left for the West Indies. In five domestic matches, he scored 357 runs at 59.50, including a 133 not against South Australia. O'Neill started the 1964–65 tour of the West Indies strongly, scoring a century in the first match against Jamaica. He was often injured during the tour, but was at his most productive with the bat since the last series against the Caribbean team four years earlier. He made many starts, passing 20 in six of his seven Test innings, but was unable to convert them into big scores. In the First Test, O'Neill was struck on the hand by Wes Hall and was sent to hospital for X-rays after a break was suspected. During the Second Test, it was the turn of Charlie Griffith to send O'Neill to hospital, after hitting him on the forearm and causing a large bruise. His 51 and 74* in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, the last Test of his career, was the only time he passed 50 for the series. He ended with 266 runs at 44.33, missing the Fifth Test due to a broken hand. He managed a healthy return with the ball, taking nine of his 17 Test wickets in the series with an average of 25.55. This included his Test best of 4/41 with his leg-spin in the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In this match, he cleaned up the hosts' tail in the first innings, removing Jackie Hendriks, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs. At the end of the tour, O'Neill garnered controversy by writing outspoken newspaper columns accusing opposition pace spearhead Charlie Griffith of chucking. He was one of several Australians who took exception to Griffith's bowling action, and he put his name to a series of feature articles in Sydney's Daily Mirror. These labelled Griffith as "an obvious chucker", saying the hosts had been "wrong to play" him. O'Neill stated that "If he is allowed to continue throwing, he could kill someone". O'Neill also expressed his desire to not have to face bowling that he deemed to be illegal. When the Daily Mirror syndicated the columns, London's Daily Mail ignored an embargo and printed the pieces while the Australians were on their homeward flight, putting O'Neill in breach of his tour contract, which forbade players from commenting in the media during tours. The West Indies lodged an official complaint with Australia, and the Australian Cricket Board replied that it deplored the published comments, although noting that as O'Neill's touring contract had expired at the end of the tour, the point was moot. Nevertheless, the ACB changed its stance on players' writing, so that they could no longer comment on a tour until three months after its conclusion. The event is often perceived to have been a factor in O'Neill's eventual departure from the national scene. Outside the Tests, O'Neill performed strongly in three matches against regional teams, scoring centuries in each of them. He scored 125, 125, and 101 in his only three innings, against Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Retirement The following season, O'Neill was overlooked for selection in all five Tests against the touring England team. Returning to New South Wales, he scored 473 runs at 39.42, including two centuries. O'Neill was omitted from the squad that toured South Africa in 1966–67, ending his Test career. He continued his Shield career while his former teammates were on the other side of the Indian Ocean, compiling 741 runs at 74.10 in a strong season. He started the season with 117 against Western Australia, before scoring a pair of 78s in the return match, helping his team to a tense 13-run win. He then scored 128 and 22 not out against Victoria and finished his season with 160 and 80 against South Australia, scoring a majority of his team's first innings score. As a result, he was selected for an Australian Second XI to tour New Zealand. He scored 69 runs at 17.25 in two international matches and made his last first-class century, scoring 101 and 58 not out against Auckland. O'Neill retired upon his return to Australia due to a knee injury. He left a reputation as a highly entertaining batsman who did not manage to fulfil his early promise. "A disappointment he was, perhaps, but his cricket will be recalled when those of lesser gifts are forgotten", opined the writer EW Swanton. In 61 matches for New South Wales, he scored 5419 runs at 52.61. He compiled 3879 runs at 61.57 for St George in grade competition before transferring to Sutherland in the 1965–66 club. He scored 168 on his new club's first day in the competition. A cigarette salesman by trade, he became a commentator in retirement. He married Gwen Wallace, a track and field athlete who won relay gold for Australia at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. They had two sons and a daughter. Their eldest child Mark O'Neill represented New South Wales and Western Australia in the 1980s. O'Neill also co-owned a racehorse with Richie Benaud, Barry Jarman and Ray Steele, named Pall Mallan, and it won a race in 1961. On 3 March 2008, O'Neill died in Erina, New South Wales, due to the effects of throat cancer. He was 71. Style Standing six feet tall, O'Neill was compared to Don Bradman upon his entry into Test cricket. At his best, he was a dynamic stroke maker who was a crowd favourite because of his ability to score at a high pace, in particular with his power off the back foot. He was noted for his nimble footwork, which he used to negate spin bowling; however, this slowed in his later career as he put on weight. O'Neill particularly liked to sweep the slower bowlers. He often put too much emphasis on his right hand, allowing a large space between his hands on the bat handle, and then turning his right shoulder too square towards the bowler. The renowned English batsman and captain Wally Hammond said that O'Neill was the best all-round batsman he had seen since World War II. O'Neill's tall build, strength and good looks also drew comparison to his boyhood idol Keith Miller. Despite the comparisons to Bradman, O'Neill was much taller and broader, and was often impetuous whereas Bradman was known for his patience and lack of rashness. O'Neill was also criticised for hitting across the line early in his innings. O'Neill was highly regarded for his style and entertainment values. Teammate Alan Davidson said "once set he was the most exhilarating player you'd ever want to see—he was dynamite. He'd play attacking shots off balls other people would only think of defending. He had wonderful skill and technique. His shots off the back foot down the ground off fast bowlers—you can't really describe how good they were." His captain for Australia and New South Wales, Richie Benaud said that he was "one of the greatest entertainers we've had in Australian cricket". O'Neill's style led the British writer EW Swanton to say "the art of batting, he reminded us, was not dead, merely inexplicably dormant" Wisden opined that "A high innings by O'Neill is a thing of masterful beauty. His stroking is delectable, immense in its power." Later in his career, O'Neill became a nervous and superstitious batsman, particular at the start of an innings. He wrote "batting is a lonely business" in his 1964 autobiography Ins and Outs, opining that he sometimes found first-class cricket to be "depressing and lonely". He was regarded as an excellent fieldsman at cover, with a powerful and accurate throw, described by Wisden as a "dream throw" honed from a junior career as a baseballer. He was named as utility player in the 1957 All Australian baseball team, and his ability was such that he was approached by Major League Baseball scouts. Before the retirement of Neil Harvey, he and O'Neill fielded in tandem in the covers and the pair were regarded as the finest fielding combination of the time. Test match performance References Notes External links 1937 births 2008 deaths Australia Test cricketers Australian baseball players Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricket commentators Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from esophageal cancer International Cavaliers cricketers New South Wales cricketers St George cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year	false	[ "Albert George Henry Why, known by the alias Alby Carr, (1899–1969) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s player for South Sydney, who played under his alias for most of his career.\n\nPlaying career\nHe was born at Brewarrina in 1899. His family later moved to Redfern and he played his junior football in Wellington and later at Mascot.\n\nAs Alby Carr, he played four seasons for South Sydney between 1924 and 1927, including winning the 1926 and 1927 Grand Final's. Carr was also a premiership winner with South Sydney in 1925 as the club went the entire season undefeated. He represented New South Wales in 1924 under his alias. He played one last season with South Sydney in 1930, this time under his correct name of Alby Why. He played one season as Alby Why in 1930 before retiring. He was the brother of Australian Kangaroo, Jack Why.\n\nCoaching career\nIn 1950, Alby Why coached the Canterbury-Bankstown team for a season before taking over from Vic Bulgin halfway through 1951. He continued to coach Canterbury-Bankstown in 1952.\n\nAlias, and exposure\nA newspaper report from 1929 exposed Alby Carr as a 'ring-in' , who was actually Alby Why, the brother of Jack Why. The report was tabled at the NSWRFL on 13 May 1929. Alby Carr's true identity was revealed at the meeting regarding the 'ring-in' allegations. Alby Why tells the story: \"I commenced my footballing days at Wellington in 1917. In 1921 he was at Redfern Oval and was asked to play third grade for the Mascot team as 'A.Carr'. Alby Why candidly admitted that he was Alby Carr, in what was known in the turf-world as a 'ring-in'. Then selected as A. Carr, he played one year with Newtown in 1922, then joining the City Houses Competition before being graded with South Sydney Rabbitohs in 1924. During this time and later in England playing with Huddersfield, he retained the name 'Carr', but by 1929 he wished to be recognized by his real name, as his brother Jack Why also played with Souths.\"\n\nDeath\nAlbert George Henry Why died on 29 December 1969, aged 70.\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n \n\n1899 births\n1969 deaths\nAustralian rugby league coaches\nAustralian rugby league players\nCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches\n\nNew South Wales rugby league team players\nRugby league centres\nRugby league second-rows\nSouth Sydney Rabbitohs players", "Why Five (occasionally stylized Y5) is a Spanish boy band formed in 2013 which sings in both English and Spanish.\n\nCareer\n\nFormation (2013)\nIn June 2013, during an episode of Spanish talk show El Hormiguero, host Pablo Motos confirmed they were working with producer and musician Carlos Jean (also a frequent collaborator on the show) to create a Spanish boy band (\"we want to make the Spanish One Direction, the Spanish Backstreet Boys\", as stated by Motos, words that stirred some controversy amongst the fans of an already established Spanish boy band, Auryn).\n\nDuring the summer, Jean and part of the crew of El Hormiguero held castings in different points of Spain to scout for potential band members. By the time the next season of the show started in September, the castings were finished and the finalists appeared on El Hormiguero for live auditions. On each of these auditions, a band member was selected with the votes of several of the show's collaborators and guests. The audience also voted via Twitter. The band was completed on October 29, 2013, when Alberto Ladrón de Guevara was selected as the fifth member.\n\nThe name of the band was also selected via Twitter, and it was announced live on the November 11, 2013 episode of El Hormiguero by the night's special guests Backstreet Boys, just moments before Why Five's first live performance, in which they debuted their first single, Going Up. The other possible names were Five For One, Shh and Forks (Rayden was also an option but it was quickly removed from the poll since a Spanish MC was already using it as his stage name).\n\nDebut EP (2014)\nOn January 27, 2014, Why Five released their self-titled debut EP. It featured the two singles they had already published, Going Up and Get Down, plus new tracks Honey and Why.\n\nOn October 2014, Mark and Jorge announced they were leaving the band. Later that month, Alberto confirmed via Twitter that he had dropped out of the band too in order to pursue a solo career. The remaining two members quietly parted ways in 2015.\n\nMembers\nAll members are vocalists.\nFabio Arrante, from Madrid\nChristian Villanueva, from Barcelona\nJorge Ansótegui, from Logroño\nMarc Herrera, from Barcelona\nAlberto L. G., from Barcelona\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial site\nFacebook page\nTwitter page\n\nSpanish music\nSpanish boy bands\nMusical groups established in 2013\nMusical groups disestablished in 2015\n2013 establishments in Spain" ]
[ "Norm O'Neill", "Test debut", "When was his test debut?", "he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth.", "Did he win?", "He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches.", "Why was he selected?", "I don't know." ]	C_baff9fdd38f3450abb1dc86c3df32d24_1	Was he successful against England?	5	Was Norm O'Neill successful against the England cricket team?	Norm O'Neill	Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958-59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4-0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. CANNOTANSWER	England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched".	Norman Clifford Louis O'Neill (19 February 1937 – 3 March 2008) was a cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-handed batsman known for his back foot strokeplay, O'Neill made his state debut aged 18, before progressing to Test selection aged 21 in late 1958. Early in his career, O'Neill was one of the foremost batsmen in the Australian team, scoring three Test centuries and topping the run-scoring aggregates on a 1959–60 tour of the Indian subcontinent which helped Australia win its last Test and series on Pakistani soil for 39 years, as well as another series in India. His career peaked in 1960–61 when he scored 181 in the Tied Test against the West Indies, and at the end of the series, had a career average of 58.25. O'Neill's performances on the 1961 tour of England saw him named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. Thereafter his form was less formidable, characterised by nervousness and fidgeting at the start of his innings. Persistent knee problems, as well as a controversial media attack on the legality of West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith, saw him dropped from the Australian team after 1965. O'Neill also bowled occasional leg spin and was regarded as one of the finest fielders of his era. He later became a cricket commentator and his son Mark O'Neill also played cricket at state level. He was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame by the CA in 2018. Early years The son of a builder, O'Neill was born in Carlton, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He had no cricketing associations on his father's side of the family, but his maternal uncle, Ron Campion, played for the Glebe club in Sydney Grade Cricket. Campion trained for cricket near the O'Neill family home, at Bexley Oval. O'Neill accompanied his uncle to cricket from the age of seven and was given batting practice at the end of each session. At Bexley Primary school, O'Neill was denied a chance to play cricket as the school did not field a team. Moving on to Kogarah Intermediate High School, O'Neill played cricket in defiance of a teacher who recommended that he take up athletics. As a teenager, O'Neill idolised Keith Miller after his uncle took him to the Sydney Cricket Ground: O'Neill saw Miller play that day and was impressed with the way he hit the ball off the back foot. Under his uncle's guidance, O'Neill joined the St George Cricket Club, in the Sydney Grade competition. He steadily moved up through the grades and broke into the first grade side at the age of 16. Sensing his potential, the club's selectors informed him that regardless of form, he would play the full season, which allowed him to be uninhibited in his batting. He made 108 in seven innings. The next season, he was out 12 times leg before wicket in 15 innings, and run out in the other three. O'Neill attributed his failures to over-aggressiveness and resolved to improve his patience. In the second match of the new season, the 17-year-old O'Neill made his first century. With all five state selectors onlooking, he made 28 in the next match and was called into the state squad. Shield debut O'Neill made his debut for New South Wales at the age of 18 against South Australia during the 1955–56 season. His lack of contribution was highlighted against the backdrop of his team's crushing innings victory: O'Neill failed to score a run or take a wicket. New South Wales bowled first and had South Australia at 6/49 when Miller introduced O'Neill's occasional leg spin, presumably to ease the debutant's nerves by bringing him into the game. The home team struck 18 from three overs. O'Neill was listed to bat in the lower middle order but after the top order had made a big start, Miller brought O'Neill up. He came in against the second new ball and was clean bowled. O'Neill was dropped and did not play another match for the season, but had gained invaluable experience. O'Neill steadily rose in the 1956–57 season. At the start of the season, with many players still on international duty during the closing stages of the tour to England and the subsequent stopover in the Indian subcontinent, O'Neill was recalled and made 60 and 63 not out against Queensland at the start of the season. This saw him retain his place when the Test players returned. After making a pair of single-figures scored, he made a sequence of three 60s against South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, He was rewarded with selection in the one-off match between Ray Lindwall's XI and Neil Harvey's XI, which doubled as a national selection trial, before making his first ton (127) against South Australia. He ended the season with 567 runs at 43.61, and earned selection for a non-Test tour of New Zealand under Ian Craig, in a team composed mainly of young players. He made 102 not out in the only "Test" match that he played, helping to set up a ten-wicket win. heading the tour averages with 218 runs at 72.66. Despite this, he was overlooked for the 1957–58 Test tour of South Africa. It was regarded as one of the most controversial decisions of the decade. O'Neill responded during the 1957–58 Sheffield Shield season weakened by the absence of the Test players, aggregating 1,005 runs at 83.75 and taking 26 wickets at 20.42 with his leg spinners, thus topping the national bowling and batting averages. Prior to the season, he had never taken a first-class wicket. In the opening match of the summer, he took 3/74 against Queensland. He then took a total of 5/51 scored 33 and 48 not out in a six-wicket win over Western Australia before taking 3/52 and adding two fifties in the return match. He then broke through for his first century of the season, scoring 114 and taking 3/44 in a ten-wicket win over South Australia. However, he reached more productive levels in the second half of the season. This comprised 175 against Victoria, 74 and 48 against Queensland, 125 and 23* against South Australia and 233 against Victoria. His 233 was made in little over four hours and featured 38 fours. It was the first time that a New South Welshman (let alone a twenty-year-old) had scored 1,000 in a Shield season. Bradman and Bill Ponsford were the only others before him. He added 12 wickets in the final four matches, including 2/50 and 4/40 in the match against Queensland. O'Neill's performances played a large part in his state's fifth consecutive title. These performances led former Test leg spinner Bill O'Reilly to compare him to Bradman and former Test opening batsman Jack Fingleton to lament his non-selection for the South African tour and its reflection on the plight of Australian cricket. At the time, his employers refused to make allowances for him to play sport, forcing him to begin work at six in the morning. As a result, he considered moving to South Australia, where a grocery magnate offered him employment and financial incentives. However, he stayed after state officials intervened, with Sir Ronald Irish, the Australian chairman of Rothmans, providing him with a job in Sydney. At the time, O'Neill had another offer. Having represented his state in baseball and been nominated in the All-Australian team in 1957, he was approached by the New York Yankees, having had experience at a pitcher and short stop. O'Neill was offered a fee more than 25 times that for a single Test match, as well as travel costs and accommodation, to trial with the Yankees. He agreed, but Irish dissuaded him less than a week before his scheduled departure. Test debut Identified as a future Test prospect, he was selected in a Western Australia Combined XI for a match against the touring England cricket team at the start of the 1958–59 season in Perth. Prior to the match, O'Neill was hounded by the media. The tourists decided to test him with short-pitched bowling, especially Fred Trueman. O'Neill decided to abstain from hooking, while attacking the spin of Jim Laker with a series of sweep shots. After four and a half hours of uncharacteristic restraint, he compiled 104 with an emphasis on off side play. He took a total of 2/67, removing Fred Trueman and Arthur Milton. He scored 85 against Western Australia and then made 84 not out for New South Wales against England. He was selected for an Australian XI, which played the tourists in a dress rehearsal before the Tests. He made one and two as Australia were crushed by 345 runs. Nevertheless, O'Neill was selected to make his debut in the five-Test series against England, playing in all of the matches. The First Test in Brisbane was a low scoring match described by Australian captain Richie Benaud as producing "some of the slowest and worst cricket imaginable", O'Neill made 34 in Australia's first innings of 186 to help secure a lead of 52. He then top-scored with an unbeaten 71 in the second innings, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory. O'Neill scored 71 of the last 89 runs scored while he was at the crease, refusing to be dried up by the England's usage of leg theory. It enlivened a match plagued by time-wasting, and best remembered for a depressingly slow innings by England's Trevor Bailey, who scored 68 from 426 balls in seven and a half hours. England captain Peter May described O'Neill's innings as "sparkling" and said that it made "everything which had gone before look even more wretched". Retired English player Ian Peebles, writing in the Sunday Times, said "Although O'Neill is in the very early stages of his career, it is already something of an occasion when he comes to the wicket, and one can sense the expectancy of the crowd and the heightened tension of the opposition". Wisden opined that O'Neill had "saved a game that had been tortuous for days". For his part, O'Neill said that the dour play was "unbelievable" and that he was "just about falling to sleep" in the field. He struck 77 in the rain-affected drawn Third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and followed this with 56 in the Fourth Test in Adelaide. Despite making a duck in the Fifth Test, he ended the series as the second highest runscorer with 282 at 56.40 as Australia took the series 4–0. He bowled two overs without success. Outside the Tests, O'Neill scored 155 and 128 against Victoria and Western Australia respectively as New South Wales completed their sixth successive Sheffield Shield win. Career peak The following season O'Neill was Australia's leading batsman during the 1959–60 tour to Pakistan and India, where he was a part of the last Australian team to win a Test on Pakistani soil for 39 years. After a quiet match in the First Test eight-wicket win in Dacca in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), in which he scored two and 26 not out, O'Neill played a key role in the victory in the Second Test in Lahore that was to Australia's last in Pakistan until 1998. O'Neill made his maiden Test century of 134 in the first innings to give Australia a 245-run lead. He then took his maiden Test wicket in Pakistan's second innings, that of Shujauddin. This left Australia chasing a target of 122 in the last two hours on the final day. The chase was on schedule with O'Neill partnering Neil Harvey when the Pakistanis began wasting time to prevent an Australian victory. This was implemented by swapping fielders very slowly when the left and right-handed combination of Harvey and O'Neill took a single, and overs began taking seven minutes instead of three. To counter this, Harvey deliberately backed away when a ball was aimed at the stumps and threw away his wicket by letting himself be bowled for 37. This allowed Benaud to come in and bat with O'Neill so that the two right-handed batsmen would give no opportunity to waste time by switching the field. Benaud then threatened Pakistani captain Imtiaz Ahmed with a formal complaint over the time-wasting, and proceedings returned to their normal pace. Australia made the target with a few minutes to spare, with O'Neill on 43. O'Neill failed to make double figures in the final Test, which was drawn, but ended the series with 218 runs at 72.66. In another tour match, against the President's XI, O'Neill scored an unbeaten 52 in a low-scoring match as Australia stumbled to their target of 116 with only three wickets in hand. O'Neill's performances in Pakistan was such that the parents in one cricket-following Karachi family named their new son Anil for its resemblance to O'Neill. Anil Dalpat went on to become the first Hindu to represent Pakistan, playing nine Tests in the 1980s as a wicketkeeper. On the five-Test Indian series which followed, O'Neill started slowly, aggregating 60 runs in the first two Tests, which were shared 1–1. He returned to form with a leg-side dominated 163 in a high-scoring draw in the Third Test at Brabourne Stadium in Bombay. After scoring 40 in an innings victory in the Fourth Test in Madras, Australia needed a draw in the Fifth Test in Calcutta with four players injured or ill, while Benaud had a dislocated spinning finger. O'Neill scored 113 in the first innings to help a depleted team take a 137-run first innings lead and prevent India from squaring the series. He was Australia's leading scorer in the Tests, with 376 runs at 62.66. He also made his highest first-class score of 284, against an Indian President's XI in Ahmedabad. He was the top scorer for the whole subcontinental Test tour, with 594 runs in eight matches at 66.00. He returned to Australia and played in one match for New South Wales at the end of the 1959–60 season, scoring 175 as his state defeated Western Australia and won a seventh Shield in a row. Prior to the following Australian summer, O'Neill was part of an International Cavaliers team that toured South Africa. He scored 133 runs at 21.83. In the lead-up to the 1960–61 home Tests series against the West Indies, O'Neill scored 156 not to set up an innings win for his state over the tourists. He then struck 181 in the first innings of the opening match at Brisbane, his highest Test score. The innings prompted teammate Bob Simpson to say "if God gave me an hour to watch someone I'd seen, I'd request to see Norman O'Neill. He had the style." Australia took a first innings lead and O'Neill made 26 in the second innings as Australia collapsed towards a likely defeat before recovering; the match ended in the first Tied Test in history. This was the peak of O'Neill's career. Having played 14 Tests, he was averaging 67.68 with the bat. He then struck 114 as his state defeated the tourists by an innings, and he made 40 and a duck as the Australians took the series lead in the Second Test. He made 70 and 71 in the Third Test loss in Sydney, one of the few players able to combat Lance Gibbs effectively, top-scoring in the first innings and second top-scoring in the second innings. He then made 65 in the second innings in the Fourth Test at Adelaide, where Australia held on by one wicket for a draw. He contributed 48 in the second innings of the Fifth Test as Australia appeared headed for a series victory. However, a late collapse ensued, and Australia scraped home by two wickets to take the series 2–1. O'Neill ended the series with 522 runs at 52.20. O'Neill gained attention during the summer for frequently losing his wicket by impulsively sweeping. This was attributed to the dominance of his bottom hand, which saw his bat swinging across the line of flight of the ball. Despite the criticism, he was at the peak of his international career, having made 1398 runs at 58.35 in his first 18 Tests. Wisden Cricketer of the Year O'Neill was selected for the tour of England in 1961, and he warmed up by scoring centuries in consecutive matches against Tasmania for the Australian squad. During the English summer, O'Neill scored 1981 runs at 60.03, narrowly missing becoming only the fourth post-war player after Don Bradman, Neil Harvey and Bill Lawry to make 2,000 runs in an Ashes tour. In the third match against Yorkshire, which was O'Neill's second for the tour, he scored an unbeaten 100 marked by his cover driving. He followed this with a 74 against Lancashire before a 124 two matches later against Glamorgan, which was described by Wisden as the best of the season. He scored 73 against Gloucestershire and made 122 on his first appearance at Lord's, against the Marylebone Cricket Club, in what was effectively a dress rehearsal for the Tests. Australia went on to win by 63 runs. In the next match against Sussex, O'Neill was carried from the ground after suffering a knee injury, and after failing to bat in either innings, it appeared he would be sidelined for a substantial period. However, he recovered to be selected for the First Test at Edgbaston, just five days later. He made 82 as Australia scored 9/516 declared and took a 321-run first innings lead, but England could not be dismissed in the second innings and salvaged a draw. He continued his form with an unbeaten 104 against Kent between the Tests. The "Battle of the Ridge" in the Second Test at Lord's—the home of cricket—was an unhappy one for O'Neill. On an erratic pitch with a visible ridge that caused uneven bounce, O'Neill made one and a duck as an Australia scraped home by five wickets in a low-scoring match. He returned to the county matches and scored 162 against Lancashire, before scoring 27 and 19 as England squared the series in the Third Test at Headingley. O'Neill then scored 142 against Northamptonshire, but the hosts were able to tie the scores when stumps were drawn with four wickets in hand. After rectifying a technical fault, O'Neill made 67 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Old Trafford with the series tied at 1–1, helping Australia take a narrow victory to retain the Ashes. Heading into the final Test, O'Neill had a consistent run, scoring three fifties in four innings. He made his first century against England in the Fifth Test at The Oval with 117 as Australia drew the match to take the series. He did so after being given a "lucky coin" by a spectator and being dropped at second slip when he was on 19. He scored 324 runs at 40.50 in the Tests and was subsequently named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year for 1962. Following the Tests, O'Neill added four half-centuries in five innings in a consistent run towards the close of the tour. He left English soil with 138 against Minor Counties, in a non-first-class match. In all first-class matches, he made seven centuries, and his run aggregate was second only to Lawry, who made 2,019 runs. International decline After this tour, his form began to decline, as he became prone to uncertain and fidgety starts to his innings, which earned him the nickname "Nervous Norm". A persistent knee injury increasingly troubled him and was to end his career. The 1961–62 Australian team was purely domestic with no touring Test team, and New South Wales completed their ninth Sheffield Shield title in a row, O'Neill had a poor season, scoring only 377 runs at 25.13, passing fifty only twice. The 1962–63 home Ashes series was Australia's first Test matches in 18 months. After an unproductive season last year, O'Neill started the new summer with 15 and 2/30 for a Western Australia Combined XI against Ted Dexter's Englishmen. His victims with the ball were Dexter and batsman Tom Graveney. He then made his first century in over a year, scoring 131 against Western Australia for his state. O'Neill completed his preparation for the Tests by helping New South Wales to defeat Dexter's men by an innings. He scored 143 and took 2/36, removing Graveney and leading batsman Colin Cowdrey. O'Neill made 56 in the First Test drawn at Brisbane but failed to pass 20 in the next two matches, which were shared by the two teams. After his wife made him a pair of "lucky lemon socks", he scored 100 in the first innings of the drawn Fourth Test in Adelaide, which turned out to be his last Test century with fifteen Tests before the end of his career. With Alan Davidson injured during the match, O'Neill was required to bowl substantially, conceding 49 runs in what was his most expensive performance to date. He scored 73 in the Fifth Test in Sydney to finish the series with 310 runs at 34.44, substantially below his career average of 53.8 prior to the series. He also took two wickets, one in each of the Third and Fifth Tests, removing Fred Titmus and Dexter respectively. Outside the Tests, O'Neill struggled and passed 25 once in eight other non-Test innings. This was a 93 against arch-rivals Victoria, which was not enough to prevent defeat. Victoria went on to win the Sheffield Shield and end New South Wales' nine-year winning streak. At the end of the season, he embarked on a tour with the International Cavaliers, which toured Africa, mostly playing against provincial teams. He played in seven matches and had a productive series, scoring 541 runs at 41.54 including a century and four fifties. He also bowled more frequently than usual taking seven wickets at 53.29. The following season in 1963–64, O'Neill started poorly, passing 12 only once in his first six innings. However, he was retained for the team for the First Test against South Africa in Brisbane, where he scored 82 and 19 not out in a drawn match. He continued his resurgence with 36 and 61 not out the following fixture against Victoria, but was injured during the second innings and forced to retire hurt. This meant that he missed the Second Test, which Australia won by eight wickets. O'Neill returned and scored half centuries in each of the next two Tests. He also took two wickets to end the series with 285 runs at 40.71 and three wickets at 32.33. He added a further two half-centuries in the remaining Shield matches. O'Neill retained his place for the 1964 tour to England, and scored a century against Western Australia for the touring squad before departing for the northern hemisphere. After failing to pass 16 in his first two outings, he struck form against Glamorgan, scoring 65 and an unbeaten 109. He then added 151 and 17 not out, leading the way as the Australians defeated the MCC by nine wickets in a dress rehearsal for the Tests. However, O'Neill scored 98 in the first four innings of the opening two Tests and was forced out of the Third Test with a knee injury, the only non-draw of the series, which Australia won. Nevertheless, he passed 50 in each of the four tour matches during this period, including a 134 against Yorkshire and 90 against Northamptonshire. O'Neill returned for the final two Tests and ended the series with only 156 runs at 31.20 in five Tests without passing fifty and going wicketless. He added another century against Kent and two further fifties in the closing stages of the English summer. His 1964–65 tour of the subcontinent on the way back to Australia was even worse, a far cry from his leading role in the previous tour to the subcontinent. After making 40 and 0 in the First Test win in Madras, he was unable to bat either innings in the Second Test in Bombay after being hospitalised due to persistent vomiting, injury as Australia ceded their series lead. He missed the remainder of the series, the Third Test in Calcutta and a one-off Test in Pakistan. Upon his return home, he has a shortened domestic season before Australia left for the West Indies. In five domestic matches, he scored 357 runs at 59.50, including a 133 not against South Australia. O'Neill started the 1964–65 tour of the West Indies strongly, scoring a century in the first match against Jamaica. He was often injured during the tour, but was at his most productive with the bat since the last series against the Caribbean team four years earlier. He made many starts, passing 20 in six of his seven Test innings, but was unable to convert them into big scores. In the First Test, O'Neill was struck on the hand by Wes Hall and was sent to hospital for X-rays after a break was suspected. During the Second Test, it was the turn of Charlie Griffith to send O'Neill to hospital, after hitting him on the forearm and causing a large bruise. His 51 and 74* in the Fourth Test at Bridgetown, Barbados, the last Test of his career, was the only time he passed 50 for the series. He ended with 266 runs at 44.33, missing the Fifth Test due to a broken hand. He managed a healthy return with the ball, taking nine of his 17 Test wickets in the series with an average of 25.55. This included his Test best of 4/41 with his leg-spin in the Second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. In this match, he cleaned up the hosts' tail in the first innings, removing Jackie Hendriks, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs. At the end of the tour, O'Neill garnered controversy by writing outspoken newspaper columns accusing opposition pace spearhead Charlie Griffith of chucking. He was one of several Australians who took exception to Griffith's bowling action, and he put his name to a series of feature articles in Sydney's Daily Mirror. These labelled Griffith as "an obvious chucker", saying the hosts had been "wrong to play" him. O'Neill stated that "If he is allowed to continue throwing, he could kill someone". O'Neill also expressed his desire to not have to face bowling that he deemed to be illegal. When the Daily Mirror syndicated the columns, London's Daily Mail ignored an embargo and printed the pieces while the Australians were on their homeward flight, putting O'Neill in breach of his tour contract, which forbade players from commenting in the media during tours. The West Indies lodged an official complaint with Australia, and the Australian Cricket Board replied that it deplored the published comments, although noting that as O'Neill's touring contract had expired at the end of the tour, the point was moot. Nevertheless, the ACB changed its stance on players' writing, so that they could no longer comment on a tour until three months after its conclusion. The event is often perceived to have been a factor in O'Neill's eventual departure from the national scene. Outside the Tests, O'Neill performed strongly in three matches against regional teams, scoring centuries in each of them. He scored 125, 125, and 101 in his only three innings, against Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Retirement The following season, O'Neill was overlooked for selection in all five Tests against the touring England team. Returning to New South Wales, he scored 473 runs at 39.42, including two centuries. O'Neill was omitted from the squad that toured South Africa in 1966–67, ending his Test career. He continued his Shield career while his former teammates were on the other side of the Indian Ocean, compiling 741 runs at 74.10 in a strong season. He started the season with 117 against Western Australia, before scoring a pair of 78s in the return match, helping his team to a tense 13-run win. He then scored 128 and 22 not out against Victoria and finished his season with 160 and 80 against South Australia, scoring a majority of his team's first innings score. As a result, he was selected for an Australian Second XI to tour New Zealand. He scored 69 runs at 17.25 in two international matches and made his last first-class century, scoring 101 and 58 not out against Auckland. O'Neill retired upon his return to Australia due to a knee injury. He left a reputation as a highly entertaining batsman who did not manage to fulfil his early promise. "A disappointment he was, perhaps, but his cricket will be recalled when those of lesser gifts are forgotten", opined the writer EW Swanton. In 61 matches for New South Wales, he scored 5419 runs at 52.61. He compiled 3879 runs at 61.57 for St George in grade competition before transferring to Sutherland in the 1965–66 club. He scored 168 on his new club's first day in the competition. A cigarette salesman by trade, he became a commentator in retirement. He married Gwen Wallace, a track and field athlete who won relay gold for Australia at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. They had two sons and a daughter. Their eldest child Mark O'Neill represented New South Wales and Western Australia in the 1980s. O'Neill also co-owned a racehorse with Richie Benaud, Barry Jarman and Ray Steele, named Pall Mallan, and it won a race in 1961. On 3 March 2008, O'Neill died in Erina, New South Wales, due to the effects of throat cancer. He was 71. Style Standing six feet tall, O'Neill was compared to Don Bradman upon his entry into Test cricket. At his best, he was a dynamic stroke maker who was a crowd favourite because of his ability to score at a high pace, in particular with his power off the back foot. He was noted for his nimble footwork, which he used to negate spin bowling; however, this slowed in his later career as he put on weight. O'Neill particularly liked to sweep the slower bowlers. He often put too much emphasis on his right hand, allowing a large space between his hands on the bat handle, and then turning his right shoulder too square towards the bowler. The renowned English batsman and captain Wally Hammond said that O'Neill was the best all-round batsman he had seen since World War II. O'Neill's tall build, strength and good looks also drew comparison to his boyhood idol Keith Miller. Despite the comparisons to Bradman, O'Neill was much taller and broader, and was often impetuous whereas Bradman was known for his patience and lack of rashness. O'Neill was also criticised for hitting across the line early in his innings. O'Neill was highly regarded for his style and entertainment values. Teammate Alan Davidson said "once set he was the most exhilarating player you'd ever want to see—he was dynamite. He'd play attacking shots off balls other people would only think of defending. He had wonderful skill and technique. His shots off the back foot down the ground off fast bowlers—you can't really describe how good they were." His captain for Australia and New South Wales, Richie Benaud said that he was "one of the greatest entertainers we've had in Australian cricket". O'Neill's style led the British writer EW Swanton to say "the art of batting, he reminded us, was not dead, merely inexplicably dormant" Wisden opined that "A high innings by O'Neill is a thing of masterful beauty. His stroking is delectable, immense in its power." Later in his career, O'Neill became a nervous and superstitious batsman, particular at the start of an innings. He wrote "batting is a lonely business" in his 1964 autobiography Ins and Outs, opining that he sometimes found first-class cricket to be "depressing and lonely". He was regarded as an excellent fieldsman at cover, with a powerful and accurate throw, described by Wisden as a "dream throw" honed from a junior career as a baseballer. He was named as utility player in the 1957 All Australian baseball team, and his ability was such that he was approached by Major League Baseball scouts. Before the retirement of Neil Harvey, he and O'Neill fielded in tandem in the covers and the pair were regarded as the finest fielding combination of the time. Test match performance References Notes External links 1937 births 2008 deaths Australia Test cricketers Australian baseball players Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductees Australian cricket commentators Australian cricketers Cricketers from Sydney Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from esophageal cancer International Cavaliers cricketers New South Wales cricketers St George cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year	true	[ "Reginald Charles Allen (2 July 1858 in Glebe, New South Wales – 2 May 1952 in Sydney) was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test match against England in 1886–87.\n\nAllen played for New South Wales and was top scorer in the first innings of the state match against the England team – under the name \"A. Shaw's XI\" – that immediately preceded the second Test.\n\nHe batted at No 3 in his only Test, scored 14 and 30, and took two catches. In his second innings, he was caught by one of his own side, Charlie Turner, who was fielding as a substitute for England. His obituary in Wisden in 1953 says that he turned down the opportunity to tour England in 1888 under the captaincy of PS McDonnell.\n\nAllen, who attended Sydney Grammar School, was a successful scholar. He attained the highest mark in the New South Wales Public Examinations in his final year at school, and was later awarded the University Medal at the University of Sydney. Although he was not athletic in build, he was also a successful all-round sportsman, representing Sydney University's First Grade Rugby Union team, and playing in the New South Wales Open Tennis Championship (which was then entirely amateur). He became an enthusiastic and moderately successful breeder and owner of racehorses.\n\nHis father was George Wigram Allen, a lawyer and politician. After graduating from university, Allen joined his father's law firm (now known as Allens), of which he remained a partner for several decades. He was the uncle of the England Test captain Gubby Allen, who was born in Australia. Reginald Allen married Edith Muriel Grubb in Franklin, Tasmania, in April 1906. He died in 1952 and his funeral proceeded from St Stephen's Church in Macquarie Street to the Northern Suburbs Crematorium.\n\nSee also\n List of New South Wales representative cricketers\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nCricinfo article on Reginald Allen\n\n1858 births\n1952 deaths\nPeople educated at Sydney Grammar School\nSydney Law School alumni\nAustralia Test cricketers\nNew South Wales cricketers\nAustralian cricketers\nCricketers from Sydney\n19th-century Australian lawyers\n20th-century Australian lawyers", "Peter Lever (born 17 September 1940, Todmorden, Yorkshire, England) is a former English cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and ten ODIs for England from 1970 to 1975. He was a successful wicket taker, taking 41 victims from those seventeen Tests, and a handy batsman with a top score of 88 not out. Towards the end of his career, during a Test match against New Zealand, he almost killed debutant Ewen Chatfield with a bouncer.\n\nCareer\nLever, whose brother Colin was also a successful cricketer, played for Lancashire and Tasmania in a successful first-class career of 301 matches from 1960 until 1976, which yielded Lever 796 wickets and 3,534 runs. The inclusion of John Snow, Jeff Jones, David Brown and Ken Higgs in the England team delayed Lever's debut until, when aged 30, he played against Australia at Perth on 1 December 1970. He managed two with the bat, but took one wicket in each innings.\n\nLever could deliver a dangerous bouncer, despite his gentle nature. Both were in evidence during a Test match between New Zealand and England in 1975 at Eden Park, Auckland, when New Zealand number 11 Ewen Chatfield was struck on the temple by one of Lever's bouncers. Chatfield's life was saved by the England team physiotherapist who performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage. Lever, in abject horror, fell to his knees, and had to be helped off the pitch by his team-mates. Lever went on to take 41 wickets in international cricket, at 36.80 and including best bowling figures of 6/38, before his final Test ended on 5 August 1975 during another Ashes tour, Australia facing England at Lord's.\n\nLever also played ten One Day Internationals, including the 1975 Cricket World Cup, taking 11 wickets but scoring only 17 runs. His ODI debut was also against Australia, at Melbourne on 5 January 1971, and his last match was at Headingley, Leeds, again against Australia, on 18 June 1975. This gives Lever the unusual distinction of having played both his debut, and last match, against Australia during Ashes tours, in both the Test and one day form of the game.\n\nHis domestic career continued to 1976 in first-class cricket, and until 1983 in List-A. He then went on to become a coach at his old domestic club, Lancashire.\n\nHe now helps coach all teams at Lewdown Cricket Club in Devon.\n\nSee also\n List of Tasmanian representative cricketers\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Peter Lever at CricInfo\n\n1940 births\nLiving people\nEnglish cricket coaches\nEngland Test cricketers\nEngland One Day International cricketers\nEnglish cricketers\nLancashire cricketers\nTasmania cricketers\nPeople from Todmorden\nCricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup\nMarylebone Cricket Club cricketers\nMinor Counties cricketers\nCricketers from Yorkshire" ]
[ "Manu Chao", "Interview with the University of Southern California (2010)" ]	C_884063ea6d7847af850d6947aba70d4b_0	What is significant about this interview?	1	What is significant about Manu Chao's interview?	Manu Chao	In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." CANNOTANSWER	he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico.	Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. Early life Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs. As a child, he was a big fan of Cuban singer-pianist Bola de Nieve. Career Early years and Mano Negra (1984-1995) Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994. In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Manu Chao said in Alt.Latino in 2011, "Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different styles of music." Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "Mala Vida" in 1988, which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album Patchanka was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top 5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, Casa Babylon, Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former bandmates led Chao to disband the group in 1995. Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word pachanga (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006. Solo years with Radio Bemba (1995-present) After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies. Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to Clandestino but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album Radio Bemba Sound System. Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album Sibérie m'était contéee, which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak. Manu Chao's next album La Radiolina (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on 17 September 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from La Radiolina was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show. Other works In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed, Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.Manu Chao was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox. Musical style and influences Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. While Mano Negra called their style patchanka (literally "patchwork"), Manu Chao speaks of música mestiza (:de:Mestizo-Musik), a musical style which may also incorporate elements of rap, flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, samba and cumbia. In many of his pieces he layers lyrics, music, and sound recordings over each other. In the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (essentially a video travelogue of Chao's 2001 tour of South America), included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD release Babylonia en Guagua, Chao explained that his only recording tool is a small IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad laptop computer, which he carries with him wherever he goes; he has occasionally used conventional recording studios, such as Europa Sonor in Paris, to overdub instruments such as drums, electric guitars and brass, but the vast majority of his material (including all sorts of spoken-word samples from radio stations, TV, films, old vinyl records and, on Próxima Estación: Esperanza, announcements from the Madrid Metro) has been recorded by Chao himself exclusively on his laptop. The Spanish credit Grabado en el Estudio Clandestino ("Recorded in Studio Clandestino/Clandestine Studio"), which appears on all of his solo album starting from 1998's Clandestino, actually refers to the laptop. Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. (According to a statement by Chao himself in the Próxima Estación CD booklet, "Homens" is the song which the backdrop was originally written and recorded for, and all the others came later.) Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contéee are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time. Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the United States, England, or Australia. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on 7 August. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on 23 June 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia. Political views and activism Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together. Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in ghettos, drugs, and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. Chao is a founding member of ATTAC. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show support to many causes and current movements including Anti Globalization, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Sex Workers' Rights, Women's Rights, Environmental Justice, and more. He also uses his personal website to provide news on events related to these causes and movements. Since 1991, Chao has been working with La Colifata, which is an NGO made up of a group of patients and ex patients of Hospital Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chao uses both a website and a Facebook account to show the work he does with these patients and ex patients. On their Facebook page he explains that the mission of this group is to diminish the stigma that people place on mental illness and to promote the use of services that are meant to help those with mental illnesses. Interview with the University of Southern California (2010) In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he does not understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." Mentioned in The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy In an article published in 2010, Cornelia Gräbner mentioned Chao's lyrics in a discussion about how the work of four different authors who contribute to the alter-globalization movement. Gräbner discusses how Manu Chao, Eduardo Galeano, Subcomandante Marcos, and José Saramago present alternative practice of politics from different perspectives. Gräbner states that Chao's work emphasizes the connection of contemporary ‘contentious Europe’ with past struggles, particularly through his lyrics and combinations of musical styles. Gräbner believes that Chao's family history plays a crucial role in his political views and how that has shaped the way he creates his music. She explains that "Chao translates his family’s anti-fascist political tradition into a politicized embrace of cultural difference and into a clear anti-racist and anticapitalist stance." She also states that in the 1990s Mano Negra took an anticapitalist and anti-racist stance, and that Chao continues to use these messages in his music even after the dissolution of Mano Negra. Discography Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002) Sibérie m'était contéee (2004) La Radiolina (2007) Baionarena (2008) References Further reading Chao, Ramón. Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego (originally Un train de glace et de feu), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Chao, Ramón. The Train of Ice and Fire – Mano Negra in Colombia – () Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website External links 1961 births Living people Arabic-language singers Catalan-language singers Musicians from Paris French-language singers 20th-century French male singers French people of Galician descent French people of Basque descent French socialists Spanish-language singers of France English-language singers from France People from Galicia (Spain) Galician-language singers Italian-language singers Portuguese-language singers Rock en Español musicians Latin Grammy Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Folk punk musicians Anti-globalization activists French buskers Latin music songwriters Nacional Records artists Because Music artists 21st-century French male singers	true	[ "Be Water is a documentary film that premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and is directed by Bao Nguyen. It is about Bruce Lee, a famous martial artist. It uses significant amounts of archival footage, and focuses on Lee's 2 years in Hong Kong spent filming 4 feature films. Reviewers think it is a compelling film. It is part of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series and the film tackles racism in America. In a GQ interview, Nguyen talks about how this film represents protest and fits the zeitgeist, with many more Asian-American films being released as contemporaries.\nAs of February 19, 2021, it is on Netflix.\n\nReferences\n\n30 for 30\n2020 films\nAmerican films\n2020 documentary films\nAmerican documentary films\nFilms about Bruce Lee", "An exit interview is a survey conducted with an individual who is separating from an organization or relationship. Most commonly, this occurs between an employee and an organization, a student and an educational institution, or a member and an association. An organization can use the information gained from an exit interview to assess what should be improved, changed, or remain intact. More so, an organization can use the results from exit interviews to reduce employee, student, or member turnover and increase productivity and engagement, thus reducing the high costs associated with turnover. Some examples of the value of conducting exit interviews include shortening the recruiting and hiring process, reducing absenteeism, improving innovation, sustaining performance, and reducing possible litigation if issues mentioned in the exit interview are addressed.\n\nThe exit interview fits into the separation stage of the employee life cycle (ELC). This stage, the last one of the ELC, spans from the moment an employee becomes disengaged until his or her departure from the organization. This is the key time that an exit interview should be administered because the employee's feelings regarding his or her departure are fresh in mind. An off-boarding process allows both the employer and employee to properly close the existing relationship so that company materials are collected, administrative forms are completed, knowledge base and projects are transferred or documented, feedback and insights are gathered through exit interviews, and any loose ends are resolved.\n\nIn business\nExit interviews in business are focused on employees that are leaving a company or when employees have completed a significant project. The purpose of this exit interview is to gain feedback from employees in order to improve aspects of the organization, better retain employees, and reduce turnover. During this interview employees will be asked why they are leaving, what specifically influenced their decision to leave, whether or not they are going to another company and what that company they are going to offers that their current company does not. Businesses can use this information to better align their HR strategy with what employees look for in an organization and enact programs and practices that will influence top talent to stay at the organization.\n\nIn the past, exit interview data was being collected by the organization but not much was being done in terms of interpreting the data and making it actionable. Today there are metrics, analytics, benchmarks, and best practices that help organizations make sense of and use the data towards proactive organizational retention programs. Recently an array of exit interview software has been developed and popularized. However this method of conducting Exit Interviews has some significant flaws, most notably, that it identifies the wrong drivers of staff turnover.\n\nCommon questions\nCommon questions include reasons for leaving, job satisfaction, frustrations, and feedback concerning company policies or procedures. Questions may relate to the work environment, supervisors, compensation, the work itself, and the company culture.\n\nExamples:\n\"What are your main reasons for leaving?\"\n\"What did you like most/least about the organization?\"\n\"What, if improved, would have caused you to stay at the organization?\"\n\"Would you recommend the organization to others as a good place to work?\n\nCompletion rates\nExit interview participation rates vary depending on the method used to conduct the exit interviews. Passive methods of data collection such as online or paper surveys have the lowest participation rates of around 30%. Involving a human being in the process increases the average participation rate to 50%. Outsourcing the exit interview process, while a relatively recent development, achieves the highest participation rates of 90% or more.\n\nCompletion rates often vary according to employee type with white collar employees generally having higher completion rates than blue collar employees or field based workers or others who are not office based (e.g. on mining sites, in hospitals). However, there are some exceptions to this.\n\nAmong active exit interview practices (conducted by human beings), participation rates are also affected by who it is that does the interviewing. If the direct manager of the departing employee conducts the interview, only 26% of organisations achieve completion rates of 90% or more. If junior or administrative Human Resources staff conduct the interview, only 31% achieve completion rates of over 90%. Outsourced consultants, HR Managers (or equivalent HR professionals), and indirect managers achieve higher participation.\n\nIn education\nExit interviews in education are conducted with students who have graduated from an educational institution. These interviews are meant to gather information about students' experience while attending that institution, what they benefited from, what was missing, and what could be improved to enhance the experience of the next generation of students who attend that institution. This type of interview can also point to areas in which the institution should invest more or less resources to enhance a student's learning and development experience.\n\nCustomers\nA less common practice is conducting Exit Interviews with high value or long term customers, for example customers of aged care facilities.\n\nAssociations\n\nExit interviews in associations are administered to members who decide to end membership with an association. These interviews provide feedback to an association regarding what caused the member to leave, what can be improved, and how resources can better be allocated.\n\nOther types\nDuring elections, pollsters may conduct random exit polls.\n\nMethods for conducting exit interviews \n\nThere are various methods of conducting exit interviews, each with their benefits and disadvantages.\n\nFace to Face interviews\n\nHistorically, this has been the primary method for conducting Exit Interviews (79% of organisations), although this is changing rapidly. These face to face meetings are usually conducted internally by a human resources professional or manager, or in rare cases, by an external consultant.\n\nBenefits: The main benefit of this method is that completion rates tend to be high, as long as the interview is conducted by a relevant and suitably skilled professional (external consultant, HR professional or indirect manager). In addition, departing employees have a personal experience which may cause them to speak more positively about the company (affecting their 'employer brand') after they leave. Also, if Interviewers are well trained, the content can be well structured and checked in real time to ensure accuracy of data, especially concerning reasons for leaving. This method also allows high quality data to be collected from people whose literacy skills are not good.\n\nDisadvantages: The disadvantages of this method are that the feedback is rarely captured in a way that allows reporting on trends with more than a third of organisations using this method having no reporting tool attached to their exit data. If conducted by an external consultant, this method can be expensive. It's also sometimes the case that the human resources professional who might conduct the interview, could be part of the employee's reason for leaving (e.g. I was overlooked in the pay review while on parental leave and my HR person wouldn't return my calls). This would mean that the employee is unlikely to be honest if that HR professional was conducting the exit interview. Unfortunately very few organisations (20%) provide any training on exit interviewing so the quality is often highly variable. In addition, this method is the most expensive if outsourced.\n\nTelephone interviews\n\nExit Interviews conducted by telephone are becoming more common (41% of organisations) and are the most effective method of Exit Interviews.\n\nBenefits: Feedback is easy to capture and code in a form that allows easy reporting and analysis. Because the Interviewer's visual attention does not need to be dedicated to the person in front of them, as it does in a face to face interview, they are able to capture and code feedback in real time. Completion rates are the highest of all methods, possibly due to there being no need for the Interviewer and Interviewee to be in the same physical place, but also because the interview can be conducted even after the person has left (see Timing of Exit Interviews). If Interviewers are well trained, the content can be well structured and checked in real time to ensure accuracy of data, especially concerning reasons for leaving. And as with face to face interviews, the experience for the Interviewee can be very personal. This method is easy to outsource, and is less expensive than face to face interviews. It also allows for high quality data to be collected from people whose literacy skills are not good.\n\nDisadvantages: This method is that it is more expensive than online and paper surveys. Some Human Resources professionals enjoy conducting the interviews, so outsourcing the interviews removes this task.\n\nPaper surveys\n\nExit interviews taken in paper form allows interviews to be conducted with those who do not have Internet access, and allows for the option of anonymity. However, it takes longer to receive feedback, and respondents who are not literate would find it difficult to use this medium. Information must also be entered into a tracking system manually for this medium. As at 2010, 46% of organisations still conducted Exit Interviews using this method.\n\nOnline surveys\n\nAs at 2010, 38% of organisations used this method for Exit Interviews.\n\nBenefits: This is the least costly method of conducting Exit Interviews, with several free survey software tools available on the market. It also collects data in a way that is easy to report and analyse.\n\nDisadvantages: There are two significant problems with using online surveys for Exit Interviews. The most critical problem is that they identify the wrong drivers of staff turnover Because online surveys do not allow for testing of root cause, the reasons for leaving are not differentiated from issues that caused dissatisfaction but not resignation. In addition there is no ability to ensure that the commentary for each reason for leaving, is consistent with the reason for leaving option they have chosen from a list. The second problem with using online surveys for Exit Interviews is the relatively low completion rate at 34%. This is around half the average completion rate of interviews that are outsourced to external consultants (66%) and around a third of best practice for outsourcing phone interviews (95%).\n\nInteractive voice response surveys\n\nIVRs are reliable methods of taking exit interviews because they are accessible by phone, a very widespread and reliable technology. However, IVRs have fallen out of favor due to the cost effectiveness of web based options that yield data at similar or higher quality. In comparison to other options, it is difficult to get rich data from an IVR, or to adjust and change it, since any changes require new voice recordings to be made.\n\nTiming of exit interviews \n\nThe timing of Exit Interviews has a big impact on the completion rate. Organisations that conduct Exit Interviews in the week prior to departure were more likely to achieve completion rates of 80%+ (32% of these organisations). Conducting them too early is less effective with only 19% of companies achieving high completion. Leaving the interview until after the employee has left results in very poor completion rates with only 11% achieving 80% or more.\n\nReferences\n\nJob interview" ]
[ "Manu Chao", "Interview with the University of Southern California (2010)", "What is significant about this interview?", "he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico." ]	C_884063ea6d7847af850d6947aba70d4b_0	How did people react to that?	2	How did people react to his beliefs?	Manu Chao	In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. Early life Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs. As a child, he was a big fan of Cuban singer-pianist Bola de Nieve. Career Early years and Mano Negra (1984-1995) Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994. In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Manu Chao said in Alt.Latino in 2011, "Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different styles of music." Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "Mala Vida" in 1988, which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album Patchanka was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top 5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, Casa Babylon, Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former bandmates led Chao to disband the group in 1995. Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word pachanga (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006. Solo years with Radio Bemba (1995-present) After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies. Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to Clandestino but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album Radio Bemba Sound System. Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album Sibérie m'était contéee, which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak. Manu Chao's next album La Radiolina (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on 17 September 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from La Radiolina was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show. Other works In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed, Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.Manu Chao was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox. Musical style and influences Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. While Mano Negra called their style patchanka (literally "patchwork"), Manu Chao speaks of música mestiza (:de:Mestizo-Musik), a musical style which may also incorporate elements of rap, flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, samba and cumbia. In many of his pieces he layers lyrics, music, and sound recordings over each other. In the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (essentially a video travelogue of Chao's 2001 tour of South America), included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD release Babylonia en Guagua, Chao explained that his only recording tool is a small IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad laptop computer, which he carries with him wherever he goes; he has occasionally used conventional recording studios, such as Europa Sonor in Paris, to overdub instruments such as drums, electric guitars and brass, but the vast majority of his material (including all sorts of spoken-word samples from radio stations, TV, films, old vinyl records and, on Próxima Estación: Esperanza, announcements from the Madrid Metro) has been recorded by Chao himself exclusively on his laptop. The Spanish credit Grabado en el Estudio Clandestino ("Recorded in Studio Clandestino/Clandestine Studio"), which appears on all of his solo album starting from 1998's Clandestino, actually refers to the laptop. Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. (According to a statement by Chao himself in the Próxima Estación CD booklet, "Homens" is the song which the backdrop was originally written and recorded for, and all the others came later.) Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contéee are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time. Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the United States, England, or Australia. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on 7 August. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on 23 June 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia. Political views and activism Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together. Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in ghettos, drugs, and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. Chao is a founding member of ATTAC. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show support to many causes and current movements including Anti Globalization, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Sex Workers' Rights, Women's Rights, Environmental Justice, and more. He also uses his personal website to provide news on events related to these causes and movements. Since 1991, Chao has been working with La Colifata, which is an NGO made up of a group of patients and ex patients of Hospital Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chao uses both a website and a Facebook account to show the work he does with these patients and ex patients. On their Facebook page he explains that the mission of this group is to diminish the stigma that people place on mental illness and to promote the use of services that are meant to help those with mental illnesses. Interview with the University of Southern California (2010) In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he does not understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." Mentioned in The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy In an article published in 2010, Cornelia Gräbner mentioned Chao's lyrics in a discussion about how the work of four different authors who contribute to the alter-globalization movement. Gräbner discusses how Manu Chao, Eduardo Galeano, Subcomandante Marcos, and José Saramago present alternative practice of politics from different perspectives. Gräbner states that Chao's work emphasizes the connection of contemporary ‘contentious Europe’ with past struggles, particularly through his lyrics and combinations of musical styles. Gräbner believes that Chao's family history plays a crucial role in his political views and how that has shaped the way he creates his music. She explains that "Chao translates his family’s anti-fascist political tradition into a politicized embrace of cultural difference and into a clear anti-racist and anticapitalist stance." She also states that in the 1990s Mano Negra took an anticapitalist and anti-racist stance, and that Chao continues to use these messages in his music even after the dissolution of Mano Negra. Discography Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002) Sibérie m'était contéee (2004) La Radiolina (2007) Baionarena (2008) References Further reading Chao, Ramón. Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego (originally Un train de glace et de feu), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Chao, Ramón. The Train of Ice and Fire – Mano Negra in Colombia – () Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website External links 1961 births Living people Arabic-language singers Catalan-language singers Musicians from Paris French-language singers 20th-century French male singers French people of Galician descent French people of Basque descent French socialists Spanish-language singers of France English-language singers from France People from Galicia (Spain) Galician-language singers Italian-language singers Portuguese-language singers Rock en Español musicians Latin Grammy Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Folk punk musicians Anti-globalization activists French buskers Latin music songwriters Nacional Records artists Because Music artists 21st-century French male singers	false	[ "React is a media franchise used by the Fine Brothers consisting of several online series centering on a group of individuals reacting to viral videos, trends, video games, film trailers, or music videos. The franchise was launched with the YouTube debut of Kids React in October 2010, and then grew to encompass four more series uploaded on the Fine Brothers' primary YouTube channel, a separate YouTube channel with various reaction-related content, as well as a television series titled React to That.\n\nIn 2016, the duo announced React World, a program and channel in which they would license the format of their React shows to creators, which led to widespread negative reception from viewers and fellow content creators, as well as confusion about what their format is. This eventually lead to the Fine Brothers removing all videos related to React World, essentially pulling the plug on the React World program.\n\nYouTube series\n\nKids React\nBenny and Rafi Fine launched a series titled Kids React on October 16, 2010, the first video being \"Kids React to Viral Videos (Double Rainbow, Obama Fail, Twin Rabbits, Snickers Halloween)\". The Kids React series features The Fine Brothers (and one of the staff members since 2016), off-camera, showing kids ages 4–14 (7-13 as of September 2016, 7-11 as of October 2016) several viral videos or popular YouTubers and having the kids react to the videos.\n\nThe most popular Kids React episode to date is “Kids React to Gay Marriage\", with over 40.2 million views as of September 2, 2018. The popularity of Kids React made it possible for the online series to win a special Emmy Award at the 39th Daytime Emmy Awards in 2012. The Emmy Award, that was given in cooperation with AOL, was awarded to the Fine Brothers for \"Best Viral Video Series\". After their Emmy win, the brothers explained, \"Not a lot has changed [after winning the Emmy] other than realizing that there are shows on YouTube like React that can get similar if not better viewership than mainstream entertainment can.\"\n\nVideos and YouTube stars that have been reacted to by the kids include Smosh (who later reacted to the kids' reactions), planking and President Obama addressing the death of Osama bin Laden, among several other topics. Kids React has been compared to Kids Say the Darndest Things. In October 2012, the kids of the show were shown videos of the 2012 U.S. Presidential debates. Kids React won the Streamy Award for Best Non-Fiction or Reality Series in 2013.\n\nTeens React\nDue to the popularity of Kids React, The Fine Brothers spawned a spin-off dubbed Teens React on November 17, 2011 with \"TEENS REACT TO TWILIGHT\". The show has a similar premise to Kids React, however the younger stars are replaced with high school teenagers aged 14-18, some of whom have aged out of the Kids React series. Due to this, the Fine Brothers are able to show more mature and less \"kid-friendly\" videos such as videos on topics like Toddlers & Tiaras, Rick Perry's Strong commercial, Amanda Todd's death, and the 2012 U.S. Presidential debates. Other viral videos and YouTube stars that have been reacted to include Salad Fingers, the Overly Attached Girlfriend, \"Gangnam Style\", The Hunger Games trailer, Shane Dawson, and One Direction, among other topics. Later on, The Fine Brothers launched a series titled Teens React: Gaming consisting videos of teenagers reacting to popular games such as Mario Kart 64, Flappy Bird, Rocket League, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. Teens React launched the career of Lia Marie Johnson, it also featured some \"famous\" 'reactors' as guest stars, including Lisa Cimorelli, Amy Cimorelli, Lucas Cruikshank (who later appears in YouTubers React), Alex Steele, Jake Short, and Maisie Williams.\n\nElders React\nElders React was debuted in 2012 and it included seniors over the age of 55. In 2021, it became a subseries for Adults React.\n\nYouTubers React\nYouTubers React was debuted in 2012 and it included famous YouTubers. On November 2020, it is retitled Creators React due to the success of other social medias and is currently airing its one-off episodes as of June 2021.\n\nAdults React\nOn May 30, 2015, the Fine Brothers announced Adults React, which premiered on July 16 later that year. It consists of people ages 20 to 55, including former stars of Teens React that have aged out of the series. Depending on the video or topic, Adults React will be specific of which type of adults are going to be reacting, such as parents or college kids.\n\nParents React\n\nThe first episode of Parents React premiered on August 6, 2015 with “Parents React to Don’t Stay At School”. This series involves parents reacting to stuff that kids were getting into.\n\nCollege Kids React\nThe first episode of College Kids React premiered on June 23, 2016 with \"College Kids React to The 1975\". This series includes stars who have aged out of Teens React along with new stars, as well as stars that have not yet aged out of Teens React but have begun college. The content of College Kids React is similar to the content found in Teens React but more mature.\n\nOne-off episodes\nIn April 2014, as an April Fools joke, the Fine Brothers teamed up with Friskies and released Cats React, which went viral. In July 2016 they released another part of Cats React.\n\nIn August 2014, they released Celebrities React to Viral Videos, and now re-released yearly.\n\nIn April 2018, in another April Fools joke, they released \"Teens React to Nothing\" where they showed the teenagers on a blank screen. The following year, they released a sequel, \"nothing reacts to teens react to nothing.\", which featured the original video being played in an empty studio.\n\nReact YouTube channel\nAfter creating four individual successful React series on their primary YouTube channel, the Fine Brothers launched a separate YouTube channel in 2014, for reaction-related content, simply dubbed \"React\". With the intent of running programming five days a week, the channel launched with five series: React Gaming (a Let's Play-style series with real youths from their primary React series), Advice (a series featuring real youths respond to questions from viewers), React Remix (musical remixes of past React footage), People Vs. Foods (originally Kids Vs. Food until 2016) (a series featuring Reactors taste-test \"Weird\" or international foods), and Lyric Breakdown (a series in which Reactors break down the meaning of various songs). The channel launched with a teenage-focused playthrough of Goat Simulator.\nFrom September 18th 2020 to May 31st 2021, the React YouTube channel was retitled to \"REPLAY\", following the renaming of the main FBE channel to \"REACT\" in the wake of FBE's distancing from Benny and Rafi Fine as a consequence of the scandal in Summer 2020 that led to many reactors leaving the channel.\nOn June 1st 2021, REPLAY is retitled \"PEOPLE VS FOOD\" and moved all the non-food videos to REACT.\n\nReact to That\nIn early 2014, it was announced that the Fine Brothers made a deal with NCredible Entertainment, a production studio founded by Nick Cannon to develop a television series for Nickelodeon. The series, dubbed React to That, was \"entirely re-envisioned for television,\" as the reactors \"not only watch and respond to viral videos, but pop out of the reaction room and into showdowns where the clips come to life as each reactor is confronted with a challenge based on the video they just watched.\" Following the announcement of the series, Benny Fine explained, \"All these viewers now watching are also pioneering what it is to be a viewer of content. They follow us through all of our different endeavors, all our different series, and now will have the opportunity to follow us to another medium.\" Nickelodeon ordered 13 episodes to be produced, but only 12 were made and aired.\n\nReact World\n\nBackground\nIn July 2015, the Fine Brothers filed for trademark protection on \"React\" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The trademark was filed for \"Entertainment services, namely, providing an ongoing series of programs and webisodes via the internet in the field of observing and interviewing various groups of people.\" The USPTO approved for a 30-day opposition period which was set to begin on February 2, 2016; if no parties filed an opposition to the Fines' trademark request, it would have proceeded through the process. The brothers had recently filed for and been granted trademark registrations for \"Elders React\" and \"Teens React\" in 2013 as well as \"Kids React\" in 2012.\n\nAnnouncement details\nOn January 26, 2016, the Fines announced that they would be launching React World, a way to grant content creators the license to create their own versions of the React shows. Specifically, the Fine Brothers explained they were going to license the format of their React shows. A Variety report detailed that React World would \"aggregate videos in a channel to launch later this year to promote, support and feature fan-produced programming based on their shows.\" The brothers' company, Fine Brothers Entertainment (FBE) explained they would be working with YouTube and ChannelMeter on the launch of React World. FBE also expressed they would be able to monetize React-style videos uploaded under their license. On monetization, Digital Trends detailed \"Although licenses are free, React World creators must agree to share 20 percent of AdSense revenue and 30 percent of premium brand deals with FBE.\" Additionally, the Fines explained they would provide ongoing production guidance, creative guidelines, format bibles, and other resources, as well as promotional and technical support to those creators who participated with the brothers on React World.\n\nReception\nAlthough YouTube's VP on content partnerships, Kelly Merryman, originally proclaimed \"This is brand-building in the YouTube age — rising media companies building their brands through collaborations with creators around the world,\" the Fine Brothers were met with overwhelmingly negative reception to their React World announcement. BBC News reported that \"critics of the Fine Brothers have expressed concern they may use the trademarks to stifle competition,\" and quoted one YouTuber who detailed \"People don't trust them because a few years ago when Ellen DeGeneres did a similar video—not that similar, it didn't have the same format or branding—they claimed it was their format.\" Viewers and fellow content creators alike condemned the Fines for their announcement, with The Daily Dot reporting, \"Backlash poured in on Reddit and social media, and other YouTubers posted their own reactions and parodies of the enthusiastically corporate React World announcement video.\" The backlash led to a dramatic drop in subscribers, with upwards of 675,000 accounts collectively unsubscribing from the React and Fine Bros Entertainment channels as well as recent videos getting many dislikes in protest as of February 22, 2016. Mashable described that one Reddit post \"ignited a thread of haters, defenders and overall discussion about whether what Fine Brothers Entertainment is doing is fair.\" Ryan Morrison, a gamer, lawyer and Reddit user, declared that he would file a legal challenge to the Fine Brothers' trademark request on \"React\", writing \"These guys didn’t come up with the idea of filming funny reactions from kids. And they certainly don’t own an entire genre of YouTube videos. It wasn’t their idea, and it’s not theirs to own or police.\"\n\nThough there was an overwhelmingly negative response to the React World announcement, other personalities expressed milder opinions; Internet personality Hank Green wrote \"This could actually be a very cool project if it could be divorced from the idea of two very powerful creators attempting to control a very popular YouTube video format. Franchising one of YouTube's biggest shows? Yeah, I’d love to see how that goes.\" New York reporter Jay Hathaway wrote \"The trademark and React World are dead. And that's a shame, because it was an interesting idea that suffered from tone-deaf execution.\"\n\nResponses and discontinuation by the Fine Brothers\nAfter seeing the initial backlash from their announcement, The Fine Brothers posted comments on various social media websites including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and the comment section of their YouTube announcement video. On Facebook the Fines wrote, \"We do not own the idea or copyright for reaction videos overall, nor did we ever say we did. You don’t need anyone’s permission to make these kinds of videos, and we’re not coming after anyone\", adding \"We are in no way claiming reaction content in general is our intellectual property. This is purely a voluntary program for people wanting direct support from us, and we continue to be so excited to work with all of you who may want to participate\". They additionally tweeted \"We're not saying we hold a copyright on reaction videos overall, no one can. We're licensing our specific shows, like TV has done for years\". The brothers also explained they would \"not be trying to take revenue from other types of reaction videos, and will not be copyright-striking\". However, other YouTubers have reported multiple copyright related video takedowns. The Guardian also reported that unrelated channels featuring diverse groups of people reacting to videos were also removed after takedown requests from the Fine Brothers; the \"Seniors React\" video was noted to be released prior to the Fines launching their Elders React series. The Fines also posted an update video in response to what they described as \"confusion and negative response\" to React World, in which they try to clear up confusion on what their format encompasses, as well as inviting viewers to e-mail them about any further questions.\n\nUltimately, the Fine Brothers removed all React World videos, and posted a statement on Medium, declaring they have filed the paperwork to rescind all their \"React\" trademarks and applications, will discontinue the React World program, and will release all past Content ID claims. In their post, the brothers expressed \"It makes perfect sense for people to distrust our motives here, but we are confident that our actions will speak louder than these words moving forward\". Reaction to this Medium post was negative on Reddit, where users were reported commenting they would not forgive the Fine Brothers.\n\nAccolades\n\nReferences\n\nCitations\n\nSources\n\nFootnotes\n\nSee also \n Reaction video\n\n2010 web series debuts\nFullscreen (company) channels\nFullscreen Media franchises\nYouTube original programming", "REACT (Radio Emergency Associated Communication Teams) began as a CB radio Emergency Channel 9 monitoring organization across the United States and Canada in 1962. Initially, the primary role of REACT volunteers was to monitor Channel 9, the CB Emergency Channel, to help motorists. Later, duties grew to include communications after disasters (such as tornadoes and floods), and in some places before disasters (storm spotting). As well, REACT safety communications for parades, runs/walks and other community events became prominent. Now, REACT Teams rarely use CB primarily, a large percentage have now added amateur, FRS, GMRS, Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS), Trunked radio systems and business band radio (LMR) to their public service capabilities. Their original purpose, to monitor CB, has largely gone by the wayside.\n\nServices Provided \nEach REACT Team is unique and fills a local purpose. The original purpose of monitoring Emergency Channel 9 for distress calls is not as needed as once was due to the availability of cellular phones, but is still done in some remote locations. Some teams disbanded when the need for CB 9 monitoring waned; however, other Teams became creative and found other things to do in their communities. \n\nMany REACT Teams go beyond just communications and provide services such as traffic and parking control, search and rescue support, assistance with large public events, helping with safety breaks along roadways, help monitor traffic flow, assist with their local emergency management offices, law enforcement and also some participate in the Skywarn program of storm spotters. However many of these functions require the mobile communications that many REACT Teams utilize.\n\nObjectives \n(a) To develop the use of the personal radio services as an additional source of communications for emergencies. disasters, and as an emergency aid to individuals;\n(b) To establish 24-hour volunteer monitoring of emergency calls, particularly over officially designated emergency frequencies, from personal radio service operators, and reporting such calls to appropriate emergency authorities;\n(c) To promote transportation safety by developing programs that provide information and communications assistance to motorists;\n(d) To coordinate efforts with and provide communication help to other groups, e.g., Red Cross, Emergency Management, and local, state, and federal authorities, during emergencies and disasters;\n(e) To develop, administer, and promote public information projects demonstrating and publicizing the potential benefits and the proper use of the personal radio service to individuals, organizations, industry, and government; and\n(f) To participate in citizens crime prevention programs where established by appropriate law enforcement agencies.\n\nHistory \n\n1962 - A sick infant, a disabled car on a Chicago freeway, and a January blizzard prompted Henry B. (Pete) Kreer to envision using CB radio to get help in such emergencies. By April, REACT was founded, with Hallicrafters Radio as its first sponsor and Kreer as its executive director.\n\n1967 - REACT approached FCC for a designated CB Emergency Channel.\n\n1969 - REACT gained General Motors Research Labs as its new sponsor.\n\n1970 - CB-9 was designated the 'Emergency and Travelers' Assistance Channel' by the FCC. The Ohio REACT Network was created. It worked with Ohio State Police to demonstrate how CB-9 could enhance highway safety. It later became the first REACT Council.\nREACT signed its first MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the American Red Cross.\n\n1973 - REACT's Pete Kreer and Jerry Reese were interviewed on the NBC 'Today' show about the potential for highway safety of CB radio.\n\n1975 - REACT became an Illinois not-for-profit corporation.\n\n1976 - REACT held its first convention in Deerfield, Ill. REACT participated in the White House Conference on CB Radio.\n\n1977 - REACT launched its highway Safety Break program in cooperation with the American Trucking Association. REACT developed the NEAR (National Emergency Aid Radio) safety program for the U.S. government.\n\n1978 - REACT signed an MOU with Special Olympics.\n\n1982 - REACT was honored with the first President's Volunteer Action Award (16 awarded out of 2300 nominations).\n\n1984 - REACT assisted in introducing FRS (Family Radio Service).\n\n1985 - REACT office moved from Chicago, Ill., to Wichita, Kans.\n\n1986 -'REACT Month' was observed for the first time.\n\n1988 - REACT developed its 'Team Topics' newsletter for Teams.\nREACT introduced the CB-9 road sign to advise travelers of monitoring.\n\n1991 - REACT published the first in a series of 'Team Training Modules' to advance its monitors' skills.\n\n1993 - REACT agreed to Memorandums of Understanding with the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and National Weather Service.\n\n1994 - Dallas County REACT, at HamCom in Arlington, Tex., became the fourth local group to host remote operation of the ARRL's station W1AW.\n\n1995 - REACT HQ established its first website on the Internet.\nRose City Windsor REACT, Ontario, launched the first REACT Team website.\nSeveral Teams responded to and assisted with the response to the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Building (Oklahoma City Bombing).\n\n1998 - REACT moved its headquarters from Wichita, Kans., to the D.C. area. REACT Teams in Florida respond to wildfires, receive recognition from governor. \n\n2001 - Several Teams assisted the Salvation Army in response to the World Trade Center attacks in New York City.\nREACT agreed to Memorandum of Understanding with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).\n\n2002 - REACT assisted with Olympic Torch Run.\nREACT presented the first \"Radio Hero Award\" to an Indiana State Trooper.\n\n2004 - Dallas County REACT was again selected to host ARRL station W1AW at HamCom in Arlington, Texas.\n\n2010 - REACT moved its headquarters from Suitland, Md., to Dinwiddie, Va.\nREACT joins GERC - Global Emergency Radio Coalition - as a Charter Member.\n\n2011 - REACT Announced 50th Anniversary Logo and 2012 Convention Site at Las Vegas, Nev.\nFor the third time, Dallas County REACT hosted ARRL station W1AW at HamCom in Plano, Texas.\nREACT Teams involved in response to Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Lee.\n\n2012 - REACT official office returned to Chicago; administrative office moved to Glendale, Calif.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nREACT International, Inc. Official Website\n\nwww.swreact.com\n\nAmateur radio emergency communications organizations\nEmergency communication" ]
[ "Manu Chao", "Interview with the University of Southern California (2010)", "What is significant about this interview?", "he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico.", "How did people react to that?", "I don't know." ]	C_884063ea6d7847af850d6947aba70d4b_0	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	3	In addition to his beliefs on what is the greatest threat to democracy, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	Manu Chao	In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." CANNOTANSWER	He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana -	Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. Early life Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs. As a child, he was a big fan of Cuban singer-pianist Bola de Nieve. Career Early years and Mano Negra (1984-1995) Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994. In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Manu Chao said in Alt.Latino in 2011, "Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different styles of music." Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "Mala Vida" in 1988, which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album Patchanka was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top 5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, Casa Babylon, Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former bandmates led Chao to disband the group in 1995. Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word pachanga (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006. Solo years with Radio Bemba (1995-present) After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies. Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to Clandestino but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album Radio Bemba Sound System. Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album Sibérie m'était contéee, which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak. Manu Chao's next album La Radiolina (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on 17 September 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from La Radiolina was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show. Other works In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed, Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.Manu Chao was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox. Musical style and influences Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. While Mano Negra called their style patchanka (literally "patchwork"), Manu Chao speaks of música mestiza (:de:Mestizo-Musik), a musical style which may also incorporate elements of rap, flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, samba and cumbia. In many of his pieces he layers lyrics, music, and sound recordings over each other. In the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (essentially a video travelogue of Chao's 2001 tour of South America), included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD release Babylonia en Guagua, Chao explained that his only recording tool is a small IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad laptop computer, which he carries with him wherever he goes; he has occasionally used conventional recording studios, such as Europa Sonor in Paris, to overdub instruments such as drums, electric guitars and brass, but the vast majority of his material (including all sorts of spoken-word samples from radio stations, TV, films, old vinyl records and, on Próxima Estación: Esperanza, announcements from the Madrid Metro) has been recorded by Chao himself exclusively on his laptop. The Spanish credit Grabado en el Estudio Clandestino ("Recorded in Studio Clandestino/Clandestine Studio"), which appears on all of his solo album starting from 1998's Clandestino, actually refers to the laptop. Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. (According to a statement by Chao himself in the Próxima Estación CD booklet, "Homens" is the song which the backdrop was originally written and recorded for, and all the others came later.) Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contéee are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time. Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the United States, England, or Australia. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on 7 August. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on 23 June 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia. Political views and activism Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together. Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in ghettos, drugs, and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. Chao is a founding member of ATTAC. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show support to many causes and current movements including Anti Globalization, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Sex Workers' Rights, Women's Rights, Environmental Justice, and more. He also uses his personal website to provide news on events related to these causes and movements. Since 1991, Chao has been working with La Colifata, which is an NGO made up of a group of patients and ex patients of Hospital Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chao uses both a website and a Facebook account to show the work he does with these patients and ex patients. On their Facebook page he explains that the mission of this group is to diminish the stigma that people place on mental illness and to promote the use of services that are meant to help those with mental illnesses. Interview with the University of Southern California (2010) In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he does not understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." Mentioned in The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy In an article published in 2010, Cornelia Gräbner mentioned Chao's lyrics in a discussion about how the work of four different authors who contribute to the alter-globalization movement. Gräbner discusses how Manu Chao, Eduardo Galeano, Subcomandante Marcos, and José Saramago present alternative practice of politics from different perspectives. Gräbner states that Chao's work emphasizes the connection of contemporary ‘contentious Europe’ with past struggles, particularly through his lyrics and combinations of musical styles. Gräbner believes that Chao's family history plays a crucial role in his political views and how that has shaped the way he creates his music. She explains that "Chao translates his family’s anti-fascist political tradition into a politicized embrace of cultural difference and into a clear anti-racist and anticapitalist stance." She also states that in the 1990s Mano Negra took an anticapitalist and anti-racist stance, and that Chao continues to use these messages in his music even after the dissolution of Mano Negra. Discography Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002) Sibérie m'était contéee (2004) La Radiolina (2007) Baionarena (2008) References Further reading Chao, Ramón. Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego (originally Un train de glace et de feu), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Chao, Ramón. The Train of Ice and Fire – Mano Negra in Colombia – () Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website External links 1961 births Living people Arabic-language singers Catalan-language singers Musicians from Paris French-language singers 20th-century French male singers French people of Galician descent French people of Basque descent French socialists Spanish-language singers of France English-language singers from France People from Galicia (Spain) Galician-language singers Italian-language singers Portuguese-language singers Rock en Español musicians Latin Grammy Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Folk punk musicians Anti-globalization activists French buskers Latin music songwriters Nacional Records artists Because Music artists 21st-century French male singers	true	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Manu Chao", "Interview with the University of Southern California (2010)", "What is significant about this interview?", "he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico.", "How did people react to that?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana -" ]	C_884063ea6d7847af850d6947aba70d4b_0	What is a reason he is for legalizing marijuana?	4	Why is Manu Chao for legalizing marijuana?	Manu Chao	In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." CANNOTANSWER	mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments.	Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. Early life Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs. As a child, he was a big fan of Cuban singer-pianist Bola de Nieve. Career Early years and Mano Negra (1984-1995) Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994. In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Manu Chao said in Alt.Latino in 2011, "Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different styles of music." Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "Mala Vida" in 1988, which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album Patchanka was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top 5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, Casa Babylon, Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former bandmates led Chao to disband the group in 1995. Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word pachanga (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006. Solo years with Radio Bemba (1995-present) After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies. Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to Clandestino but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album Radio Bemba Sound System. Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album Sibérie m'était contéee, which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak. Manu Chao's next album La Radiolina (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on 17 September 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from La Radiolina was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show. Other works In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed, Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.Manu Chao was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox. Musical style and influences Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. While Mano Negra called their style patchanka (literally "patchwork"), Manu Chao speaks of música mestiza (:de:Mestizo-Musik), a musical style which may also incorporate elements of rap, flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, samba and cumbia. In many of his pieces he layers lyrics, music, and sound recordings over each other. In the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (essentially a video travelogue of Chao's 2001 tour of South America), included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD release Babylonia en Guagua, Chao explained that his only recording tool is a small IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad laptop computer, which he carries with him wherever he goes; he has occasionally used conventional recording studios, such as Europa Sonor in Paris, to overdub instruments such as drums, electric guitars and brass, but the vast majority of his material (including all sorts of spoken-word samples from radio stations, TV, films, old vinyl records and, on Próxima Estación: Esperanza, announcements from the Madrid Metro) has been recorded by Chao himself exclusively on his laptop. The Spanish credit Grabado en el Estudio Clandestino ("Recorded in Studio Clandestino/Clandestine Studio"), which appears on all of his solo album starting from 1998's Clandestino, actually refers to the laptop. Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. (According to a statement by Chao himself in the Próxima Estación CD booklet, "Homens" is the song which the backdrop was originally written and recorded for, and all the others came later.) Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contéee are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time. Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the United States, England, or Australia. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on 7 August. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on 23 June 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia. Political views and activism Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together. Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in ghettos, drugs, and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. Chao is a founding member of ATTAC. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show support to many causes and current movements including Anti Globalization, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Sex Workers' Rights, Women's Rights, Environmental Justice, and more. He also uses his personal website to provide news on events related to these causes and movements. Since 1991, Chao has been working with La Colifata, which is an NGO made up of a group of patients and ex patients of Hospital Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chao uses both a website and a Facebook account to show the work he does with these patients and ex patients. On their Facebook page he explains that the mission of this group is to diminish the stigma that people place on mental illness and to promote the use of services that are meant to help those with mental illnesses. Interview with the University of Southern California (2010) In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he does not understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." Mentioned in The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy In an article published in 2010, Cornelia Gräbner mentioned Chao's lyrics in a discussion about how the work of four different authors who contribute to the alter-globalization movement. Gräbner discusses how Manu Chao, Eduardo Galeano, Subcomandante Marcos, and José Saramago present alternative practice of politics from different perspectives. Gräbner states that Chao's work emphasizes the connection of contemporary ‘contentious Europe’ with past struggles, particularly through his lyrics and combinations of musical styles. Gräbner believes that Chao's family history plays a crucial role in his political views and how that has shaped the way he creates his music. She explains that "Chao translates his family’s anti-fascist political tradition into a politicized embrace of cultural difference and into a clear anti-racist and anticapitalist stance." She also states that in the 1990s Mano Negra took an anticapitalist and anti-racist stance, and that Chao continues to use these messages in his music even after the dissolution of Mano Negra. Discography Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002) Sibérie m'était contéee (2004) La Radiolina (2007) Baionarena (2008) References Further reading Chao, Ramón. Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego (originally Un train de glace et de feu), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Chao, Ramón. The Train of Ice and Fire – Mano Negra in Colombia – () Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website External links 1961 births Living people Arabic-language singers Catalan-language singers Musicians from Paris French-language singers 20th-century French male singers French people of Galician descent French people of Basque descent French socialists Spanish-language singers of France English-language singers from France People from Galicia (Spain) Galician-language singers Italian-language singers Portuguese-language singers Rock en Español musicians Latin Grammy Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Folk punk musicians Anti-globalization activists French buskers Latin music songwriters Nacional Records artists Because Music artists 21st-century French male singers	true	[ "Cannabis in Minnesota is legal for medical use as of 2014, but illegal for recreational use. However, recreational use has been decriminalized since 1976.\n\nHistory\n\nDecriminalization\nIn 1976, during a short-lived wave of decriminalization in the country, Minnesota reduced the penalty and decriminalized possession for or less to a petty misdemeanor of a maximum $200 fine.\n\nMedical marijuana\nThe Minnesota Medical Marijuana Act creates a patient registry under the Department of Health relating to the therapeutic use of medical cannabis. It authorizes the use of medical cannabis in limited forms for certain qualifying medical conditions and regulates the distribution and manufacture of medical cannabis. It also creates a task force to conduct an impact assessment on medical cannabis therapeutic research and provides for certain criminal and civil protections for parties involved in the registry program. This passed the House 89–40 and the Senate 46–16.\n\nIn May 2014, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law a bill legalizing marijuana for the treatment of nine severe medical conditions, including cancer, severe epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, Tourette's syndrome, ALS and Crohn's Disease.\n\nRegistration for the program began on June 1, 2015, with actual distribution of medical marijuana beginning July 1, 2015. It is considered to be the most restrictive medical marijuana bill in the country, due to the limited number of medical conditions that qualify, and the forms of cannabis that are legal. To qualify for the program, patients must be diagnosed with one of the following conditions: Cancer (with pain, nausea, vomiting, and/or wasting), Glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Tourettes, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), a seizure disorder, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, or a painful terminal illness with less than a year to live. For those individuals who meet the medical criteria, cannabis will only be legally available in liquid, pill or vaporized delivery method that does not require the use of dried leaves or plant form. In 2016, \"intractable pain\" was added to the list of qualifying conditions, with PTSD added August 1, 2017. Chronic pain and age-related macular degeneration were also added to the list of qualifying conditions on December 1, 2019; the changes went into effect in August 2020.\n\nRecreational Use Cannabis \nOn November 6, 2018, Tim Walz was elected to the Governorship. Walz argued that legalizing cannabis could bring in a new source of tax revenue if regulated properly, and it could reduce the number of people locked up for drug offenses: \"I just think the time is here and we're seeing it across the country. Minnesota has always been able to implement these things right.\"\n\nOn January 28, 2019, Senators Melisa Franzen and Scott Jensen and Representative Mike Freiberg introduced a bill that would allow people over 21 to possess, grow, and purchase limited quantities of cannabis. In a statement from Mike Feiberg \"Our focus in drafting legislation to end the prohibition of cannabis in Minnesota is to ensure we have a responsible regulatory model for consumer access that still provides for public health, safety and welfare,\" he continued. \"The time has come for us to have this debate.\"\n\nOn March 8, 2019, Republicans in the Minnesota Senate voted down a measure to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Republicans also decided not to create a task-force to study the issue further. Sen. Melisa Franzen, D-Edina, who sponsored the measure said \"We don't have a bill to move, so I think the debate is shut down in the Senate,\" noting that Governor Tim Walz could convene a task force of his own but chose to not do so. Several proposals remain under consideration in the House, including the creation of a task force, similar to what Franzen proposed, and a constitutional amendment to let voters decide the fate of legalizing, taxing and regulating the recreational use of cannabis.\n\nSee also\n Minnesota NORML\n\nReferences", "215 (two hundred [and] fifteen) is the natural number following 214 and preceding 216.\n\nIn mathematics\n\n215 is a composite number and a semiprime.\n\n215 is the second smallest integer (after 5) such that is twice a square: .\nThere are 215 sequences of four integers, counting re-arrangements as distinct, such that the sum of their reciprocals is 1. These are\n24 arrangements of (2,3,7,42), (2,3,8,24), (2,3,9,18), (2,3,10,15), (2,4,5,20) and (2,4,6,12).\n12 arrangements of (3,3,4,12), (3,4,4,6), (2,3,12,12), (2,4,8,8) and (2,5,5,10).\n6 arrangements of (3,3,6,6).\n4 arrangements of (2,6,6,6).\n1 arrangement of (4,4,4,4).\n\nIn other fields\n\n215 Oenone is a main belt asteroid.\nE215 is the E number of Sodium ethyl para-hydroxybenzoate.\nThere are several highways numbered 215.\n\n215 is also:\nThe Dewey Decimal Classification for Science and religion.\nThe year AD 215 or 215 BC\n215 is often used as slang for marijuana, from California Proposition 215, legalizing it for medical use.\nThe first area code of metropolitan Philadelphia, Pennsylvania\n\nReferences\n\nIntegers\n\nca:Nombre 210#Nombres del 211 al 219" ]
[ "Manu Chao", "Interview with the University of Southern California (2010)", "What is significant about this interview?", "he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico.", "How did people react to that?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana -", "What is a reason he is for legalizing marijuana?", "mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments." ]	C_884063ea6d7847af850d6947aba70d4b_0	Did he say anything else in the interview that is note worthy?	5	Did Manu Chao say anything aside from legalizing drugs in the interview that is note worthy?	Manu Chao	In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." CANNOTANSWER	In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world.	Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. Early life Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs. As a child, he was a big fan of Cuban singer-pianist Bola de Nieve. Career Early years and Mano Negra (1984-1995) Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994. In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Manu Chao said in Alt.Latino in 2011, "Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different styles of music." Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "Mala Vida" in 1988, which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album Patchanka was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top 5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, Casa Babylon, Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former bandmates led Chao to disband the group in 1995. Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word pachanga (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006. Solo years with Radio Bemba (1995-present) After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies. Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to Clandestino but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album Radio Bemba Sound System. Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album Sibérie m'était contéee, which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak. Manu Chao's next album La Radiolina (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on 17 September 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from La Radiolina was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show. Other works In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed, Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.Manu Chao was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox. Musical style and influences Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. While Mano Negra called their style patchanka (literally "patchwork"), Manu Chao speaks of música mestiza (:de:Mestizo-Musik), a musical style which may also incorporate elements of rap, flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, samba and cumbia. In many of his pieces he layers lyrics, music, and sound recordings over each other. In the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (essentially a video travelogue of Chao's 2001 tour of South America), included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD release Babylonia en Guagua, Chao explained that his only recording tool is a small IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad laptop computer, which he carries with him wherever he goes; he has occasionally used conventional recording studios, such as Europa Sonor in Paris, to overdub instruments such as drums, electric guitars and brass, but the vast majority of his material (including all sorts of spoken-word samples from radio stations, TV, films, old vinyl records and, on Próxima Estación: Esperanza, announcements from the Madrid Metro) has been recorded by Chao himself exclusively on his laptop. The Spanish credit Grabado en el Estudio Clandestino ("Recorded in Studio Clandestino/Clandestine Studio"), which appears on all of his solo album starting from 1998's Clandestino, actually refers to the laptop. Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. (According to a statement by Chao himself in the Próxima Estación CD booklet, "Homens" is the song which the backdrop was originally written and recorded for, and all the others came later.) Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contéee are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time. Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the United States, England, or Australia. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on 7 August. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on 23 June 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia. Political views and activism Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together. Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in ghettos, drugs, and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. Chao is a founding member of ATTAC. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show support to many causes and current movements including Anti Globalization, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Sex Workers' Rights, Women's Rights, Environmental Justice, and more. He also uses his personal website to provide news on events related to these causes and movements. Since 1991, Chao has been working with La Colifata, which is an NGO made up of a group of patients and ex patients of Hospital Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chao uses both a website and a Facebook account to show the work he does with these patients and ex patients. On their Facebook page he explains that the mission of this group is to diminish the stigma that people place on mental illness and to promote the use of services that are meant to help those with mental illnesses. Interview with the University of Southern California (2010) In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he does not understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." Mentioned in The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy In an article published in 2010, Cornelia Gräbner mentioned Chao's lyrics in a discussion about how the work of four different authors who contribute to the alter-globalization movement. Gräbner discusses how Manu Chao, Eduardo Galeano, Subcomandante Marcos, and José Saramago present alternative practice of politics from different perspectives. Gräbner states that Chao's work emphasizes the connection of contemporary ‘contentious Europe’ with past struggles, particularly through his lyrics and combinations of musical styles. Gräbner believes that Chao's family history plays a crucial role in his political views and how that has shaped the way he creates his music. She explains that "Chao translates his family’s anti-fascist political tradition into a politicized embrace of cultural difference and into a clear anti-racist and anticapitalist stance." She also states that in the 1990s Mano Negra took an anticapitalist and anti-racist stance, and that Chao continues to use these messages in his music even after the dissolution of Mano Negra. Discography Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002) Sibérie m'était contéee (2004) La Radiolina (2007) Baionarena (2008) References Further reading Chao, Ramón. Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego (originally Un train de glace et de feu), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Chao, Ramón. The Train of Ice and Fire – Mano Negra in Colombia – () Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website External links 1961 births Living people Arabic-language singers Catalan-language singers Musicians from Paris French-language singers 20th-century French male singers French people of Galician descent French people of Basque descent French socialists Spanish-language singers of France English-language singers from France People from Galicia (Spain) Galician-language singers Italian-language singers Portuguese-language singers Rock en Español musicians Latin Grammy Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Folk punk musicians Anti-globalization activists French buskers Latin music songwriters Nacional Records artists Because Music artists 21st-century French male singers	true	[ "\"Say Something, Say Anything\" is a single by the English alternative rock band, Blood Red Shoes, released on 7 April 2008. Upon release, the single reached #79 in the UK Singles Chart. During the intro riff/chorus there is a use of poly-meter, with the guitar playing in four bars of 3/4 and the drums playing in three bars of 4/4 respectively. The single artwork was designed by band-member Laura-Mary Carter.\n\nTrack listing\n\n7\" #1 \n \"Say Something, Say Anything\"\n \"Waiting for Signs\"\n\n7\" #2 \n \"Say Something, Say Anything\"\n \"Say Something, Say Anything\" (Demo)\n\nCD \n \"Say Something, Say Anything\"\n \"Surf Song\"\n \"Try Harder\" (Live)\n\nDownload \n \"Say Something, Say Anything\"\n \"Say Something, Say Anything\" (Live)\n\nReferences\n\n2008 singles\n2008 songs", "Say Anything is the fourth full-length and self-titled studio album by American rock band Say Anything.\n\nBackground and recording\nIn late 2007, vocalist Max Bemis and drummer Coby Linder worked with Saves the Day vocalist-guitarist Chris Conley and guitarist David Soloway for the side project Two Tongues. In an online chat with fans on March 14, 2008, Max Bemis stated that the band has plans to record a new record called This Is Forever. He said it will be \"about God and how we relate to him.\" AbsolutePunk reported on August 1, 2008, that J Records \"picked up the option for Say Anything's next release.\" In November, alongside the announcement of Two Tongues' debut album, it was revealed that Say Anything was working on their next album, which would be released in 2009. On November 10, Bemis announced that the focus of the fourth album changed and the new record would be self-titled. He noted that the album, which was to be released in 2009, will ask \"what the point of all of it was.\"\n\nThough Bemis has explained that he was very proud of In Defense of the Genre, he described it as being more of an \"homage to sort of a lot of the bands that we liked and, like, a style that we respected.\" He then explained that the new album would be \"more concise and would be a bit more original, I want to say, and sort of pop out like ...Is a Real Boy did.\" He also explained that this CD has both the catchiest and most mature songs they've ever recorded and called it a \"step forward.\"\n\nDuring a concert at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, on April 25, 2009, Max Bemis proclaimed to the crowd that the newest album titled Say Anything was complete, and would be released \"early summer\", after stating that he was married two weeks prior to the event on April 4, 2009.\n\nAccording to Say Anything's In Studio website, on May 21, 2009, Bemis posted a blog entry stating \"I just wanted to let you guys know we’re done recording our new record, entitled \"Say Anything\", and we’re moving into the mixing phase. It should be out this fall. This record is kind of a new start, or at least a new phase in the Say Anything story.\"\n\nRelease\nAfter originally being scheduled to be released through RCA Records on October 13, 2009, it was delayed to November 3. Say Anything frontman Max Bemis posted a blog entry on the band's official site on July 30 announcing its release, and said the album \"literally defines everything about the band we've built so far.\" Max Bemis confirmed through Twitter, on June 21, that the first single from the album will be \"Hate Everyone\". The single was released on August 25. The song impacted radio on September 15. The second single from the album was \"Do Better.\"\n\nOn September 15, 2009 the song \"Property\" from the upcoming album was made available to fans who signed up for the Say Anything official mailing list on the band's official website. The complete album was uploaded to the band's Myspace page on October 29, 2009. Max Bemis stated on his Twitter that the next single from the album would be \"Do Better\" and that Say Anything will debut their live performance of \"Do Better\" on the Angels and Airwaves Spring Tour 2010. \"Do Better\" debuted on April 5, 2010 at The Warfield in San Francisco.\n\nReception\n\nSay Anything was given a metascore of 76 on aggregator Metacritic, from 8 critics it was rated as receiving generally favorable reviews.\n\nA review from Sputnikmusic gave the album a 4.5/5 stars stating: \"Pretty much, Say Anything offers more for fans and opens up the Say Anything sound for new ‘users’ to come and enjoy.\"\n\nThe album debuted at number 25 on the Billboard 200, Say Anything's highest charting record to date.\n\nTrack listing\n\nBonus tracks\n\nDeluxe edition\nDouble Vinyl Gatefold LP\n3-D Poster w/ Glasses\n13 Track CD/MP3 Download\n9 Track Demo CD\nT-Shirt & Badge\n\"Hate Everyone\" Lyrics Sheet\nGuitar Pick Card\nIron-On Decal\n\nSay Anything's Secret Origin\n\nReferences\n\n2009 albums\nSay Anything (band) albums\nRCA Records albums\nAlbums produced by Neal Avron" ]
[ "Manu Chao", "Interview with the University of Southern California (2010)", "What is significant about this interview?", "he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico.", "How did people react to that?", "I don't know.", "Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?", "He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana -", "What is a reason he is for legalizing marijuana?", "mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments.", "Did he say anything else in the interview that is note worthy?", "In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world." ]	C_884063ea6d7847af850d6947aba70d4b_0	Why does he think that?	6	Why does Manu Chao think that the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world is the global market?	Manu Chao	In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as Marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he doesn't understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." CANNOTANSWER	He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies,	Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao, 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his musical career in Paris, busking and playing with groups such as Hot Pants and Los Carayos, which combined a variety of languages and musical styles. With friends and his brother Antoine Chao, he founded the band Mano Negra in 1987, achieving considerable success, particularly in Europe. He became a solo artist after its breakup in 1995, and since then tours regularly with his live band, Radio Bemba. Early life Chao's mother, Felisa Ortega, is from Bilbao, Basque Country, and his father, writer and journalist Ramón Chao, is from Vilalba, Galicia. They emigrated to Paris to avoid Francisco Franco's dictatorship—Manu's grandfather had been sentenced to death. Shortly after Manu's birth, the Chao family moved to the outskirts of Paris, and Manu spent most of his childhood in Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres. As he grew up he was surrounded by many artists and intellectuals, most of whom were acquaintances of his father. Chao cites much of his childhood experience as inspiration for some songs. As a child, he was a big fan of Cuban singer-pianist Bola de Nieve. Career Early years and Mano Negra (1984-1995) Heavily influenced by the UK rock scene, particularly The Clash, The Jam and Dr. Feelgood, Chao and other musicians formed the Spanish/English rockabilly group Hot Pants in the mid-1980s. The group released a demo entitled "Mala Vida" in 1984, which received plenty of local critical praise but otherwise gained them little attention. By the time the group released their first album in 1986 the Parisian alternative music scene had taken flight, and Manu, his brother Antoine Chao, and friends such as Alain from Les Wampas formed Los Carayos to incorporate this sound with the rockabilly and punk styles of Hot Pants. Los Carayos remained a side project of the artists for eight years, releasing three albums in the first two years followed by a final album in 1994. In 1987, the Chao brothers and their cousin Santiago Casariego founded the band Mano Negra. Manu Chao said in Alt.Latino in 2011, "Mano Negra started playing in a subway in Paris before the band started to be known and selling records. We started in a subway for a living. This is what made the musicians of Mano Negra. And so the people using the subway in Paris was very eclectic. There was people from a lot of different countries, different cultures. So we have to be able to play all kind of music to please all the people in a subway. So that was a perfect school to learn a lot of different styles of music." Starting on a smaller label, the group released a reworked version of the Hot Pants single "Mala Vida" in 1988, which quickly became a hit in France. The group soon moved to Virgin Records, and their first album Patchanka was released the following year. Though the group never gained much fame in the English-speaking market, popularity throughout the rest of the world soon followed, reaching the Top 5 in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. The band achieved some fame in South America with 1992's Cargo Tour, where it played a series of shows in port cities, performing from a stage built into their tour ship's hold. Mano Negra also performed a tour through much of Colombia in a retired train, the "Ice Express". Still, rifts began to grow among band members during the port tour and the following year's train tour; many band members, including Manu's brother Antoine, had left the group by the end of 1994. Following that year's release of their final album, Casa Babylon, Manu Chao moved the band to Madrid, but legal problems with former bandmates led Chao to disband the group in 1995. Mano Negra's sound is mostly characterized by energetic, lively rhythms, symbolized by the title of their first album, Patchanka, derived from the word pachanga (which is a colloquial term for "party"), and a distinct informality which allows the audience to get involved and feel close to their sound. Mixed music genres are present throughout their albums. Manu Chao is friends with Gogol Bordello and that group has covered Mano Negra's song "Mala Vida" on their own and with Chao beginning in 2006. Solo years with Radio Bemba (1995-present) After arriving in Madrid, Chao and other bandmates from Mano Negra formed a new group, Radio Bemba Sound System (named for the communication system used in the Sierra Maestra by the Castro-and-Guevara-led rebels in the Cuban Revolution), featuring groups from diverse backgrounds, such as Mexican Tijuana No!, Brazilian Skank, and Argentinian Todos Tus Muertos. The goal was to replicate the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures; to that end, Chao and the group spent several years travelling throughout South and Central America, recording new music as they went. The resulting music differed drastically from Mano Negra; the songs were primarily sung in Spanish with far fewer French tracks and the musical style had shifted from punk and alternative styles to the street vibe Chao was aiming for. The songs were collectively released as Clandestino in 1998, under Manu Chao's own name. Though not an instant success, the album gained a steady following in France with hits such as "Bongo Bong" and "Clandestino", and the album eventually earned the Best World Music Album award in 1999's Victoires de la Musique awards. It sold in excess of 5 million copies. Chao's second album with Radio Bemba Sound System, Próxima Estación: Esperanza, was released in 2001. This album, named after one of the Madrid metro station stops (the title translates to "next station: Hope"), features similar sounds to Clandestino but with heavier Caribbean influences than the previous album. The album was an instant hit, leading to a successful tour that resulted in the 2002 live album Radio Bemba Sound System. Two years later, Chao returned to his French roots with the French-only album Sibérie m'était contéee, which included a large book featuring lyrics to the album and illustrations by Jacek Woźniak. Manu Chao's next album La Radiolina (literally "little radio" in Italian, but also "pocket radio") was released on 17 September 2007. This was the first international release since 2001's Próxima Estación: Esperanza. "Rainin in Paradize" was the first single from the album, available for download on his website before the release of the album. Concert reviews indicate that music from La Radiolina was already being performed live as early as April 2007's Coachella show. Other works In 2003 he approached Amadou & Mariam and later produced their 2004 album Dimanche à Bamako ("Sunday in Bamako"). His song "Me llaman Calle", written for the 2005 Spanish film Princesas, earned that film a Goya nomination for Best Original Song. It has been released in 2007's La Radiolina. Vocals from the song are included in the Go Lem System song "Calle Go Lem". Time magazine named "Me Llaman Calle" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 8. Writer Josh Tyrangiel observed, Chao's warm singing over José Manuel Gamboa and Carlos Herrero's leaping Flamenco counter melody creates a direct emotional line to the core of this mid-tempo ballad. With its easy melody and universal rhythm Me Llaman Calle walks proudly in the shadow of Bob Marley, the last guy who made world music this disarmingly simple.Manu Chao was featured on the album True Love by Toots and the Maytals, which won the Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and The Skatalites. His song "La Vida Tómbola" was featured in the documentary film Maradona by Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. The song "La Trampa", recorded with Tonino Carotone for the compilation album Fuerza! was used as the theme song for the short-lived improvisational comedy Drew Carey's Green Screen Show. The songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus", which appear back-to-back on Clandestino, were covered by British singers Robbie Williams and Lily Allen, who recorded them as a single track, "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" and released it as a single from the album Rudebox. Musical style and influences Manu Chao sings in Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Galician, Arabic and Wolof, often mixing several languages in the same song. His music has many influences, such as punk, rock, French chanson, Iberoamerican salsa, reggae, ska, and Algerian raï. These influences were obtained from immigrants in France, his Iberian connections, and foremost his travels in Mesoamerica as a nomad following the disbanding of Mano Negra. While Mano Negra called their style patchanka (literally "patchwork"), Manu Chao speaks of música mestiza (:de:Mestizo-Musik), a musical style which may also incorporate elements of rap, flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, samba and cumbia. In many of his pieces he layers lyrics, music, and sound recordings over each other. In the short documentary film Infinita tristeza (essentially a video travelogue of Chao's 2001 tour of South America), included within the bonus section of his 2002 live DVD release Babylonia en Guagua, Chao explained that his only recording tool is a small IBM (later Lenovo) ThinkPad laptop computer, which he carries with him wherever he goes; he has occasionally used conventional recording studios, such as Europa Sonor in Paris, to overdub instruments such as drums, electric guitars and brass, but the vast majority of his material (including all sorts of spoken-word samples from radio stations, TV, films, old vinyl records and, on Próxima Estación: Esperanza, announcements from the Madrid Metro) has been recorded by Chao himself exclusively on his laptop. The Spanish credit Grabado en el Estudio Clandestino ("Recorded in Studio Clandestino/Clandestine Studio"), which appears on all of his solo album starting from 1998's Clandestino, actually refers to the laptop. Chao also has a tendency to reuse music or lyrics from previous songs to form new songs. The contemporary hit single in France "Bongo Bong", takes its lyrics from the earlier Mano Negra hit "King of Bongo", which bears a similar style to that of The Clash. The musical backdrop for "Bongo Bong", in turn, was used in several other Chao songs, including "Je Ne T'Aime Plus" from the same album and "Mr. Bobby" and "Homens" from Próxima Estación: Esperanza. (According to a statement by Chao himself in the Próxima Estación CD booklet, "Homens" is the song which the backdrop was originally written and recorded for, and all the others came later.) Also, the tune of "La Primavera", a track from that same album, is used in several other songs featured on the LP, while lyrics for a few songs on Sibérie m'était contéee are repeated several times with different music, leading the lyrics to be interpreted in various ways depending on the mood of the track. Several musical themes and clips from that album also appear on Amadou & Mariam's Chao-produced Dimanche à Bamako, which were being produced at approximately the same time. Though Chao is quite well known in Europe and Latin America, he has not had the same success in the United States, England, or Australia. Tours in the United States with Mano Negra were not as successful as elsewhere and Chao seems inclined to focus his efforts in the places where his musical style finds its roots. Though his live performances in the U.S. are infrequent, Chao played a handful of dates there in 2006, including a headlining show at Lollapalooza 2006 in Chicago, IL. His final appearance on his 2006 U.S. tour was a benefit concert in the Prospect Park bandshell in Brooklyn, New York on 7 August. He returned to that venue in the summer of 2007 for two concerts, part of the multicultural "Celebrate Brooklyn" concert series. The crowd was treated to a nearly two-hour performance, including two encores. Manu Chao also appeared at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland to a sellout crowd on 23 June 2007. This was a semi-spontaneous endeavour between Thievery Corporation and Manu Chao facilitated by a new-found friendship developed during Lollapalooza 2006. He was one of the headlining acts at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Outside Lands Music Festival in Golden Gate Park. In January 2012 he was the headline act at the opening night of Sydney Festival, marking his first concert in Australia. Political views and activism Chao believes that our world lacks spaces for "collective therapy" and describes his concerts as small temporary spaces where people of different backgrounds can come together. Chao's lyrics provoke his audience to think about immigration, love, living in ghettos, drugs, and often carry a left-wing message. This reflects Chao's own political leanings—he is very close to the Zapatistas and their public spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos. He has many followers among the European left, the Latin American left and the anti-globalisation and anti-capitalist movements. Chao is a founding member of ATTAC. Punk and reggae historian Vivien Goldman commented of his work, "I was writing about Good Charlotte and The Police. They adopted the trappings of punk. They aren’t bad groups, but the punk aspect is more manifested by somebody like Manu Chao. He's one of the punkiest artists out there I can think of. It's an inclusionary spirit that is punk." Chao uses his Facebook and Twitter accounts to show support to many causes and current movements including Anti Globalization, Indigenous Peoples' Rights, Sex Workers' Rights, Women's Rights, Environmental Justice, and more. He also uses his personal website to provide news on events related to these causes and movements. Since 1991, Chao has been working with La Colifata, which is an NGO made up of a group of patients and ex patients of Hospital Borda, a psychiatric hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chao uses both a website and a Facebook account to show the work he does with these patients and ex patients. On their Facebook page he explains that the mission of this group is to diminish the stigma that people place on mental illness and to promote the use of services that are meant to help those with mental illnesses. Interview with the University of Southern California (2010) In an interview with the School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in 2010, Chao expressed his opinions about topics such as the effects of economic globalization on social inequality. He explained how he believes that the global market is causing social inequality, and how issues in education and immigration are connected to this. In this interview he expressed a worry that mafias are the greatest threat to democracy and that this is already evident in certain places, like Russia and Mexico. He stated that this is one reason that he is for the legalization of drugs such as marijuana - he explained that mafias are making capital off of the distribution of illegal drugs which gives them more economic power, thus making it easier for them to potentially overthrow governments. In this interview he also expressed his belief that currently, the global market is the largest force shaping the lives of people throughout the world. For this reason, he believes that the most effective way to solve social problems in individual countries is to address them at a global level by changing the policies dictating the global market. He explained that since most people are not given the power to directly change these policies, the most effective way to bring about change would be to make a statement to those running the economy by becoming self-sufficient through boycotting corporations, growing one's own vegetables, and making one's own clothes. He then added that he does not own a car or cell phone because he does not need either of these. He also talked about having weak leaders as a threat to democracy and explained that there are small movements in Spain that are fighting for blank votes to be recorded as legitimate votes. He explained this could be a solution because blank votes currently make up a majority of the votes in elections, which means that election results are inaccurate. Another topic he discussed during this interview was education. He expressed his belief that education is important and should be free for everyone. He mentioned that Cuba is able to provide free education for all those living in Cuba despite being a small country and that he does not understand how the United States being such a powerful nation was not able to do the same. He then expressed frustration at the fact that one can enroll in the armed forces in the United States and "learn to kill" for free, but had to pay to learn to do anything else. He suggested that this is a sign that the United States is afraid of its future. When asked about immigration during this interview, Chao mentioned that the West, particularly the United States, has a population with a lot of elderly people and that in order to excel in the future, the West needs the youth from "Third World" countries. He explains that providing legal status to immigrant young people would require the United States to honor the rights of these immigrants, and therefore it is cheaper and easier for the United States to deny so many young immigrants a legal status. He then said that the "Occident...needs to open the borders." Mentioned in The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy In an article published in 2010, Cornelia Gräbner mentioned Chao's lyrics in a discussion about how the work of four different authors who contribute to the alter-globalization movement. Gräbner discusses how Manu Chao, Eduardo Galeano, Subcomandante Marcos, and José Saramago present alternative practice of politics from different perspectives. Gräbner states that Chao's work emphasizes the connection of contemporary ‘contentious Europe’ with past struggles, particularly through his lyrics and combinations of musical styles. Gräbner believes that Chao's family history plays a crucial role in his political views and how that has shaped the way he creates his music. She explains that "Chao translates his family’s anti-fascist political tradition into a politicized embrace of cultural difference and into a clear anti-racist and anticapitalist stance." She also states that in the 1990s Mano Negra took an anticapitalist and anti-racist stance, and that Chao continues to use these messages in his music even after the dissolution of Mano Negra. Discography Clandestino (1998) Próxima Estación: Esperanza (2001) Radio Bemba Sound System (2002) Sibérie m'était contéee (2004) La Radiolina (2007) Baionarena (2008) References Further reading Chao, Ramón. Mano Negra en Colombia. Un tren de hielo y fuego (originally Un train de glace et de feu), 1994. A chronicle of Mano Negra's 1993 tour on Colombia's decrepit railway through small, rural villages, written by Manu's father, Ramón Chao. The name of the train, Expresso de Hielo, was inspired by the opening line of Gabriel García Márquez's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. Chao, Ramón. The Train of Ice and Fire – Mano Negra in Colombia – () Translated by Ann Wright, published in English by Route Route's Website External links 1961 births Living people Arabic-language singers Catalan-language singers Musicians from Paris French-language singers 20th-century French male singers French people of Galician descent French people of Basque descent French socialists Spanish-language singers of France English-language singers from France People from Galicia (Spain) Galician-language singers Italian-language singers Portuguese-language singers Rock en Español musicians Latin Grammy Award winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Folk punk musicians Anti-globalization activists French buskers Latin music songwriters Nacional Records artists Because Music artists 21st-century French male singers	true	[ "C. G. Jung, in his book \"Memories, Dreams, Reflections\", recalls a conversation he had with a Native American man, one Ochwiay Biano an elder of the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. [Mr. Biano is also known by the English name \"Chief Mountain Lake.\"] Ochwiay Biano said,\n\n“How cruel the whites are: their lips are thin, their noses sharp, their faces furrowed and distorted by holes. Their eyes have a staring expression. They are always seeking something. What are they seeking? The whites always want something, they are always uneasy and restless. We do not know what they want, we do not understand them, we think that they are mad.” I asked him why he thought the whites were all mad. “They say they think with their heads,” he replied.\n\n“Why, of course. What do you think with?” I asked him in surprise.\n\n“We think here,” he said, indicating his heart.^ \n\nLater in the 1925 visit, he learned from the Chief that his people, like the Elongyi tribe of Kenya, rose in the morning and spit in their palms, thereby presenting their soul-stuff to the sun to welcome it in an expression of sympathetic magic. Jung marveled that the people of the pueblo knew why they were there.\n\nNotes\n\nPueblo people", "\"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" is a song by American electronica musician Moby. It was released on October 11, 1999, as the fourth single from his fifth studio album Play. It became a hit in several regions, including German-speaking Europe and the United Kingdom.\n\nBackground and composition\n\"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" was originally written by Moby in 1992 in an iteration which Moby would describe as \"really bad techno... Just mediocre, generic techno.\" Years later, Moby revisited the song, reproducing it as a considerably slower and more \"mournful and romantic\" song, which he eventually included on his fifth studio album, Play after being encouraged to do so by his manager, Eric Härle. The track is based on the samples from The Banks Brothers' «He’ll Roll Your Burdens Away» (1963).\n\nRelease\n\"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" was released on October 11, 1999 by Mute Records as the fourth single from Play. The single peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top ten on the charts of several other European territories, including Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, where it reached number three, its highest peak chart position. At the time, Moby felt that the single's success in Germany was \"as far as any success for Play was gonna go.\"\n\nOn October 16, 2000, \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" was re-released as a double A-side single with a remix of \"Honey\" featuring American R&B singer Kelis, reaching number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video for \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" was directed by Filipe Alçada, Hotessa Laurence, and Susi Wilkinson. It is completely animated and features the character Little Idiot, who is also featured on the \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" single cover. The video depicts Little Idiot and his pet dog coming down from the Moon to Earth and traveling through a variety of locations, before eventually climbing back to the Moon on a ladder.\n\nTrack listings\n\n CD single \n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 3:45\n \"Flying Foxes\" – 6:16\n \"Princess\" – 8:17\n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 3:51\n\n CD single – remixes \n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 6:49\n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 6:46\n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 6:22\n\n 12-inch single \n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 6:43\n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 6:41\n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 6:12\n\n CD single \n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 3:45\n \"Honey\" – 3:13\n \"Flower\" – 3:25\n\n CD single – remixes \n \"Honey\" – 6:19\n \"Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?\" – 5:59\n \"The Sun Never Stops Setting\" – 4:19\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1999 singles\n1999 songs\n2000 singles\nAnimated music videos\nMoby songs\nMute Records singles\nSongs written by Moby" ]
[ "Clarence White", "Session work (1966-1968)" ]	C_84c2e80c6156481093fd7e74370e6fd6_1	How did he begin his session work?	1	How did Clarence White begin his session work?	Clarence White	During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White also briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with no Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. CANNOTANSWER	During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression.	Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, as well as for being a pioneer of the musical genre of country rock during the late 1960s. White also worked extensively as a session musician, appearing on recordings by the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and Jackson Browne among others. Together with frequent collaborator Gene Parsons, he invented the B-Bender, a guitar accessory that enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone and emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. White was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016. Early years Clarence Joseph LeBlanc was born on June 7, 1944 in Lewiston, Maine. The LeBlanc family, who later changed their surname to White, were of French-Canadian ancestry and hailed from New Brunswick, Canada. Clarence's father, Eric LeBlanc, Sr., played guitar, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, ensuring that his offspring grew up surrounded by music. A child prodigy, Clarence began playing guitar at the age of six. At such a young age he was barely able to hold the instrument and as a result, he briefly switched to ukulele, awaiting a time when his young hands would be big enough to confidently grapple with the guitar. In 1954, when Clarence was ten, the White family relocated to Burbank, California and soon after, Clarence joined his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. (who played mandolin and banjo respectively) in a trio called Three Little Country Boys. Although they initially started out playing contemporary country music, the group soon switched to a purely bluegrass repertoire, as a result of Roland's burgeoning interest in the genre. In 1957, banjoist Billy Ray Latham and Dobro player LeRoy Mack were added to the line-up, with the band renaming themselves the Country Boys soon after. In 1961, the Country Boys also added Roger Bush on double bass, as a replacement for Eric White, Jr. That same year, Clarence and other members of the Country Boys appeared on two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Between 1959 and 1962, the group released three singles on the Sundown, Republic and Briar International record labels. The Kentucky Colonels Following the recording sessions for the Country Boys' debut album, the band changed its name to the Kentucky Colonels in September 1962, at the suggestion of country guitarist and friend Joe Maphis. The band's album was released by Briar International under the title The New Sound of Bluegrass America in early 1963. Around this time, Clarence's flatpicking guitar style was becoming a much more prominent part of the group's music. After attending a performance by Doc Watson at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles, where he also met the guitarist, Clarence began to explore the possibilities of the acoustic guitar's role in bluegrass music. At that time, the guitar was largely regarded as a rhythm instrument in bluegrass, with only a few performers, such as Doc Watson, exploring its potential for soloing. White soon began to integrate elements of Watson's playing style, including the use of open strings and syncopation, into his own flatpicking guitar technique. His breathtaking speed and virtuosity on the instrument was largely responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument within bluegrass. The Kentucky Colonels became well known on the bluegrass circuit during this period and made many live appearances throughout California and the United States. Between bookings with the Colonels, White also made a guest appearance on Eric Weissberg and Marshall Brickman's New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass album, which would be re-released in 1973 as the soundtrack album to the film Deliverance (with Weissberg and Steve Mandell's version of "Dueling Banjos" added to the album's track listing). Throughout 1964, the Colonels continued to make live appearances at various clubs, concert halls and festivals, as well as recruiting fiddle player Bobby Sloan into their ranks. The Colonels' second album, Appalachian Swing!, was a commercial success and saw White's flatpicking permanently expand the language of bluegrass guitar. Music critic Thom Owens has remarked that White's playing on the album, "helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument." Shortly after the recording of the Appalachian Swing! album, Roland and Clarence undertook some session work backing dobroist Tut Taylor on a Dobro-themed album that was released by World Pacific in late 1964 as Dobro Country. Although the brothers were employed as session musicians, the album was credited to Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White upon release. Although they were a successful recording act, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Colonels to make a living, due to the waning popularity of the American folk music revival due to the British Invasion and homegrown folk rock acts, such as the Byrds and Bob Dylan. As a result, the Colonels switched to electric instrumentation and hired a drummer. In spite of these changes, the Kentucky Colonels dissolved as a band following a show on October 31, 1965. Clarence, Roland and Eric Jr. formed a new line-up of the Colonels in 1966, with several other musicians, but this second version of the group was short-lived and by early 1967 they had broken up. Session work (1966–1968) During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and, in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with No Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Nashville West By mid-1967, White had begun performing at night in the band the Reasons (a.k.a. Nashville West), which included bass player Wayne Moore, along with Parsons and Guilbeau (as banjoist-turned-drummer and lead singer respectively). The band mostly worked at the Nashville West club in El Monte, California, frequently borrowing the club's name as their own. Critic Erik Hage has said that, in the years since their formation, the band have become legendary as one of the first to play a seamless blend of country and rock, although L.A. group the International Submarine Band, which featured country rock pioneer Gram Parsons (no relation to Gene), were also exploring a similar sound concurrently. A live recording of Nashville West would eventually be released in 1979, which music historian Richie Unterberger later described as being "of considerable historical interest for anyone interested in the roots of country-rock". Unterberger also remarked that the recording illustrated Nashville West as having "more electric rock influences than most country acts were using at the time." In addition to being a member of Nashville West, White was also a member of another country bar band that regularly played at the Nashville West club called the Roustabouts. In July 1967, White signed with Gary Paxton's Bakersfield International record label and released a pair of solo singles: "Tango for a Sad Mood" b/w "Tuff and Stringy" and "Grandma Funderbunks Music Box" b/w "Riff Raff". He also reportedly recorded a solo album for the label, although it has never been released. The StringBender During 1967, while they were both members of Nashville West, White and Parsons invented a device that enabled Clarence to simulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar on his 1954 Fender Telecaster. The need for such a device was driven by White's desire to bend his guitar's B-string up a full tone, while keeping his left hand on the strings and fretboard. In order to achieve this feat, White felt that he needed a third hand. The guitarist turned to his friend Parsons, who was an amateur machinist, and asked him to design and build an apparatus to pull or drop the B-string. The device, which was known as the Parsons/White StringBender (also known as the B-Bender), was a spring-lever mechanism built into the inside of White's guitar, which linked to the guitar's strap button and the B-string. When it was activated, by pulling down on the guitar neck, it pulled on the B-string and caused the guitar to simulate the "crying" sound of a pedal steel. White would go on to use the device extensively as a member of the Byrds and, as a result, the distinctive sound of the StringBender would become a defining characteristic of that band's music during White's tenure with the group. The Byrds Following the abrupt departure from the Byrds of singer and guitarist Gram Parsons in July 1968, White was invited to join the group as a full-time member, remaining until the band was finally dissolved by lead guitarist Roger McGuinn in February 1973. This extended tenure with the band makes White the second longest-serving member of the Byrds after McGuinn. White was brought into the group at bass player Chris Hillman's suggestion, as someone who could handle the band's older rock material and their newer country-flavored repertoire. Once he was a member of the Byrds, White began to express dissatisfaction with the band's current drummer, Kevin Kelley. Before long, he had persuaded McGuinn and Hillman to replace Kelley with his friend from the recently dissolved Nashville West, Gene Parsons (no relation to Gram). Hillman quit the Byrds within a month of White joining, in order to form the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. At around this same time, White and Gene Parsons undertook some informal rehearsing and recording with Hillman and Gram Parsons, as part of a prototype version of the Burrito Brothers. However, the pair declined an invitation to join the new country rock group and instead opted to stay with McGuinn's new-look Byrds. The White-era version of the Byrds, featuring McGuinn, White and Parsons, along with bassists John York (September 1968–September 1969) and Skip Battin (September 1969–February 1973), released five albums and toured relentlessly between 1969 and 1972. Journalist Steve Leggett has noted that, although the original line-up of the Byrds gets the most attention and praise, the latter-day version, featuring McGuinn and White's dual lead guitar work, was regarded by critics and audiences as much more accomplished in concert than any previous configuration of the band had been. Similarly, authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz have commented that although the White-era Byrds failed to achieve the commercial success of the original line-up, the group were a formidable live act and a consistently in-demand attraction on the touring circuit. The authors also cited the Byrds' archival release Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 as a good example of the White-era band's musical potency. Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke has commented on White's contribution to the band, by noting, "with his powerful, impeccable tone and melodic ingenuity, White did much to rebuild the creative reputation of the Byrds and define the road-hearty sound of the group at the turn of the '70s." The first Byrds' album to feature White as a full member was Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, which was released in early 1969. The album included a re-recording of the Gene Parsons and White-penned instrumental "Nashville West", as well as a rendition of the traditional song "Old Blue", which was the first Byrds' recording to utilize the StringBender. The Ballad of Easy Rider album followed in November 1969, on which White could be heard leading the band through a rendition of the traditional song "Oil in My Lamp", representing the guitarist's first lead vocal performance as a Byrd. 1970 saw the Byrds release the double album (Untitled), which consisted of one LP of live concert recordings and another of new studio recordings. Upon release, the album was a critical and commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. Two of the album's studio recordings featured White singing lead vocals: a cover version of the Lowell George composition "Truck Stop Girl" and a rendition of Leadbelly's "Take a Whiff on Me" (the latter also featured White playing mandolin). In addition, excerpts from an instrumental jam, recorded during the (Untitled) album sessions and logged in the Columbia Records' files under the title of "Fifteen Minute Jam", were later released as "White's Lightning" and "White's Lightning Pt.2" on The Byrds box set and the remastered double CD version of (Untitled) respectively. The 1971 Byrdmaniax album saw White singing lead vocals on "My Destiny", written by Helen Carter, and "Jamaica Say You Will", penned by the then little-known songwriter Jackson Browne. In addition, White received a co-writing credit for the album's bluegrass instrumental "Green Apple Quick Step". This song also featured White's father, Eric White, Sr., on harmonica. Farther Along, released in November 1971, would prove to be the final album by the White-era Byrds. It featured White singing the Gospel hymn and title track "Farther Along" and a cover of the Larry Murray composition "Bugler". This latter song features White playing mandolin and has been described by Byrds expert Tim Connors as, "the best song on the album, and by far the best vocal ever recorded by Clarence White during his time with the Byrds." Following the release of Farther Along, the band continued to tour throughout 1972, but no new Byrds album appeared. In late 1972, the original five-piece line-up of the Byrds reunited and, as a result, McGuinn decided to disband the existing version of the band. Parsons had been fired in July 1972 and Battin was dismissed by McGuinn in early 1973. The last concert by the White-era version of the Byrds (which at this point featured former Byrd Chris Hillman on bass and Joe Lala on drums) was given on February 24, 1973 at The Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey, with White and McGuinn jokingly firing each other from the band afterwards. Despite being on tour or in the recording studio with the Byrds for the majority of the time between 1969 and 1972, White continued to undertake selected session work for other recording artists. During this period he played on Joe Cocker's 1969 album Joe Cocker!, Randy Newman's 1970 album 12 Songs, and the Everly Brothers' Stories We Could Tell from 1972. In early 1971, White also contributed guitar to Paul Siebel's Jack-Knife Gypsy album and the title track of the L.A. Getaway album by Joel Scott-Hill, John Barbata and Chris Ethridge. Other albums that White contributed his guitar playing to while he was a member of the Byrds include Linda Ronstadt's Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969), Rita Coolidge's Rita Coolidge (1971), Marc Benno's Minnows (1971), Jackson Browne's Jackson Browne (1972), Gene Clark's Roadmaster (1973), and a trio of Arlo Guthrie albums: Running Down the Road (1969), Washington County (1970) and Hobo's Lullaby (1972). Post-Byrds In mid-February 1973, just prior to the break up of the White-era version of the Byrds, White joined with guitarist Peter Rowan, mandolinist David Grisman, fiddler Richard Greene, and banjoist Bill Keith to form the bluegrass supergroup Muleskinner. The musicians initially assembled as a one-off pickup band to back bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe for a television program, but ended up performing on their own when Monroe's tour bus broke down on the way to the television studios. A recording of this broadcast, which was once thought lost, was released as an album in 1992, under the title Muleskinner Live. A VHS video cassette of the broadcast was also released in 1992 and later re-issued on DVD. As a result of the success of their appearance on the television broadcast, the band was offered a one album recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at the Record Plant in Los Angeles between March 27 and April 14, 1973, with Richard Greene and Joe Boyd producing. The music the band recorded for the Muleskinner album (a.k.a. A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam) was in the vein of country rock, traditional bluegrass and progressive bluegrass (or "newgrass"). It was also one of the first bluegrass albums to feature a full drum kit. The album was released in the latter half of 1973 and is nowadays regarded by critics as a milestone in the development of progressive bluegrass, with ex-band members Greene, Keith, Grisman, and Rowan all going on to become important figures in the development of that genre. In addition to his work with Muleskinner, White also undertook a number of sessions between late 1972 and early 1973 for his friend Gene Parsons' debut solo album Kindling. White's distinctive guitar and mandolin playing can be heard on the tracks "Do Not Disturb", "On the Spot", "Sonic Bummer", "I Must Be a Tree", "Banjo Dog", "Back Again", and "Drunkard's Dream" (the latter of which also features White contributing harmony vocals). Following completion of the Muleskinner album in April 1973, White reunited with his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. for a tour as the White Brothers (a.k.a. The New Kentucky Colonels). After playing a handful of shows in California, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. Returning to the U.S., White's final bout of touring took place with the New Kentucky Colonels in June 1973, as part of a four-date country rock package tour with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Country Gazette, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others. Although Gram and Clarence had been acquainted with one another since the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, the pair would develop a fast friendship during the mini-tour, after, what was by all accounts, a very acrimonious re-acquaintance. Following the end of the package tour, White entered the recording studio with producer Jim Dickson on June 28 and 29, 1973 to begin work on a solo album. He recorded a total of six songs, four of which would belatedly be released on the archival album Silver Meteor: A Progressive Country Anthology in 1980. Death White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a drunk driver. The accident occurred shortly after 2 a.m., while he and his brother Roland were loading equipment into their car in Palmdale, California, following a White Brothers concert. Gram Parsons was especially shaken by his death; he led a singalong of "Farther Along" at White's funeral service and later conceived his final song (before his own death), "In My Hour of Darkness", as a partial tribute to White. Clarence White was survived by his brothers Roland and Eric and sisters JoAnne and Rosemarie, and his one daughter, Michelle. Musical influence Clarence White helped popularize the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass music, building on the work of guitarists such as Doc Watson. Prior to the advent of the more aggressive flatpicking style pioneered by guitarists like Watson and White, the guitar was strictly a rhythm instrument, save for a few exceptions (such as the occasional guitar track by banjoist Don Reno). Many of the most influential flatpickers of the 20th century cite White as a primary influence, including Dan Crary, Norman Blake, and Tony Rice. Rice owned and played White's highly modified 1935 Martin D-28. David Grier and Russ Barenberg are two other acoustic guitarists who were heavily influenced by White's guitar work. White's bluegrass playing with the Kentucky Colonels was also a considerable influence on Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, who traveled with the band during 1964. On the electric side of the guitar spectrum, White was similarly influential. Together with fellow Byrds bandmember Gene Parsons, White invented the B-Bender device. This device raises the B-string (second string) of the guitar a whole step by the use of pulleys and levers attached to both the upper strap knob and the second string on the guitar. It is activated by pushing down on the neck, and produces a "pedal steel" type sound. Arlen Roth, heavily influenced by this style, did not at the time know that White and Parsons had invented a B-bender, so instead developed his own unique all-finger bending version of this technique. This was heavily documented in his ground-breaking book, "Nashville Guitar", all of his recordings, as well as his book "Masters of the Telecaster". Subsequently, his Telecaster sound became as notable as his bluegrass playing. Marty Stuart, another guitarist influenced by White's playing, now owns and regularly plays White's 1954 Fender Telecaster with the prototype B-Bender. Music archivist and writer Alec Palao has called White "one of a handful of true greats amongst the instrumentalists of 20th century popular music", before adding that "the waves created by the guitarist's idiosyncratic style are still forming ripples within bluegrass, country and rock 'n' roll." In 2003, White was ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2010, guitar manufacturer Gibson ranked White at No. 42 on their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time list. Selected album discography NOTES: This discography does not include albums that Clarence White played on as a session musician, with the exception of Dobro Country, on which he is billed by name. Sources for this section are Johnny Rogan's book Timeless Flight Revisited and the Kentucky Colonels discography at the AllMusic website. Kentucky Colonels The New Sound of Bluegrass America (1963) Appalachian Swing! (1964) Kentucky Colonels (1974) — UK reissue of Appalachian Swing! with two bonus tracks. Livin' in the Past (1975) — Various live recordings from 1961 to 1965. The Kentucky Colonels 1965-1966 (1976) — Live recordings. Scotty Stoneman, Live in LA with the Kentucky Colonels (1979) — Live recording from 1965. Kentucky Colonels 1966 (1979) — Studio demo recordings for an unreleased album. Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels (1980) — Live recordings. On Stage (1984) — Live recordings. Long Journey Home (1991) — Live recordings from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Live in Stereo (1999) — Live recordings from a 1965 concert in Vancouver. Bush, Latham & White (2011) — Live recordings from 1964. Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White Dobro Country (1964) Nashville West Nashville West (a.k.a. The Legendary Nashville West Album) (1979) — Live recordings from 1967. The Byrds Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969) Ballad of Easy Rider (1969) (Untitled) (1970) Byrdmaniax (1971) Farther Along (1971) Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 (2000) Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 (2008) The Lost Broadcasts (2011) — Live recordings from the Byrds' 1971 appearance on the Beat-Club television program. Muleskinner Muleskinner (aka A Pot Pourri of Bluegrass Jam) (1973) Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack (1992) — Live recordings from a 1973 television broadcast. The New Kentucky Colonels The White Brothers: The New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973 (1976) Live in Holland 1973 (2013) Clarence White 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals (2003) — Recorded in 1962. Tuff & Stringy Sessions 1966–68 (2003) — Various studio sessions. Flatpick (2006) — Recorded 1964, 1967, 1970 and 1973. White Lightnin''' (2008) — Various recordings from 1962 to 1972. Tut Taylor & Clarence White Tut & Clarence Flatpickin''' (2003) References External links The Clarence White Forum Clarence White discography at Byrds Flyght The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads Retrieved April 19, 2009. Byrd Watcher: Clarence White. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 1944 births 1973 deaths People from Lewiston, Maine American bluegrass musicians Road incident deaths in California Singers from Maine Singer-songwriters from California The Byrds members American people of French-Canadian descent American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians People from Aroostook County, Maine American rock guitarists American country guitarists American country rock musicians American country rock singers American mandolinists American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Lead guitarists 20th-century American singers Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Maine 20th-century American guitarists Muleskinner (band) members Kentucky Colonels (band) members Nashville West members 20th-century American male singers	true	[ "The Trager approach is a form of somatic education. Proponents claim the Trager approach helps release deep-seated physical and mental patterns and facilitates deep relaxation, increased physical mobility, and mental clarity. The founder, Milton Trager, called his work Psychophysical Integration. He was an athlete, dancer, and bodybuilder. He began doing bodywork with no training and later worked under a variety of practitioner licenses, including an MD earned in Mexico followed by 2 years residency in psychiatry. Trager wanted western medicine to accept his proposed mind-body connection in treating challenging conditions such as postpolio, Parkinson's, and other neuromuscular conditions. Doctors reportedly referred patients to him and were surprised by the results, but \"none seemed to consider his drugless treatments as effective as surgery or medication\" and the medical approach to these conditions did not fundamentally shift away from them as he had envisioned. \nLate in life, at the Esalen Institute, he was encouraged to begin teaching, which he did for the last 22 years of his life.\n\nAt the beginning of a session, the practitioner enters into a state of meditation that Milton Trager originally termed \"hook-up\". From this state of mind, the practitioner uses gentle touch and a combination of passive and active movement with the intent of teaching the recipient how to move with less effort. The contact is gentle in a sense; it may be quite firm but is without strain or resistance. Regarding pain, Trager practitioners avoid causing pain, and attempt to contact the body in a way that allows the client to have decreased fear of pain and increased willingness to be present with the full range of sensations. Practitioners are taught to allow a tone of curiosity, playfulness, and effortlessness to guide their work. In addition to hands-on bodywork, clients are taught a series of movements called \"Mentastics\" to be performed with a certain mental attention. While doing these movements, the client is asked to explore how to move with the least tension and effort possible.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Trager International site\n\nMassage\nMind–body interventions\nSomatics\nAlternative medicine", "Woodrow Wilson Adams (April 9, 1917 – August 9, 1988) was an American Delta blues guitarist and harmonica player. He made a late entry into the recording industry, producing three singles. His most accomplished song was \"How Long\", which offered an insight into his lifestyle. His works were later collected on a compilation album.\n\nAdams was born in Tchula, Mississippi, the son of plantation workers. From an early age, he was taught the rudiments of playing the harmonica and the guitar. Though he is mainly remembered for his music, he did not begin his recording career until the age of 35, when he was making a living as a tractor driver. On May 24, 1952, Adams, backed by the supporting group the 3 B's, recorded \"Pretty Baby Blues\" at Sun Studios, in Memphis. One member of the group was Fiddlin' Joe Martin, who would appear on all of Adams's recordings and performed live with him throughout his career. The resulting single, released by Checker Records, is now very rare; only one copy is known to still exist.\n\nIn 1955, Adams returned to the studio, this time with the Boogie Blues Blasters, to record \"Wine Head Woman\" for his second single. It represented his transition from blues to a more commercial R&B style. Adams released one more single, \"Something on My Mind\", in 1961, as a solo effort before returning to his work on a plantation. None of his recordings had much commercial success. The musician David Evans recorded a session with Adams's former backing band in 1967.\n\nAdams's material has been circulated among a wider audience over the years and has received renewed interest. In 1974, two of his previously unissued tracks, \"Pony Blues\" and \"How Long\" (arguably his best-known song), were compiled on the album High Water Blues. The song was inspired by Adams's life on a plantation and emulates the instrumental and melodic style of Howlin' Wolf, who taught Adams how to play harmonica, and Wolf's 1954 song, \"Baby How Long\".\n\nAdams died in Robinsville, Mississippi, in 1988. After all of his past work was steadily released, the compilation album This Is the Blues, Volume 4, containing all of his recorded songs, was issued in 2015.\n\nDiscography\n\nSingles\n \"Pretty Baby Blues\" b/w \"She's Done Come and Gone\", Checker Records (Checker 757), 1952\n \"Wine Head Woman\" b/w \"Baby You Just Don't Know\", Meteor Records (MR 5033), 1955\n \"Something on My Mind\" b/w \"Sad and Blue\", Home of the Blues Records (HB 2523), 1961\n\nCompilation\n This Is the Blues Volume 4, A Collection of Authentic Blues Recordings, Be! Sharp 692, 2015\n\nReferences\n\n1917 births\n1988 deaths\nBlues musicians from Mississippi\nDelta blues musicians\nAmerican blues guitarists\nAmerican male guitarists\nAmerican blues harmonica players\nAfrican-American guitarists\n20th-century American guitarists\nGuitarists from Mississippi\nPeople from Tchula, Mississippi\n20th-century American male musicians\n20th-century African-American musicians" ]
[ "Clarence White", "Session work (1966-1968)", "How did he begin his session work?", "During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression." ]	C_84c2e80c6156481093fd7e74370e6fd6_1	What kind of music did he begin to create?	2	What kind of music did Clarence White begin to create?	Clarence White	During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White also briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with no Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. CANNOTANSWER	he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton.	Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, as well as for being a pioneer of the musical genre of country rock during the late 1960s. White also worked extensively as a session musician, appearing on recordings by the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and Jackson Browne among others. Together with frequent collaborator Gene Parsons, he invented the B-Bender, a guitar accessory that enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone and emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. White was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016. Early years Clarence Joseph LeBlanc was born on June 7, 1944 in Lewiston, Maine. The LeBlanc family, who later changed their surname to White, were of French-Canadian ancestry and hailed from New Brunswick, Canada. Clarence's father, Eric LeBlanc, Sr., played guitar, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, ensuring that his offspring grew up surrounded by music. A child prodigy, Clarence began playing guitar at the age of six. At such a young age he was barely able to hold the instrument and as a result, he briefly switched to ukulele, awaiting a time when his young hands would be big enough to confidently grapple with the guitar. In 1954, when Clarence was ten, the White family relocated to Burbank, California and soon after, Clarence joined his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. (who played mandolin and banjo respectively) in a trio called Three Little Country Boys. Although they initially started out playing contemporary country music, the group soon switched to a purely bluegrass repertoire, as a result of Roland's burgeoning interest in the genre. In 1957, banjoist Billy Ray Latham and Dobro player LeRoy Mack were added to the line-up, with the band renaming themselves the Country Boys soon after. In 1961, the Country Boys also added Roger Bush on double bass, as a replacement for Eric White, Jr. That same year, Clarence and other members of the Country Boys appeared on two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Between 1959 and 1962, the group released three singles on the Sundown, Republic and Briar International record labels. The Kentucky Colonels Following the recording sessions for the Country Boys' debut album, the band changed its name to the Kentucky Colonels in September 1962, at the suggestion of country guitarist and friend Joe Maphis. The band's album was released by Briar International under the title The New Sound of Bluegrass America in early 1963. Around this time, Clarence's flatpicking guitar style was becoming a much more prominent part of the group's music. After attending a performance by Doc Watson at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles, where he also met the guitarist, Clarence began to explore the possibilities of the acoustic guitar's role in bluegrass music. At that time, the guitar was largely regarded as a rhythm instrument in bluegrass, with only a few performers, such as Doc Watson, exploring its potential for soloing. White soon began to integrate elements of Watson's playing style, including the use of open strings and syncopation, into his own flatpicking guitar technique. His breathtaking speed and virtuosity on the instrument was largely responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument within bluegrass. The Kentucky Colonels became well known on the bluegrass circuit during this period and made many live appearances throughout California and the United States. Between bookings with the Colonels, White also made a guest appearance on Eric Weissberg and Marshall Brickman's New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass album, which would be re-released in 1973 as the soundtrack album to the film Deliverance (with Weissberg and Steve Mandell's version of "Dueling Banjos" added to the album's track listing). Throughout 1964, the Colonels continued to make live appearances at various clubs, concert halls and festivals, as well as recruiting fiddle player Bobby Sloan into their ranks. The Colonels' second album, Appalachian Swing!, was a commercial success and saw White's flatpicking permanently expand the language of bluegrass guitar. Music critic Thom Owens has remarked that White's playing on the album, "helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument." Shortly after the recording of the Appalachian Swing! album, Roland and Clarence undertook some session work backing dobroist Tut Taylor on a Dobro-themed album that was released by World Pacific in late 1964 as Dobro Country. Although the brothers were employed as session musicians, the album was credited to Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White upon release. Although they were a successful recording act, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Colonels to make a living, due to the waning popularity of the American folk music revival due to the British Invasion and homegrown folk rock acts, such as the Byrds and Bob Dylan. As a result, the Colonels switched to electric instrumentation and hired a drummer. In spite of these changes, the Kentucky Colonels dissolved as a band following a show on October 31, 1965. Clarence, Roland and Eric Jr. formed a new line-up of the Colonels in 1966, with several other musicians, but this second version of the group was short-lived and by early 1967 they had broken up. Session work (1966–1968) During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and, in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with No Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Nashville West By mid-1967, White had begun performing at night in the band the Reasons (a.k.a. Nashville West), which included bass player Wayne Moore, along with Parsons and Guilbeau (as banjoist-turned-drummer and lead singer respectively). The band mostly worked at the Nashville West club in El Monte, California, frequently borrowing the club's name as their own. Critic Erik Hage has said that, in the years since their formation, the band have become legendary as one of the first to play a seamless blend of country and rock, although L.A. group the International Submarine Band, which featured country rock pioneer Gram Parsons (no relation to Gene), were also exploring a similar sound concurrently. A live recording of Nashville West would eventually be released in 1979, which music historian Richie Unterberger later described as being "of considerable historical interest for anyone interested in the roots of country-rock". Unterberger also remarked that the recording illustrated Nashville West as having "more electric rock influences than most country acts were using at the time." In addition to being a member of Nashville West, White was also a member of another country bar band that regularly played at the Nashville West club called the Roustabouts. In July 1967, White signed with Gary Paxton's Bakersfield International record label and released a pair of solo singles: "Tango for a Sad Mood" b/w "Tuff and Stringy" and "Grandma Funderbunks Music Box" b/w "Riff Raff". He also reportedly recorded a solo album for the label, although it has never been released. The StringBender During 1967, while they were both members of Nashville West, White and Parsons invented a device that enabled Clarence to simulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar on his 1954 Fender Telecaster. The need for such a device was driven by White's desire to bend his guitar's B-string up a full tone, while keeping his left hand on the strings and fretboard. In order to achieve this feat, White felt that he needed a third hand. The guitarist turned to his friend Parsons, who was an amateur machinist, and asked him to design and build an apparatus to pull or drop the B-string. The device, which was known as the Parsons/White StringBender (also known as the B-Bender), was a spring-lever mechanism built into the inside of White's guitar, which linked to the guitar's strap button and the B-string. When it was activated, by pulling down on the guitar neck, it pulled on the B-string and caused the guitar to simulate the "crying" sound of a pedal steel. White would go on to use the device extensively as a member of the Byrds and, as a result, the distinctive sound of the StringBender would become a defining characteristic of that band's music during White's tenure with the group. The Byrds Following the abrupt departure from the Byrds of singer and guitarist Gram Parsons in July 1968, White was invited to join the group as a full-time member, remaining until the band was finally dissolved by lead guitarist Roger McGuinn in February 1973. This extended tenure with the band makes White the second longest-serving member of the Byrds after McGuinn. White was brought into the group at bass player Chris Hillman's suggestion, as someone who could handle the band's older rock material and their newer country-flavored repertoire. Once he was a member of the Byrds, White began to express dissatisfaction with the band's current drummer, Kevin Kelley. Before long, he had persuaded McGuinn and Hillman to replace Kelley with his friend from the recently dissolved Nashville West, Gene Parsons (no relation to Gram). Hillman quit the Byrds within a month of White joining, in order to form the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. At around this same time, White and Gene Parsons undertook some informal rehearsing and recording with Hillman and Gram Parsons, as part of a prototype version of the Burrito Brothers. However, the pair declined an invitation to join the new country rock group and instead opted to stay with McGuinn's new-look Byrds. The White-era version of the Byrds, featuring McGuinn, White and Parsons, along with bassists John York (September 1968–September 1969) and Skip Battin (September 1969–February 1973), released five albums and toured relentlessly between 1969 and 1972. Journalist Steve Leggett has noted that, although the original line-up of the Byrds gets the most attention and praise, the latter-day version, featuring McGuinn and White's dual lead guitar work, was regarded by critics and audiences as much more accomplished in concert than any previous configuration of the band had been. Similarly, authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz have commented that although the White-era Byrds failed to achieve the commercial success of the original line-up, the group were a formidable live act and a consistently in-demand attraction on the touring circuit. The authors also cited the Byrds' archival release Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 as a good example of the White-era band's musical potency. Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke has commented on White's contribution to the band, by noting, "with his powerful, impeccable tone and melodic ingenuity, White did much to rebuild the creative reputation of the Byrds and define the road-hearty sound of the group at the turn of the '70s." The first Byrds' album to feature White as a full member was Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, which was released in early 1969. The album included a re-recording of the Gene Parsons and White-penned instrumental "Nashville West", as well as a rendition of the traditional song "Old Blue", which was the first Byrds' recording to utilize the StringBender. The Ballad of Easy Rider album followed in November 1969, on which White could be heard leading the band through a rendition of the traditional song "Oil in My Lamp", representing the guitarist's first lead vocal performance as a Byrd. 1970 saw the Byrds release the double album (Untitled), which consisted of one LP of live concert recordings and another of new studio recordings. Upon release, the album was a critical and commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. Two of the album's studio recordings featured White singing lead vocals: a cover version of the Lowell George composition "Truck Stop Girl" and a rendition of Leadbelly's "Take a Whiff on Me" (the latter also featured White playing mandolin). In addition, excerpts from an instrumental jam, recorded during the (Untitled) album sessions and logged in the Columbia Records' files under the title of "Fifteen Minute Jam", were later released as "White's Lightning" and "White's Lightning Pt.2" on The Byrds box set and the remastered double CD version of (Untitled) respectively. The 1971 Byrdmaniax album saw White singing lead vocals on "My Destiny", written by Helen Carter, and "Jamaica Say You Will", penned by the then little-known songwriter Jackson Browne. In addition, White received a co-writing credit for the album's bluegrass instrumental "Green Apple Quick Step". This song also featured White's father, Eric White, Sr., on harmonica. Farther Along, released in November 1971, would prove to be the final album by the White-era Byrds. It featured White singing the Gospel hymn and title track "Farther Along" and a cover of the Larry Murray composition "Bugler". This latter song features White playing mandolin and has been described by Byrds expert Tim Connors as, "the best song on the album, and by far the best vocal ever recorded by Clarence White during his time with the Byrds." Following the release of Farther Along, the band continued to tour throughout 1972, but no new Byrds album appeared. In late 1972, the original five-piece line-up of the Byrds reunited and, as a result, McGuinn decided to disband the existing version of the band. Parsons had been fired in July 1972 and Battin was dismissed by McGuinn in early 1973. The last concert by the White-era version of the Byrds (which at this point featured former Byrd Chris Hillman on bass and Joe Lala on drums) was given on February 24, 1973 at The Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey, with White and McGuinn jokingly firing each other from the band afterwards. Despite being on tour or in the recording studio with the Byrds for the majority of the time between 1969 and 1972, White continued to undertake selected session work for other recording artists. During this period he played on Joe Cocker's 1969 album Joe Cocker!, Randy Newman's 1970 album 12 Songs, and the Everly Brothers' Stories We Could Tell from 1972. In early 1971, White also contributed guitar to Paul Siebel's Jack-Knife Gypsy album and the title track of the L.A. Getaway album by Joel Scott-Hill, John Barbata and Chris Ethridge. Other albums that White contributed his guitar playing to while he was a member of the Byrds include Linda Ronstadt's Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969), Rita Coolidge's Rita Coolidge (1971), Marc Benno's Minnows (1971), Jackson Browne's Jackson Browne (1972), Gene Clark's Roadmaster (1973), and a trio of Arlo Guthrie albums: Running Down the Road (1969), Washington County (1970) and Hobo's Lullaby (1972). Post-Byrds In mid-February 1973, just prior to the break up of the White-era version of the Byrds, White joined with guitarist Peter Rowan, mandolinist David Grisman, fiddler Richard Greene, and banjoist Bill Keith to form the bluegrass supergroup Muleskinner. The musicians initially assembled as a one-off pickup band to back bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe for a television program, but ended up performing on their own when Monroe's tour bus broke down on the way to the television studios. A recording of this broadcast, which was once thought lost, was released as an album in 1992, under the title Muleskinner Live. A VHS video cassette of the broadcast was also released in 1992 and later re-issued on DVD. As a result of the success of their appearance on the television broadcast, the band was offered a one album recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at the Record Plant in Los Angeles between March 27 and April 14, 1973, with Richard Greene and Joe Boyd producing. The music the band recorded for the Muleskinner album (a.k.a. A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam) was in the vein of country rock, traditional bluegrass and progressive bluegrass (or "newgrass"). It was also one of the first bluegrass albums to feature a full drum kit. The album was released in the latter half of 1973 and is nowadays regarded by critics as a milestone in the development of progressive bluegrass, with ex-band members Greene, Keith, Grisman, and Rowan all going on to become important figures in the development of that genre. In addition to his work with Muleskinner, White also undertook a number of sessions between late 1972 and early 1973 for his friend Gene Parsons' debut solo album Kindling. White's distinctive guitar and mandolin playing can be heard on the tracks "Do Not Disturb", "On the Spot", "Sonic Bummer", "I Must Be a Tree", "Banjo Dog", "Back Again", and "Drunkard's Dream" (the latter of which also features White contributing harmony vocals). Following completion of the Muleskinner album in April 1973, White reunited with his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. for a tour as the White Brothers (a.k.a. The New Kentucky Colonels). After playing a handful of shows in California, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. Returning to the U.S., White's final bout of touring took place with the New Kentucky Colonels in June 1973, as part of a four-date country rock package tour with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Country Gazette, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others. Although Gram and Clarence had been acquainted with one another since the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, the pair would develop a fast friendship during the mini-tour, after, what was by all accounts, a very acrimonious re-acquaintance. Following the end of the package tour, White entered the recording studio with producer Jim Dickson on June 28 and 29, 1973 to begin work on a solo album. He recorded a total of six songs, four of which would belatedly be released on the archival album Silver Meteor: A Progressive Country Anthology in 1980. Death White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a drunk driver. The accident occurred shortly after 2 a.m., while he and his brother Roland were loading equipment into their car in Palmdale, California, following a White Brothers concert. Gram Parsons was especially shaken by his death; he led a singalong of "Farther Along" at White's funeral service and later conceived his final song (before his own death), "In My Hour of Darkness", as a partial tribute to White. Clarence White was survived by his brothers Roland and Eric and sisters JoAnne and Rosemarie, and his one daughter, Michelle. Musical influence Clarence White helped popularize the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass music, building on the work of guitarists such as Doc Watson. Prior to the advent of the more aggressive flatpicking style pioneered by guitarists like Watson and White, the guitar was strictly a rhythm instrument, save for a few exceptions (such as the occasional guitar track by banjoist Don Reno). Many of the most influential flatpickers of the 20th century cite White as a primary influence, including Dan Crary, Norman Blake, and Tony Rice. Rice owned and played White's highly modified 1935 Martin D-28. David Grier and Russ Barenberg are two other acoustic guitarists who were heavily influenced by White's guitar work. White's bluegrass playing with the Kentucky Colonels was also a considerable influence on Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, who traveled with the band during 1964. On the electric side of the guitar spectrum, White was similarly influential. Together with fellow Byrds bandmember Gene Parsons, White invented the B-Bender device. This device raises the B-string (second string) of the guitar a whole step by the use of pulleys and levers attached to both the upper strap knob and the second string on the guitar. It is activated by pushing down on the neck, and produces a "pedal steel" type sound. Arlen Roth, heavily influenced by this style, did not at the time know that White and Parsons had invented a B-bender, so instead developed his own unique all-finger bending version of this technique. This was heavily documented in his ground-breaking book, "Nashville Guitar", all of his recordings, as well as his book "Masters of the Telecaster". Subsequently, his Telecaster sound became as notable as his bluegrass playing. Marty Stuart, another guitarist influenced by White's playing, now owns and regularly plays White's 1954 Fender Telecaster with the prototype B-Bender. Music archivist and writer Alec Palao has called White "one of a handful of true greats amongst the instrumentalists of 20th century popular music", before adding that "the waves created by the guitarist's idiosyncratic style are still forming ripples within bluegrass, country and rock 'n' roll." In 2003, White was ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2010, guitar manufacturer Gibson ranked White at No. 42 on their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time list. Selected album discography NOTES: This discography does not include albums that Clarence White played on as a session musician, with the exception of Dobro Country, on which he is billed by name. Sources for this section are Johnny Rogan's book Timeless Flight Revisited and the Kentucky Colonels discography at the AllMusic website. Kentucky Colonels The New Sound of Bluegrass America (1963) Appalachian Swing! (1964) Kentucky Colonels (1974) — UK reissue of Appalachian Swing! with two bonus tracks. Livin' in the Past (1975) — Various live recordings from 1961 to 1965. The Kentucky Colonels 1965-1966 (1976) — Live recordings. Scotty Stoneman, Live in LA with the Kentucky Colonels (1979) — Live recording from 1965. Kentucky Colonels 1966 (1979) — Studio demo recordings for an unreleased album. Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels (1980) — Live recordings. On Stage (1984) — Live recordings. Long Journey Home (1991) — Live recordings from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Live in Stereo (1999) — Live recordings from a 1965 concert in Vancouver. Bush, Latham & White (2011) — Live recordings from 1964. Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White Dobro Country (1964) Nashville West Nashville West (a.k.a. The Legendary Nashville West Album) (1979) — Live recordings from 1967. The Byrds Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969) Ballad of Easy Rider (1969) (Untitled) (1970) Byrdmaniax (1971) Farther Along (1971) Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 (2000) Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 (2008) The Lost Broadcasts (2011) — Live recordings from the Byrds' 1971 appearance on the Beat-Club television program. Muleskinner Muleskinner (aka A Pot Pourri of Bluegrass Jam) (1973) Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack (1992) — Live recordings from a 1973 television broadcast. The New Kentucky Colonels The White Brothers: The New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973 (1976) Live in Holland 1973 (2013) Clarence White 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals (2003) — Recorded in 1962. Tuff & Stringy Sessions 1966–68 (2003) — Various studio sessions. Flatpick (2006) — Recorded 1964, 1967, 1970 and 1973. White Lightnin''' (2008) — Various recordings from 1962 to 1972. Tut Taylor & Clarence White Tut & Clarence Flatpickin''' (2003) References External links The Clarence White Forum Clarence White discography at Byrds Flyght The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads Retrieved April 19, 2009. Byrd Watcher: Clarence White. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 1944 births 1973 deaths People from Lewiston, Maine American bluegrass musicians Road incident deaths in California Singers from Maine Singer-songwriters from California The Byrds members American people of French-Canadian descent American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians People from Aroostook County, Maine American rock guitarists American country guitarists American country rock musicians American country rock singers American mandolinists American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Lead guitarists 20th-century American singers Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Maine 20th-century American guitarists Muleskinner (band) members Kentucky Colonels (band) members Nashville West members 20th-century American male singers	true	[ "What Kind of an American are you?, also known as What Kind of American are you?, is a World War I era song released in 1917. Albert Von Tilzer composed the music. Lew Brown and Charles R. McCarron wrote the lyrics. The song was published by Broadway Music Co. of New York, New York. On the cover is a gray drawing of Uncle Sam pointing. A map of the United States is featured on the lower half of the cover. The song was written for voice and piano.\n\nThe sheet music can be found at Pritzker Military Museum & Library.\n\nAnalysis\nThe song urges Americans (specifically immigrants) to use this war to prove their loyalty to the United States; whether that may be by fighting or by simply standing behind the US's actions. For those who show no support, this question is posed: \"What are you doing over here?\" It upholds the \"us-against-them\" mentality; the \"them\" in this case is Germany. The chorus is as follows:\nWhat kind of an American are you?\nIt's time to show what you intend to do\nIf they trample on Old Glory will you think that they are right,\nOr will you stand behind your land and fight with all your might?\nWhat kind of an American are you?\nThat's a question you'll have to answer to\nIf the Star Spangled Banner don't make you stand and cheer,\nThen what are you doing over here?\n\nExternal links\nWhat Kind of an American are You? at Wolfsonian FIU\nWhat Kind of an American are You? at Acumen\n\nReferences\n\nSongs about the United States\nAmerican patriotic songs\n1917 songs\nSongs of World War I\nSongs written by Albert Von Tilzer\nSongs with lyrics by Lew Brown\nSongs with music by Charles McCarron", "Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man is a studio album by Canadian hip hop artist Sixtoo. It was released on Ninja Tune in 2007.\n\nCritical reception\nNate Patrin of Pitchfork gave the album a 5.5 out of 10, saying, \"Jackals and Vipers in Envy of Man is the kind of vague and incomplete music that, instead of immediately boring and/or frustrating you, has just enough intrigue to serve as what would seem to be reasonably unobtrusive background music.\" Noel Dix of Exclaim! said, \"Sixtoo knows how to create moody landscapes and has managed to transfer them to his updated sound nicely.\" Jason Randall Smith of Impose described it as \"a film score for the darker areas of life: long-standing regrets, ulterior motives, or the need to constantly look over your own shoulder.\"\n\nOn July 30, 2007, the album was listed on XLR8Rs \"Office Top Ten Album Picks\".\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\n2006 albums\nNinja Tune albums\nSixtoo albums" ]
[ "Clarence White", "Session work (1966-1968)", "How did he begin his session work?", "During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression.", "What kind of music did he begin to create?", "he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton." ]	C_84c2e80c6156481093fd7e74370e6fd6_1	Did he release any songs?	3	Did Clarence White release any songs?	Clarence White	During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White also briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with no Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. CANNOTANSWER	"Mr. Tambourine Man	Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, as well as for being a pioneer of the musical genre of country rock during the late 1960s. White also worked extensively as a session musician, appearing on recordings by the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and Jackson Browne among others. Together with frequent collaborator Gene Parsons, he invented the B-Bender, a guitar accessory that enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone and emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. White was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016. Early years Clarence Joseph LeBlanc was born on June 7, 1944 in Lewiston, Maine. The LeBlanc family, who later changed their surname to White, were of French-Canadian ancestry and hailed from New Brunswick, Canada. Clarence's father, Eric LeBlanc, Sr., played guitar, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, ensuring that his offspring grew up surrounded by music. A child prodigy, Clarence began playing guitar at the age of six. At such a young age he was barely able to hold the instrument and as a result, he briefly switched to ukulele, awaiting a time when his young hands would be big enough to confidently grapple with the guitar. In 1954, when Clarence was ten, the White family relocated to Burbank, California and soon after, Clarence joined his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. (who played mandolin and banjo respectively) in a trio called Three Little Country Boys. Although they initially started out playing contemporary country music, the group soon switched to a purely bluegrass repertoire, as a result of Roland's burgeoning interest in the genre. In 1957, banjoist Billy Ray Latham and Dobro player LeRoy Mack were added to the line-up, with the band renaming themselves the Country Boys soon after. In 1961, the Country Boys also added Roger Bush on double bass, as a replacement for Eric White, Jr. That same year, Clarence and other members of the Country Boys appeared on two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Between 1959 and 1962, the group released three singles on the Sundown, Republic and Briar International record labels. The Kentucky Colonels Following the recording sessions for the Country Boys' debut album, the band changed its name to the Kentucky Colonels in September 1962, at the suggestion of country guitarist and friend Joe Maphis. The band's album was released by Briar International under the title The New Sound of Bluegrass America in early 1963. Around this time, Clarence's flatpicking guitar style was becoming a much more prominent part of the group's music. After attending a performance by Doc Watson at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles, where he also met the guitarist, Clarence began to explore the possibilities of the acoustic guitar's role in bluegrass music. At that time, the guitar was largely regarded as a rhythm instrument in bluegrass, with only a few performers, such as Doc Watson, exploring its potential for soloing. White soon began to integrate elements of Watson's playing style, including the use of open strings and syncopation, into his own flatpicking guitar technique. His breathtaking speed and virtuosity on the instrument was largely responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument within bluegrass. The Kentucky Colonels became well known on the bluegrass circuit during this period and made many live appearances throughout California and the United States. Between bookings with the Colonels, White also made a guest appearance on Eric Weissberg and Marshall Brickman's New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass album, which would be re-released in 1973 as the soundtrack album to the film Deliverance (with Weissberg and Steve Mandell's version of "Dueling Banjos" added to the album's track listing). Throughout 1964, the Colonels continued to make live appearances at various clubs, concert halls and festivals, as well as recruiting fiddle player Bobby Sloan into their ranks. The Colonels' second album, Appalachian Swing!, was a commercial success and saw White's flatpicking permanently expand the language of bluegrass guitar. Music critic Thom Owens has remarked that White's playing on the album, "helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument." Shortly after the recording of the Appalachian Swing! album, Roland and Clarence undertook some session work backing dobroist Tut Taylor on a Dobro-themed album that was released by World Pacific in late 1964 as Dobro Country. Although the brothers were employed as session musicians, the album was credited to Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White upon release. Although they were a successful recording act, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Colonels to make a living, due to the waning popularity of the American folk music revival due to the British Invasion and homegrown folk rock acts, such as the Byrds and Bob Dylan. As a result, the Colonels switched to electric instrumentation and hired a drummer. In spite of these changes, the Kentucky Colonels dissolved as a band following a show on October 31, 1965. Clarence, Roland and Eric Jr. formed a new line-up of the Colonels in 1966, with several other musicians, but this second version of the group was short-lived and by early 1967 they had broken up. Session work (1966–1968) During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and, in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with No Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Nashville West By mid-1967, White had begun performing at night in the band the Reasons (a.k.a. Nashville West), which included bass player Wayne Moore, along with Parsons and Guilbeau (as banjoist-turned-drummer and lead singer respectively). The band mostly worked at the Nashville West club in El Monte, California, frequently borrowing the club's name as their own. Critic Erik Hage has said that, in the years since their formation, the band have become legendary as one of the first to play a seamless blend of country and rock, although L.A. group the International Submarine Band, which featured country rock pioneer Gram Parsons (no relation to Gene), were also exploring a similar sound concurrently. A live recording of Nashville West would eventually be released in 1979, which music historian Richie Unterberger later described as being "of considerable historical interest for anyone interested in the roots of country-rock". Unterberger also remarked that the recording illustrated Nashville West as having "more electric rock influences than most country acts were using at the time." In addition to being a member of Nashville West, White was also a member of another country bar band that regularly played at the Nashville West club called the Roustabouts. In July 1967, White signed with Gary Paxton's Bakersfield International record label and released a pair of solo singles: "Tango for a Sad Mood" b/w "Tuff and Stringy" and "Grandma Funderbunks Music Box" b/w "Riff Raff". He also reportedly recorded a solo album for the label, although it has never been released. The StringBender During 1967, while they were both members of Nashville West, White and Parsons invented a device that enabled Clarence to simulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar on his 1954 Fender Telecaster. The need for such a device was driven by White's desire to bend his guitar's B-string up a full tone, while keeping his left hand on the strings and fretboard. In order to achieve this feat, White felt that he needed a third hand. The guitarist turned to his friend Parsons, who was an amateur machinist, and asked him to design and build an apparatus to pull or drop the B-string. The device, which was known as the Parsons/White StringBender (also known as the B-Bender), was a spring-lever mechanism built into the inside of White's guitar, which linked to the guitar's strap button and the B-string. When it was activated, by pulling down on the guitar neck, it pulled on the B-string and caused the guitar to simulate the "crying" sound of a pedal steel. White would go on to use the device extensively as a member of the Byrds and, as a result, the distinctive sound of the StringBender would become a defining characteristic of that band's music during White's tenure with the group. The Byrds Following the abrupt departure from the Byrds of singer and guitarist Gram Parsons in July 1968, White was invited to join the group as a full-time member, remaining until the band was finally dissolved by lead guitarist Roger McGuinn in February 1973. This extended tenure with the band makes White the second longest-serving member of the Byrds after McGuinn. White was brought into the group at bass player Chris Hillman's suggestion, as someone who could handle the band's older rock material and their newer country-flavored repertoire. Once he was a member of the Byrds, White began to express dissatisfaction with the band's current drummer, Kevin Kelley. Before long, he had persuaded McGuinn and Hillman to replace Kelley with his friend from the recently dissolved Nashville West, Gene Parsons (no relation to Gram). Hillman quit the Byrds within a month of White joining, in order to form the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. At around this same time, White and Gene Parsons undertook some informal rehearsing and recording with Hillman and Gram Parsons, as part of a prototype version of the Burrito Brothers. However, the pair declined an invitation to join the new country rock group and instead opted to stay with McGuinn's new-look Byrds. The White-era version of the Byrds, featuring McGuinn, White and Parsons, along with bassists John York (September 1968–September 1969) and Skip Battin (September 1969–February 1973), released five albums and toured relentlessly between 1969 and 1972. Journalist Steve Leggett has noted that, although the original line-up of the Byrds gets the most attention and praise, the latter-day version, featuring McGuinn and White's dual lead guitar work, was regarded by critics and audiences as much more accomplished in concert than any previous configuration of the band had been. Similarly, authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz have commented that although the White-era Byrds failed to achieve the commercial success of the original line-up, the group were a formidable live act and a consistently in-demand attraction on the touring circuit. The authors also cited the Byrds' archival release Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 as a good example of the White-era band's musical potency. Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke has commented on White's contribution to the band, by noting, "with his powerful, impeccable tone and melodic ingenuity, White did much to rebuild the creative reputation of the Byrds and define the road-hearty sound of the group at the turn of the '70s." The first Byrds' album to feature White as a full member was Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, which was released in early 1969. The album included a re-recording of the Gene Parsons and White-penned instrumental "Nashville West", as well as a rendition of the traditional song "Old Blue", which was the first Byrds' recording to utilize the StringBender. The Ballad of Easy Rider album followed in November 1969, on which White could be heard leading the band through a rendition of the traditional song "Oil in My Lamp", representing the guitarist's first lead vocal performance as a Byrd. 1970 saw the Byrds release the double album (Untitled), which consisted of one LP of live concert recordings and another of new studio recordings. Upon release, the album was a critical and commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. Two of the album's studio recordings featured White singing lead vocals: a cover version of the Lowell George composition "Truck Stop Girl" and a rendition of Leadbelly's "Take a Whiff on Me" (the latter also featured White playing mandolin). In addition, excerpts from an instrumental jam, recorded during the (Untitled) album sessions and logged in the Columbia Records' files under the title of "Fifteen Minute Jam", were later released as "White's Lightning" and "White's Lightning Pt.2" on The Byrds box set and the remastered double CD version of (Untitled) respectively. The 1971 Byrdmaniax album saw White singing lead vocals on "My Destiny", written by Helen Carter, and "Jamaica Say You Will", penned by the then little-known songwriter Jackson Browne. In addition, White received a co-writing credit for the album's bluegrass instrumental "Green Apple Quick Step". This song also featured White's father, Eric White, Sr., on harmonica. Farther Along, released in November 1971, would prove to be the final album by the White-era Byrds. It featured White singing the Gospel hymn and title track "Farther Along" and a cover of the Larry Murray composition "Bugler". This latter song features White playing mandolin and has been described by Byrds expert Tim Connors as, "the best song on the album, and by far the best vocal ever recorded by Clarence White during his time with the Byrds." Following the release of Farther Along, the band continued to tour throughout 1972, but no new Byrds album appeared. In late 1972, the original five-piece line-up of the Byrds reunited and, as a result, McGuinn decided to disband the existing version of the band. Parsons had been fired in July 1972 and Battin was dismissed by McGuinn in early 1973. The last concert by the White-era version of the Byrds (which at this point featured former Byrd Chris Hillman on bass and Joe Lala on drums) was given on February 24, 1973 at The Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey, with White and McGuinn jokingly firing each other from the band afterwards. Despite being on tour or in the recording studio with the Byrds for the majority of the time between 1969 and 1972, White continued to undertake selected session work for other recording artists. During this period he played on Joe Cocker's 1969 album Joe Cocker!, Randy Newman's 1970 album 12 Songs, and the Everly Brothers' Stories We Could Tell from 1972. In early 1971, White also contributed guitar to Paul Siebel's Jack-Knife Gypsy album and the title track of the L.A. Getaway album by Joel Scott-Hill, John Barbata and Chris Ethridge. Other albums that White contributed his guitar playing to while he was a member of the Byrds include Linda Ronstadt's Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969), Rita Coolidge's Rita Coolidge (1971), Marc Benno's Minnows (1971), Jackson Browne's Jackson Browne (1972), Gene Clark's Roadmaster (1973), and a trio of Arlo Guthrie albums: Running Down the Road (1969), Washington County (1970) and Hobo's Lullaby (1972). Post-Byrds In mid-February 1973, just prior to the break up of the White-era version of the Byrds, White joined with guitarist Peter Rowan, mandolinist David Grisman, fiddler Richard Greene, and banjoist Bill Keith to form the bluegrass supergroup Muleskinner. The musicians initially assembled as a one-off pickup band to back bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe for a television program, but ended up performing on their own when Monroe's tour bus broke down on the way to the television studios. A recording of this broadcast, which was once thought lost, was released as an album in 1992, under the title Muleskinner Live. A VHS video cassette of the broadcast was also released in 1992 and later re-issued on DVD. As a result of the success of their appearance on the television broadcast, the band was offered a one album recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at the Record Plant in Los Angeles between March 27 and April 14, 1973, with Richard Greene and Joe Boyd producing. The music the band recorded for the Muleskinner album (a.k.a. A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam) was in the vein of country rock, traditional bluegrass and progressive bluegrass (or "newgrass"). It was also one of the first bluegrass albums to feature a full drum kit. The album was released in the latter half of 1973 and is nowadays regarded by critics as a milestone in the development of progressive bluegrass, with ex-band members Greene, Keith, Grisman, and Rowan all going on to become important figures in the development of that genre. In addition to his work with Muleskinner, White also undertook a number of sessions between late 1972 and early 1973 for his friend Gene Parsons' debut solo album Kindling. White's distinctive guitar and mandolin playing can be heard on the tracks "Do Not Disturb", "On the Spot", "Sonic Bummer", "I Must Be a Tree", "Banjo Dog", "Back Again", and "Drunkard's Dream" (the latter of which also features White contributing harmony vocals). Following completion of the Muleskinner album in April 1973, White reunited with his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. for a tour as the White Brothers (a.k.a. The New Kentucky Colonels). After playing a handful of shows in California, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. Returning to the U.S., White's final bout of touring took place with the New Kentucky Colonels in June 1973, as part of a four-date country rock package tour with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Country Gazette, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others. Although Gram and Clarence had been acquainted with one another since the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, the pair would develop a fast friendship during the mini-tour, after, what was by all accounts, a very acrimonious re-acquaintance. Following the end of the package tour, White entered the recording studio with producer Jim Dickson on June 28 and 29, 1973 to begin work on a solo album. He recorded a total of six songs, four of which would belatedly be released on the archival album Silver Meteor: A Progressive Country Anthology in 1980. Death White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a drunk driver. The accident occurred shortly after 2 a.m., while he and his brother Roland were loading equipment into their car in Palmdale, California, following a White Brothers concert. Gram Parsons was especially shaken by his death; he led a singalong of "Farther Along" at White's funeral service and later conceived his final song (before his own death), "In My Hour of Darkness", as a partial tribute to White. Clarence White was survived by his brothers Roland and Eric and sisters JoAnne and Rosemarie, and his one daughter, Michelle. Musical influence Clarence White helped popularize the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass music, building on the work of guitarists such as Doc Watson. Prior to the advent of the more aggressive flatpicking style pioneered by guitarists like Watson and White, the guitar was strictly a rhythm instrument, save for a few exceptions (such as the occasional guitar track by banjoist Don Reno). Many of the most influential flatpickers of the 20th century cite White as a primary influence, including Dan Crary, Norman Blake, and Tony Rice. Rice owned and played White's highly modified 1935 Martin D-28. David Grier and Russ Barenberg are two other acoustic guitarists who were heavily influenced by White's guitar work. White's bluegrass playing with the Kentucky Colonels was also a considerable influence on Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, who traveled with the band during 1964. On the electric side of the guitar spectrum, White was similarly influential. Together with fellow Byrds bandmember Gene Parsons, White invented the B-Bender device. This device raises the B-string (second string) of the guitar a whole step by the use of pulleys and levers attached to both the upper strap knob and the second string on the guitar. It is activated by pushing down on the neck, and produces a "pedal steel" type sound. Arlen Roth, heavily influenced by this style, did not at the time know that White and Parsons had invented a B-bender, so instead developed his own unique all-finger bending version of this technique. This was heavily documented in his ground-breaking book, "Nashville Guitar", all of his recordings, as well as his book "Masters of the Telecaster". Subsequently, his Telecaster sound became as notable as his bluegrass playing. Marty Stuart, another guitarist influenced by White's playing, now owns and regularly plays White's 1954 Fender Telecaster with the prototype B-Bender. Music archivist and writer Alec Palao has called White "one of a handful of true greats amongst the instrumentalists of 20th century popular music", before adding that "the waves created by the guitarist's idiosyncratic style are still forming ripples within bluegrass, country and rock 'n' roll." In 2003, White was ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2010, guitar manufacturer Gibson ranked White at No. 42 on their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time list. Selected album discography NOTES: This discography does not include albums that Clarence White played on as a session musician, with the exception of Dobro Country, on which he is billed by name. Sources for this section are Johnny Rogan's book Timeless Flight Revisited and the Kentucky Colonels discography at the AllMusic website. Kentucky Colonels The New Sound of Bluegrass America (1963) Appalachian Swing! (1964) Kentucky Colonels (1974) — UK reissue of Appalachian Swing! with two bonus tracks. Livin' in the Past (1975) — Various live recordings from 1961 to 1965. The Kentucky Colonels 1965-1966 (1976) — Live recordings. Scotty Stoneman, Live in LA with the Kentucky Colonels (1979) — Live recording from 1965. Kentucky Colonels 1966 (1979) — Studio demo recordings for an unreleased album. Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels (1980) — Live recordings. On Stage (1984) — Live recordings. Long Journey Home (1991) — Live recordings from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Live in Stereo (1999) — Live recordings from a 1965 concert in Vancouver. Bush, Latham & White (2011) — Live recordings from 1964. Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White Dobro Country (1964) Nashville West Nashville West (a.k.a. The Legendary Nashville West Album) (1979) — Live recordings from 1967. The Byrds Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969) Ballad of Easy Rider (1969) (Untitled) (1970) Byrdmaniax (1971) Farther Along (1971) Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 (2000) Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 (2008) The Lost Broadcasts (2011) — Live recordings from the Byrds' 1971 appearance on the Beat-Club television program. Muleskinner Muleskinner (aka A Pot Pourri of Bluegrass Jam) (1973) Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack (1992) — Live recordings from a 1973 television broadcast. The New Kentucky Colonels The White Brothers: The New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973 (1976) Live in Holland 1973 (2013) Clarence White 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals (2003) — Recorded in 1962. Tuff & Stringy Sessions 1966–68 (2003) — Various studio sessions. Flatpick (2006) — Recorded 1964, 1967, 1970 and 1973. White Lightnin''' (2008) — Various recordings from 1962 to 1972. Tut Taylor & Clarence White Tut & Clarence Flatpickin''' (2003) References External links The Clarence White Forum Clarence White discography at Byrds Flyght The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads Retrieved April 19, 2009. Byrd Watcher: Clarence White. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 1944 births 1973 deaths People from Lewiston, Maine American bluegrass musicians Road incident deaths in California Singers from Maine Singer-songwriters from California The Byrds members American people of French-Canadian descent American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians People from Aroostook County, Maine American rock guitarists American country guitarists American country rock musicians American country rock singers American mandolinists American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Lead guitarists 20th-century American singers Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Maine 20th-century American guitarists Muleskinner (band) members Kentucky Colonels (band) members Nashville West members 20th-century American male singers	true	[ "This is a list of songs recorded by Northern Irish rock band Therapy?.\n\nRare released songs \nThe following is a table of rare released songs meeting the following criteria:\n\n Songs on any official record release (record company or otherwise), and any collaborations by Therapy? with other artists, are included here, except for songs on the official 15 albums (Baby Teeth to Cleave), the 2 compilation albums (So Much for the Ten Year Plan and Music Through a Cheap Transistor), the 2 live albums (We're Here to the End and Communion: Live at the Union Chapel), or The Gemil Box.\n\n Songs provided on the official website for free download are not included here.\n Songs only released on bootlegs are not included here.\nThe columns Title, Released, Where and Notes list each song title, the year the song was released, on which release it can be found and any notes accompanying the song.\n\nOfficial website free MP3 downloads \n\nThe following is a table of Official Website Free MP3 Downloads meeting the following criteria;\n\n Songs released exclusively free via the official website (or mailing list) and unavailable elsewhere are included here.\n Songs on any official release are not included here.\nThe columns Title, Recorded, Source, MP3 kbit/s and Notes list each song title, the year the song was recorded, the audio source, the bit-rate of the download and any notes accompanying the song.\n\nRare unreleased songs \n\nThe following is a table of rare non-released songs meeting the following criteria:\n\n Noteworthy songs released on bootlegs are included here.\n Noteworthy songs not available yet in any form are included here.\n Noteworthy songs released via streaming (not download) on official sites are included here.\n Songs on any official release are not included here.\nThe columns Title, Recorded, Source, Available and Notes list each song title, the year the song was recorded, the audio source, the availability of the song and any notes accompanying the song.\n\nUnofficial bootleg releases \n\n\"Have a Merry Fucking Christmas\" (7\")\n\"Next to You / Invisible Sun\" (7\", turquoise)\n\"Live at the Astoria\" (12\") (London '92)\n\"I Want My Money Back\" (London '92)\n\"Who Did This?\" (Berlin '93)\n\"No Love Lost\" (Hultsfred '93, Roskilde '93, Feile '93, Aalborg '92)\n\"Fistful of Power\" (Donington '94)\n\"Isolation\" (Wolverhampton '94)\n\"Absolutely Barking\" (Donington '94, London '94)\n\"Clash Therapy\" (Stockholm '94)\n\"Not Lunacy\" (Stockholm '94)\n\"Shock Treatment\" (Florence '94)\n\"Iron Man\" (Florence '94)\n\"Europe 1994\" (Donington '94, Glasgow '94, London '94)\n\"Live in England 94\" (Donington '94, London '92)\n\"Good Fuckin' Night\" (Glasgow '94)\n\"Dead Laughing\" (Arnhem '95)\n\"The Black Sessions\" (Paris '95)\n\"Infernal Gum\" (B-Sides)\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n Official discography\n\nTherapy", "World Famous Classics: 1993–1998 is the first of three greatest hits albums by hip hop group The Beatnuts. It was released by Sony BMG in 1999 two weeks after the release of The Beatnuts' most commercially successful album, A Musical Massacre. It contains songs from The Beatnuts' first three albums, as well as its two EPs. The album does not feature any exclusive songs. World Famous Classics did not chart upon release, and is currently out of print.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nThe Beatnuts albums\n1999 greatest hits albums" ]
[ "Clarence White", "Session work (1966-1968)", "How did he begin his session work?", "During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression.", "What kind of music did he begin to create?", "he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton.", "Did he release any songs?", "\"Mr. Tambourine Man" ]	C_84c2e80c6156481093fd7e74370e6fd6_1	Any other songs during this time?	4	Any other songs during between 1966-1968 other than Mr. Tambourine Man?	Clarence White	During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White also briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with no Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. CANNOTANSWER	Telecaster,	Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the Byrds, as well as for being a pioneer of the musical genre of country rock during the late 1960s. White also worked extensively as a session musician, appearing on recordings by the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Gene Clark, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and Jackson Browne among others. Together with frequent collaborator Gene Parsons, he invented the B-Bender, a guitar accessory that enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone and emulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar. White was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016. Early years Clarence Joseph LeBlanc was born on June 7, 1944 in Lewiston, Maine. The LeBlanc family, who later changed their surname to White, were of French-Canadian ancestry and hailed from New Brunswick, Canada. Clarence's father, Eric LeBlanc, Sr., played guitar, banjo, fiddle, and harmonica, ensuring that his offspring grew up surrounded by music. A child prodigy, Clarence began playing guitar at the age of six. At such a young age he was barely able to hold the instrument and as a result, he briefly switched to ukulele, awaiting a time when his young hands would be big enough to confidently grapple with the guitar. In 1954, when Clarence was ten, the White family relocated to Burbank, California and soon after, Clarence joined his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. (who played mandolin and banjo respectively) in a trio called Three Little Country Boys. Although they initially started out playing contemporary country music, the group soon switched to a purely bluegrass repertoire, as a result of Roland's burgeoning interest in the genre. In 1957, banjoist Billy Ray Latham and Dobro player LeRoy Mack were added to the line-up, with the band renaming themselves the Country Boys soon after. In 1961, the Country Boys also added Roger Bush on double bass, as a replacement for Eric White, Jr. That same year, Clarence and other members of the Country Boys appeared on two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show. Between 1959 and 1962, the group released three singles on the Sundown, Republic and Briar International record labels. The Kentucky Colonels Following the recording sessions for the Country Boys' debut album, the band changed its name to the Kentucky Colonels in September 1962, at the suggestion of country guitarist and friend Joe Maphis. The band's album was released by Briar International under the title The New Sound of Bluegrass America in early 1963. Around this time, Clarence's flatpicking guitar style was becoming a much more prominent part of the group's music. After attending a performance by Doc Watson at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles, where he also met the guitarist, Clarence began to explore the possibilities of the acoustic guitar's role in bluegrass music. At that time, the guitar was largely regarded as a rhythm instrument in bluegrass, with only a few performers, such as Doc Watson, exploring its potential for soloing. White soon began to integrate elements of Watson's playing style, including the use of open strings and syncopation, into his own flatpicking guitar technique. His breathtaking speed and virtuosity on the instrument was largely responsible for making the guitar a lead instrument within bluegrass. The Kentucky Colonels became well known on the bluegrass circuit during this period and made many live appearances throughout California and the United States. Between bookings with the Colonels, White also made a guest appearance on Eric Weissberg and Marshall Brickman's New Dimensions in Banjo & Bluegrass album, which would be re-released in 1973 as the soundtrack album to the film Deliverance (with Weissberg and Steve Mandell's version of "Dueling Banjos" added to the album's track listing). Throughout 1964, the Colonels continued to make live appearances at various clubs, concert halls and festivals, as well as recruiting fiddle player Bobby Sloan into their ranks. The Colonels' second album, Appalachian Swing!, was a commercial success and saw White's flatpicking permanently expand the language of bluegrass guitar. Music critic Thom Owens has remarked that White's playing on the album, "helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument." Shortly after the recording of the Appalachian Swing! album, Roland and Clarence undertook some session work backing dobroist Tut Taylor on a Dobro-themed album that was released by World Pacific in late 1964 as Dobro Country. Although the brothers were employed as session musicians, the album was credited to Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White upon release. Although they were a successful recording act, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Colonels to make a living, due to the waning popularity of the American folk music revival due to the British Invasion and homegrown folk rock acts, such as the Byrds and Bob Dylan. As a result, the Colonels switched to electric instrumentation and hired a drummer. In spite of these changes, the Kentucky Colonels dissolved as a band following a show on October 31, 1965. Clarence, Roland and Eric Jr. formed a new line-up of the Colonels in 1966, with several other musicians, but this second version of the group was short-lived and by early 1967 they had broken up. Session work (1966–1968) During 1964, White began to look beyond bluegrass music towards rock 'n' roll as an avenue for artistic expression. Although he was influenced by Country guitarists like Doc Watson, Don Reno and Joe Maphis, he also idolized the playing of jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry, and studio musician James Burton. White even anticipated the viability of a folk/rock hybrid when, in the summer of 1964, he was approached by Jim Dickson to record a version of the then-unreleased Bob Dylan song "Mr. Tambourine Man" with electric instruments. However, despite White's enthusiasm for the project, he was unable to convince his bandmates in the Kentucky Colonels of the experiment's validity and ultimately, the song was instead recorded by Dickson's proteges, the Byrds. By the time the original line-up of the Kentucky Colonels folded in late 1965, White had become a respected and well-known guitarist. Abandoning bluegrass temporarily, he switched from his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar to an electric Fender Telecaster, with the intention of becoming a studio musician like his hero James Burton. Transitioning to electric guitar required White to modify his right hand playing technique, switch from open chording to fretting the whole guitar neck with his left hand, and practice using the tone and volume controls. However, he soon mastered the intricacies of the instrument and, between 1965 and 1968, he undertook session work for artists including Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, and the Gosdin Brothers. As 1965 turned into 1966, White met Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau at a recording session for the Gosdin Brothers and shortly after, he began to perform live with the duo in local California clubs, as well as doing regular session work on their records, which were released under the moniker of Cajun Gib and Gene. 1966 also saw White begin playing with a country group called Trio, which featured drummer Bart Haney and former Kentucky Colonel, Roger Bush, on bass. In autumn of that year, as a result of his friendship with Gilbeau, Parsons and the Gosdin Brothers, White was asked to provide lead guitar to ex-Byrd Gene Clark's debut solo album, Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers. White briefly joined Clark's touring band shortly thereafter. During the Clark album sessions, White reconnected with mandolin player and bassist Chris Hillman, who he had known during the early 1960s as a member of the bluegrass combo the Hillmen. Hillman was currently a member of the Byrds and, in December 1966, he invited White to contribute countrified lead guitar playing to his songs "Time Between" and "The Girl with No Name", which both appeared on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album. The country-oriented nature of the songs was something of a stylistic departure for the group and can be seen as an early indicator of the experimentation with country music that would color the Byrds' subsequent work. White also contributed guitar to the band's follow-up album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and to their seminal 1968 country rock release, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Nashville West By mid-1967, White had begun performing at night in the band the Reasons (a.k.a. Nashville West), which included bass player Wayne Moore, along with Parsons and Guilbeau (as banjoist-turned-drummer and lead singer respectively). The band mostly worked at the Nashville West club in El Monte, California, frequently borrowing the club's name as their own. Critic Erik Hage has said that, in the years since their formation, the band have become legendary as one of the first to play a seamless blend of country and rock, although L.A. group the International Submarine Band, which featured country rock pioneer Gram Parsons (no relation to Gene), were also exploring a similar sound concurrently. A live recording of Nashville West would eventually be released in 1979, which music historian Richie Unterberger later described as being "of considerable historical interest for anyone interested in the roots of country-rock". Unterberger also remarked that the recording illustrated Nashville West as having "more electric rock influences than most country acts were using at the time." In addition to being a member of Nashville West, White was also a member of another country bar band that regularly played at the Nashville West club called the Roustabouts. In July 1967, White signed with Gary Paxton's Bakersfield International record label and released a pair of solo singles: "Tango for a Sad Mood" b/w "Tuff and Stringy" and "Grandma Funderbunks Music Box" b/w "Riff Raff". He also reportedly recorded a solo album for the label, although it has never been released. The StringBender During 1967, while they were both members of Nashville West, White and Parsons invented a device that enabled Clarence to simulate the sound of a pedal steel guitar on his 1954 Fender Telecaster. The need for such a device was driven by White's desire to bend his guitar's B-string up a full tone, while keeping his left hand on the strings and fretboard. In order to achieve this feat, White felt that he needed a third hand. The guitarist turned to his friend Parsons, who was an amateur machinist, and asked him to design and build an apparatus to pull or drop the B-string. The device, which was known as the Parsons/White StringBender (also known as the B-Bender), was a spring-lever mechanism built into the inside of White's guitar, which linked to the guitar's strap button and the B-string. When it was activated, by pulling down on the guitar neck, it pulled on the B-string and caused the guitar to simulate the "crying" sound of a pedal steel. White would go on to use the device extensively as a member of the Byrds and, as a result, the distinctive sound of the StringBender would become a defining characteristic of that band's music during White's tenure with the group. The Byrds Following the abrupt departure from the Byrds of singer and guitarist Gram Parsons in July 1968, White was invited to join the group as a full-time member, remaining until the band was finally dissolved by lead guitarist Roger McGuinn in February 1973. This extended tenure with the band makes White the second longest-serving member of the Byrds after McGuinn. White was brought into the group at bass player Chris Hillman's suggestion, as someone who could handle the band's older rock material and their newer country-flavored repertoire. Once he was a member of the Byrds, White began to express dissatisfaction with the band's current drummer, Kevin Kelley. Before long, he had persuaded McGuinn and Hillman to replace Kelley with his friend from the recently dissolved Nashville West, Gene Parsons (no relation to Gram). Hillman quit the Byrds within a month of White joining, in order to form the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram Parsons. At around this same time, White and Gene Parsons undertook some informal rehearsing and recording with Hillman and Gram Parsons, as part of a prototype version of the Burrito Brothers. However, the pair declined an invitation to join the new country rock group and instead opted to stay with McGuinn's new-look Byrds. The White-era version of the Byrds, featuring McGuinn, White and Parsons, along with bassists John York (September 1968–September 1969) and Skip Battin (September 1969–February 1973), released five albums and toured relentlessly between 1969 and 1972. Journalist Steve Leggett has noted that, although the original line-up of the Byrds gets the most attention and praise, the latter-day version, featuring McGuinn and White's dual lead guitar work, was regarded by critics and audiences as much more accomplished in concert than any previous configuration of the band had been. Similarly, authors Scott Schinder and Andy Schwartz have commented that although the White-era Byrds failed to achieve the commercial success of the original line-up, the group were a formidable live act and a consistently in-demand attraction on the touring circuit. The authors also cited the Byrds' archival release Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 as a good example of the White-era band's musical potency. Rolling Stone journalist David Fricke has commented on White's contribution to the band, by noting, "with his powerful, impeccable tone and melodic ingenuity, White did much to rebuild the creative reputation of the Byrds and define the road-hearty sound of the group at the turn of the '70s." The first Byrds' album to feature White as a full member was Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde, which was released in early 1969. The album included a re-recording of the Gene Parsons and White-penned instrumental "Nashville West", as well as a rendition of the traditional song "Old Blue", which was the first Byrds' recording to utilize the StringBender. The Ballad of Easy Rider album followed in November 1969, on which White could be heard leading the band through a rendition of the traditional song "Oil in My Lamp", representing the guitarist's first lead vocal performance as a Byrd. 1970 saw the Byrds release the double album (Untitled), which consisted of one LP of live concert recordings and another of new studio recordings. Upon release, the album was a critical and commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. Two of the album's studio recordings featured White singing lead vocals: a cover version of the Lowell George composition "Truck Stop Girl" and a rendition of Leadbelly's "Take a Whiff on Me" (the latter also featured White playing mandolin). In addition, excerpts from an instrumental jam, recorded during the (Untitled) album sessions and logged in the Columbia Records' files under the title of "Fifteen Minute Jam", were later released as "White's Lightning" and "White's Lightning Pt.2" on The Byrds box set and the remastered double CD version of (Untitled) respectively. The 1971 Byrdmaniax album saw White singing lead vocals on "My Destiny", written by Helen Carter, and "Jamaica Say You Will", penned by the then little-known songwriter Jackson Browne. In addition, White received a co-writing credit for the album's bluegrass instrumental "Green Apple Quick Step". This song also featured White's father, Eric White, Sr., on harmonica. Farther Along, released in November 1971, would prove to be the final album by the White-era Byrds. It featured White singing the Gospel hymn and title track "Farther Along" and a cover of the Larry Murray composition "Bugler". This latter song features White playing mandolin and has been described by Byrds expert Tim Connors as, "the best song on the album, and by far the best vocal ever recorded by Clarence White during his time with the Byrds." Following the release of Farther Along, the band continued to tour throughout 1972, but no new Byrds album appeared. In late 1972, the original five-piece line-up of the Byrds reunited and, as a result, McGuinn decided to disband the existing version of the band. Parsons had been fired in July 1972 and Battin was dismissed by McGuinn in early 1973. The last concert by the White-era version of the Byrds (which at this point featured former Byrd Chris Hillman on bass and Joe Lala on drums) was given on February 24, 1973 at The Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey, with White and McGuinn jokingly firing each other from the band afterwards. Despite being on tour or in the recording studio with the Byrds for the majority of the time between 1969 and 1972, White continued to undertake selected session work for other recording artists. During this period he played on Joe Cocker's 1969 album Joe Cocker!, Randy Newman's 1970 album 12 Songs, and the Everly Brothers' Stories We Could Tell from 1972. In early 1971, White also contributed guitar to Paul Siebel's Jack-Knife Gypsy album and the title track of the L.A. Getaway album by Joel Scott-Hill, John Barbata and Chris Ethridge. Other albums that White contributed his guitar playing to while he was a member of the Byrds include Linda Ronstadt's Hand Sown ... Home Grown (1969), Rita Coolidge's Rita Coolidge (1971), Marc Benno's Minnows (1971), Jackson Browne's Jackson Browne (1972), Gene Clark's Roadmaster (1973), and a trio of Arlo Guthrie albums: Running Down the Road (1969), Washington County (1970) and Hobo's Lullaby (1972). Post-Byrds In mid-February 1973, just prior to the break up of the White-era version of the Byrds, White joined with guitarist Peter Rowan, mandolinist David Grisman, fiddler Richard Greene, and banjoist Bill Keith to form the bluegrass supergroup Muleskinner. The musicians initially assembled as a one-off pickup band to back bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe for a television program, but ended up performing on their own when Monroe's tour bus broke down on the way to the television studios. A recording of this broadcast, which was once thought lost, was released as an album in 1992, under the title Muleskinner Live. A VHS video cassette of the broadcast was also released in 1992 and later re-issued on DVD. As a result of the success of their appearance on the television broadcast, the band was offered a one album recording contract with Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at the Record Plant in Los Angeles between March 27 and April 14, 1973, with Richard Greene and Joe Boyd producing. The music the band recorded for the Muleskinner album (a.k.a. A Potpourri of Bluegrass Jam) was in the vein of country rock, traditional bluegrass and progressive bluegrass (or "newgrass"). It was also one of the first bluegrass albums to feature a full drum kit. The album was released in the latter half of 1973 and is nowadays regarded by critics as a milestone in the development of progressive bluegrass, with ex-band members Greene, Keith, Grisman, and Rowan all going on to become important figures in the development of that genre. In addition to his work with Muleskinner, White also undertook a number of sessions between late 1972 and early 1973 for his friend Gene Parsons' debut solo album Kindling. White's distinctive guitar and mandolin playing can be heard on the tracks "Do Not Disturb", "On the Spot", "Sonic Bummer", "I Must Be a Tree", "Banjo Dog", "Back Again", and "Drunkard's Dream" (the latter of which also features White contributing harmony vocals). Following completion of the Muleskinner album in April 1973, White reunited with his brothers Roland and Eric Jr. for a tour as the White Brothers (a.k.a. The New Kentucky Colonels). After playing a handful of shows in California, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. Returning to the U.S., White's final bout of touring took place with the New Kentucky Colonels in June 1973, as part of a four-date country rock package tour with Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Country Gazette, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Gene Parsons, Byron Berline, and Chris Ethridge among others. Although Gram and Clarence had been acquainted with one another since the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo sessions, the pair would develop a fast friendship during the mini-tour, after, what was by all accounts, a very acrimonious re-acquaintance. Following the end of the package tour, White entered the recording studio with producer Jim Dickson on June 28 and 29, 1973 to begin work on a solo album. He recorded a total of six songs, four of which would belatedly be released on the archival album Silver Meteor: A Progressive Country Anthology in 1980. Death White died on July 15, 1973, after being struck by a drunk driver. The accident occurred shortly after 2 a.m., while he and his brother Roland were loading equipment into their car in Palmdale, California, following a White Brothers concert. Gram Parsons was especially shaken by his death; he led a singalong of "Farther Along" at White's funeral service and later conceived his final song (before his own death), "In My Hour of Darkness", as a partial tribute to White. Clarence White was survived by his brothers Roland and Eric and sisters JoAnne and Rosemarie, and his one daughter, Michelle. Musical influence Clarence White helped popularize the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass music, building on the work of guitarists such as Doc Watson. Prior to the advent of the more aggressive flatpicking style pioneered by guitarists like Watson and White, the guitar was strictly a rhythm instrument, save for a few exceptions (such as the occasional guitar track by banjoist Don Reno). Many of the most influential flatpickers of the 20th century cite White as a primary influence, including Dan Crary, Norman Blake, and Tony Rice. Rice owned and played White's highly modified 1935 Martin D-28. David Grier and Russ Barenberg are two other acoustic guitarists who were heavily influenced by White's guitar work. White's bluegrass playing with the Kentucky Colonels was also a considerable influence on Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, who traveled with the band during 1964. On the electric side of the guitar spectrum, White was similarly influential. Together with fellow Byrds bandmember Gene Parsons, White invented the B-Bender device. This device raises the B-string (second string) of the guitar a whole step by the use of pulleys and levers attached to both the upper strap knob and the second string on the guitar. It is activated by pushing down on the neck, and produces a "pedal steel" type sound. Arlen Roth, heavily influenced by this style, did not at the time know that White and Parsons had invented a B-bender, so instead developed his own unique all-finger bending version of this technique. This was heavily documented in his ground-breaking book, "Nashville Guitar", all of his recordings, as well as his book "Masters of the Telecaster". Subsequently, his Telecaster sound became as notable as his bluegrass playing. Marty Stuart, another guitarist influenced by White's playing, now owns and regularly plays White's 1954 Fender Telecaster with the prototype B-Bender. Music archivist and writer Alec Palao has called White "one of a handful of true greats amongst the instrumentalists of 20th century popular music", before adding that "the waves created by the guitarist's idiosyncratic style are still forming ripples within bluegrass, country and rock 'n' roll." In 2003, White was ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 2010, guitar manufacturer Gibson ranked White at No. 42 on their Top 50 Guitarists of All Time list. Selected album discography NOTES: This discography does not include albums that Clarence White played on as a session musician, with the exception of Dobro Country, on which he is billed by name. Sources for this section are Johnny Rogan's book Timeless Flight Revisited and the Kentucky Colonels discography at the AllMusic website. Kentucky Colonels The New Sound of Bluegrass America (1963) Appalachian Swing! (1964) Kentucky Colonels (1974) — UK reissue of Appalachian Swing! with two bonus tracks. Livin' in the Past (1975) — Various live recordings from 1961 to 1965. The Kentucky Colonels 1965-1966 (1976) — Live recordings. Scotty Stoneman, Live in LA with the Kentucky Colonels (1979) — Live recording from 1965. Kentucky Colonels 1966 (1979) — Studio demo recordings for an unreleased album. Clarence White and the Kentucky Colonels (1980) — Live recordings. On Stage (1984) — Live recordings. Long Journey Home (1991) — Live recordings from the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Live in Stereo (1999) — Live recordings from a 1965 concert in Vancouver. Bush, Latham & White (2011) — Live recordings from 1964. Tut Taylor, Roland and Clarence White Dobro Country (1964) Nashville West Nashville West (a.k.a. The Legendary Nashville West Album) (1979) — Live recordings from 1967. The Byrds Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969) Ballad of Easy Rider (1969) (Untitled) (1970) Byrdmaniax (1971) Farther Along (1971) Live at the Fillmore – February 1969 (2000) Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 (2008) The Lost Broadcasts (2011) — Live recordings from the Byrds' 1971 appearance on the Beat-Club television program. Muleskinner Muleskinner (aka A Pot Pourri of Bluegrass Jam) (1973) Muleskinner Live: Original Television Soundtrack (1992) — Live recordings from a 1973 television broadcast. The New Kentucky Colonels The White Brothers: The New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973 (1976) Live in Holland 1973 (2013) Clarence White 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals (2003) — Recorded in 1962. Tuff & Stringy Sessions 1966–68 (2003) — Various studio sessions. Flatpick (2006) — Recorded 1964, 1967, 1970 and 1973. White Lightnin''' (2008) — Various recordings from 1962 to 1972. Tut Taylor & Clarence White Tut & Clarence Flatpickin''' (2003) References External links The Clarence White Forum Clarence White discography at Byrds Flyght The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads Retrieved April 19, 2009. Byrd Watcher: Clarence White. Retrieved October 5, 2008. 1944 births 1973 deaths People from Lewiston, Maine American bluegrass musicians Road incident deaths in California Singers from Maine Singer-songwriters from California The Byrds members American people of French-Canadian descent American bluegrass guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians People from Aroostook County, Maine American rock guitarists American country guitarists American country rock musicians American country rock singers American mandolinists American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Lead guitarists 20th-century American singers Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Maine 20th-century American guitarists Muleskinner (band) members Kentucky Colonels (band) members Nashville West members 20th-century American male singers	true	[ "Beijing Music Radio (), is a radio station broadcasting at 97.4 FM in Beijing, China.\n\nMusic played\nBeijing Yinyue Guangbo plays various types of music including:\n Classical Music\n Mandopop and Cantopop\n English various formats including English Top 40, Hot AC, and country music.\n\nThey also have news on every hour that is from Beijing Xinwen Guangbo radio station.\n\nSpecial programs\n\nMid Autumn and Spring Festival programming\nOn occasion, Beijing Yinyue Guangbo will broadcast live concerts around the Mid Autumn Festival and Spring Festival. The live concerts would pre-empt programs that are broadcast during the week at any other time.\n\nInterviews with famous artists\nOn the weekends especially during the evenings, this station frequently broadcasts pre-recorded or live interviews with artists.\n\n\"Top 40\" Countdown\nThe \"top 40\" countdown, the Chinese title uses the English phrase, is a countdown of current Mandarin pop songs. This program occurs Saturday and Sunday nights (Beijing Time) and plays the most popular 40 songs in China for that week. This program does not include any English or Cantonese top 40 songs even though the station does occasionally play them during other times of the day.\n\nEvery week, Beijing Music Radio broadcasts \"The Week's New\" chart, based on people's voting.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Beijing Yinyue Guangbo (Beijing Music Radio) Official Website\n\nMandarin-language radio stations\nRadio stations in China\nMass media in Beijing", "\"Lost Without Each Other\" is a song written and performed by American pop-rock band Hanson. It was released as the second single from the band's third studio album, Underneath (2004), on August 9, 2004. The song peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart but failed to obtain any significant success elsewhere.\n\nTrack listings\nAll songs were written by Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, and Zac Hanson. Additional writers in parentheses.\n\nUK CD1\n \"Lost Without Each Other\" (album version) \n \"Strong Enough to Break\" (live) \n\nUK CD2\n \"Lost Without Each Other\" (album version) \n \"Crazy Beautiful\" (live)\n \"Misery\" (live)\n \"Lost Without Each Other\" (video)\n\nAustralian and New Zealand enhanced CD single\n \"Lost Without Each Other\" (album version) – 3:44\n \"Strong Enough to Break\" (live) – 3:32\n \"This Time Around\" (Underneath acoustic live) – 5:59\n \"Lost Without Each Other\" (video) – 3:42\n\nCharts\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n2004 songs\n2005 singles\nCooking Vinyl singles\nHanson (band) songs\nSongs written by Gregg Alexander\nSongs written by Isaac Hanson\nSongs written by Taylor Hanson\nSongs written by Zac Hanson" ]
[ "Echo & the Bunnymen", "Early years" ]	C_02f45e7d801642eeabf570afdfaec244_1	what yr was this	1	What year is the Echo & the Bunnymen, Early years from?	Echo & the Bunnymen	Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope sacked McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: We had this mate who kept suggesting all these names like The Daz Men or Glisserol and the Fan Extractors. Echo and the Bunnymen was one of them. I thought it was just as stupid as the rest. In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has subsequently denied that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song on more than one occasion. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles, the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. The lead single, "Rescue", climbed to UK No.62 and the album broke into the Top 20 at No. 17, following critical acclaim. Their next album, Heaven Up Here (1981), was an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although a single lifted from the album, "A Promise", could only reach UK No. 49. CANNOTANSWER	1977,	Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. After releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with "The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single "The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10. After releasing a self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. In 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident. After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen, before Pattinson's departure in 1998. The band has done some touring and released several albums since the late 1990s to varying degrees of success. History Early years Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope fired McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has denied, on more than one occasion, that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song. With the group now gaining wider attention, they were invited to record a four-song set for the BBC'S John Peel Show on August 22, at which time they were still using a drum machine. This was the first of six live sets they would cut for the Peel show between 1979 and 1983. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles (July 1980), the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. Unlike the other band members, who were from working class Liverpool families, de Freitas was considered "posh" - he came from an affluent background, grew up in the south of England, and attended an elite private school, but his affable and outgoing manner was a welcome addition for his famously fractious bandmates. De Freitas met the trio at their September 15, 1979 gig at Eric's in Liverpool and immediately joined the band, but his October 12 live debut with them at London's Electric Ballroom was less than auspicious. Supporting hugely popular ska bands Madness and Bad Manners, the Bunnymen proved an uncomfortable fit, and they were booed off after just two songs. "Rescue" (produced by Ian Broudie), the lead single from the album, reached No. 62 on the UK singles chart but the album (co-produced by manager Bill Drummond and his business partner David Balfe (The Teardrop Explodes) broke into the Top 20, reaching No. 17, and garnered wide critical acclaim. Eschewing the traditional "pin-up" cover shot, Crocodiles featured an atmospheric cover image, which showed the band posed in a mysterious woodland setting, lit by hidden coloured lights. Designed by Martyn Atkins and photographed by Brian Griffin, it became the first in a coordinated series of elemental-themed album covers by Atkins and Griffin, which spanned their first four LPs, each depicting the band posed at some distance from the camera, in a visually striking natural setting -- a forest (Crocodiles), a beach at sunset (Heaven Up Here), a frozen waterfall in Iceland (Porcupine) and a subterranean river (Ocean Rain). It would not be until their fifth, self-titled album that the band employed a traditional group portrait. Shine So Hard The band embarked on their first major concert tour between September and December 1980 to promote Crocodiles, supported by London band The Sound, during which they performed their first European concerts in France, The Netherlands and Germany. The end of the Camo tour was followed by a four-month break, mainly dedicated to the preparation and recording of their second LP. However, manager Bill Drummond (later of KLF) and lighting director Bill Butt launched plans for a one-off promotional concert event as the final date of the Camo tour, which would be professionally filmed and recorded. It was primarily intended to provide material for the group's first music video, but Drummond and Butt's vision went well beyond the conventional three-minute pop-rock promotional clip, and it reflected their desire to capture Echo & The Bunnymen's live performance during this crucial breakthrough phase of their career. Butt was slated to direct, but British film union regulations at the time meant that the film would not be distributed commercially unless it was directed by a union member. Butt took over as producer, and on the recommendation of their mutual friend, Patrick Duval, Butt engaged novice filmmaker John Smith, who had earned a union ticket for a film he had directed while at university. After extensive consultation with their clients, Smith and Duval were "embedded" in Buxton with the band in the week leading up to the concert, and they were given a completely free hand to structure, shoot and edit the project. Smith and Duval shaped the first part of the film around the differing characters of the four band members, filming both the town and the musicians, but using unusual shooting angles and perspectives. This material was then assembled into an impressionistic sequence of seemingly disconnected images, which are gradually revealed to be a montage of the activities of the band members as they prepare for and head to the show. The concert was staged on January 17, 1981, in the striking Victorian-era glass concert hall in the Buxton Pavilion Gardens in Derbyshire before a specially invited audience. Before the show, advertisements had been placed in the music press, and 500 lucky fans who responded were given free passes and a map directing them to the secret location (called "Gomorrah" in the advertisement), which also advised "BE PREPARED: THIS IS AN ATLAS ADVENTURE". For an additional fee of £5, coach transport was provided for fans from London, Liverpool and other cities. Although inclement winter weather complicated the rehearsals, causing transport headaches for the band, as well as for their fans, the concert went ahead as planned, with the band taking the stage 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. The performance was filmed by Smith, Duval and cameraman Mike Tomlinson, with multitrack audio recorded on the Manor Mobile studio by Peter Woods. The footage captures the band at the height of their early success, and documents both their musical prowess as a live act and the impressive staging and lighting designed by Bill Butt. The set list was drawn mainly from Crocodiles, plus previews of several tracks from the upcoming second album. The finished 33-minute short film combined Smith and Duval's opening montage with dynamic footage of four songs from the show. Titled Shine So Hard: An Atlas Adventure, it was given a limited UK cinema release, but Warner executives were reportedly dismayed by its avant-garde structure and the fact that the band don't even appear clearly until partway through the film. The audio recordings of the four songs featured in the film were also released on the "Shine So Hard" EP, which reached #37 on the UK singles chart, thus becoming the group's first British hit single. In 1982, the film was released as a limited edition of 500 VHS cassettes, redeemable only with a voucher given out to those who had attended the concert, and copies found their way onto the second-hand market. Heaven Up Here Beginning in April 1981, the band commenced another round of touring to promote the forthcoming album. This included their first American dates in New York, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After another round of shows in the UK and Europe mid-year, they returned to America for more shows during October, and in November they made their only visit to Australia, including a show on November 11 at the Manly Vale Hotel on Sydney's northern beaches. This was recorded, and four tracks from that concert were subsequently included as bonus tracks on the 2003 CD reissue of the second album. Heaven Up Here was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales during March, and was released in May 1981. Produced by the band and Hugh Jones, it proved a very positive and enjoyable recording experience for the band, and became an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although "A Promise", the sole single lifted from the album, only reached UK No. 49. The cover image continued the elemental theme of Crocodiles, and depicted the group standing on a beach, with their backs to the camera, looking out to sea, silhouetted against a bank of storm clouds at sunset, with a flock of seagulls flying across sky in front of them. The photograph was taken on the beach at Porthcawl in South Wales on a day off from recording. According to photographer Brian Griffin, they had to use buckets of fish offal to entice the seagulls to fly through the shot. Manager Bill Drummond and Korova label head Rob Dickins reportedly hated the image and Atkins, Griffin and the band had to fight to have it accepted as the cover shot. Porcupine and mainstream success After another break over the winter, the band played three UK dates in April 1982. In June, they scored their first top 20 UK hit single with "The Back of Love" (No. 19). In July, they began a short round of festival appearances and headlining concerts in Britain and Europe, including an appearance at the first WOMAD festival, where they were joined onstage for the song "All My Colours (Zimbo)" by The Drummers of Burundi. Their only American date that year was a one-off show at New York's Peppermint Lounge on August 24, and their 1982 touring schedule concluded with four UK dates in December. Much of 1982 was taken with the difficult and protracted process of recording of their highly anticipated third album Porcupine, which reunited them with Crocodiles producer Ian Broudie (who was also Sergeant's housemate at the time). Several members also undertook outside projects during the year. Pete de Freitas produced and played drums on Liverpool band The Wild Swans' debut single "Revolutionary Spirit", and lead guitarist Will Sergeant recorded a solo album of instrumental music titled Themes for 'Grind' (1982).[2] The original version of Porcupine was rejected by Warner Bros as "too uncommercial", so (over Sergeant's objections) the band agreed to re-record the entire LP, and Drummond brought in noted Indian violinist and composer Shankar to add strings. During this period, tensions within the band had increased dramatically. Bassist Les Pattinson was openly expressing his weariness with the industry, and personal relations among the four deteriorated to the point that they either refused to speak to each other or argued when they did. McCulloch later described the band's mood at this time as "horrible", and de Freitas stated that, in stark contrast to the quick and confident making of Heaven Up Here, he felt that "we had to drag it out of ourselves" with Porcupine. Despite these impediments, the re-recording went relatively smoothly, and the sessions ultimately produced their UK chart breakthrough. Released in early 1983, the more radio-friendly "The Cutter", became their first top 10 single, climbing to No. 8, while the parent album Porcupine (Feb. 1983), hit No. 2 in the album chart. Now firmly established as a chart act, further hits followed with a one-off single, the dance-oriented "Never Stop" (No. 15), and the epic "The Killing Moon", a preview from the new album featuring a dramatic McCulloch vocal, which became the band's second UK top 10 single at No. 9. Ocean Rain The band kicked off a hectic year of touring in 1984 with their first dates in Japan, in January, followed by a month-long round of dates in the United States beginning in March. April-May saw them playing concerts in Europe and the UK, followed by the second and more extensive leg of their U.S. tour during August-September, concluding with a show at the famed Greek Theater in Los Angeles on September 9. The band then immediately undertook an intensive two month UK tour, beginning in Dublin on September 15 and concluding at London's Brixton Academy on October 24 (their last concert of 1984). Following a PR campaign that proclaimed it "the greatest album ever made" according to McCulloch, 1984's Ocean Rain reached No. 4, and today is widely regarded as the band's landmark album. Single extracts "Silver" (UK No. 30) and "Seven Seas" (UK No. 16) consolidated the album's continued commercial success. In the same year, McCulloch had a minor solo hit with his cover version of the Kurt Weill standard "September Song". After the release of Ocean Rain, manager Bill Drummond announced that the band was taking a year off to write material for the next album, but at the end of 1984 they replaced him, reportedly because they were unhappy that the band wasn't making enough money. Drummond was succeeded by Duran Duran tour manager Mick Hancock. Echo & the Bunnymen resumed work with a tour of Scandinavia in April 1985, performing cover versions of songs from Television, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and The Doors. Recordings from the tour emerged as the semi-bootleg On Strike. On 21 June they performed a headlining set at that year's Glastonbury Festival, where they premiered two new songs from their next album. Fifth album and departure of de Freitas Ocean Rain proved difficult to follow up, and their only releases in 1985 were the single, "Bring on the Dancing Horses" (UK No. 21), and a compilation album, Songs to Learn & Sing, which made No. 6 in the UK album chart. 1985/86 proved to be the turning point in the group's career. During their regular winter break, drummer Pete De Freitas had moved to America with a loose group of musical colleagues, friends and hangers-on dubbed The Sex Gods, but the other Bunnymen and his family later revealed that de Freitas was suffering from escalating mental health and drug problems, and following a New Year's Eve drug binge in New Orleans, de Freitas announced that he had quit the band. With tour commitments looming, the remaining members hastily recruited former Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham as their new drummer, but he did not fit in, and left after their Spring 1986 American tour. Cunningham was replaced by former ABC drummer David Palmer. The group began recording material for the new album with Broudie and producer Clive Langer but they were unhappy with the results and the recordings were shelved. They then recorded with Laurie Latham, who was chosen by McCulloch because he had been impressed by Latham's work on The Stranglers' single "Golden Brown". Three tracks from these sessions made their way onto the next album, including the song "Jimmy Brown", which was re-titled "Bring on the Dancing Horses" and released as their only single of 1986. Echo & The Bunnymen returned to the studio to record more material with a new producer, Gil Norton, but in July David Palmer left the group, and de Freitas expressed his wish to rejoin. The other members were concerned about both his commitment to the band and his drug and mental health problems, so he returned to group as a hired musician rather than a full member of the band. The revised lineup performed live on BBC TV in September, presenting two new songs, "The Game" and "Lips Like Sugar", but by this stage, they were under intense pressure from their label to create what Warners considered to be more commercial material. Will Sergeant later recalled the band's outrage when Warner executive Rob Dickens played them Peter Gabriel's album So, declaring "I want you to sound like this!" Their fifth studio album, the self-titled Echo & the Bunnymen (1987), was recorded with Palmer, but when de Freitas returned in late 1986, it was largely re-recorded. Released in mid-1987, the record sold well (UK No. 4), and was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there. It is also significant as the final album to be recorded with the original lineup. Like Porcupine, the making of the album proved to be a difficult and protracted process. Early sessions with Gil Norton took place at the famous Cologne studio of German producer Conny Plank, but both band and label were unhappy with the results and these recordings were shelved. They began re-recording material from the Cologne sessions with Laurie Latham in Brussels, but the sessions were grueling, with Latham spending up to a month on a single song, and tensions within the band were being inflamed by McCulloch's increasing alcohol use, and the star treatment he was being accorded. In the United States, the band's best-known songs were "The Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar". "Bring on the Dancing Horses" is well known as one of the songs on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. The band also contributed a cover version of The Doors song "People Are Strange" to The Lost Boys soundtrack, which featured a guest appearance by original Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, who also contributed keyboards to a re-recorded version of "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo". "Never Stop" was used in the Alan Bennett film History Boys. Although the album was a significant commercial success, it received mixed reviews from critics, and was disliked by the band, who were sharply critical of the mixing and production. Departure of McCulloch, death of de Freitas, sixth album, and disbandment The group jointly headlined an American tour with New Order in August-September 1987, followed by a UK tour in the northern autumn. After a winter break they undertook another round of touring in the U.S. and the UK, to general acclaim, but the March 1988 single release of their cover of The Doors' "People Are Strange" drew withering reviews from the music press, with Melody Maker denouncing it as "a rancid effort". The end of the original Echo & The Bunnymen came in March 1988. Following a Japanese tour, McCulloch announced that the band was breaking up. He hastily departed for the UK to see his father, who had just suffered two heart attacks, but he died before McCulloch arrived. Months of speculation finally ended in September 1988 when McCulloch officially informed the other members that he was leaving the band, but Sergeant told McCulloch that he, Pattinson and de Freitas would continue working together. McCulloch departed, and later began work on his first solo album Candleland. Following an abortive attempt to record with singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of The B-52s, the group advertised for a new lead singer. Former Colenso Parade singer Oscar turned down an offer to take over from McCulloch, Keyboardist Jake Brockman (a touring member of the band for several years previously, and a contributor to the 1987 album) was promoted to full member, and after hearing an album by the defunct UK group St Vitus Dance, the Bunnymen offered the lead singer spot to vocalist Noel Burke, who accepted after the band assured him that they did not want "a McCulloch clone". However, their plans were thrown into disarray when Pete de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident on 14 June 1989. De Freitas was on his way to Liverpool from London to take part in the group's first rehearsal with Burke, when his Ducati motorbike collided with another vehicle on the A51 At Longdon Green in Staffordshire, killing him instantly. He was 27 years old and was survived by his widow and their infant daughter, who was born in 1988. After recruiting new drummer Damon Reece to replace de Freitas, the new five-piece Bunnymen recorded the psychedelic-tinged Reverberation in 1990 with renowned former Beatles engineer and producer Geoff Emerick. The album did not generate much interest among fans or critics, it sold poorly, and the band was dropped by Warner Bros. In a 2003 interview, McCulloch said of his replacement with Burke: I think it's pretty obvious what I think. Noel Burke... the name says it all really doesn't it? No, that's not fair. It wasn't his fault, it was Will and Pete who were the berks really. But no, I thought it was disgraceful and after that I suppose it was quite surprising that I continued working with Will after that. I'm glad I did though. Johnny Marr called them Echo and the Bogusmen when that happened. Meanwhile, McCulloch released his well-received debut solo album Candleland in September 1989, shortly after de Freitas' death. His follow-up solo album was Mysterio in 1992. After two more unsuccessful singles, which were released independently, the Bunnymen disbanded in 1993. Reformation In 1994, McCulloch and Sergeant began working together again under the name Electrafixion; in 1997 Pattinson rejoined the duo, meaning the three surviving members of the original Bunnymen line-up were now working together again. Rather than continue as Electrafixion, the trio resurrected the Echo & the Bunnymen name and released the album Evergreen (1997), which reached the UK Top 10. Immediately before the release of the band's next album What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Les Pattinson quit to take care of his mother. McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to tour and record as Echo & the Bunnymen, touring repeatedly and releasing the albums Flowers (2001), Siberia (2005), The Fountain (2009) and Meteorites (2014). The Siberia band line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Paul Fleming (keyboards), Simon Finley (drums) and Pete Wilkinson (bass), Hugh Jones produced Siberia after previously engineering early Bunnymen albums. Since August 2009 the group's touring incarnation has comprised McCulloch and Sergeant along with Stephen Brannan (bass), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Nicholas Kilroe (drums) and Jez Wing (keyboards). In 2002, the group received the Q Inspiration award. The award is for inspiring "new generations of musicians, songs and music lovers in general." The band were said to be worthy winners as they have done much to promote the Mersey music scene. In a later interview for Magnet magazine, McCulloch said "It validates everything that we've tried to achieve—cool, great timeless music. It's not like an inspiration award affecting the past, it's affecting the current music." On 11 September 2006, Echo & the Bunnymen released an updated version of their 1985 Songs to Learn and Sing compilation. Now re-titled More Songs to Learn and Sing, this compilation was issued in two versions, a 17-track single CD and a 20-track version with a DVD featuring eight videos from their career. In March 2007, the Bunnymen announced that they had re-signed to Warner and were working on a new album. The band were said to be planning a live DVD, titled Dancing Horses, which contained interviews with the band. This was released in May 2007 on Snapper/SPV. The live line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Simon Finley (drums), Paul Fleming (keyboards), Gordy Goudie (guitar) and Steve Brannan (bass). On 11 January 2008, McCulloch was interviewed on BBC Breakfast at the start of Liverpool 08. He was asked about new Bunnymen material and he revealed that a new album would coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall in September. He went on to say that the album was "The best one we've made, apart from Ocean Rain." In a 20 April 2008 interview with the Sunday Mail, Ian McCulloch announced The Fountain as the title of the new Echo & the Bunnymen album with producers John McLaughlin and Simon Perry, which was originally due to be released in 2008 but was finally released on 12 October 2009. "Think I Need It Too", the first single from the album, was released on 28 September 2009. On 1 September 2009, former keyboard player Jake Brockman died on the Isle of Man when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance. Brockman had played keyboards for the band during the 1980s. In December 2010, Echo & the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here in their entirety. Echo & the Bunnymen's most recent album of new material, titled Meteorites, was released on 26 May 2014 in the UK, and on 3 June 2014 in the US via 429 Records. The album was released on the pledgemusic.com website. It was produced and mixed by Youth, who also co-wrote three of the tracks and played some bass. It was the band's first UK Top 40 album entry since 1999. In 2018, Echo & the Bunnymen announced and released an album of reworked orchestral versions of older material and two new songs, titled The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon, to mixed reception. Members Current Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar (1978–1988, 1996–present) Will Sergeant – guitars, programming (1978–1993, 1996–present) Former Les Pattinson – bass (1978–1993, 1996–1998) Pete de Freitas – drums (1979–1989; died 1989) Noel Burke – vocals, guitar (1988–1993) Damon Reece – drums (1989–1993) Jake Brockman – keyboards (1989–1993; died 2009) Touring Jez Wing – keyboards (2009–present) Kelley Stoltz – guitar (2016–present) Stephen Brannan – bass (2005–present) Former touring Jeremy Stacey – drums (1999–2001) Vinny Jamieson – drums (2001-2003) Guy Pratt – bass (1998–2000) Alex Germains – bass (2000–2003) Michael Lee – drums (1996–2001; died 2008) Vinny Jameson – drums (2001–2003) Pete Wilkinson – bass (2003–2005) Simon Finley – drums (2003–2005) Paul Fleming – keyboards (2003–2009) Ged Malley – guitar (2003) Gordy Goudie – guitar (2004–2017) Nicholas Kilroe – drums (2007–2017) Gillian Grant – violin (2018) Kirsty Main – violin (2018) Annemarie McGahon – viola (2018) Heather Lynn – cello (2018) Pete Reilly – guitar (2018) Alan Watts – guitar (2019–2020) Timeline Discography Crocodiles (1980) Heaven Up Here (1981) Porcupine (1983) Ocean Rain (1984) Echo & the Bunnymen (1987) Reverberation (1990) Evergreen (1997) What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999) Flowers (2001) Siberia (2005) The Fountain (2009) Meteorites (2014) The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon (2018) References Bibliography Adams, Chris. Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen. NY: Soft Skull Press, 2002. Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Penguin, 2005. Fletcher, Tony. Never Stop: The Echo & the Bunnymen Story. London: Omnibus Press, 1987. External links Villiers Terrace.com The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen Resource 1978 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England 1996 establishments in England English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Neo-psychedelia groups Scouse culture of the early 1980s Sire Records artists Warner Records artists Zoo Records artists	true	[ "Romblon College was a defunct private college located in barangay Liwayway in Odiongan, Romblon. It was founded in 1948. Its president was Nellie G. De Castro.\n\nPrograms Offered\nBachelor of Arts \nBachelor of Elementary Education \nBachelor of Secondary Education \n1 yr. General Clerical Course \nAssociate in Computer Science \n1 yr. Nursing Aide \n2 yr. Computer Programming \n2 yr. Food Prep and Service Technology \n2 yr. Nursing Aide \n2 yr. Office Management with Computer \n2 yr. Police Science \n2 yr. Tourism and Travel Specialist \nComplete Secondary Course (High school)\n\nReferences\n\nState universities and colleges in the Philippines\nUniversities and colleges in Romblon\nDefunct universities and colleges in the Philippines", "Porth yr Aur is a Grade I listed 13th-century fortification in Caernarfon which forms part of Caernarfon Castle's medieval defences. Originally known as the West gate it was the main seaward entrance to the walled town. The building has been the home of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club since 1854. Porth yr Aur forms part of the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd UNESCO world heritage site.\n\nConstruction began in 1283 at the same time as Caernarfon castle, both integral components of the city walls, and was completed by 1292.\n\nHistory \nPorth Yr Aur and the town walls were constructed on the instruction of Edward I in order to consolidate his conquest and occupation of North Wales on 1283. Caernarfon became the main base of English power in North Wales and the borough of Caernarfon was created under the statute of Wales in 1284. The walls and castle were built under the direction of James of St George, who was Edwards military architect in North Wales, and cost £3500 by completion in 1292. In 1294, the Welsh revolted under the leadership of Madog Ap Llywelyn During this period, Porth Yr Aur was badly damaged and was repaired and improved at a cost of £1195, a considerable sum for the period. The gate was further renovated in 1326 when it became home to William of Shaldeford, though it wasn’t referred to as Porth Yr Aur until the 16th century.\n\nFollowing the English Civil War maintaining the Castles defences became less important, although seven canons were installed on Porth Yr Aur in the 1790s to defend against the threat of Napoleonic invasion. The decline of the walls was arrested in the 19th century as parts were acquired for use in housing and offices, as the towns population expanded significantly due to the booming slate trade Porth Yr Aur was acquired by the recently formed Welsh Royal Yacht Club in 1854 and was remodelled and restored to fit this new purpose. The club was founded in 1847 and first received royal patronage in 1859 from Prince Edward, later Edward VII. The clubs most recent patron was Prince Philip.\n\nArchitecture \nPorth yr Aur was built as the western gate to the city of Caernarfon, built as a twin towered gatehouse with a projecting barbican, as it was the only route into the city from the quayside. The towers are crenelated two story round towers, in contrast to the Polygonal towers of the castle. The single story barbican, built from coursed limestone, is similarly crenelated, with projecting corner turrets. One of the Napoleonic era canon is still in place on the gate.\n\nReferences \n\nGrade I listed buildings in Gwynedd\nCadw" ]
[ "Echo & the Bunnymen", "Early years", "what yr was this", "1977," ]	C_02f45e7d801642eeabf570afdfaec244_1	what was thier best song	2	What was the Echo & the Bunnymen's best song?	Echo & the Bunnymen	Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope sacked McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: We had this mate who kept suggesting all these names like The Daz Men or Glisserol and the Fan Extractors. Echo and the Bunnymen was one of them. I thought it was just as stupid as the rest. In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has subsequently denied that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song on more than one occasion. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles, the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. The lead single, "Rescue", climbed to UK No.62 and the album broke into the Top 20 at No. 17, following critical acclaim. Their next album, Heaven Up Here (1981), was an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although a single lifted from the album, "A Promise", could only reach UK No. 49. CANNOTANSWER	Read It in Books	Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. After releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with "The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single "The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10. After releasing a self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. In 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident. After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen, before Pattinson's departure in 1998. The band has done some touring and released several albums since the late 1990s to varying degrees of success. History Early years Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope fired McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has denied, on more than one occasion, that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song. With the group now gaining wider attention, they were invited to record a four-song set for the BBC'S John Peel Show on August 22, at which time they were still using a drum machine. This was the first of six live sets they would cut for the Peel show between 1979 and 1983. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles (July 1980), the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. Unlike the other band members, who were from working class Liverpool families, de Freitas was considered "posh" - he came from an affluent background, grew up in the south of England, and attended an elite private school, but his affable and outgoing manner was a welcome addition for his famously fractious bandmates. De Freitas met the trio at their September 15, 1979 gig at Eric's in Liverpool and immediately joined the band, but his October 12 live debut with them at London's Electric Ballroom was less than auspicious. Supporting hugely popular ska bands Madness and Bad Manners, the Bunnymen proved an uncomfortable fit, and they were booed off after just two songs. "Rescue" (produced by Ian Broudie), the lead single from the album, reached No. 62 on the UK singles chart but the album (co-produced by manager Bill Drummond and his business partner David Balfe (The Teardrop Explodes) broke into the Top 20, reaching No. 17, and garnered wide critical acclaim. Eschewing the traditional "pin-up" cover shot, Crocodiles featured an atmospheric cover image, which showed the band posed in a mysterious woodland setting, lit by hidden coloured lights. Designed by Martyn Atkins and photographed by Brian Griffin, it became the first in a coordinated series of elemental-themed album covers by Atkins and Griffin, which spanned their first four LPs, each depicting the band posed at some distance from the camera, in a visually striking natural setting -- a forest (Crocodiles), a beach at sunset (Heaven Up Here), a frozen waterfall in Iceland (Porcupine) and a subterranean river (Ocean Rain). It would not be until their fifth, self-titled album that the band employed a traditional group portrait. Shine So Hard The band embarked on their first major concert tour between September and December 1980 to promote Crocodiles, supported by London band The Sound, during which they performed their first European concerts in France, The Netherlands and Germany. The end of the Camo tour was followed by a four-month break, mainly dedicated to the preparation and recording of their second LP. However, manager Bill Drummond (later of KLF) and lighting director Bill Butt launched plans for a one-off promotional concert event as the final date of the Camo tour, which would be professionally filmed and recorded. It was primarily intended to provide material for the group's first music video, but Drummond and Butt's vision went well beyond the conventional three-minute pop-rock promotional clip, and it reflected their desire to capture Echo & The Bunnymen's live performance during this crucial breakthrough phase of their career. Butt was slated to direct, but British film union regulations at the time meant that the film would not be distributed commercially unless it was directed by a union member. Butt took over as producer, and on the recommendation of their mutual friend, Patrick Duval, Butt engaged novice filmmaker John Smith, who had earned a union ticket for a film he had directed while at university. After extensive consultation with their clients, Smith and Duval were "embedded" in Buxton with the band in the week leading up to the concert, and they were given a completely free hand to structure, shoot and edit the project. Smith and Duval shaped the first part of the film around the differing characters of the four band members, filming both the town and the musicians, but using unusual shooting angles and perspectives. This material was then assembled into an impressionistic sequence of seemingly disconnected images, which are gradually revealed to be a montage of the activities of the band members as they prepare for and head to the show. The concert was staged on January 17, 1981, in the striking Victorian-era glass concert hall in the Buxton Pavilion Gardens in Derbyshire before a specially invited audience. Before the show, advertisements had been placed in the music press, and 500 lucky fans who responded were given free passes and a map directing them to the secret location (called "Gomorrah" in the advertisement), which also advised "BE PREPARED: THIS IS AN ATLAS ADVENTURE". For an additional fee of £5, coach transport was provided for fans from London, Liverpool and other cities. Although inclement winter weather complicated the rehearsals, causing transport headaches for the band, as well as for their fans, the concert went ahead as planned, with the band taking the stage 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. The performance was filmed by Smith, Duval and cameraman Mike Tomlinson, with multitrack audio recorded on the Manor Mobile studio by Peter Woods. The footage captures the band at the height of their early success, and documents both their musical prowess as a live act and the impressive staging and lighting designed by Bill Butt. The set list was drawn mainly from Crocodiles, plus previews of several tracks from the upcoming second album. The finished 33-minute short film combined Smith and Duval's opening montage with dynamic footage of four songs from the show. Titled Shine So Hard: An Atlas Adventure, it was given a limited UK cinema release, but Warner executives were reportedly dismayed by its avant-garde structure and the fact that the band don't even appear clearly until partway through the film. The audio recordings of the four songs featured in the film were also released on the "Shine So Hard" EP, which reached #37 on the UK singles chart, thus becoming the group's first British hit single. In 1982, the film was released as a limited edition of 500 VHS cassettes, redeemable only with a voucher given out to those who had attended the concert, and copies found their way onto the second-hand market. Heaven Up Here Beginning in April 1981, the band commenced another round of touring to promote the forthcoming album. This included their first American dates in New York, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After another round of shows in the UK and Europe mid-year, they returned to America for more shows during October, and in November they made their only visit to Australia, including a show on November 11 at the Manly Vale Hotel on Sydney's northern beaches. This was recorded, and four tracks from that concert were subsequently included as bonus tracks on the 2003 CD reissue of the second album. Heaven Up Here was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales during March, and was released in May 1981. Produced by the band and Hugh Jones, it proved a very positive and enjoyable recording experience for the band, and became an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although "A Promise", the sole single lifted from the album, only reached UK No. 49. The cover image continued the elemental theme of Crocodiles, and depicted the group standing on a beach, with their backs to the camera, looking out to sea, silhouetted against a bank of storm clouds at sunset, with a flock of seagulls flying across sky in front of them. The photograph was taken on the beach at Porthcawl in South Wales on a day off from recording. According to photographer Brian Griffin, they had to use buckets of fish offal to entice the seagulls to fly through the shot. Manager Bill Drummond and Korova label head Rob Dickins reportedly hated the image and Atkins, Griffin and the band had to fight to have it accepted as the cover shot. Porcupine and mainstream success After another break over the winter, the band played three UK dates in April 1982. In June, they scored their first top 20 UK hit single with "The Back of Love" (No. 19). In July, they began a short round of festival appearances and headlining concerts in Britain and Europe, including an appearance at the first WOMAD festival, where they were joined onstage for the song "All My Colours (Zimbo)" by The Drummers of Burundi. Their only American date that year was a one-off show at New York's Peppermint Lounge on August 24, and their 1982 touring schedule concluded with four UK dates in December. Much of 1982 was taken with the difficult and protracted process of recording of their highly anticipated third album Porcupine, which reunited them with Crocodiles producer Ian Broudie (who was also Sergeant's housemate at the time). Several members also undertook outside projects during the year. Pete de Freitas produced and played drums on Liverpool band The Wild Swans' debut single "Revolutionary Spirit", and lead guitarist Will Sergeant recorded a solo album of instrumental music titled Themes for 'Grind' (1982).[2] The original version of Porcupine was rejected by Warner Bros as "too uncommercial", so (over Sergeant's objections) the band agreed to re-record the entire LP, and Drummond brought in noted Indian violinist and composer Shankar to add strings. During this period, tensions within the band had increased dramatically. Bassist Les Pattinson was openly expressing his weariness with the industry, and personal relations among the four deteriorated to the point that they either refused to speak to each other or argued when they did. McCulloch later described the band's mood at this time as "horrible", and de Freitas stated that, in stark contrast to the quick and confident making of Heaven Up Here, he felt that "we had to drag it out of ourselves" with Porcupine. Despite these impediments, the re-recording went relatively smoothly, and the sessions ultimately produced their UK chart breakthrough. Released in early 1983, the more radio-friendly "The Cutter", became their first top 10 single, climbing to No. 8, while the parent album Porcupine (Feb. 1983), hit No. 2 in the album chart. Now firmly established as a chart act, further hits followed with a one-off single, the dance-oriented "Never Stop" (No. 15), and the epic "The Killing Moon", a preview from the new album featuring a dramatic McCulloch vocal, which became the band's second UK top 10 single at No. 9. Ocean Rain The band kicked off a hectic year of touring in 1984 with their first dates in Japan, in January, followed by a month-long round of dates in the United States beginning in March. April-May saw them playing concerts in Europe and the UK, followed by the second and more extensive leg of their U.S. tour during August-September, concluding with a show at the famed Greek Theater in Los Angeles on September 9. The band then immediately undertook an intensive two month UK tour, beginning in Dublin on September 15 and concluding at London's Brixton Academy on October 24 (their last concert of 1984). Following a PR campaign that proclaimed it "the greatest album ever made" according to McCulloch, 1984's Ocean Rain reached No. 4, and today is widely regarded as the band's landmark album. Single extracts "Silver" (UK No. 30) and "Seven Seas" (UK No. 16) consolidated the album's continued commercial success. In the same year, McCulloch had a minor solo hit with his cover version of the Kurt Weill standard "September Song". After the release of Ocean Rain, manager Bill Drummond announced that the band was taking a year off to write material for the next album, but at the end of 1984 they replaced him, reportedly because they were unhappy that the band wasn't making enough money. Drummond was succeeded by Duran Duran tour manager Mick Hancock. Echo & the Bunnymen resumed work with a tour of Scandinavia in April 1985, performing cover versions of songs from Television, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and The Doors. Recordings from the tour emerged as the semi-bootleg On Strike. On 21 June they performed a headlining set at that year's Glastonbury Festival, where they premiered two new songs from their next album. Fifth album and departure of de Freitas Ocean Rain proved difficult to follow up, and their only releases in 1985 were the single, "Bring on the Dancing Horses" (UK No. 21), and a compilation album, Songs to Learn & Sing, which made No. 6 in the UK album chart. 1985/86 proved to be the turning point in the group's career. During their regular winter break, drummer Pete De Freitas had moved to America with a loose group of musical colleagues, friends and hangers-on dubbed The Sex Gods, but the other Bunnymen and his family later revealed that de Freitas was suffering from escalating mental health and drug problems, and following a New Year's Eve drug binge in New Orleans, de Freitas announced that he had quit the band. With tour commitments looming, the remaining members hastily recruited former Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham as their new drummer, but he did not fit in, and left after their Spring 1986 American tour. Cunningham was replaced by former ABC drummer David Palmer. The group began recording material for the new album with Broudie and producer Clive Langer but they were unhappy with the results and the recordings were shelved. They then recorded with Laurie Latham, who was chosen by McCulloch because he had been impressed by Latham's work on The Stranglers' single "Golden Brown". Three tracks from these sessions made their way onto the next album, including the song "Jimmy Brown", which was re-titled "Bring on the Dancing Horses" and released as their only single of 1986. Echo & The Bunnymen returned to the studio to record more material with a new producer, Gil Norton, but in July David Palmer left the group, and de Freitas expressed his wish to rejoin. The other members were concerned about both his commitment to the band and his drug and mental health problems, so he returned to group as a hired musician rather than a full member of the band. The revised lineup performed live on BBC TV in September, presenting two new songs, "The Game" and "Lips Like Sugar", but by this stage, they were under intense pressure from their label to create what Warners considered to be more commercial material. Will Sergeant later recalled the band's outrage when Warner executive Rob Dickens played them Peter Gabriel's album So, declaring "I want you to sound like this!" Their fifth studio album, the self-titled Echo & the Bunnymen (1987), was recorded with Palmer, but when de Freitas returned in late 1986, it was largely re-recorded. Released in mid-1987, the record sold well (UK No. 4), and was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there. It is also significant as the final album to be recorded with the original lineup. Like Porcupine, the making of the album proved to be a difficult and protracted process. Early sessions with Gil Norton took place at the famous Cologne studio of German producer Conny Plank, but both band and label were unhappy with the results and these recordings were shelved. They began re-recording material from the Cologne sessions with Laurie Latham in Brussels, but the sessions were grueling, with Latham spending up to a month on a single song, and tensions within the band were being inflamed by McCulloch's increasing alcohol use, and the star treatment he was being accorded. In the United States, the band's best-known songs were "The Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar". "Bring on the Dancing Horses" is well known as one of the songs on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. The band also contributed a cover version of The Doors song "People Are Strange" to The Lost Boys soundtrack, which featured a guest appearance by original Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, who also contributed keyboards to a re-recorded version of "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo". "Never Stop" was used in the Alan Bennett film History Boys. Although the album was a significant commercial success, it received mixed reviews from critics, and was disliked by the band, who were sharply critical of the mixing and production. Departure of McCulloch, death of de Freitas, sixth album, and disbandment The group jointly headlined an American tour with New Order in August-September 1987, followed by a UK tour in the northern autumn. After a winter break they undertook another round of touring in the U.S. and the UK, to general acclaim, but the March 1988 single release of their cover of The Doors' "People Are Strange" drew withering reviews from the music press, with Melody Maker denouncing it as "a rancid effort". The end of the original Echo & The Bunnymen came in March 1988. Following a Japanese tour, McCulloch announced that the band was breaking up. He hastily departed for the UK to see his father, who had just suffered two heart attacks, but he died before McCulloch arrived. Months of speculation finally ended in September 1988 when McCulloch officially informed the other members that he was leaving the band, but Sergeant told McCulloch that he, Pattinson and de Freitas would continue working together. McCulloch departed, and later began work on his first solo album Candleland. Following an abortive attempt to record with singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of The B-52s, the group advertised for a new lead singer. Former Colenso Parade singer Oscar turned down an offer to take over from McCulloch, Keyboardist Jake Brockman (a touring member of the band for several years previously, and a contributor to the 1987 album) was promoted to full member, and after hearing an album by the defunct UK group St Vitus Dance, the Bunnymen offered the lead singer spot to vocalist Noel Burke, who accepted after the band assured him that they did not want "a McCulloch clone". However, their plans were thrown into disarray when Pete de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident on 14 June 1989. De Freitas was on his way to Liverpool from London to take part in the group's first rehearsal with Burke, when his Ducati motorbike collided with another vehicle on the A51 At Longdon Green in Staffordshire, killing him instantly. He was 27 years old and was survived by his widow and their infant daughter, who was born in 1988. After recruiting new drummer Damon Reece to replace de Freitas, the new five-piece Bunnymen recorded the psychedelic-tinged Reverberation in 1990 with renowned former Beatles engineer and producer Geoff Emerick. The album did not generate much interest among fans or critics, it sold poorly, and the band was dropped by Warner Bros. In a 2003 interview, McCulloch said of his replacement with Burke: I think it's pretty obvious what I think. Noel Burke... the name says it all really doesn't it? No, that's not fair. It wasn't his fault, it was Will and Pete who were the berks really. But no, I thought it was disgraceful and after that I suppose it was quite surprising that I continued working with Will after that. I'm glad I did though. Johnny Marr called them Echo and the Bogusmen when that happened. Meanwhile, McCulloch released his well-received debut solo album Candleland in September 1989, shortly after de Freitas' death. His follow-up solo album was Mysterio in 1992. After two more unsuccessful singles, which were released independently, the Bunnymen disbanded in 1993. Reformation In 1994, McCulloch and Sergeant began working together again under the name Electrafixion; in 1997 Pattinson rejoined the duo, meaning the three surviving members of the original Bunnymen line-up were now working together again. Rather than continue as Electrafixion, the trio resurrected the Echo & the Bunnymen name and released the album Evergreen (1997), which reached the UK Top 10. Immediately before the release of the band's next album What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Les Pattinson quit to take care of his mother. McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to tour and record as Echo & the Bunnymen, touring repeatedly and releasing the albums Flowers (2001), Siberia (2005), The Fountain (2009) and Meteorites (2014). The Siberia band line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Paul Fleming (keyboards), Simon Finley (drums) and Pete Wilkinson (bass), Hugh Jones produced Siberia after previously engineering early Bunnymen albums. Since August 2009 the group's touring incarnation has comprised McCulloch and Sergeant along with Stephen Brannan (bass), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Nicholas Kilroe (drums) and Jez Wing (keyboards). In 2002, the group received the Q Inspiration award. The award is for inspiring "new generations of musicians, songs and music lovers in general." The band were said to be worthy winners as they have done much to promote the Mersey music scene. In a later interview for Magnet magazine, McCulloch said "It validates everything that we've tried to achieve—cool, great timeless music. It's not like an inspiration award affecting the past, it's affecting the current music." On 11 September 2006, Echo & the Bunnymen released an updated version of their 1985 Songs to Learn and Sing compilation. Now re-titled More Songs to Learn and Sing, this compilation was issued in two versions, a 17-track single CD and a 20-track version with a DVD featuring eight videos from their career. In March 2007, the Bunnymen announced that they had re-signed to Warner and were working on a new album. The band were said to be planning a live DVD, titled Dancing Horses, which contained interviews with the band. This was released in May 2007 on Snapper/SPV. The live line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Simon Finley (drums), Paul Fleming (keyboards), Gordy Goudie (guitar) and Steve Brannan (bass). On 11 January 2008, McCulloch was interviewed on BBC Breakfast at the start of Liverpool 08. He was asked about new Bunnymen material and he revealed that a new album would coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall in September. He went on to say that the album was "The best one we've made, apart from Ocean Rain." In a 20 April 2008 interview with the Sunday Mail, Ian McCulloch announced The Fountain as the title of the new Echo & the Bunnymen album with producers John McLaughlin and Simon Perry, which was originally due to be released in 2008 but was finally released on 12 October 2009. "Think I Need It Too", the first single from the album, was released on 28 September 2009. On 1 September 2009, former keyboard player Jake Brockman died on the Isle of Man when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance. Brockman had played keyboards for the band during the 1980s. In December 2010, Echo & the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here in their entirety. Echo & the Bunnymen's most recent album of new material, titled Meteorites, was released on 26 May 2014 in the UK, and on 3 June 2014 in the US via 429 Records. The album was released on the pledgemusic.com website. It was produced and mixed by Youth, who also co-wrote three of the tracks and played some bass. It was the band's first UK Top 40 album entry since 1999. In 2018, Echo & the Bunnymen announced and released an album of reworked orchestral versions of older material and two new songs, titled The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon, to mixed reception. Members Current Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar (1978–1988, 1996–present) Will Sergeant – guitars, programming (1978–1993, 1996–present) Former Les Pattinson – bass (1978–1993, 1996–1998) Pete de Freitas – drums (1979–1989; died 1989) Noel Burke – vocals, guitar (1988–1993) Damon Reece – drums (1989–1993) Jake Brockman – keyboards (1989–1993; died 2009) Touring Jez Wing – keyboards (2009–present) Kelley Stoltz – guitar (2016–present) Stephen Brannan – bass (2005–present) Former touring Jeremy Stacey – drums (1999–2001) Vinny Jamieson – drums (2001-2003) Guy Pratt – bass (1998–2000) Alex Germains – bass (2000–2003) Michael Lee – drums (1996–2001; died 2008) Vinny Jameson – drums (2001–2003) Pete Wilkinson – bass (2003–2005) Simon Finley – drums (2003–2005) Paul Fleming – keyboards (2003–2009) Ged Malley – guitar (2003) Gordy Goudie – guitar (2004–2017) Nicholas Kilroe – drums (2007–2017) Gillian Grant – violin (2018) Kirsty Main – violin (2018) Annemarie McGahon – viola (2018) Heather Lynn – cello (2018) Pete Reilly – guitar (2018) Alan Watts – guitar (2019–2020) Timeline Discography Crocodiles (1980) Heaven Up Here (1981) Porcupine (1983) Ocean Rain (1984) Echo & the Bunnymen (1987) Reverberation (1990) Evergreen (1997) What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999) Flowers (2001) Siberia (2005) The Fountain (2009) Meteorites (2014) The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon (2018) References Bibliography Adams, Chris. Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen. NY: Soft Skull Press, 2002. Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Penguin, 2005. Fletcher, Tony. Never Stop: The Echo & the Bunnymen Story. London: Omnibus Press, 1987. External links Villiers Terrace.com The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen Resource 1978 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England 1996 establishments in England English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Neo-psychedelia groups Scouse culture of the early 1980s Sire Records artists Warner Records artists Zoo Records artists	true	[ "Samuel Osiah Thier (born June 23, 1937) is professor of Medicine and Health Care Policy at Harvard University. He earned his medical degree at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in 1960. He previously served as the president of Brandeis University from 1991–1994 and the president of the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1994-96.\n\nThier is an authority on internal medicine and kidney disease and is also known for his expertise in national health policy, medical education and biomedical research.\n\nEarly life and education\nThier was born in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1937. He attended Cornell University, and then earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1960 from the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center at Syracuse. In addition, he has received sixteen honorary degrees and the UC Medal of the University of California, San Francisco.\n\nCareer\nThier began his career at the Massachusetts General Hospital, progressing from Intern in 1960, to Chief Resident in Medicine in 1966, to Assistant in Medicine and Chief of the Renal Unit in 1967.\n\nHe served as Associate Director of Medical Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and then Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University’s School of Medicine.\n\nIn 1975, he became Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, where he was the Sterling Professor, and Chief of Medical Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital.\n\nThier served as President of the Institute of Medicine, United States National Academies, from 1985 to 1991.\n\nThier was the President of Brandeis University from 1991 to 1994. At Brandeis, he was largely credited with improving the financial situation of the institution.\n\nThier was the President of Massachusetts General Hospital. He continues to teach at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.\n\nPartners HealthCare\n\nIn 1994 Thier became president of the newly formed Partners HealthCare, founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). From 1996 to 2002 he was CEO of Partners HealthCare. Thier led Partners' efforts to demand higher payments from insurance companies. In May 2000 Thier and William C. Van Faasen, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts—the state's biggest health insurer—agreed to a deal that raised insurance costs all across Massachusetts. They agreed that Van Faasen would substantially increase insurance payments to Partners HealthCare doctors and hospitals, largely correcting the underpayments of the previous 10 years. Prior to this, Thier had informed all three managed care companies that they would all be paid at the same rate.\n\nBoards\nThier has had many leadership positions, including membership on the Board of Trustees of Yale-New Haven Hospital, Johns Hopkins University, and Cornell University. Thier continues to teach several undergraduate lectures at Brandeis University each semester. In 2007 he served as director of Merck & Company, the Charles River Laboratories, The Commonwealth Fund and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In 2014, Thier received from Merck alone $605,306.23.\n\nAwards and honors\nHe was named Honorary Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Philosophical Society. He received the John Stearns Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Medicine from the New York Academy of Medicine in 2005.\n\nSee also\n\n Brandeis University\n\nReferences\n\nLiving people\n1937 births\nPeople from Brooklyn\nHarvard Medical School faculty\nState University of New York Upstate Medical University alumni\nCornell University alumni\nJohns Hopkins University people\nUniversity of Pennsylvania faculty\nYale University faculty\nYale Sterling Professors\nPresidents of Brandeis University\n20th-century American Jews\nMembers of the American Philosophical Society\n21st-century American Jews", "Hadas Thier is an American writer, journalist, and activist based in Brooklyn, New York. She has written articles for Jacobin, In These Times, New Politics, Dollars & Sense, and The Nation, delivering information and analysis on issues such as economics, American politics, and the Middle East. She is the author of A People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics (2020). Thier is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.\n\nEarly life and education \nHadas Thier was born in Rehovot, Israel and later immigrated to the United States. She earned a bachelor's degree in history from the City College of New York.\n\nAt City College, while protesting military recruiters on campus, she was arrested and suspended from campus, along with two other students and one staff member (\"The City College Four\"). A national campaign eventually reinstated all four students and faculty, and the school dropped the charges.\n\nThier has been an activist involved in movements against wars, corporate globalization, and police violence. In an interview with Truthout she said that her success as a self-taught Marxist economist came from her experience as an activist: \"Some of the best aspects of academia is that it encourages a certain intellectual rigor... There’s an organic version of that in the left activist community, which is that you’re accountable to your comrades. Nobody is grading you, but something more important is on the line of actually trying to work out these questions together and figure out the questions of the day.\"\n\nCareer \nThroughout her career, Hadas Thier has published news and opinion articles, most prominently for Jacobin Magazine, an American socialist magazine based in New York. Her writing emphasizes the perspectives of Democratic Socialist politicians, such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in American politics. Thier's articles also feature critiques about the current American Democratic party and Republican party alike, often examining specific politicians, such as Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg. Thier is a contributing author to two books on the topic of Israel and Palestine. She has conducted many interviews most notably about Marxism, capitalism, and economics for podcasts such as A World to Win, Citations Needed, Reply Guys, Haymarket Books Live, New Left Radio, and Jacobin Radio. She also produces a series of video shorts explaining Marxist Economics, called \"Marxism in a Minute.\" Speaking to Nomiki Konst on the Nomiki Show, Thier argued, \"[The economy] needs to be in the hands of the people. But in order for that to take place, in order for us to be able to make the kind of demands that we need to make, to organize our side properly, to ultimately overturn the way that the economy works, we have to understand it.\" Her perspective is marked by an emphasis on the dysfunction of capitalism, through a Marxist lens, and its tendency to result in economic crises and inequality.\n\nIn 2020, she published A People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics with Haymarket Books. The book was meant to provide an accessible read into the issues of capitalism, inequality, and economic crises, following the arc of Karl Marx's Capital. In a review for Climate and Capitalism, Michael Roberts wrote: \"It is not easy explaining relatively complex ideas in a simple and clear manner. Ask any teacher. It’s a skill lacking in many. Hadas Thier has brilliantly succeeded in that challenge with her book introducing Marxist economics. She has delivered a clear, straightforward and entertaining explanation of all Marx’s basic theoretical insights into the nature and development of capitalism.\"\n\nSelect publications \n Thier, Hadas (2020). \"Under Capitalism, There’s No Such Thing as a “Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work”\". Jacobin Magazine\n Thier, Hadas (2021). \"The Global South Faces a 'Vaccine Apartheid'\". In These Times\n\nReferences \n\n1976 births\n21st-century American journalists\nWriters from Brooklyn\nAmerican women journalists\nLiving people\nPeople from Rehovot\nCity College of New York alumni\nAmerican Marxists\nAmerican women activists\n21st-century American women" ]
[ "Echo & the Bunnymen", "Early years", "what yr was this", "1977,", "what was thier best song", "Read It in Books" ]	C_02f45e7d801642eeabf570afdfaec244_1	what was their fist hit	3	What was the Echo & the Bunnymen's first hit?	Echo & the Bunnymen	Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope sacked McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: We had this mate who kept suggesting all these names like The Daz Men or Glisserol and the Fan Extractors. Echo and the Bunnymen was one of them. I thought it was just as stupid as the rest. In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has subsequently denied that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song on more than one occasion. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles, the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. The lead single, "Rescue", climbed to UK No.62 and the album broke into the Top 20 at No. 17, following critical acclaim. Their next album, Heaven Up Here (1981), was an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although a single lifted from the album, "A Promise", could only reach UK No. 49. CANNOTANSWER	Robert Mitchum	Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. After releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with "The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single "The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10. After releasing a self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. In 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident. After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen, before Pattinson's departure in 1998. The band has done some touring and released several albums since the late 1990s to varying degrees of success. History Early years Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope fired McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has denied, on more than one occasion, that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song. With the group now gaining wider attention, they were invited to record a four-song set for the BBC'S John Peel Show on August 22, at which time they were still using a drum machine. This was the first of six live sets they would cut for the Peel show between 1979 and 1983. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles (July 1980), the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. Unlike the other band members, who were from working class Liverpool families, de Freitas was considered "posh" - he came from an affluent background, grew up in the south of England, and attended an elite private school, but his affable and outgoing manner was a welcome addition for his famously fractious bandmates. De Freitas met the trio at their September 15, 1979 gig at Eric's in Liverpool and immediately joined the band, but his October 12 live debut with them at London's Electric Ballroom was less than auspicious. Supporting hugely popular ska bands Madness and Bad Manners, the Bunnymen proved an uncomfortable fit, and they were booed off after just two songs. "Rescue" (produced by Ian Broudie), the lead single from the album, reached No. 62 on the UK singles chart but the album (co-produced by manager Bill Drummond and his business partner David Balfe (The Teardrop Explodes) broke into the Top 20, reaching No. 17, and garnered wide critical acclaim. Eschewing the traditional "pin-up" cover shot, Crocodiles featured an atmospheric cover image, which showed the band posed in a mysterious woodland setting, lit by hidden coloured lights. Designed by Martyn Atkins and photographed by Brian Griffin, it became the first in a coordinated series of elemental-themed album covers by Atkins and Griffin, which spanned their first four LPs, each depicting the band posed at some distance from the camera, in a visually striking natural setting -- a forest (Crocodiles), a beach at sunset (Heaven Up Here), a frozen waterfall in Iceland (Porcupine) and a subterranean river (Ocean Rain). It would not be until their fifth, self-titled album that the band employed a traditional group portrait. Shine So Hard The band embarked on their first major concert tour between September and December 1980 to promote Crocodiles, supported by London band The Sound, during which they performed their first European concerts in France, The Netherlands and Germany. The end of the Camo tour was followed by a four-month break, mainly dedicated to the preparation and recording of their second LP. However, manager Bill Drummond (later of KLF) and lighting director Bill Butt launched plans for a one-off promotional concert event as the final date of the Camo tour, which would be professionally filmed and recorded. It was primarily intended to provide material for the group's first music video, but Drummond and Butt's vision went well beyond the conventional three-minute pop-rock promotional clip, and it reflected their desire to capture Echo & The Bunnymen's live performance during this crucial breakthrough phase of their career. Butt was slated to direct, but British film union regulations at the time meant that the film would not be distributed commercially unless it was directed by a union member. Butt took over as producer, and on the recommendation of their mutual friend, Patrick Duval, Butt engaged novice filmmaker John Smith, who had earned a union ticket for a film he had directed while at university. After extensive consultation with their clients, Smith and Duval were "embedded" in Buxton with the band in the week leading up to the concert, and they were given a completely free hand to structure, shoot and edit the project. Smith and Duval shaped the first part of the film around the differing characters of the four band members, filming both the town and the musicians, but using unusual shooting angles and perspectives. This material was then assembled into an impressionistic sequence of seemingly disconnected images, which are gradually revealed to be a montage of the activities of the band members as they prepare for and head to the show. The concert was staged on January 17, 1981, in the striking Victorian-era glass concert hall in the Buxton Pavilion Gardens in Derbyshire before a specially invited audience. Before the show, advertisements had been placed in the music press, and 500 lucky fans who responded were given free passes and a map directing them to the secret location (called "Gomorrah" in the advertisement), which also advised "BE PREPARED: THIS IS AN ATLAS ADVENTURE". For an additional fee of £5, coach transport was provided for fans from London, Liverpool and other cities. Although inclement winter weather complicated the rehearsals, causing transport headaches for the band, as well as for their fans, the concert went ahead as planned, with the band taking the stage 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. The performance was filmed by Smith, Duval and cameraman Mike Tomlinson, with multitrack audio recorded on the Manor Mobile studio by Peter Woods. The footage captures the band at the height of their early success, and documents both their musical prowess as a live act and the impressive staging and lighting designed by Bill Butt. The set list was drawn mainly from Crocodiles, plus previews of several tracks from the upcoming second album. The finished 33-minute short film combined Smith and Duval's opening montage with dynamic footage of four songs from the show. Titled Shine So Hard: An Atlas Adventure, it was given a limited UK cinema release, but Warner executives were reportedly dismayed by its avant-garde structure and the fact that the band don't even appear clearly until partway through the film. The audio recordings of the four songs featured in the film were also released on the "Shine So Hard" EP, which reached #37 on the UK singles chart, thus becoming the group's first British hit single. In 1982, the film was released as a limited edition of 500 VHS cassettes, redeemable only with a voucher given out to those who had attended the concert, and copies found their way onto the second-hand market. Heaven Up Here Beginning in April 1981, the band commenced another round of touring to promote the forthcoming album. This included their first American dates in New York, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After another round of shows in the UK and Europe mid-year, they returned to America for more shows during October, and in November they made their only visit to Australia, including a show on November 11 at the Manly Vale Hotel on Sydney's northern beaches. This was recorded, and four tracks from that concert were subsequently included as bonus tracks on the 2003 CD reissue of the second album. Heaven Up Here was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales during March, and was released in May 1981. Produced by the band and Hugh Jones, it proved a very positive and enjoyable recording experience for the band, and became an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although "A Promise", the sole single lifted from the album, only reached UK No. 49. The cover image continued the elemental theme of Crocodiles, and depicted the group standing on a beach, with their backs to the camera, looking out to sea, silhouetted against a bank of storm clouds at sunset, with a flock of seagulls flying across sky in front of them. The photograph was taken on the beach at Porthcawl in South Wales on a day off from recording. According to photographer Brian Griffin, they had to use buckets of fish offal to entice the seagulls to fly through the shot. Manager Bill Drummond and Korova label head Rob Dickins reportedly hated the image and Atkins, Griffin and the band had to fight to have it accepted as the cover shot. Porcupine and mainstream success After another break over the winter, the band played three UK dates in April 1982. In June, they scored their first top 20 UK hit single with "The Back of Love" (No. 19). In July, they began a short round of festival appearances and headlining concerts in Britain and Europe, including an appearance at the first WOMAD festival, where they were joined onstage for the song "All My Colours (Zimbo)" by The Drummers of Burundi. Their only American date that year was a one-off show at New York's Peppermint Lounge on August 24, and their 1982 touring schedule concluded with four UK dates in December. Much of 1982 was taken with the difficult and protracted process of recording of their highly anticipated third album Porcupine, which reunited them with Crocodiles producer Ian Broudie (who was also Sergeant's housemate at the time). Several members also undertook outside projects during the year. Pete de Freitas produced and played drums on Liverpool band The Wild Swans' debut single "Revolutionary Spirit", and lead guitarist Will Sergeant recorded a solo album of instrumental music titled Themes for 'Grind' (1982).[2] The original version of Porcupine was rejected by Warner Bros as "too uncommercial", so (over Sergeant's objections) the band agreed to re-record the entire LP, and Drummond brought in noted Indian violinist and composer Shankar to add strings. During this period, tensions within the band had increased dramatically. Bassist Les Pattinson was openly expressing his weariness with the industry, and personal relations among the four deteriorated to the point that they either refused to speak to each other or argued when they did. McCulloch later described the band's mood at this time as "horrible", and de Freitas stated that, in stark contrast to the quick and confident making of Heaven Up Here, he felt that "we had to drag it out of ourselves" with Porcupine. Despite these impediments, the re-recording went relatively smoothly, and the sessions ultimately produced their UK chart breakthrough. Released in early 1983, the more radio-friendly "The Cutter", became their first top 10 single, climbing to No. 8, while the parent album Porcupine (Feb. 1983), hit No. 2 in the album chart. Now firmly established as a chart act, further hits followed with a one-off single, the dance-oriented "Never Stop" (No. 15), and the epic "The Killing Moon", a preview from the new album featuring a dramatic McCulloch vocal, which became the band's second UK top 10 single at No. 9. Ocean Rain The band kicked off a hectic year of touring in 1984 with their first dates in Japan, in January, followed by a month-long round of dates in the United States beginning in March. April-May saw them playing concerts in Europe and the UK, followed by the second and more extensive leg of their U.S. tour during August-September, concluding with a show at the famed Greek Theater in Los Angeles on September 9. The band then immediately undertook an intensive two month UK tour, beginning in Dublin on September 15 and concluding at London's Brixton Academy on October 24 (their last concert of 1984). Following a PR campaign that proclaimed it "the greatest album ever made" according to McCulloch, 1984's Ocean Rain reached No. 4, and today is widely regarded as the band's landmark album. Single extracts "Silver" (UK No. 30) and "Seven Seas" (UK No. 16) consolidated the album's continued commercial success. In the same year, McCulloch had a minor solo hit with his cover version of the Kurt Weill standard "September Song". After the release of Ocean Rain, manager Bill Drummond announced that the band was taking a year off to write material for the next album, but at the end of 1984 they replaced him, reportedly because they were unhappy that the band wasn't making enough money. Drummond was succeeded by Duran Duran tour manager Mick Hancock. Echo & the Bunnymen resumed work with a tour of Scandinavia in April 1985, performing cover versions of songs from Television, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and The Doors. Recordings from the tour emerged as the semi-bootleg On Strike. On 21 June they performed a headlining set at that year's Glastonbury Festival, where they premiered two new songs from their next album. Fifth album and departure of de Freitas Ocean Rain proved difficult to follow up, and their only releases in 1985 were the single, "Bring on the Dancing Horses" (UK No. 21), and a compilation album, Songs to Learn & Sing, which made No. 6 in the UK album chart. 1985/86 proved to be the turning point in the group's career. During their regular winter break, drummer Pete De Freitas had moved to America with a loose group of musical colleagues, friends and hangers-on dubbed The Sex Gods, but the other Bunnymen and his family later revealed that de Freitas was suffering from escalating mental health and drug problems, and following a New Year's Eve drug binge in New Orleans, de Freitas announced that he had quit the band. With tour commitments looming, the remaining members hastily recruited former Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham as their new drummer, but he did not fit in, and left after their Spring 1986 American tour. Cunningham was replaced by former ABC drummer David Palmer. The group began recording material for the new album with Broudie and producer Clive Langer but they were unhappy with the results and the recordings were shelved. They then recorded with Laurie Latham, who was chosen by McCulloch because he had been impressed by Latham's work on The Stranglers' single "Golden Brown". Three tracks from these sessions made their way onto the next album, including the song "Jimmy Brown", which was re-titled "Bring on the Dancing Horses" and released as their only single of 1986. Echo & The Bunnymen returned to the studio to record more material with a new producer, Gil Norton, but in July David Palmer left the group, and de Freitas expressed his wish to rejoin. The other members were concerned about both his commitment to the band and his drug and mental health problems, so he returned to group as a hired musician rather than a full member of the band. The revised lineup performed live on BBC TV in September, presenting two new songs, "The Game" and "Lips Like Sugar", but by this stage, they were under intense pressure from their label to create what Warners considered to be more commercial material. Will Sergeant later recalled the band's outrage when Warner executive Rob Dickens played them Peter Gabriel's album So, declaring "I want you to sound like this!" Their fifth studio album, the self-titled Echo & the Bunnymen (1987), was recorded with Palmer, but when de Freitas returned in late 1986, it was largely re-recorded. Released in mid-1987, the record sold well (UK No. 4), and was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there. It is also significant as the final album to be recorded with the original lineup. Like Porcupine, the making of the album proved to be a difficult and protracted process. Early sessions with Gil Norton took place at the famous Cologne studio of German producer Conny Plank, but both band and label were unhappy with the results and these recordings were shelved. They began re-recording material from the Cologne sessions with Laurie Latham in Brussels, but the sessions were grueling, with Latham spending up to a month on a single song, and tensions within the band were being inflamed by McCulloch's increasing alcohol use, and the star treatment he was being accorded. In the United States, the band's best-known songs were "The Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar". "Bring on the Dancing Horses" is well known as one of the songs on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. The band also contributed a cover version of The Doors song "People Are Strange" to The Lost Boys soundtrack, which featured a guest appearance by original Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, who also contributed keyboards to a re-recorded version of "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo". "Never Stop" was used in the Alan Bennett film History Boys. Although the album was a significant commercial success, it received mixed reviews from critics, and was disliked by the band, who were sharply critical of the mixing and production. Departure of McCulloch, death of de Freitas, sixth album, and disbandment The group jointly headlined an American tour with New Order in August-September 1987, followed by a UK tour in the northern autumn. After a winter break they undertook another round of touring in the U.S. and the UK, to general acclaim, but the March 1988 single release of their cover of The Doors' "People Are Strange" drew withering reviews from the music press, with Melody Maker denouncing it as "a rancid effort". The end of the original Echo & The Bunnymen came in March 1988. Following a Japanese tour, McCulloch announced that the band was breaking up. He hastily departed for the UK to see his father, who had just suffered two heart attacks, but he died before McCulloch arrived. Months of speculation finally ended in September 1988 when McCulloch officially informed the other members that he was leaving the band, but Sergeant told McCulloch that he, Pattinson and de Freitas would continue working together. McCulloch departed, and later began work on his first solo album Candleland. Following an abortive attempt to record with singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of The B-52s, the group advertised for a new lead singer. Former Colenso Parade singer Oscar turned down an offer to take over from McCulloch, Keyboardist Jake Brockman (a touring member of the band for several years previously, and a contributor to the 1987 album) was promoted to full member, and after hearing an album by the defunct UK group St Vitus Dance, the Bunnymen offered the lead singer spot to vocalist Noel Burke, who accepted after the band assured him that they did not want "a McCulloch clone". However, their plans were thrown into disarray when Pete de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident on 14 June 1989. De Freitas was on his way to Liverpool from London to take part in the group's first rehearsal with Burke, when his Ducati motorbike collided with another vehicle on the A51 At Longdon Green in Staffordshire, killing him instantly. He was 27 years old and was survived by his widow and their infant daughter, who was born in 1988. After recruiting new drummer Damon Reece to replace de Freitas, the new five-piece Bunnymen recorded the psychedelic-tinged Reverberation in 1990 with renowned former Beatles engineer and producer Geoff Emerick. The album did not generate much interest among fans or critics, it sold poorly, and the band was dropped by Warner Bros. In a 2003 interview, McCulloch said of his replacement with Burke: I think it's pretty obvious what I think. Noel Burke... the name says it all really doesn't it? No, that's not fair. It wasn't his fault, it was Will and Pete who were the berks really. But no, I thought it was disgraceful and after that I suppose it was quite surprising that I continued working with Will after that. I'm glad I did though. Johnny Marr called them Echo and the Bogusmen when that happened. Meanwhile, McCulloch released his well-received debut solo album Candleland in September 1989, shortly after de Freitas' death. His follow-up solo album was Mysterio in 1992. After two more unsuccessful singles, which were released independently, the Bunnymen disbanded in 1993. Reformation In 1994, McCulloch and Sergeant began working together again under the name Electrafixion; in 1997 Pattinson rejoined the duo, meaning the three surviving members of the original Bunnymen line-up were now working together again. Rather than continue as Electrafixion, the trio resurrected the Echo & the Bunnymen name and released the album Evergreen (1997), which reached the UK Top 10. Immediately before the release of the band's next album What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Les Pattinson quit to take care of his mother. McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to tour and record as Echo & the Bunnymen, touring repeatedly and releasing the albums Flowers (2001), Siberia (2005), The Fountain (2009) and Meteorites (2014). The Siberia band line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Paul Fleming (keyboards), Simon Finley (drums) and Pete Wilkinson (bass), Hugh Jones produced Siberia after previously engineering early Bunnymen albums. Since August 2009 the group's touring incarnation has comprised McCulloch and Sergeant along with Stephen Brannan (bass), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Nicholas Kilroe (drums) and Jez Wing (keyboards). In 2002, the group received the Q Inspiration award. The award is for inspiring "new generations of musicians, songs and music lovers in general." The band were said to be worthy winners as they have done much to promote the Mersey music scene. In a later interview for Magnet magazine, McCulloch said "It validates everything that we've tried to achieve—cool, great timeless music. It's not like an inspiration award affecting the past, it's affecting the current music." On 11 September 2006, Echo & the Bunnymen released an updated version of their 1985 Songs to Learn and Sing compilation. Now re-titled More Songs to Learn and Sing, this compilation was issued in two versions, a 17-track single CD and a 20-track version with a DVD featuring eight videos from their career. In March 2007, the Bunnymen announced that they had re-signed to Warner and were working on a new album. The band were said to be planning a live DVD, titled Dancing Horses, which contained interviews with the band. This was released in May 2007 on Snapper/SPV. The live line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Simon Finley (drums), Paul Fleming (keyboards), Gordy Goudie (guitar) and Steve Brannan (bass). On 11 January 2008, McCulloch was interviewed on BBC Breakfast at the start of Liverpool 08. He was asked about new Bunnymen material and he revealed that a new album would coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall in September. He went on to say that the album was "The best one we've made, apart from Ocean Rain." In a 20 April 2008 interview with the Sunday Mail, Ian McCulloch announced The Fountain as the title of the new Echo & the Bunnymen album with producers John McLaughlin and Simon Perry, which was originally due to be released in 2008 but was finally released on 12 October 2009. "Think I Need It Too", the first single from the album, was released on 28 September 2009. On 1 September 2009, former keyboard player Jake Brockman died on the Isle of Man when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance. Brockman had played keyboards for the band during the 1980s. In December 2010, Echo & the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here in their entirety. Echo & the Bunnymen's most recent album of new material, titled Meteorites, was released on 26 May 2014 in the UK, and on 3 June 2014 in the US via 429 Records. The album was released on the pledgemusic.com website. It was produced and mixed by Youth, who also co-wrote three of the tracks and played some bass. It was the band's first UK Top 40 album entry since 1999. In 2018, Echo & the Bunnymen announced and released an album of reworked orchestral versions of older material and two new songs, titled The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon, to mixed reception. Members Current Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar (1978–1988, 1996–present) Will Sergeant – guitars, programming (1978–1993, 1996–present) Former Les Pattinson – bass (1978–1993, 1996–1998) Pete de Freitas – drums (1979–1989; died 1989) Noel Burke – vocals, guitar (1988–1993) Damon Reece – drums (1989–1993) Jake Brockman – keyboards (1989–1993; died 2009) Touring Jez Wing – keyboards (2009–present) Kelley Stoltz – guitar (2016–present) Stephen Brannan – bass (2005–present) Former touring Jeremy Stacey – drums (1999–2001) Vinny Jamieson – drums (2001-2003) Guy Pratt – bass (1998–2000) Alex Germains – bass (2000–2003) Michael Lee – drums (1996–2001; died 2008) Vinny Jameson – drums (2001–2003) Pete Wilkinson – bass (2003–2005) Simon Finley – drums (2003–2005) Paul Fleming – keyboards (2003–2009) Ged Malley – guitar (2003) Gordy Goudie – guitar (2004–2017) Nicholas Kilroe – drums (2007–2017) Gillian Grant – violin (2018) Kirsty Main – violin (2018) Annemarie McGahon – viola (2018) Heather Lynn – cello (2018) Pete Reilly – guitar (2018) Alan Watts – guitar (2019–2020) Timeline Discography Crocodiles (1980) Heaven Up Here (1981) Porcupine (1983) Ocean Rain (1984) Echo & the Bunnymen (1987) Reverberation (1990) Evergreen (1997) What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999) Flowers (2001) Siberia (2005) The Fountain (2009) Meteorites (2014) The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon (2018) References Bibliography Adams, Chris. Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen. NY: Soft Skull Press, 2002. Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Penguin, 2005. Fletcher, Tony. Never Stop: The Echo & the Bunnymen Story. London: Omnibus Press, 1987. External links Villiers Terrace.com The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen Resource 1978 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England 1996 establishments in England English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Neo-psychedelia groups Scouse culture of the early 1980s Sire Records artists Warner Records artists Zoo Records artists	true	[ "For One Night Only is an album by British rock band Terrorvision, released in 2005.\n\nThe album documents what, at that time, was assumed to be one of the last live performances of the group. It was recorded live at the London Kentish Town Forum on April 15, 2005. The band later reformed in 2007, and have played many shows since.\n\nIt was released by Secret Records.\n\nA DVD of the same performance was released on 7 February 2007.\n\nTrack listing\nEnteralterego \nD'Ya Wanna Go Faster?\nJosephine\nFriends & Family \nAlice What's The Matter \nAmerican TV \nStop The Bus \nStill The Rhythm \nSome People Say \nMy House \nCelebrity Hit List \nFist Of Fury \nWhat Makes You Tick \nDog Chewed The Handle \nBad Actress \nMiddleman\nTequila \nPretend Best Friend \nOblivion\nDiscothèque Wreck \nPerseverance\n\n2005 live albums\nTerrorvision albums", "Russian boxing (Russian - Кулачный бой Kulachniy Boy \"fist fighting, pugilism\") is the traditional bare-knuckle boxing of Rus' and then Russia. Boxers will often train by punching buckets of sand to strengthen bones, and prepare minutes before the fights.\n\nHistory\nThe earliest accounts concerning the sport date to the 13th century.\nSupposedly, fist fighting was practiced even prior to the Christianization of Kievan Rus', at celebrations dedicated to Perun.\n\nMetropolite Kiril, in 1274, created another one of many personally-instituted rules, declaring expulsion from Christianity for any of those who fist-fight and do not sing a prayer or hymn at the burial of someone who died during a fist fight. The government itself never supported, but also never opposed fist fighting.\n\nRussian boyars used the sport as mass entertainment, and acquired the best fighters for competitions.\n\nThe fights most often took place in holiday times and in crowded places. In winter it took place on ice. First the young children fought, then every pair was more grown up than the previous, ending with the last and most notable fist fighters.\n\nIn two orders released in 1684 and 1686 fist fighting was forbidden, but the sport continued to live.\n\nAll regions had their heroes at the sport, but the region with the most famous ones historically is Tula.\n\nThere are documents saying Peter the Great liked to organize fist fights \"in order to show the ability of the Russian people\".\n\nIn 1751, a mass fist fight took place on a street in Saint Petersburg, which came to the attention of Empress Elizabeth of Russia. After that the Empress forbade the organization of fist fights on the territory of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.\n\nDuring the reign of Catherine the Great, the popularity of fist fighting was growing again, and it is said that Count Orlov was a good fist fighter himself and even invited notable fist fighters to compare powers.\n\nIn 1832, Nicholas I of Russia completely forbade fist fights as \"harmful fun\".\n\nLegacy\nK.V. Gradopolov, then the most important Soviet specialist in Boxing, authored a 1941 work about using proper technique when fist-fighting. In that book, he offered a new exercise, called \"group boxing\", and he mentioned it was an ancient Russian sport (what he was talking about, was the \"Stenka na Stenku\" version).\n\nRules and types\nEvery region in Russia incorporated different rules unlike the sport of boxing. In some places they fought with bare arms, while in other they stretched the sleeves over the fists. There were cases where participants would cheat by putting iron under their sleeves.\n\nThere are three types of Russian fist fighting: the first is the singles type, a one-on-one fight; the second type is a team fight also known as \"wall on wall\". The third one, \"catch drop\", was the least practiced. There were several versions of the singles fight. One version was like modern boxing, where one fighter hits the other wherever he wants or can. The other version is when the fighters take turns hitting each other. Escaping from a punch, answering it not on turn, and moving aside were not allowed; all that could be done was to use the hands to try to protect one's own body. Victory could come in few cases: when one of the fighters falls, till first blood, or till one of the fighters gives up.\n\nThe \"wall-on-wall\" fight (with anywhere from dozen to several hundreds participants) was performed strictly by rules and could go on for hours. Both \"walls\" had a chief fighter, who served as a tactician and a commanding officer. \"Walls\" themselves were tight straight formations 3-4 ranks deep. Repeated attacks were performed, aiming to push the opposing \"wall\" out of the game area. Basic tactics were used, such as breaching using heavy fighters (who were usually held in reserve), encircling, false retreat and others; but as a rule, tight wall formation never broke. Tactics also included battle planning. The \"wall-on-wall\" fights, while performed for entertainment, were in fact close to military training. For example, notable ethnographer V. Gilyarovsky recalled that during his voluntary service in an infantry regiment soldiers often staged wall-on-wall fistfights with factory workers.\n\nA famous phrase in Russian, \"Do not hit a man when he's down\", has roots in that sport.\n\nFist fighting in Russian popular culture\n\nAs for centuries fist fighting was so popular and was such a part of Russian folk life, it occurred frequently in Russian literature and art.\n\nThe most famous portrayal of a Russian fistfight is in Mikhail Lermontov's poem, The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov. There, the fistfight tales place as a form of honor duel between an oprichnik (government police agent) and a merchant. It is notable that, according to Lermontov, both characters use combat gloves ('rukavitsy' — reinforced mittens). Though it may be an example of poetic license, the poem states that the first connected blow by Kalashnikov bent a large bronze cross hanging from his opponent's neck, and the second fractured the opponent's temple, killing him. The fight also features in the opera The Merchant Kalashnikov by Anton Rubinstein (1880).\n\nIn the 19th century Sergei Aksakov watched famous fist fights in the Kaban frozen lake in Kazan, and later wrote about them in his \"Story about student life\". Some decades later, at the same lake, the young future opera-singer Feodor Chaliapin took part in a similar fight: \"From one side came we, the Russians of Kazan, from the other side the Tatars. We fought hard without feeling sorry for ourselves, but never broke the historic rules of not to hit one that is already down, not to kick, and not to keep iron up one's sleeves\". Later the young Chaliapin was attacked in a fight over a girl, but thanks to his proficiency in fist fighting, he won. He wrote: \"He jumped to beat me, and even though I was afraid of the police, learning fist fighting at the frozen lakes of Kazan helped me, and he humiliatingly lost\".\n\nThe Russian poet Sergei Yesenin in his autobiography notes \"About myself\" told that his grandfather taught him fist fighting.\n\nOne of the heroes in the book \"Thief\" by the Soviet novelist Leonid Leonov said: \"In childhood, it happened, only in fist fights I found real friends... And was never wrong! Because only in a fight the whole human nature comes out\".\n\nClaims have been made that the Russian nobility favoured fistfights over duels, but on the other hand it has been suggested that the nobility actually were against fistfights and preferred weapons.\n\nSee also\nBare-knuckle boxing\n Burmese bareknuckle boxing\n\nReferences\nNotes\n\nWorks cited\n\nExternal links\n\n Fist fighting in USSR (Rare video)\n About the sport from the Russian ethnic games collection (Russian)\n Fist fighting in ancient Rus (Russian)\n A fist fighting fan-club (Russian)\n Kievan federation of fist fighting (Ukrainian)(Russian)\n A downloadable book about Russian fist fighting (Russian)\n An article about the Russian fist fighting (Russian)\n\nCombat sports\nRussian martial arts\nIndividual sports\nTeam sports\nRussian inventions" ]
[ "Echo & the Bunnymen", "Early years", "what yr was this", "1977,", "what was thier best song", "Read It in Books", "what was their fist hit", "Robert Mitchum" ]	C_02f45e7d801642eeabf570afdfaec244_1	firt hit in uk was?	4	What was the Echo & the Bunnymen's first hit in the UK?	Echo & the Bunnymen	Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope sacked McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: We had this mate who kept suggesting all these names like The Daz Men or Glisserol and the Fan Extractors. Echo and the Bunnymen was one of them. I thought it was just as stupid as the rest. In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has subsequently denied that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song on more than one occasion. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles, the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. The lead single, "Rescue", climbed to UK No.62 and the album broke into the Top 20 at No. 17, following critical acclaim. Their next album, Heaven Up Here (1981), was an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although a single lifted from the album, "A Promise", could only reach UK No. 49. CANNOTANSWER	I Bagsy Yours	Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer. Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. After releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with "The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single "The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10. After releasing a self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. In 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident. After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen, before Pattinson's departure in 1998. The band has done some touring and released several albums since the late 1990s to varying degrees of success. History Early years Ian McCulloch began his career in 1977, as one third of the Crucial Three, a bedroom band which also featured Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. When Wylie left, McCulloch and Cope formed the short-lived A Shallow Madness with drummer Dave Pickett and organist Paul Simpson, during which time such songs as "Read It in Books", "Robert Mitchum", "You Think It's Love" and "Spacehopper" were written by the pair. When Cope fired McCulloch from the band, A Shallow Madness changed their name to The Teardrop Explodes, and McCulloch joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo & the Bunnymen. This early incarnation of the band featured a drum machine, assumed by many to be "Echo", though this has been denied by the band. In the 1982 book Liverpool Explodes!, Will Sergeant explained the origin of the band's name: In November 1978, Echo & the Bunnymen made their debut at Liverpool's Eric's Club, appearing as the opening act for The Teardrop Explodes. The band played one song, a 20-minute version of "Monkeys" which was entitled "I Bagsy Yours" at the time. Echo & the Bunnymen's debut single "The Pictures on My Wall" was released on Bill Drummond & David Balfe's Zoo Records in May 1979, the B-side being the McCulloch/Cope collaboration "Read It in Books" (also recorded by The Teardrop Explodes approximately six months later as the B-side of their final Zoo Records single "Treason"). McCulloch has denied, on more than one occasion, that Cope had any involvement with the writing of this song. With the group now gaining wider attention, they were invited to record a four-song set for the BBC'S John Peel Show on August 22, at which time they were still using a drum machine. This was the first of six live sets they would cut for the Peel show between 1979 and 1983. By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles (July 1980), the drum machine had been replaced by Trinidad-born Pete de Freitas. Unlike the other band members, who were from working class Liverpool families, de Freitas was considered "posh" - he came from an affluent background, grew up in the south of England, and attended an elite private school, but his affable and outgoing manner was a welcome addition for his famously fractious bandmates. De Freitas met the trio at their September 15, 1979 gig at Eric's in Liverpool and immediately joined the band, but his October 12 live debut with them at London's Electric Ballroom was less than auspicious. Supporting hugely popular ska bands Madness and Bad Manners, the Bunnymen proved an uncomfortable fit, and they were booed off after just two songs. "Rescue" (produced by Ian Broudie), the lead single from the album, reached No. 62 on the UK singles chart but the album (co-produced by manager Bill Drummond and his business partner David Balfe (The Teardrop Explodes) broke into the Top 20, reaching No. 17, and garnered wide critical acclaim. Eschewing the traditional "pin-up" cover shot, Crocodiles featured an atmospheric cover image, which showed the band posed in a mysterious woodland setting, lit by hidden coloured lights. Designed by Martyn Atkins and photographed by Brian Griffin, it became the first in a coordinated series of elemental-themed album covers by Atkins and Griffin, which spanned their first four LPs, each depicting the band posed at some distance from the camera, in a visually striking natural setting -- a forest (Crocodiles), a beach at sunset (Heaven Up Here), a frozen waterfall in Iceland (Porcupine) and a subterranean river (Ocean Rain). It would not be until their fifth, self-titled album that the band employed a traditional group portrait. Shine So Hard The band embarked on their first major concert tour between September and December 1980 to promote Crocodiles, supported by London band The Sound, during which they performed their first European concerts in France, The Netherlands and Germany. The end of the Camo tour was followed by a four-month break, mainly dedicated to the preparation and recording of their second LP. However, manager Bill Drummond (later of KLF) and lighting director Bill Butt launched plans for a one-off promotional concert event as the final date of the Camo tour, which would be professionally filmed and recorded. It was primarily intended to provide material for the group's first music video, but Drummond and Butt's vision went well beyond the conventional three-minute pop-rock promotional clip, and it reflected their desire to capture Echo & The Bunnymen's live performance during this crucial breakthrough phase of their career. Butt was slated to direct, but British film union regulations at the time meant that the film would not be distributed commercially unless it was directed by a union member. Butt took over as producer, and on the recommendation of their mutual friend, Patrick Duval, Butt engaged novice filmmaker John Smith, who had earned a union ticket for a film he had directed while at university. After extensive consultation with their clients, Smith and Duval were "embedded" in Buxton with the band in the week leading up to the concert, and they were given a completely free hand to structure, shoot and edit the project. Smith and Duval shaped the first part of the film around the differing characters of the four band members, filming both the town and the musicians, but using unusual shooting angles and perspectives. This material was then assembled into an impressionistic sequence of seemingly disconnected images, which are gradually revealed to be a montage of the activities of the band members as they prepare for and head to the show. The concert was staged on January 17, 1981, in the striking Victorian-era glass concert hall in the Buxton Pavilion Gardens in Derbyshire before a specially invited audience. Before the show, advertisements had been placed in the music press, and 500 lucky fans who responded were given free passes and a map directing them to the secret location (called "Gomorrah" in the advertisement), which also advised "BE PREPARED: THIS IS AN ATLAS ADVENTURE". For an additional fee of £5, coach transport was provided for fans from London, Liverpool and other cities. Although inclement winter weather complicated the rehearsals, causing transport headaches for the band, as well as for their fans, the concert went ahead as planned, with the band taking the stage 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. The performance was filmed by Smith, Duval and cameraman Mike Tomlinson, with multitrack audio recorded on the Manor Mobile studio by Peter Woods. The footage captures the band at the height of their early success, and documents both their musical prowess as a live act and the impressive staging and lighting designed by Bill Butt. The set list was drawn mainly from Crocodiles, plus previews of several tracks from the upcoming second album. The finished 33-minute short film combined Smith and Duval's opening montage with dynamic footage of four songs from the show. Titled Shine So Hard: An Atlas Adventure, it was given a limited UK cinema release, but Warner executives were reportedly dismayed by its avant-garde structure and the fact that the band don't even appear clearly until partway through the film. The audio recordings of the four songs featured in the film were also released on the "Shine So Hard" EP, which reached #37 on the UK singles chart, thus becoming the group's first British hit single. In 1982, the film was released as a limited edition of 500 VHS cassettes, redeemable only with a voucher given out to those who had attended the concert, and copies found their way onto the second-hand market. Heaven Up Here Beginning in April 1981, the band commenced another round of touring to promote the forthcoming album. This included their first American dates in New York, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. After another round of shows in the UK and Europe mid-year, they returned to America for more shows during October, and in November they made their only visit to Australia, including a show on November 11 at the Manly Vale Hotel on Sydney's northern beaches. This was recorded, and four tracks from that concert were subsequently included as bonus tracks on the 2003 CD reissue of the second album. Heaven Up Here was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales during March, and was released in May 1981. Produced by the band and Hugh Jones, it proved a very positive and enjoyable recording experience for the band, and became an even bigger critical and commercial success, reaching the UK Top Ten (No. 10), although "A Promise", the sole single lifted from the album, only reached UK No. 49. The cover image continued the elemental theme of Crocodiles, and depicted the group standing on a beach, with their backs to the camera, looking out to sea, silhouetted against a bank of storm clouds at sunset, with a flock of seagulls flying across sky in front of them. The photograph was taken on the beach at Porthcawl in South Wales on a day off from recording. According to photographer Brian Griffin, they had to use buckets of fish offal to entice the seagulls to fly through the shot. Manager Bill Drummond and Korova label head Rob Dickins reportedly hated the image and Atkins, Griffin and the band had to fight to have it accepted as the cover shot. Porcupine and mainstream success After another break over the winter, the band played three UK dates in April 1982. In June, they scored their first top 20 UK hit single with "The Back of Love" (No. 19). In July, they began a short round of festival appearances and headlining concerts in Britain and Europe, including an appearance at the first WOMAD festival, where they were joined onstage for the song "All My Colours (Zimbo)" by The Drummers of Burundi. Their only American date that year was a one-off show at New York's Peppermint Lounge on August 24, and their 1982 touring schedule concluded with four UK dates in December. Much of 1982 was taken with the difficult and protracted process of recording of their highly anticipated third album Porcupine, which reunited them with Crocodiles producer Ian Broudie (who was also Sergeant's housemate at the time). Several members also undertook outside projects during the year. Pete de Freitas produced and played drums on Liverpool band The Wild Swans' debut single "Revolutionary Spirit", and lead guitarist Will Sergeant recorded a solo album of instrumental music titled Themes for 'Grind' (1982).[2] The original version of Porcupine was rejected by Warner Bros as "too uncommercial", so (over Sergeant's objections) the band agreed to re-record the entire LP, and Drummond brought in noted Indian violinist and composer Shankar to add strings. During this period, tensions within the band had increased dramatically. Bassist Les Pattinson was openly expressing his weariness with the industry, and personal relations among the four deteriorated to the point that they either refused to speak to each other or argued when they did. McCulloch later described the band's mood at this time as "horrible", and de Freitas stated that, in stark contrast to the quick and confident making of Heaven Up Here, he felt that "we had to drag it out of ourselves" with Porcupine. Despite these impediments, the re-recording went relatively smoothly, and the sessions ultimately produced their UK chart breakthrough. Released in early 1983, the more radio-friendly "The Cutter", became their first top 10 single, climbing to No. 8, while the parent album Porcupine (Feb. 1983), hit No. 2 in the album chart. Now firmly established as a chart act, further hits followed with a one-off single, the dance-oriented "Never Stop" (No. 15), and the epic "The Killing Moon", a preview from the new album featuring a dramatic McCulloch vocal, which became the band's second UK top 10 single at No. 9. Ocean Rain The band kicked off a hectic year of touring in 1984 with their first dates in Japan, in January, followed by a month-long round of dates in the United States beginning in March. April-May saw them playing concerts in Europe and the UK, followed by the second and more extensive leg of their U.S. tour during August-September, concluding with a show at the famed Greek Theater in Los Angeles on September 9. The band then immediately undertook an intensive two month UK tour, beginning in Dublin on September 15 and concluding at London's Brixton Academy on October 24 (their last concert of 1984). Following a PR campaign that proclaimed it "the greatest album ever made" according to McCulloch, 1984's Ocean Rain reached No. 4, and today is widely regarded as the band's landmark album. Single extracts "Silver" (UK No. 30) and "Seven Seas" (UK No. 16) consolidated the album's continued commercial success. In the same year, McCulloch had a minor solo hit with his cover version of the Kurt Weill standard "September Song". After the release of Ocean Rain, manager Bill Drummond announced that the band was taking a year off to write material for the next album, but at the end of 1984 they replaced him, reportedly because they were unhappy that the band wasn't making enough money. Drummond was succeeded by Duran Duran tour manager Mick Hancock. Echo & the Bunnymen resumed work with a tour of Scandinavia in April 1985, performing cover versions of songs from Television, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and The Doors. Recordings from the tour emerged as the semi-bootleg On Strike. On 21 June they performed a headlining set at that year's Glastonbury Festival, where they premiered two new songs from their next album. Fifth album and departure of de Freitas Ocean Rain proved difficult to follow up, and their only releases in 1985 were the single, "Bring on the Dancing Horses" (UK No. 21), and a compilation album, Songs to Learn & Sing, which made No. 6 in the UK album chart. 1985/86 proved to be the turning point in the group's career. During their regular winter break, drummer Pete De Freitas had moved to America with a loose group of musical colleagues, friends and hangers-on dubbed The Sex Gods, but the other Bunnymen and his family later revealed that de Freitas was suffering from escalating mental health and drug problems, and following a New Year's Eve drug binge in New Orleans, de Freitas announced that he had quit the band. With tour commitments looming, the remaining members hastily recruited former Haircut One Hundred drummer Blair Cunningham as their new drummer, but he did not fit in, and left after their Spring 1986 American tour. Cunningham was replaced by former ABC drummer David Palmer. The group began recording material for the new album with Broudie and producer Clive Langer but they were unhappy with the results and the recordings were shelved. They then recorded with Laurie Latham, who was chosen by McCulloch because he had been impressed by Latham's work on The Stranglers' single "Golden Brown". Three tracks from these sessions made their way onto the next album, including the song "Jimmy Brown", which was re-titled "Bring on the Dancing Horses" and released as their only single of 1986. Echo & The Bunnymen returned to the studio to record more material with a new producer, Gil Norton, but in July David Palmer left the group, and de Freitas expressed his wish to rejoin. The other members were concerned about both his commitment to the band and his drug and mental health problems, so he returned to group as a hired musician rather than a full member of the band. The revised lineup performed live on BBC TV in September, presenting two new songs, "The Game" and "Lips Like Sugar", but by this stage, they were under intense pressure from their label to create what Warners considered to be more commercial material. Will Sergeant later recalled the band's outrage when Warner executive Rob Dickens played them Peter Gabriel's album So, declaring "I want you to sound like this!" Their fifth studio album, the self-titled Echo & the Bunnymen (1987), was recorded with Palmer, but when de Freitas returned in late 1986, it was largely re-recorded. Released in mid-1987, the record sold well (UK No. 4), and was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there. It is also significant as the final album to be recorded with the original lineup. Like Porcupine, the making of the album proved to be a difficult and protracted process. Early sessions with Gil Norton took place at the famous Cologne studio of German producer Conny Plank, but both band and label were unhappy with the results and these recordings were shelved. They began re-recording material from the Cologne sessions with Laurie Latham in Brussels, but the sessions were grueling, with Latham spending up to a month on a single song, and tensions within the band were being inflamed by McCulloch's increasing alcohol use, and the star treatment he was being accorded. In the United States, the band's best-known songs were "The Killing Moon" and "Lips Like Sugar". "Bring on the Dancing Horses" is well known as one of the songs on the soundtrack to the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. The band also contributed a cover version of The Doors song "People Are Strange" to The Lost Boys soundtrack, which featured a guest appearance by original Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek, who also contributed keyboards to a re-recorded version of "Bedbugs and Ballyhoo". "Never Stop" was used in the Alan Bennett film History Boys. Although the album was a significant commercial success, it received mixed reviews from critics, and was disliked by the band, who were sharply critical of the mixing and production. Departure of McCulloch, death of de Freitas, sixth album, and disbandment The group jointly headlined an American tour with New Order in August-September 1987, followed by a UK tour in the northern autumn. After a winter break they undertook another round of touring in the U.S. and the UK, to general acclaim, but the March 1988 single release of their cover of The Doors' "People Are Strange" drew withering reviews from the music press, with Melody Maker denouncing it as "a rancid effort". The end of the original Echo & The Bunnymen came in March 1988. Following a Japanese tour, McCulloch announced that the band was breaking up. He hastily departed for the UK to see his father, who had just suffered two heart attacks, but he died before McCulloch arrived. Months of speculation finally ended in September 1988 when McCulloch officially informed the other members that he was leaving the band, but Sergeant told McCulloch that he, Pattinson and de Freitas would continue working together. McCulloch departed, and later began work on his first solo album Candleland. Following an abortive attempt to record with singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of The B-52s, the group advertised for a new lead singer. Former Colenso Parade singer Oscar turned down an offer to take over from McCulloch, Keyboardist Jake Brockman (a touring member of the band for several years previously, and a contributor to the 1987 album) was promoted to full member, and after hearing an album by the defunct UK group St Vitus Dance, the Bunnymen offered the lead singer spot to vocalist Noel Burke, who accepted after the band assured him that they did not want "a McCulloch clone". However, their plans were thrown into disarray when Pete de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident on 14 June 1989. De Freitas was on his way to Liverpool from London to take part in the group's first rehearsal with Burke, when his Ducati motorbike collided with another vehicle on the A51 At Longdon Green in Staffordshire, killing him instantly. He was 27 years old and was survived by his widow and their infant daughter, who was born in 1988. After recruiting new drummer Damon Reece to replace de Freitas, the new five-piece Bunnymen recorded the psychedelic-tinged Reverberation in 1990 with renowned former Beatles engineer and producer Geoff Emerick. The album did not generate much interest among fans or critics, it sold poorly, and the band was dropped by Warner Bros. In a 2003 interview, McCulloch said of his replacement with Burke: I think it's pretty obvious what I think. Noel Burke... the name says it all really doesn't it? No, that's not fair. It wasn't his fault, it was Will and Pete who were the berks really. But no, I thought it was disgraceful and after that I suppose it was quite surprising that I continued working with Will after that. I'm glad I did though. Johnny Marr called them Echo and the Bogusmen when that happened. Meanwhile, McCulloch released his well-received debut solo album Candleland in September 1989, shortly after de Freitas' death. His follow-up solo album was Mysterio in 1992. After two more unsuccessful singles, which were released independently, the Bunnymen disbanded in 1993. Reformation In 1994, McCulloch and Sergeant began working together again under the name Electrafixion; in 1997 Pattinson rejoined the duo, meaning the three surviving members of the original Bunnymen line-up were now working together again. Rather than continue as Electrafixion, the trio resurrected the Echo & the Bunnymen name and released the album Evergreen (1997), which reached the UK Top 10. Immediately before the release of the band's next album What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Les Pattinson quit to take care of his mother. McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to tour and record as Echo & the Bunnymen, touring repeatedly and releasing the albums Flowers (2001), Siberia (2005), The Fountain (2009) and Meteorites (2014). The Siberia band line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Paul Fleming (keyboards), Simon Finley (drums) and Pete Wilkinson (bass), Hugh Jones produced Siberia after previously engineering early Bunnymen albums. Since August 2009 the group's touring incarnation has comprised McCulloch and Sergeant along with Stephen Brannan (bass), Gordy Goudie (guitar), Nicholas Kilroe (drums) and Jez Wing (keyboards). In 2002, the group received the Q Inspiration award. The award is for inspiring "new generations of musicians, songs and music lovers in general." The band were said to be worthy winners as they have done much to promote the Mersey music scene. In a later interview for Magnet magazine, McCulloch said "It validates everything that we've tried to achieve—cool, great timeless music. It's not like an inspiration award affecting the past, it's affecting the current music." On 11 September 2006, Echo & the Bunnymen released an updated version of their 1985 Songs to Learn and Sing compilation. Now re-titled More Songs to Learn and Sing, this compilation was issued in two versions, a 17-track single CD and a 20-track version with a DVD featuring eight videos from their career. In March 2007, the Bunnymen announced that they had re-signed to Warner and were working on a new album. The band were said to be planning a live DVD, titled Dancing Horses, which contained interviews with the band. This was released in May 2007 on Snapper/SPV. The live line up was Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Simon Finley (drums), Paul Fleming (keyboards), Gordy Goudie (guitar) and Steve Brannan (bass). On 11 January 2008, McCulloch was interviewed on BBC Breakfast at the start of Liverpool 08. He was asked about new Bunnymen material and he revealed that a new album would coincide with their gig at the Royal Albert Hall in September. He went on to say that the album was "The best one we've made, apart from Ocean Rain." In a 20 April 2008 interview with the Sunday Mail, Ian McCulloch announced The Fountain as the title of the new Echo & the Bunnymen album with producers John McLaughlin and Simon Perry, which was originally due to be released in 2008 but was finally released on 12 October 2009. "Think I Need It Too", the first single from the album, was released on 28 September 2009. On 1 September 2009, former keyboard player Jake Brockman died on the Isle of Man when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance. Brockman had played keyboards for the band during the 1980s. In December 2010, Echo & the Bunnymen went on tour playing their first two albums Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here in their entirety. Echo & the Bunnymen's most recent album of new material, titled Meteorites, was released on 26 May 2014 in the UK, and on 3 June 2014 in the US via 429 Records. The album was released on the pledgemusic.com website. It was produced and mixed by Youth, who also co-wrote three of the tracks and played some bass. It was the band's first UK Top 40 album entry since 1999. In 2018, Echo & the Bunnymen announced and released an album of reworked orchestral versions of older material and two new songs, titled The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon, to mixed reception. Members Current Ian McCulloch – vocals, guitar (1978–1988, 1996–present) Will Sergeant – guitars, programming (1978–1993, 1996–present) Former Les Pattinson – bass (1978–1993, 1996–1998) Pete de Freitas – drums (1979–1989; died 1989) Noel Burke – vocals, guitar (1988–1993) Damon Reece – drums (1989–1993) Jake Brockman – keyboards (1989–1993; died 2009) Touring Jez Wing – keyboards (2009–present) Kelley Stoltz – guitar (2016–present) Stephen Brannan – bass (2005–present) Former touring Jeremy Stacey – drums (1999–2001) Vinny Jamieson – drums (2001-2003) Guy Pratt – bass (1998–2000) Alex Germains – bass (2000–2003) Michael Lee – drums (1996–2001; died 2008) Vinny Jameson – drums (2001–2003) Pete Wilkinson – bass (2003–2005) Simon Finley – drums (2003–2005) Paul Fleming – keyboards (2003–2009) Ged Malley – guitar (2003) Gordy Goudie – guitar (2004–2017) Nicholas Kilroe – drums (2007–2017) Gillian Grant – violin (2018) Kirsty Main – violin (2018) Annemarie McGahon – viola (2018) Heather Lynn – cello (2018) Pete Reilly – guitar (2018) Alan Watts – guitar (2019–2020) Timeline Discography Crocodiles (1980) Heaven Up Here (1981) Porcupine (1983) Ocean Rain (1984) Echo & the Bunnymen (1987) Reverberation (1990) Evergreen (1997) What Are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999) Flowers (2001) Siberia (2005) The Fountain (2009) Meteorites (2014) The Stars, the Oceans & the Moon (2018) References Bibliography Adams, Chris. Turquoise Days: The Weird World of Echo & the Bunnymen. NY: Soft Skull Press, 2002. Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Penguin, 2005. Fletcher, Tony. Never Stop: The Echo & the Bunnymen Story. London: Omnibus Press, 1987. External links Villiers Terrace.com The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen Resource 1978 establishments in England 1993 disestablishments in England 1996 establishments in England English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Musical groups from Liverpool Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1993 Musical groups reestablished in 1996 Neo-psychedelia groups Scouse culture of the early 1980s Sire Records artists Warner Records artists Zoo Records artists	true	[ "Hit40UK was a networked Top 40 chart show broadcasting on around 130 UK commercial radio stations every Sunday from 4pm to 7pm. It was also a TV programme shown on 4Music. The radio version was produced in house by Global Radio (formerly GCap Media) and Somethin' Else. The show was cancelled on 7 June 2009 and the last number 1 single was Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas, played at 6:52pm.\n\nAlthough the radio version of the chart has ended, it continued to be compiled, and a TV version was shown on 4Music, The Box, and Smash Hits. The TV version has since renamed UKHot40.\n\nFormat\nThe radio show counted down the top 40 songs in the chart. Unlike the official UK Singles Chart broadcast at the same time by BBC Radio 1, the Hit40UK chart included only the digital downloads and airplay in the UK, whereas the official chart includes physical and download sales with no radio airplay. The show always enjoyed higher audience figures than Radio 1's Official Chart Show since 1993, however, this is because Hit40UK is broadcast on 130 stations, whereas the Official Chart is only broadcast on BBC Radio 1, except for a brief period of 2006, when a weak commercial radio sector caused Hit40UKs share to fall below that of its rival.\n\nChart history\nHit40UK descended from The Network Chart Show which began on 30 September 1984 and which was originally hosted by David Jensen and broadcast on competing commercial radio stations across the UK. The Network Chart Show aired on Sundays from 5-7pm, as competition to BBC Radio 1's own Top 40 chart show, The Official Chart. In October 1990, the show was extended to start at 4pm and the chart expanded from a Top 30 to a Top 40 countdown. The Network Chart Show had been compiled by MRIB until Pepsi took over sponsorship from Nescafé in August 1993. In 1995, it was called the Pepsi Network Chart Show, but in 1996 it was renamed the Pepsi Chart. Pepsi ended their sponsorship of the show on 29 December 2002, and the Hit40UK name was adopted on 5 January 2003, but Dr. Fox remained the host until 30 May 2004. On 6 June 2004 Stephanie Hirst and Katy Hill became co-hosts of Hit40UK, from 23 October 2005 Hirst hosted the show on her own.\n\nIn March 2006, Hit40UK began broadcasting worldwide on the U-Pop satellite channel. The international version of the show is hosted by Mark Daley. It can be heard on XM Satellite Radio across the US and around the planet on WorldSpace Satellite Radio.\n\nHirst who during the week hosted the Galaxy Breakfast show in Yorkshire and was enjoying considerable success doing so, had to stand down as presenter of Hit40uk due to objections from Galaxy's rival Yorkshire radio stations Viking FM, Radio Aire and Hallam FM who were due to start broadcasting the chart on 22 October 2006. They were unhappy that a Galaxy Yorkshire presenter would be heard on their station, since they could possibly lose a proportion their breakfast audience to Hirsty's weekday breakfast show.\n\nOn 12 October 2006, it was announced that the programme was to be relaunched on 22 October with a new presenter, 95.8 Capital FM's Lucio Buffone. A new logo was also introduced to replace their old look. Emap dropped their Smash-Hits! Chart to broadcast the relaunched version of the Hit40UK show across their Big City Network of stations. In the same week, a dance and urban chart, the Fresh 40, hosted by Dynamite MC, was introduced to commercial radio's dance and urban stations, such as those in the Galaxy Network and the Kiss Network.\n\nOn 19 April 2009, Lucio's contract with Hit40UK ended, therefore a new presenter, Rich Clarke, became the presenter of the network chart show the week after, 26 April 2009, introducing a new image to the chart. The top 40 format also changed in January 2009: instead of charting the most popular tunes from radio airplay, downloads and single sales, the chart consisted of downloads and airplay alone. However, after a few months into the revamped show, Hit 40 UK ceased broadcasting and the last show was completed on 7 June 2009, resulting in a new chart show to be broadcast on 14 June 2009.\n\nThe chart that descends from Hit40UK is known as The Big Top 40 Show, with presenters Rich Clarke and Kat Shoob. It launched on Sunday 14 June 2009 and is the first ever real-time chart to be broadcast in the United Kingdom.\n\nCover presenter, Matt Wilkinson, from Global Radio’s Heart Network presented the last Hit40UK show, although Rich Clarke presented a London-centric version on 95.8 Capital FM live from their Summertime Ball.\n\nSister chart shows\nSmash Hits Chart (TV Top 40) The Smash Hits Chart was produced by Emap & introduced by Mark Goodier from 2003 until April 2006, when Robin Banks took over. It counted down the week's top 40 singles, as voted for by viewers of TV channels The Box, The Hits and Smash Hits. Though it stopped this in 2006, & just used the MRIB Sales top 10 & a 50/50% Airplay/Sales scale in the 11-40 positions. It was broadcast across the Big City Network, Kiss Network, The Hits Radio and Smash Hits Radio, as well as a number of non-Emap stations. It ceased broadcasting in the Autumn of 2006, due to the launch of the revamped Hit40UK.\nThe A List (Adult Contemporary) launched in February 2006 on stations including Heart, Real Radio and Century FM. At launch it was presented by Melanie Sykes and Nick Snaith. The show ended on Sunday 23 December 2007.\nFresh 40 (Dance and Urban) started nearly a year later in March 2007. It was presented by Kiss 100's Dynamite MC, and was broadcast on the Kiss and Galaxy Networks, plus a few local stations.\nGalaxy 40 (Dance, Urban, Pop) launched in late 2008 across the Galaxy Network, but was cancelled in June 2009 due to the formation of The Big Top 40 Show, which broadcasts across 145 stations in the United Kingdom.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official Hit40UK website\n Official Big Top 40 website\n Official Hit40UK Imaging from Wise Buddah (2008–09)\n Official Hit40UK fan page Facebook\n Official Hit40UK Twitter\n Official Hit40UK Bebo\n Official Hit40UK MySpace\n Hit40UK news by RSS\n Global Radio website\n Hit40UK podcast iTunes\n RadioFeeds (Contains an up-to-date list and map of stations participating in the show)\n UKPopCharts.co.uk (Where Hit40UK chart is compared with the current week's Official UK Top 40)\n\nGCap Media\nBritish music radio programmes\nBritish record charts\nMusic chart shows", "Danzel (born Johan Waem, 9 November 1976) is a Belgian musician, best known for his 2004 single \"Pump It Up!\" which reached the top 10 across Europe, including in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania and Switzerland. The single also reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Other singles released have failed to achieve the same level of success.\n\nMusical career\n\"You Are All of That\" was Danzel's first single, released by Ministry of Sound in late 2003. It sampled Sylvester James's Hi-NRG hit \"Do You Wanna Funk\" and reached number 69 on the UK Dance Chart. The single was not promoted outside the UK and Ireland, where it peaked at number 85.\n\n\"Pump It Up!\" was Danzel's second single, remixing a late 1990s hit originally recorded by the Black & White Brothers. The single was released by Ministry of Sound in the UK and did relatively well, selling more than 500,000 copies worldwide. In the singles charts it reached number 11 in the UK, number 7 in Germany, number 11 in France and number 9 in Australia. In the more specific dance and club charts it did even better, reaching number 2 in the UK, number 3 in Australia and number 15 in the US.\n\n\"Put Your Hands Up in the Air!\" was the third single from Danzel, released in 2005. This is a remake of Black & White Brothers' hit song with the same title from 1998. The single was released in the UK in May 2005, but did not chart on the UK Singles Chart, but was a hit on the UK Dance Chart, reaching number 6 as well as becoming a hit in the UK clubs. The single was released one month later in Europe and Asia, but did not generate much interest outside the UK, peaking at #40 in France and #52 in Germany.\n\nDanzel's fourth single, \"My Arms Keep Missing You\" was released again by Ministry of Sound, in the summer of 2006. It was a cover of the 1988 single with the same name by British singer Rick Astley, done with Belgian DJ F.R.A.N.K. The single did not perform as well as \"Pump It Up!\", charting in Australia, peaking at number 74. It was also released in Spain, but only as a physical release. The single had minor success in the clubs of Ibiza. In Spain, the single was included in a summer compilation album called Disco Estrella Volume 9, which was released by the Spanish record label ValeMusic Spain, a subsidiary of SonyBMG Spain. The single was released in late 2006 in the UK, and featured in the UK Dance Chart, peaking at number 9.\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n 2004 – The Name of the Jam\n 2008 – Unlocked\n\nSingles\n\nReferences\n\n1976 births\nEurodance musicians\nLiving people\nEnglish-language singers from Belgium\nFlemish musicians\nPeople from East Flanders\n21st-century Belgian male singers" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera" ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	What did he do with the Opera?	1	What did James Levine do with the Opera?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	false	[ "\"Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)\" is the opening track on The Kinks' poorly received 1975 concept album, Soap Opera. It was written by The Kinks' primary songwriter, Ray Davies.\n\nLyrics and music\nLike the two albums of the Preservation rock opera before it and Schoolboys in Disgrace after it, Soap Opera follows a storyline throughout the album. In \"Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)\", Ray Davies portrays the main character of the album, Starmaker. Starmaker describes himself as \"a creator, inventor and innovator\" who watches \"the ordinary people, no matter what [their] occupation is.\" He goes on to say that \"everybody's a celebrity, and we've all got personality and individuality. We all read lines, and we all act a part, we all need a script and an audience to play to. No matter what you do, or who you are, everybody's a star.\" He also claims that he \"can turn the most ordinary man in the world into a star,\" \"no matter how dull or simple\" he is.\n\nThe track opens with a guitar, and goes on to have a short guitar solo later in the song. It also features female vocalists in the background (like many other songs that The Kinks recorded in their theatrical phase).\n\nRelease and reception\nOne month prior to its release on the Soap Opera album, \"Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)\" was released as the only American single from Soap Opera in April 1975. The single was not released in the United Kingdom, and it was backed with \"Ordinary People\" (the track that follows \"Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)\" on Soap Opera). It did not chart. However, the single edit appeared as a bonus track on the 1998 CD version of Soap Opera.\n\nAllMusic cited the track as a highlight from Soap Opera. Cash Box called it \"an infectious British rockin' tune whose narrator claims the unique ability to make anyone into a star\" with \"super horn, rhythm, lead and backup vocal arrangements.\"\n\nReferences\n\nThe Kinks songs\n1975 singles\nSongs written by Ray Davies\nSong recordings produced by Ray Davies\n1975 songs", "Donald Palumbo is an American choral conductor and vocal coach. He is the chorus master of the Metropolitan Opera based in New York City and a member of the Vocal Arts faculty at the Juilliard School.\n\nPalumbo is from Rochester, New York and graduated from Boston University with a BA in chemistry (1970). He did not attend a conservatoire but learned his skills by singing in opera choruses in Austria under conductors including Herbert von Karajan and Karl Böhm, accompanying opera rehearsals on the piano, and working with other chorus masters: \"every time I had the opportunity to do something — say, play rehearsals for a small opera company or prepare a small chorus for a regional opera company — I just said, 'Yes, I'll be glad to do that.' \" He was assistant to the Robert Benaglio, chorus master at La Scala, and has been chorus master at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Dallas Opera. He was music director of the Boston Chorus Pro Musica from 1980 to 1990. \n\nFrom 1991 to 2007 Palumbo was chorus master of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 1999 Palumbo was the first American to be appointed chorus director of the Salzburg Festival. In autumn 2007 he was appointed chorus master of the Metropolitan Opera of New York, in which capacity he prepares the chorus for some 25 productions each year. When his appointment was announced in 2006, Peter Gelb, the opera's general manager, said: \"Donald Palumbo is widely regarded as the greatest chorus conductor in the world today\".\n\nSince 2014 he has also been the vocal coach for the apprentices of the Santa Fe Opera, and he works with young artists at the Glimmerglass Festival.\n\nIn 2016 he was appointed to the faculty of the Juilliard School's Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Audio interview, 54 min\nOpera Choruses with Donald Palumbo Video talk by Palumbo about his career and opera choruses, recorded for the Self-Isolation Choir in June 2021: starts at 10:10\n\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\nAmerican choral conductors\nBoston University alumni\nJuilliard School faculty" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra" ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	Was he a singer or writer?	2	Was James Levine a singer or writer?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	false	[ "\"West Ten\" is a song by English rapper AJ Tracey and English singer Mabel. It was released as a digital download on 2 July 2020 as the second single off the former's second studio album Flu Game (2021). The song was written by Tracey, Fred, Camille Purcell, Mabel and Take a Daytrip, and is included on the digital & streaming versions of Mabel's debut studio album High Expectations (2019). It was a commercial hit, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart and reaching the top of the UK Dance Chart.\n\nBackground\nTracey first teased the collaboration by sharing an animated clip of him playing Pac-Man along with an unidentified companion, he said, \"Can you guess who this is playing games with me? We just made a banger and wanna share it with you lot.\" The post was then removed. On 29 June 2020, Mabel shared a screenshot from the AJ Tracey video which included an iMessage from Tracey which reads, \"We dropping this tune or what?!\" She also tagged Tracey in the accompanying caption. Tracey then replied, \"Is it that time?\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video to accompany the release of \"West Ten\" was first released onto YouTube on 2 July 2020. The music video was directed by Oliver Jennings.\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nPersonnel\nCredits adapted from Tidal.\n Fred – producer, writer\n Take a Daytrip – producer, writer\n AJ Tracey – writer\n Kamille – writer\n Mabel – writer\n Jay Reynolds - mixer\n\nReferences\n\n2020 singles\n2020 songs\nAJ Tracey songs\nMabel (singer) songs\nSongs written by AJ Tracey\nSongs written by Mabel (singer)\nUK garage songs", "\"All or Nothing\" is a 1994 song by American R&B singer Joe. It was written by Joe, Denvil Tracey Gerrell, and Keith Miller for his debut studio album, Everything (1993), while production was helmed by Joe, featuring co-production from Miller. Released as the album's third and single from, it reached number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 33 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while peaking at number 56 on the UK Singles Chart.\n\nTrack listings\n\nCredits and personnel\n Denvil Tracey Gerrell – writer\n Keith Miller – producer, writer\n Adam Hudzim – mixing\n Joe Thomas – producer, vocals, writer\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nJoe (singer) songs\n1994 singles\n1993 songs\nPolyGram singles" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra", "Was he a singer or writer?", "he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972." ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	How long did he work with them?	3	How long did James Levine work with Metropolitan Opera?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met.	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	false	[ "\"How Long, How Long Blues\" (also known as \"How Long Blues\" or \"How Long How Long\") is a blues song recorded by the American blues duo Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell in 1928. It became an early blues standard and its melody inspired many later songs.\n\nOriginal song\n\"How Long, How Long Blues\" is based on \"How Long Daddy\", recorded in 1925 by Ida Cox with Papa Charlie Jackson. On June 19, 1928, Leroy Carr, who sang and played piano, and guitarist Scrapper Blackwell recorded the song in Indianapolis, Indiana, for Vocalion Records, shortly after they began performing together. It is a moderately slow-tempo blues with an eight-bar structure. Carr is credited with the lyrics and music for the song, which uses a departed train as a metaphor for a lover who has left:\n\nCarr's and Blackwell's songs reflected a more urban and sophisticated blues, in contrast to the music of rural bluesmen of the time. Carr's blues were \"expressive and evocative\", although his vocals have also been described as emotionally detached, high-pitched and smooth, with clear diction.\n\n\"How Long, How Long Blues\" was Carr and Scrapwell's biggest hit. They subsequently recorded six more versions of the song (two of them, unissued at the time), as \"How Long, How Long Blues, Part 2\", \"Part 3\", \"How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone\", \"The New How Long, How Long Blues\", etc. There are considerable variations in the lyrics, but most versions begin with the lyric \"How long, how long, has that evening train been gone?\"\n\nLegacy\n\"How Long, How Long Blues\" became an early blues standard and \"its lilting melody inspired hundreds of later compositions\", including the Mississippi Sheiks' \"Sitting on Top of the World\" and Robert Johnson's \"Come On in My Kitchen\". Although his later style would not suggest it, Muddy Waters recalled that it was the first song he learned to play \"off the Leroy Carr record\".\n\nIn 1988, Carr's \"How Long, How Long Blues\" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the category \"Classics of Blues Recordings – Singles or Album Tracks\". Blues historian Jim O'Neal commented in the induction statement, \"'How Long, How Long Blues' was a massive hit in the prewar blues era, a song that every blues singer and piano player had to know, and one that has continued to inspire dozens of cover versions.\" In 2012, the song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which \"honor[s] recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance\".\n\nSee also\nList of train songs\n\nReferences\n\nBlues songs\n1928 songs\nGrammy Hall of Fame Award recipients\nVocalion Records singles\nSongs about trains", "\"How Come, How Long\" is a song written, produced and performed by Babyface (Kenneth Edmonds). It was released as the third single from his album The Day. It is a duet with American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder.\n\nThe lyrics deal with physical abuse, regarding a woman killed by her husband after tremendous physical abuse. This release met with mixed reaction by critics and did not chart on any major charts in United States, finding a better chart performance in United Kingdom, where it became a top ten hit for the performers. This song was nominated twice for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.\n\nSong information\nThe track was written, produced and performed by Babyface as a duet with American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, who also co-wrote the song. The lyrics deal with domestic violence and is inspired by the Nicole Brown Simpson case. On the Entertainment Weekly review of The Day, David Browne wrote that this \"domestic-abuse saga\" needed \"tougher music to make its point.\" At the 40th Grammy Awards this song received a nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, which it lost to \"Don't Look Back\" by John Lee Hooker and Van Morrison. The following year, the song received the same nomination with the live version included on Babyface's Unplugged album, losing this time to Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach with their rendition of \"I Still Have That Other Girl\".\n\nMusic video\nThe music video for this song, directed by F. Gary Gray, shows several residents of an apartment building ignoring the shouts, screams, and arguments between a married couple, ending with a twist, showing that the woman killed her abusive husband, ending with her being arrested. This video received a nomination for Best R&B Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, which was awarded to \"I'll Be Missing You\" by Puff Daddy (Sean Combs) featuring Faith Evans and 112. It also was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video, losing to \"Got 'til It's Gone\" by Janet Jackson.\n\nTrack listing\nUS CD single\n\"How Come, How Long\" – 5:11\n\"Every Time I Close My Eyes\" (Timbaland remix) – 4:23\n\nUK CD single (XPCD2161)\n\"How Come, How Long\" (Radio edit) – 4:12\n\nCD maxi single (EPC 664402 2)\n\"How Come, How Long\" (radio edit) – 4:12\n\"How Come, How Long\" (Natty & Slaps remix) – 5:08\n\"How Come, How Long\" (Laws & Craigie remix) – 6:28\n\"Every Time I Close My Eyes\" (Timbaland remix) – 4:55\n\nChart\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nPersonnel\nThe following people contributed to \"How Come, How Long\":\nBabyface — main performer and producer\nStevie Wonder — vocals, harmonica\nTimbaland — producer, remixing\nJimmy Douglas — remixing\nJon Gass — mixing\nBenny Medina — management\nAnton Corbijn — photography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nSong Lyrics on Rhapsody\nListen to the song\n\n1997 singles\nBabyface (musician) songs\nStevie Wonder songs\nMusic videos directed by F. Gary Gray\nSongs written by Babyface (musician)\nSongs written by Stevie Wonder\nSong recordings produced by Babyface (musician)\nSongs about domestic violence\nContemporary R&B ballads\nVocal duets\nAmerican soft rock songs" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra", "Was he a singer or writer?", "he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.", "How long did he work with them?", "Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met." ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	Why did he withdraw?	4	Why did James Levine withdraw from Metropolitan Opera?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	false	[ "The 4th Kuwaiti Federation Cup started on 5 September 2010.\n\nThe fourth Federation Cup is one of four competitions in the Kuwaiti 2010/2011 season. Fourteen clubs are taking part in the tournament.\n\nThey were divided into two groups of seven, and the winner and runner-up of each group will advance to the semi-finals.\n\nGroup stage\n\nGroup 1\n\nGroup 2\n\n1 It is unclear why Al Sahel did not take their place in the semi-final stages after qualifying, although it is not uncommon in Kuwaiti football competitions for teams to withdraw at certain stages of tournaments.\n\nSemi-finals\n\nFinal\n\nKuwait Federation Cup\n2010–11 domestic association football cups\n2010–11 in Kuwaiti football", "\"Llangollen Market\" is a song from early 19th century Wales. It is known to have been performed at an eisteddfod at Llangollen in 1858.\n\nThe text of the song survives in a manuscript held by the National Museum of Wales, which came into the possession of singer Mary Davies, a co-founder of the Welsh Folk-Song Society.\n\nThe song tells the tale of a young man from the Llangollen area going off to war and leaving behind his broken-hearted girlfriend. Originally written in English, the song has been translated into Welsh and recorded by several artists such as Siân James, Siobhan Owen, Calennig and Siwsann George.\n\nLyrics\nIt’s far beyond the mountains that look so distant here,\nTo fight his country’s battles, last Mayday went my dear;\nAh, well shall I remember with bitter sighs the day,\nWhy, Owen, did you leave me? At home why did I stay?\n\nAh, cruel was my father that did my flight restrain,\nAnd I was cruel-hearted that did at home remain,\nWith you, my love, contented, I’d journey far away;\nWhy, Owen, did you leave me? At home why did I stay?\n\nWhile thinking of my Owen, my eyes with tears do fill,\nAnd then my mother chides me because my wheel stands still,\nBut how can I think of spinning when my Owen’s far away;\nWhy, Owen, did you leave me? At home why did I stay?\n\nTo market at Llangollen each morning do I go,\nBut how to strike a bargain no longer do I know;\nMy father chides at evening, my mother all the day;\nWhy, Owen, did you leave me, at home why did I stay?\n\nOh, would it please kind heaven to shield my love from harm,\nTo clasp him to my bosom would every care disarm,\nBut alas, I fear, 'tis distant - that happy, happy day;\nWhy, Owen, did you leave me, at home why did stay?\n\nReferences\n\nWelsh folk songs" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra", "Was he a singer or writer?", "he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.", "How long did he work with them?", "Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met.", "Why did he withdraw?", "Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems" ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	Any other reasons he left?	5	Besides health problems, any other reasons James Levine left?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	false	[ "Stijn Derkx (born 3 February 1995 in Heeze) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for amateur side RKSV Nuenen.\n\nClub career\nDerkx joined the Willem II youth academy aged 13 and made his professional debut for them in the Eredivisie in the final game of the 2012–13 season against AZ. He had a trial with FC Oss in summer 2015, but left the club citing personal reasons.\n\nIn April 2016 he left hometown club RKSV Heeze for Belgian outfit Esperanza Pelt, but left the club after only one season due to financial reasons. RKSV Nuenen announced the arrival of Derkx for the 2017–18 season.\n\nInternational career\nHe played 5 matches for the Netherlands under-16 football team, making his debut in October 2010 against France U-16.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n https://archive.today/20130629091024/http://www.regionalejeugdopleiding.nl/speler/230/stijn-derkx.html\n http://www.vi.nl/Spelers/Speler.htm?dbid=73747&typeofpage=84137\n\n1995 births\nLiving people\nSportspeople from Heeze-Leende\nAssociation football forwards\nDutch footballers\nEredivisie players\nWillem II (football club) players\nRKSV Nuenen players", "Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views and major social change. In United States politics, a moderate is considered someone occupying a centre position on the left–right political spectrum.\n\nPolitical position \n\nIn recent years, the term political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword. The existence of the ideal moderate is disputed because of a lack of a moderate political ideology. Voters who describe themselves as centrist often mean that they are moderate in their political views, advocating neither extreme left-wing politics nor extreme right-wing politics.\n\nGallup polling indicated that American voters identified as moderate between 35–38% of the time during the 1990s and 2000s. Voters may identify with moderation for a number of reasons: pragmatic, ideological, or otherwise. It has also been suggested that individuals vote for centrist parties for purely statistical reasons.\n\nReligious position \nIn religion, the moderate position is centered and opposed to liberalism or conservatism. \n\nFor Christianity, moderates in evangelicalism would oppose the ideas of Christian right and Christian fundamentalism, may be for or against same-sex marriage but oppose discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as liberal Christians and the Christian left. For Islam, moderates oppose the extreme views of Islamic extremism and Islamic fundamentalism.\n\nSee also \n\n Centrism\n Centre-left politics\n Centre-right politics\n Independent voter\n Moderate Democrats\n Moderate Islam\n Moderate Party (disambiguation)\n Moderate Republican\n Radical centrism\n The Establishment\n\nReferences \n\n \n\nCentrism\nPolitical terminology" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra", "Was he a singer or writer?", "he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.", "How long did he work with them?", "Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met.", "Why did he withdraw?", "Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems", "Any other reasons he left?", "I don't know." ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	What injuries came with his fall?	6	What injuries came with James Levine fall?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men,	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	true	[ "The greatest potential for injury while rock climbing occurs when a lead climber falls. Several published studies have researched climbing injuries, especially lead climbing injuries and how to avoid them. Chances of neck and head injuries are very low and they can be avoided by falling correctly.\n\nInjuries from falling \n\nLead falls are dangerous because the climber can fall twice the length of the rope between them and their last piece of protection. Thus, a climber who is 5 feet above their protection will fall 10 feet. The fall can produce significant force on the midsection, where the climbing rope is tied to their harness. Injuries from falling come in many forms. They range from mild skin abrasions to death. As rock climbing has become more popular, several studies have been published documenting the frequency and severity of injuries sustained by rock climbers in various circumstances. Each study provides slightly different information due to the differences in methods in obtaining data. One problem with all of the studies is that injuries are not always reported; therefore, it is difficult to determine how many climbers were actually injured because there is no way to determine how many climbers climbed in the given areas during the times the studies were conducted.\n\nA Prospective Study of Rock Climbing Injuries \n\nA Prospective Study of Rock Climbing Injuries, a study performed by Jonathon P. Wyatt, Gordon W. McNaughton, and Patrick T. Grant, registrars and consultants at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary surveyed patients from 1992-93 who checked in with climbing related injuries. While this study greatly lacked subjects, percentages of injuries to various body parts are consistent with studies which reported more injuries. According to patients, 18 of 19 climbing-related injuries were directly caused by climbing falls. No distinction was made whether the falls were lead falls or not, but 15 climbers fell from the rock face to the ground, implying these were lead falls. Twelve of the 19 injures sustained were bone fractures, including feet, shins, pelvis and lower back. The remaining seven were soft tissue injuries (ankle, knee, and ligaments). Ten injuries were to the lower extremities (legs and pelvic areas). These included three ankle injuries, three fractures of bones in the calf (tibia and fibula), and two lumbar spine fractures. Most importantly, none of the injuries were neck injuries.\n\nFalling correctly \n\nBreaking one’s neck can be avoided if a climber learns how to fall correctly. Volker Schöffl and Tomas Küpper of Germany reviewed many reports of injuries caused by climbers who grabbed something as they fell. They analyzed the information and determined the best way to fall.\n\nThey found that climbers who grabbed the ascending rope occasionally sustained skin damage (from rope burns) on their hands, became caught in the last piece of protection, unclipped the belay point causing longer and more dangerous falls, and became tangled in the rope. They also found that climbers who grab their ropes above the tying knot might have their fingers amputated by the rope constricting around them. The authors also mention it is detrimental to grab pieces of protection as a climber falls because such piece could impale the climber's hand.\n\nWhile these injuries happen, the authors imply they did not happen often. However, someone who climbs 3-4 days a week might take 1000 lead falls a year. With that in mind, Schöffl and Küpper suggest climbers should fall with their hands up and slightly forward and with feet down and slightly forward as well. They explain that this method of falling would allow the climber to make contact with the wall with limbs that can absorb force, rather than with other less-absorbent parts of the body. After impact, Schöffl and Küpper instruct the climber to grab the rope (it is completely stretched out and unable to cause injury) in order to refrain from tipping upside down. This method of falling will eliminate injuries caused by prematurely grabbing the rope or other pieces of protection, as well as virtually eliminating neck injuries.\n\nRock climbing injuries in Yosemite National Park \n\nIn a 3½-year study performed in Yosemite National Park, California, William S. Bowie, Thomas K. Hunt, and Hubert A. Allen reviewed 451 injuries reported by 220 climbers. These injuries came from a variety of sources, but 144 climbers were injured in lead falls (65.45%).\n\nResearch was compiled as climbers were brought to the Yosemite Medical Clinic or were rescued by United States National Park Search and Rescue team. All injured climbers filled out a survey of their injuries. Nearly 227 of the 451 injuries reported were to the skin or subcutaneous tissue (the layer of fat between skin and underlying tissues). Of the remaining injuries, 127 were to lower extremities including femur, knee, tibia/fibula, ankle, and foot. Twenty-nine were to upper extremities including shoulder, forearm, wrist, and hand. Twenty-five injuries were reported to the skull/brain. Of the remaining injuries, ten were sustained by face and neck area.\n\nThis study also showed that falls are not the cause of injury; it depends on how the climber lands after the falls. The contact surface and shape determines the severity and type of their injuries. For example, in one case of injury a woman fell 100 feet and only suffered a small laceration and minimal contusions. This is attributed to the fact that she hit no rocks during her fall and the rope decelerated her elastically. Conversely, in another case, a climber fell only 6 feet but hit a sharp ledge and suffered a compound fracture of his femur. In a third case, a climber fell 20 feet but hit the ground and suffered a concussion, rib fractures, and dislocated ankle. Thus, injury severity is likely and more determined by the shape of the rock hit, the angle of impact, and which body surface hit the rock, as opposed to the length of the fall.\n\nThis study importantly points out there were a total of thirty-five head and neck-related injuries. Only four injuries related to lead climbing were fatal—all of these were head injuries. However, only 7% of total injuries reported were head injuries. Thus, it is unlikely a climber will break their neck when climbing.\n\nConclusion \n\nEach of the studies discussed the effects of falling, and How Should a Climber Fall? also taught the best way to fall especially to avoid head and neck injuries. The Yosemite study points out that injury usually is not related to the distance of the fall nor the frequency of falls: it depends more on the rock surface the climber hits. In reviewing these studies of climbing injuries, and focusing mainly on lead climbing injuries, it is apparent that the chance of major injury is relatively slim, that potential injuries to the head and neck are more slim, and that minor injuries, though more common, seem to be infrequent as well.\n\nSee also \n Climbing injuries\n\nReferences \n\nRock climbing", "Love Is All is a Swedish five-piece indie pop band from Gothenburg, Sweden. It releases songs in English. Paste Magazine has stated that it makes \"infectiously lo-fi punk rock laced with saxophone and melodic vocals\". Their most acclaimed single, \"Make out fall out make up\" is included among Pitchfork's 200 best songs of 2000s.\n\nBiography\nSwedish band Love Is All are composed of Josephine Olausson (vocals, keyboard), Johan Lindwall (bass), Markus Görsch (drums), James Ausfahrt (saxophone), and Nicholaus Sparding (guitar/vocals). Olausson, Sparding, and Görsch had previously been members of Girlfrendo. The trio promptly regrouped after that band's demise and added Lindwall, who had recorded in a side project with Olausson and Sparding called Cat Skills. They finally added the missing piece with saxophone player Fredrik Eriksson. While earning many rave reviews from the blogging community for their blend of art punk and indie rock, the band released several singles, one of which made single of the week in NME. The singles were collected on the debut LP Nine Times That Same Song, released by New York-based What's Your Rupture? in late 2005. The album was re-released in the world outside of North America by the British record label Parlophone in 2006. After much touring through 2006 and 2007, Eriksson left the band and Love Is All continued on as a quartet. A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night and the remix album Love Is All Mixed Up arrived in 2008, along with Eriksson's replacement Åke Strömer (saxophone, keyboards). They are currently signed to Polyvinyl Record Co.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\n Nine Times That Same Song (What's Your Rupture?) (2006)\n A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night (What's Your Rupture?) (2008)\n Two Thousand and Ten Injuries (Polyvinyl Record Co.) (2010)\n\nRemix albums\n Love Is All...Mixed Up (What's Your Rupture?) (2008)\n\nSingles and EPs\n \"Spinning And Scratching / Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up / Ageing Had Never Been His Friend\" 7\" EP (2003)\n \"Lost Thrills\" (Dolores Recordings)\n \"Felt Tip\" (Smashing Time)\n \"Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up\" (2006) (What's Your Rupture?) No. 133 UK\n \"Busy Doing Nothing\" (2006) (What's Your Rupture?) No. 103 UK\n \"Used Goods\" (What's Your Rupture?)\n \"Ageing Had Never Been His Friend / Nothing To Be Done\" (2007) (What's Your Rupture?)\n \"Love is All Play 5 Covers\" (2008) (self-released)\n \"Wishing Well & Covers\" (2008) (Emusic)\n \"Last Choice\" (EP) (2009) (What's Your Rupture?)\n\nOther appearances\n \"Pappas Tant (previously unreleased)\" (September 2011, Polyvinyl Records's Japan 3.11.11: A Benefit Album)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Punkcast#886 video of first USA show - Rockies, Brooklyn - Nov 15, 2005 (RealPlayer) (mp4)\n Subculture Magazine review of ''Nine Times That Same Song\n Subculture Magazine Interview / August 2006\n Adequacy.net's review of ''Two Thousand And Ten Injuries\n Pitchforkmedia.com's review of ''Nine Times That Same Song\n Pitchfork interview\n Live Photos from London gig\n Live Audio Melbourne, Australia February 2007\n Revista O Grito! Interview\n Love is All at exclaim\n Love is All interview\n Love is All at Polyvinyl Record Co.\n\nMusical groups from Gothenburg\nSwedish indie rock groups\nSwedish indie pop groups\nSwedish post-punk music groups\nPolyvinyl Record Co. artists\nWhat's Your Rupture? artists" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra", "Was he a singer or writer?", "he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.", "How long did he work with them?", "Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met.", "Why did he withdraw?", "Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems", "Any other reasons he left?", "I don't know.", "What injuries came with his fall?", "when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men," ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	What came of those allegations?	7	What came of James Levine sexual abuse allegations?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	false	[ "Michel Gratton (December 30, 1952 – January 13, 2011) was a Canadian journalist. He held the post of Press Secretary for Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1987.\n\nHe worked as a journalist for the Ottawa Sun and Le Droit.\n\nIn 1987, he published a book So, What Are the Boys Saying? about his time working with Prime Minister Mulroney.\n\nIn November 1986, allegations were reported in the media of \"sexist conduct\" by Gratton. Due to media attention to the matter, he resigned as Mulroney's press secretary in March 1987. Gratton apologized to three women journalists in 1986 for \"unbecoming conduct\". One of those women has accused Gratton of sexual assault and harassment. None of the women went to police and no charges were ever laid against Gratton.\n\nGratton played an important role in the campaign to prevent the closure of Montfort Hospital in Ottawa during the 1990s.\n\nIn 2011, École secondaire Michel-Gratton in Windsor, Ontario was named in his honour. The name was abandoned after the school board became aware of the earlier allegations of misconduct.\n\nReferences\n\n1952 births\n2011 deaths\nCanadian male journalists\nCanadian political consultants\nFranco-Ontarian people", "The McCullough Report is a report published by the Irish Roman Catholic bishops in June 2005 following allegations of homosexual sexual abuse between seminarians and staff at St Patrick's College, Maynooth in Ireland. The report looked at how the College responded to the allegations, and found that no specific allegations of sexual abuse had been made. Instead it found that the allegations were focused on the alleged lifestyle and possible \"homosexual tendencies\" of Micheál Ledwith, at the time Vice-President of the college, and that the Dean of the college, Gerard McGinnity, had expressed non-specific concerns about possible improprieties in Ledwith's relationship with some students. Although the report did not find that there were allegations of sexual harassment made against Ledwith, it did find that the concerns raised by McGinnity were not adequately investigated.\n\nBackground\nThe inquiry leading to this report was commissioned by the bishops of following media reports that complaints of sexual harassment of junior seminarians at Maynooth in the early 1980s had not received a proper response. Micheál Ledwith, who at the time of the alleged complaints had been Vice-President of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, had, it was claimed, been the subject of complaints relating to the possible sexual harassment of some students at the college. Students were alleged to have raised concerns with a number of bishops, who then failed to investigate the claims. These complaints were also said to have been raised by Dr. Gerard McGinnity, the Dean of the college. However, it was alleged that McGinnity's concerns were similarly ignored. Shortly thereafter McGinnity took a twelve-month sabbatical, and instead of returning to his previous position at the college he was transferred to a rural parish.\n\nProcess\nIn June 2002, Denis McCullough SC was retained by the bishops to investigate the allegations that those complaints had not received a proper response. McCullough was not asked to investigate whether or not incidents of sexual harassment had occurred, but had a brief that was limited to investigating the if complaints were made any responses that emerged from those complaints. As part of his investigation, McCullough approached the five seminarians who were believed to have been the core group who raised concerns, McGinnity, all of the surviving Bishops who had been involved with alleged the complaints, and Micheál Ledwith. One of the seminarians was not interviewed as part of the inquiry as the individual concerned chose not to be involved, and McGinnity did not contribute to this inquiry. In addition to the interviews, McCullough examined documentary records, including Minutes and correspondence.\n\nThe report took over three years to complete, and was released on 16 June 2005.\n\nFindings\nMcCullough's report found that none of those interviewed had made complaints about sexual harassment in regard to Micheál Ledwith. Those interviewed stated that they were unaware of any such allegations, and had not related them to the Bishops, Trustees, or McGinnity. The complaints were more general, focused on apparent propensities rather than specific criminal acts, and were related to his apparent extravagant lifestyle and alleged \"homosexual tendencies\".\n\nNevertheless, the report also found that McGinnity may have expressed concerns about possible improprieties in Ledwith's relationship with some students, although once again it was in terms of general propensities rather than any specific claims. When McGinnity was asked to produce a student to substantiate these allegations, McGinnity was unable to do so. According to the report, it seems that the lack of evidence meant that those looking into the issue felt that there was no foundation to the allegations, and subsequently McGinnity went on sabbatical. In his findings, McCullough concluded \"that to have rejected the senior dean's concerns so completely and so abruptly without any adequate investigation may have been too precipitate, although, of course, to investigate in any very full or substantial manner, a generic complaint regarding a person's apparent propensities would have been difficult\".\n\nResponses\nThe Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Seán Brady stated, following the publication of The McCullough Report, that \"those seminarians who expressed concern in the early eighties were acting in good faith. We regret any hurt felt by those involved and that the investigation in 1984 was not more thorough\".\n\nLater in 2005 the Ferns Report was published and dealt in part with the allegations made by the seminarians against Micheal Ledwith. Dr. Ginnity was interviewed this time, and at section 4.6 the report states that the seminarians made \"no specific allegations\" but \"had an anxiety with regard to orientation and propensity rather than with specific sexual activity.\"\n\nReferences\n\nCatholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland\n2005 in Ireland\n2005 works\n2005 in Christianity" ]
[ "James Levine", "Metropolitan Opera", "What did he do with the Opera?", "During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra", "Was he a singer or writer?", "he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972.", "How long did he work with them?", "Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met.", "Why did he withdraw?", "Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems", "Any other reasons he left?", "I don't know.", "What injuries came with his fall?", "when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men,", "What came of those allegations?", "I don't know." ]	C_65204209c84c44cd9d64d3dbaa8b91fb_0	Anything else interesting you would like to share?	8	Besides James Levine sexual abuse allegations, anything else interesting you would like to share?	James Levine	Levine made his Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") debut at age 28 on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca. Following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Met's principal conductor in 1973, and its Music Director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into the realms of recording, and separate concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from The Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned especially to mark the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall (see below), Levine's subsequent health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera conducting engagements. Following a May 2011 performance of Die Walkure, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Cosi fan tutte. Levine was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three concerts at Carnegie Hall in the 2013-14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as Music Director at the end of the 2015-16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015/16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and cancelled all his future scheduled performances with the company. CANNOTANSWER	Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country,	James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") from 1976 to 2016. He was formally terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 12, 2018, over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denied. Levine held leadership positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1980 he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, and trained singers, conductors, and musicians for professional careers. After taking an almost two-year health-related hiatus from conducting from 2011 to 2013, during which time he held artistic and administrative planning sessions at the Met, and led training of the Lindemann Young Artists, Levine retired as the Met's full-time Music Director following the 2015–16 season to become Music Director Emeritus. Early years and personal life Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a Jewish, musical family. His maternal grandfather was a composer and a cantor in a synagogue; his father, Lawrence, was a violinist who led dance bands under the name "Larry Lee" before entering his father's clothing business; and his mother, Helen Goldstein Levine, was briefly an actress on Broadway, performing as "Helen Golden". He had a brother, Tom, who was two years younger, who followed him to New York City from Cincinnati in 1974, and with whom he was very close. He employed Tom as his business assistant, looking after his affairs, arranging his rehearsal schedules, fielding queries, scouting out places to live, meeting with accountants, and accompanying Levine on trips to Europe. Tom was also a painter. He also had a younger sister, Janet, who is a marriage counselor. He began to play the piano as a small child. On February 21, 1954, at age 10, Levine made his concert debut as soloist playing Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Ohio. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet. In 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School in Vermont. The next year he began to study piano with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School. He graduated from Walnut Hills High School, a magnet school in Cincinnati. He entered the Juilliard School of Music in New York City in 1961, and took courses in conducting with Jean Morel. He graduated from Juilliard in 1964, and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Levine lived in The San Remo on Central Park West in New York City. Career Early career From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra. He then served as the Orchestra's assistant conductor until 1970. That year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. From 1965 to 1972 he concurrently taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the summers, he worked at the Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During that time, the charismatic Levine developed a devoted following of young musicians and music lovers. In June 1971, Levine was called in at the last moment to substitute for István Kertész, to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mahler's Second Symphony for the Ravinia Festival's opening concert of their 36th season. This concert began a long association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. From 1973 to 1993 he was music director of the Ravinia Festival, succeeding the late Kertész. He made numerous recordings with the orchestra, including the symphonies and German Requiem of Johannes Brahms, and major works of Gershwin, Holst, Berg, Beethoven, Mozart, and others. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, released by Walt Disney Pictures. From 1974 to 1978, Levine also served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Metropolitan Opera Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut a few weeks before he turned 28, on June 5, 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Puccini's Tosca. After further appearances with the company, he was named its principal conductor in February 1972. He became its music director in 1975. In 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of Verdi's La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the company's first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004. In 2005, Levine's combined salary from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Met made him the highest-paid conductor in the country, at $3.5 million. During Levine's tenure, the Metropolitan Opera orchestra expanded its activities into recording and concert series for the orchestra and chamber ensembles from the orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the world premiere of John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, commissioned for the occasion. On his appointment as general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Levine was paid $2.1 million by the Met in 2010. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall, Levine's health problems led to his withdrawal from many Metropolitan Opera engagements. After a May 2011 performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all engagements at the Met. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to conducting with a May 2013 concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. On September 25, 2013, Levine conducted his first Met performance since May 2011, in a revival production of Mozart's Così fan tutte. He was scheduled to conduct three productions at the opera house and three at Carnegie Hall in the 2013–14 season. On April 14, 2016, Met management announced that Levine would step down from his position as music director at the end of the 2015–16 season. Levine was paid $1.8 million by the Met for the 2015–16 season. He assumed the new title of Music Director Emeritus, which he held until December 2017, when in the wake of allegations that Levine had sexually abused four young men, the Met suspended its relationship with him and canceled all his scheduled performances with the company. Boston Symphony Orchestra Levine first conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) in April 1972. In October 2001, he was named its music director effective with the 2004–05 season, with an initial contract of five years, becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. One unique condition that Levine negotiated was increased flexibility of the time allotted for rehearsal, allowing the orchestra additional time to prepare more challenging works. After the start of his tenure, the orchestra also established an "Artistic Initiative Fund" of about $40 million to fund the more expensive of his projects. One criticism of Levine during his BSO tenure is that he did not attend many orchestra auditions. A 2005 article reported that he had attended two out of 16 auditions during his tenure up to that time. Levine responded that he has the ability to provide input on musician tenure decisions after the initial probationary period, and that it is difficult to know how well a given player will fit the given position until that person has had a chance to work with the orchestra: "My message is the audition isn't everything." Another 2005 report stated that during Levine's first season as music director, the greater workload from the demands of playing more unfamiliar and contemporary music had increased physical stress on some of the BSO musicians. Levine and the players met to discuss this, and he agreed to program changes to lessen these demands. He received general critical praise for revitalizing the orchestra's quality and repertoire since the beginning of his tenure. Levine experienced ongoing health problems, starting with an onstage fall in 2006 that resulted in a torn rotator cuff and started discussion of how long Levine's tenure with the BSO would last. In April 2010, in the wake of his continuing health problems, it emerged that Levine had not officially signed a contract extension, so that he was the BSO's music director without a signed contract. On March 2, 2011, the BSO announced Levine's resignation as music director effective September 2011, after the Orchestra's Tanglewood season. Working on a commission from Levine and the BSO, the composer John Harbison dedicated his Symphony No. 6 "in friendship and gratitude" to him, whose premature departure from the orchestra prevented him from conducting the premiere. After allegations of his abusing a number of young men came out in December 2017 the BSO said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". Conducting in Europe Levine's BSO contract limited his guest appearances with American orchestras, but he still conducted regularly in Europe, with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and at the Bayreuth Festival. Levine was a regular guest with the Philharmonia of London and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Beginning in 1975 he conducted regularly at the Salzburg Festival and the annual July Verbier Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he was chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic, and was credited with improving the quality of instrumental ensemble during his tenure. Work with students Levine initiated the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, a professional training program for graduated singers with, today, many famous alumni. Levine was conductor of the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, the student resident orchestra at the annual summer music festival in Verbier, Switzerland, from 1999 through 2006. It was Levine's first long-term commitment to a student orchestra since becoming music director at the Met. After becoming music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Levine also served as music director of the Tanglewood Music Center, the BSO's acclaimed summer academy at Tanglewood for student instrumentalists, singers, composers, and conductors. There he conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, directed fully staged opera performances with student singers, and gave master classes for singers and conductors. Levine said in an interview: At my age, you are naturally inclined towards teaching. You want to teach what you have learned to the next generation so that they don't have to spend time reinventing the wheel. I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment. I love working with young musicians and singers, and those at the Tanglewood Music Center are unequivocally some of the finest and most talented in the world. He continued to work with young students even when his health issues kept him from conducting. He was awarded the Lotus Award ("for inspiration to young musicians") from Young Concert Artists. Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times in 2016: "The aspiring singers in the Met's young artist development program, one of many important ventures Mr. Levine started, must understand how lucky they are to have, as a teacher and mentor, a musician who even in his 20s worked at the Met with giants like Jon Vickers and Renata Tebaldi." Health problems and death Levine experienced recurrent health issues beginning in 2006, including sciatica and what he called "intermittent tremors". On March 1, 2006, he tripped and fell onstage during a standing ovation after a performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, leaving the remaining subscription concerts in Boston to his assistant conductor at the time. Later that month, Levine underwent surgery to repair the injury. He returned to the podium on July 7, 2006. Levine withdrew from the majority of the Tanglewood 2008 summer season because of surgery required to remove a kidney with a malignant cyst. He returned to the podium in Boston on September 24, 2008, at Symphony Hall. On September 29, 2009, it was announced that Levine would undergo emergency back surgery for a herniated disk. He missed three weeks of engagements. In March 2010, the BSO announced that Levine would miss the remainder of the Boston Symphony season because of back pain. The Met also announced, on April 4, 2010, that he was withdrawing from the remainder of his performances for the season. According to the Met, Levine was required to have "corrective surgery for an ongoing lower back problem". He returned to conducting at the Met and the BSO at the beginning of the 2010–11 season, but in February 2011 canceled his Boston engagements for the rest of the season. In the summer of 2011, Levine underwent further surgery on his back. In September 2011, after he fell down a flight of stairs, fractured his spine, and injured his back while on vacation in Vermont, the Met announced that he would not conduct at the Met at least for the rest of 2011. After two years of surgery and physical therapy, Levine returned to conducting for the first time on May 19, 2013, in a concert with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Levine conducted from a motorized wheelchair, with a special platform designed to accommodate it, which could rise and descend like an elevator. He returned to the Met on September 24, 2013. The same type of platform was present in the Met orchestra pit for his September 2013 return performance. For many years, both Levine and the Met denied as unfounded the rumors that Levine had Parkinson's disease. As New York magazine reported: "The conductor states flatly that the condition is not Parkinson's disease, as people had speculated in 'that silly Times piece.'" But in 2016 both he and the Met finally admitted that the rumors were true, and that Levine had in fact had the disease since 1994. The Washington Post noted: "It wasn't just the illnesses, but the constant alternation between concealment and an excess of revelation that kept so much attention focused on them and away from the music." Levine died in his Palm Springs home on March 9, 2021. Len Horovitz, his personal physician, announced Levine's death on March 17 and said that he had died of natural causes. Sexual assault allegations Four men accused Levine of sexually molesting them (starting when they were 16, 17, 17, and 20 years old), from the 1960s to the 1990s. On December 2, 2017, it was publicly revealed that an October 2016 police report detailed that Levine had allegedly sexually molested a male teenager for years. The alleged sexual abuse began while Levine was guest conductor at the Ravinia Festival, outside Chicago, where Levine was music director for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residencies from 1973 to 1993. One accuser said that in the summer of 1968, when he was a 17-year-old high school student attending Meadow Brook School of Music in Michigan, Levine (then a 25-year-old faculty member) had sexual contact with a student. When he next saw Levine, the accuser told him that he would not repeat the sexual behavior, but asked if they could continue to make music as they had before; Levine said no. The accuser later played bass in the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for decades and became a professor. A second accuser said that that same summer, Levine had sexual contact with a 17-year-old student and that Levine then initiated with the teenager a number of sexual encounters that have since haunted him. He said (and another male corroborated, on the condition of anonymity) that the next year, in Cleveland, where Levine was an assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Levine on several occasions had sexual contact with that student and other students. A third accuser, a violinist and pianist who grew up in Illinois near the Ravinia Music Festival, a summer program for aspiring musicians of which Levine was music director from 1971 to 1993, said Levine sexually abused him beginning when the accuser was 16 years old (and Levine was in his 40s) in 1986. He had previously detailed his accusation in 2016 in a report to the Lake Forest Police Department in Illinois. On December 8, the department announced that Levine could not be charged criminally in Illinois because the accuser was 16 years old at the time, and while today a 16-year-old is not considered old enough to consent to such conduct in Illinois (he must be 17, or 18 in cases in which the suspect is in a position of trust, authority, or supervision in relation to the victim), at the time that was the statutory age of consent. The department noted: "we are bound to apply the law that was in effect at the time the allegations occurred rather than the law as it currently exists." On December 4, a fourth man, who later had a long career as a violinist in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, said he had been abused by Levine beginning in 1968, when he was 20 years old and attending the Meadow Brook School of Music. Levine was a teacher in the summer program. Reactions The New York Times said that the Met had known of at least one sexual abuse allegation as early as 1979, but dismissed it as baseless. Furthermore, the Met (including its General Manager Peter Gelb, who was contacted directly by a police detective about the allegations in October 2016) had been aware of both the third accuser's abuse allegations since they were made in the 2016 police report, and of the attendant police investigation. But the Met did not suspend Levine or launch an investigation of its own until over a year later, in December 2017. In response to the December 2017 news article, the Met announced that it would investigate the sexual abuse allegations dating to the 1980s that were set forth in the 2016 police report. On December 3, after two additional males came forward with allegations of abuse, the Met suspended its ties with Levine, and canceled all upcoming engagements with him. A fourth accuser came forward the following day. For its part, the Ravinia Festival, in April 2017, six months after the criminal investigation of Levine began, created an honorific title for Levine—"Conductor Laureate"—and signed him to a five-year renewable contract to begin in 2018. On December 4, 2017, the Ravinia Festival severed all ties with Levine, and terminated his five-year contract to lead the Chicago Symphony there. The Boston Symphony Orchestra said Levine "will never be employed or contracted by the BSO at any time in the future". The Juilliard School, where Levine had studied, replaced him in a February 2018 performance where he was scheduled to lead the Juilliard Orchestra and singers from the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. On December 5, the Cincinnati May Festival canceled Levine's appearance in May. On December 7, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, the cinema chain Event Cinemas abruptly cancelled the screening of a Met production of Levine conducting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. On December 8, Fred Child, host of the classical music radio show Performance Today, wrote that Levine "is accused of inflicting grievous harm to living members of our musical community. Out of respect for these people and their wounds, I choose not to broadcast performances featuring Mr. Levine on the podium." Classical music blogger, former Village Voice music critic, and Juilliard School faculty member Greg Sandow said he had been contacted by three men over the years who said that Levine had abused them, and that reports of sexual abuse by Levine were "widely talked about" for 40 years. Sandow said further: "Everybody in the classical music business at least since the 1980s has talked about Levine as a sex abuser. The investigation should have been done decades ago." Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Justin Davidson mused on the culture website of New York magazine, "James Levine's career has clearly ended" and "I'm not sure the Met can survive Levine's disgrace." Similarly, drama critic Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal wrote an article called "The Levine Cataclysm; How allegations against James Levine of sexual misconduct with teenagers could topple the entire Metropolitan Opera". The Washington Post music critic Anne Midgette noted: "The Met has known about these allegations for at least a year, and are only investigating them now that they are public", and opined on her Facebook page that the Met has "quite probably spent years protecting its star conductor from just this kind of allegation". Music critic Tim Pfaff of the LGBT Bay Area Reporter wrote that The New York Times chief classical music critic Anthony Tommasini had the "weirdest" reaction, "lamenting the ugliness of it all under a...headline, 'Should I Put Away My James Levine Recordings?' His conclusion was that he and his husband...should move those recordings from their living room." The Met orchestra musicians applauded the courage of the four men who came forward with accusations that Levine had abused them. Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the Met's orchestra and Levine, said, "We are horrified and sickened by the recently reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mr. Levine." Five days after news of the accusations by the four men broke, Levine spoke about them for the first time, and called them "unfounded". The accusers stood by their claims, with one saying, "I will take a lie-detector test. Will he?" Six days later, music critic Arthur Kaptainis wrote in the Montreal Gazette that Levine's denial "had little effect". On March 12, 2018, the Met announced that it had fired Levine. Its investigation found Levine had "engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct towards vulnerable artists in the early stages of their careers". Levine sued the Metropolitan Opera in New York State Supreme Court for breach of contract and defamation on March 15, 2018, three days after the company fired him, seeking more than $5.8 million in damages. The Met denied Levine's allegations. A year later, a New York State Supreme Court judge dismissed most of Levine's claims, but ruled that the Met and its attorney had made defamatory statements. The Metropolitan Opera and Levine announced a settlement on undisclosed terms in August 2019. In September 2020, the size of the payout was indirectly exposed by annual disclosure statements required for nonprofits; Levine had received $3.5 million in the settlement. It is speculated that he was able to negotiate such a large settlement due to the lack of a morals clause in his contract with the Met. Recordings and film Levine made many audio and video recordings. He recorded extensively with many orchestras, and especially often with the Metropolitan Opera. His performance of Aida with Leontyne Price, her last in opera, was preserved on video and may be seen at the Met's own online archive of performances. Of particular note are his performances of Wagner's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen. A studio recording made for Deutsche Grammophon from 1987 to 1989 is on compact disc, and a 1989 live performance of the Ring is available on DVD. He also appears on several dozen albums as a pianist, collaborating with such singers as Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, and Dawn Upshaw, as well as performing the chamber music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc, among others. Levine was featured in the animated Disney film Fantasia 2000. He conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the soundtrack recordings of all the music in the film (with the exception of one segment from the original 1940 Fantasia). Levine is also seen in the film talking briefly with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, just as his predecessor Leopold Stokowski did in the original film. Discography Marilyn Horne: Divas in Song (1994), RCA Victor Red Seal CD, 09026-62547-2 Videography Mozart: Idomeneo (1982), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4234 The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538 The Metropolitan Opera Gala 1991, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4582 James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09 Honors Among the awards listed in his Met biography are: 1980 – Manhattan Cultural Award 1982 – first of eight Grammy Awards 1984 – Named "Musician of the Year" by Musical America 1986 – Smetana Medal (presented by the former Czechoslovakia) 1997 – National Medal of Arts 1999 – Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize from the Committee for Cultural Advancement of Baden-Baden, Germany 2003 – Kennedy Center Honors 2005 – Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts from the American Academy of Arts and Letters 2006 – Opera News Award 2009 – Award in the Vocal Arts from Bard College 2009 – Ditson Conductors Award from Columbia University 2010 – National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honoree 2010 – George Peabody Award from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University 2010 – elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters In addition, his biography says Levine has received honorary doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, the New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, the State University of New York, and the Juilliard School. On May 3, 2018, SUNY revoked Levine's honorary doctorate in response to the sexual abuse allegations against him. References External links 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists American classical pianists American male conductors (music) American male pianists Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera Deutsche Grammophon artists Grammy Award winners Jewish American classical musicians Jewish classical pianists Juilliard School alumni Kennedy Center honorees Male classical pianists Metropolitan Opera people Music directors (opera) Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from New York City Oehms Classics artists People stripped of honorary degrees People with Parkinson's disease United States National Medal of Arts recipients 21st-century American Jews	true	[ "Google Schemer was a Google service for sharing and discovering things to do. Users could list things they want to do, share it with other people and mark it as done once they have already accomplished it.\n\nSchemer was forecast as likely to be integrated with Google+ and consumers needed to join Google+ to be able to use it. It was intended to help to find people with same interests, share their goals and have conversations with them. Users were planned to be able to add tags and locations as well. The site's partners included Food Network, Zagat, Bravo, IGN, Entertainment Weekly, National Geographic Society, and Thrillist.\n\nOnce inside the site, users could add \"schemes\" that they would like to implement, anything from \"exploring a new city, checking out a friend’s movie recommendation, or just finding new activities for your weekends.\" Also, tags and locations could be added, making it easy for fellow schemers to join you. The site also recorded the schemes that you'd successfully carried out as a list of accomplishments. According to the site, the more you used Schemer, the better it got at recommending activities for you, based on your track record.\n\nSchemer had a few antecedents like Facebook Events, Foursquare, 43 Things etc. with a similar concept of location-based activity sharing.\n\nOn 10 January 2014, Google announced that Schemer was closing down, with all data scheduled to be deleted on 7 February 2014.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nGoogle Schemer\nSchemer - The beginning of everything worth doing!\n\nSchemer\nProducts and services discontinued in 2014", "A cost object is a term used primarily in cost accounting to describe something to which costs are assigned. Common examples of cost objects are: product lines, geographic territories, customers, departments or anything else for which management would like to quantify cost.\n\nCost object is anything for which a separate measurement of cost is required. Cost object may be a product, a service, a project, etc.\n\nThe use of cost objects is common within activity based costing and Grenzplankostenrechnung systems.\n\nSee also\nCost centre (business)\n\nReferences\n\nCosts\nManagement accounting" ]
[ "Fred Hampton", "Chicago" ]	C_8185814a6285494d9533139b85cfa88c_1	What happened in Chicago?	1	What happened in Chicago to Fred Hampton?	Fred Hampton	About the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African-Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) started rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a ten-point program that integrated black self-determination on the basis of Maoism. Hampton joined the Party and relocated to downtown Chicago, and in November 1968 he joined the Party's nascent Illinois chapter--founded by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer Bob Brown in late 1967. Over the next year, Hampton and his associates made a number of significant achievements in Chicago. Perhaps his most important accomplishment was his brokering of a nonaggression pact between Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict between gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge a class-conscious, multi-racial alliance between the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez. Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood, the day after the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting, held on the second floor hall of the Chicago 18th District Police Station. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by the Students for a Democratic Society ("SDS"), the Brown Berets, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that this "rainbow coalition" had formed. It was a phrase coined by Hampton and made popular over the years by Reverend Jesse Jackson, who eventually appropriated the name in forming his own, unrelated, coalition, Rainbow/PUSH. Hampton's organizing skills, substantial oratorical gifts, and personal charisma allowed him to rise quickly in the Black Panthers. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Brown left the Party with Stokely Carmichael in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP, automatically making him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the Panther leadership across the country began to be decimated by the impact of the FBI's COINTELPRO, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually, Hampton was in line to be appointed to the Party's Central Committee's Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had it not been for his death on the morning of December 4, 1969. CANNOTANSWER	Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood,	Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African American, he founded the antiracist, anticlass Rainbow Coalition, a prominent multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots (which organized poor whites), and the Young Lords (which organized Hispanics), and an alliance among major Chicago street gangs to help them end infighting and work for social change. A Marxist–Leninist, Hampton considered fascism the greatest threat, saying, "nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.” In 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Hampton as a radical threat. It tried to subvert his activities in Chicago, sowing disinformation among black progressive groups and placing a counterintelligence operative in the local Panthers organization. In December 1969, Hampton was drugged, shot and killed in his bed during a predawn raid at his Chicago apartment by a tactical unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who received aid from the Chicago Police Department and the FBI leading up to the attack. Law enforcement sprayed more than 90 gunshots throughout the apartment; the occupants fired once. During the raid, Panther Mark Clark was also killed and several others were seriously wounded. In January 1970, the Cook County Coroner held an inquest; the jury concluded that Hampton's and Clark's deaths were justifiable homicides. A civil lawsuit was later filed on behalf of the survivors and the relatives of Hampton and Clark. It was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million (equivalent to $ million in ); the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government each paid one-third to a group of nine plaintiffs. Given revelations about the illegal COINTELPRO program and documents associated with the killings, many scholars now consider Hampton's death an assassination at the FBI's initiative. Biography Early life and youth Hampton was born on August 30, 1948, in present-day Summit Argo, Illinois (generally shortened to Summit), and moved with his parents to another Chicago suburb, Maywood, at age 10. His parents had come from Louisiana as part of the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 20th century out of the South. They both worked at the Argo Starch Company, a corn starch processor. As a youth, Hampton was gifted both in the classroom and athletically, and hoped to play center field for the New York Yankees. Fred couldn't accept injustice anywhere. At 10 years old, he started hosting weekend breakfasts for other children from the neighborhood, cooking the meals himself in what could be described as a precursor to the Panthers’ free breakfast program. In high school, he led walkouts protesting black students' exclusion from the competition for homecoming queen and calling on officials to hire more black teachers and administrators. Hampton graduated from Proviso East High School with honors and varsity letters, and a Junior Achievement Award, in 1966. He enrolled at Triton Junior College in nearby River Grove, Illinois, where he majored in pre-law. He planned to become more familiar with the legal system to use it as a defense against police. When he and fellow Black Panthers later followed police in his community supervision program, watching out for police brutality, they used his knowledge of law as a defense. In 1966, Fred Hampton turned 18. At that time, he started identifying with the Third World socialist struggles, as well as reading communist revolutionaries Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, and Mao Zedong. Shortly after, Hampton urged not only peace in the Vietnam War, but also North Vietnam's victory. Hampton became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and assumed leadership of its West Suburban Branch's Youth Council. In his capacity as an NAACP youth organizer, he demonstrated natural leadership abilities: from a community of 27,000, he was able to muster a youth group 500-members strong. He worked to get more and better recreational facilities established in the neighborhoods and to improve educational resources for Maywood's impoverished black community. Activity in Chicago At about the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a Ten-Point Program that integrated black self-determination with class and economic critique from Maoism. He joined the party and relocated to downtown Chicago. In November 1968, he joined the party's nascent Illinois chapter, founded in late 1967 by Bob Brown, a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer. In 1968, Hampton was accused of assaulting an ice cream truck driver, stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, and giving them to kids in the street. He was convicted in May 1969 and sentenced to two to five years in prison. Writer Frank B. Wilderson III places this incident within the framework of COINTELPRO efforts to disrupt the Black Panthers of Chicago, in this case by "leveling [...] trumped-up charges". In 1969, Hampton, now deputy chairman of the BPP Illinois chapter, conducted a meeting condemning sexism. After 1969, the party considered sexism counter-revolutionary. In 1970, about 40–70% of party members were women. Over the next year, Hampton and his friends and associates achieved a number of successes in Chicago. Perhaps the most important was a nonaggression pact among Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict among gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge an anti-racist, class-conscious, multiracial alliance among the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, leading to the Rainbow Coalition. Hampton met the Young Lords in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood the day after they were in the news for occupying a police community workshop at the Chicago 18th District Police Station. He was arrested twice with Jimenez at the Wicker Park Welfare Office, and both were charged with "mob action" at a peaceful picket of the office. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Brown Berets, AIM, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that the coalition had formed. What the coalition groups would do was based on common action. Some of their joint issues were poverty, anti-racism, corruption, police brutality, and substandard housing. If there was a protest or a demonstration, the groups would attend the event and support each other. Jeffrey Haas, who was Hampton's lawyer, has praised some of Hampton's politics and his success in unifying movements. But Haas criticizes the way Hampton and the BPP organized in a pyramidal/vertical structure, contrasting this with the horizontal structure of Black Lives Matter: "They may also have picked up on the vulnerability of a hierarchical movement where you have one leader, which makes the movement very vulnerable if that leader is imprisoned, killed, or otherwise compromised. I think the fact that Black Lives Matter says 'We're leaderfull, not leaderless' perhaps makes them less vulnerable to this kind of government assault." Hampton rose quickly in the Black Panthers, based on his organizing skills, oratorical gifts, and charisma. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, participated in strikes, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6 am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Bob Brown left the party with Kwame Ture, in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP. This automatically made him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the FBI's COINTELPRO began to decimate the nationwide Panther leadership, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually he was in line to be appointed to the party's Central Committee Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had he not been killed on December 4, 1969. FBI investigation The FBI believed that Hampton's leadership and talent for communication made him a major threat among Black Panther leaders. It began keeping close tabs on his activities. Investigations have shown that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive Black movement in the United States. Hoover believed the Panthers, Young Patriots, Young Lords, and similar radical coalitions that Hampton forged in Chicago were a stepping stone to the rise of a revolution that could cause a radical change in the U.S. government. The FBI opened a file on Hampton in 1967. It tapped Hampton's mother's phone in February 1968 and by May placed Hampton on the bureau's "Agitator Index" as a "key militant leader". In late 1968, the Racial Matters squad of the FBI's Chicago field office recruited William O'Neal to work with it; he had recently been arrested twice for interstate car theft and impersonating a federal officer. In exchange for having his felony charges dropped and receiving a monthly stipend, O'Neal agreed to infiltrate the BPP as a counterintelligence operative. O'Neal joined the party and quickly rose in the organization, becoming Director of Chapter Security and Hampton's bodyguard. In 1969, the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in San Francisco wrote Hoover that the agent's investigation had found that, in his city at least, the Panthers were primarily feeding breakfast to children. Hoover responded with a memo implying that the agent's career prospects depended on his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the BPP was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means". By means of anonymous letters, the FBI sowed distrust and eventually instigated a split between the Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers. O'Neal instigated an armed clash between them on April 2, 1969. The Panthers became effectively isolated from their power base in the Chicago ghetto, so the FBI worked to undermine its ties with other radical organizations. O'Neal was instructed to "create a rift" between the party and Students for a Democratic Society, whose Chicago headquarters was near that of the Panthers. The FBI released a batch of racist cartoons in the Panthers' name, aimed at alienating white activists. It also launched a disinformation program to forestall the formation of the Rainbow Coalition, but the BPP did make an alliance with the Young Patriots and Young Lords. In repeated directives, Hoover demanded that COINTELPRO personnel investigate the Rainbow Coalition, "destroy what the [BPP] stands for", and "eradicate its 'serve the people' programs". Documents secured by Senate investigators in the early 1970s revealed that the FBI actively encouraged violence between the Panthers and other radical groups; this provoked multiple murders in cities throughout the country. On July 16, 1969, an armed confrontation between party members and the Chicago Police Department resulted in one BPP member mortally wounded and six others arrested on serious charges. In early October, Hampton and his girlfriend Deborah Johnson (now known as Akua Njeri), who was pregnant with their child (Fred Hampton Jr.), rented a four-and-a-half-room apartment at 2337 West Monroe Street to be closer to BPP headquarters. O'Neal reported to his superiors that much of the Panthers' "provocative" stockpile of arms was stored there. He drew them a map of the apartment. In early November, Hampton traveled to California on a speaking engagement to the UCLA Law Students Association. There he met with the remaining BPP national hierarchy, who appointed him to the party's central committee. He was soon to take the position of chief of staff and major spokesman. Death Prelude While Hampton was in California in November 1969, two Chicago police officers, John J. Gilhooly and Frank G. Rappaport, were killed in a gun battle with Panthers on the night of November 13; one died the next day. A total of nine police officers were shot. Spurgeon Winter Jr, a 19-year-old Panther, was killed by police. Another Panther, Lawrence S. Bell, was charged with murder. In an unsigned editorial headlined "No Quarter for Wild Beasts", the Chicago Tribune urged that Chicago police officers approaching suspected Panthers "should be ordered to be ready to shoot." As part of the larger COINTELPRO operation, the FBI was determined to prevent any improvement in the effectiveness of the BPP leadership. The FBI orchestrated an armed raid with the Chicago police and State Attorney on Hampton's Chicago apartment. They had obtained detailed information about the apartment, including a layout of furniture, from O'Neal. An augmented, 14-man team of the SAO (state Special Prosecutions Unit) was organized for a predawn raid; they were armed with a search warrant for illegal weapons. On the evening of December 3, Hampton taught a political education course at a local church, which was attended by most Panther members. Afterward, as was typical, he was accompanied to his Monroe Street apartment by Johnson and several Panthers: Blair Anderson, James Grady, Ronald "Doc" Satchell, Harold Bell, Verlina Brewer, Louis Truelock, Brenda Harris and Mark Clark. O'Neal was already there, having prepared a late dinner, which the group ate around midnight. O'Neal had slipped the secobarbital into a drink that Hampton consumed during the dinner in order to sedate Hampton so he would not awaken during the subsequent raid. O'Neal left after the dinner. At about 1:30 am, December 4, Hampton fell asleep mid-sentence while talking to his mother on the telephone. Although Hampton was not known to take drugs, Cook County chemist Eleanor Berman later reported that she had run two tests, which each showed evidence of barbiturates in Hampton's blood. An FBI chemist failed to find similar traces, but Berman stood by her findings. Raid The office of Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan organized the raid, using officers attached to his office. Hampton had recently strongly criticized Hanrahan, saying that Hanrahan's talk about a "war on gangs" was really rhetoric used to enable him to carry out a "war on black youth". At 4 am, the heavily armed police team arrived at the site, divided into two teams, eight for the front of the building and six for the rear. At 4:45 am, they stormed the apartment. Mark Clark, sitting in the front room of the apartment with a shotgun in his lap, was on security duty. The police shot him in the chest, killing him instantly. An alternative account said that Clark answered the door and police immediately shot him. Either way, Clark's gun discharged once into the ceiling. This single round was fired when he suffered a reflexive death-convulsion after being shot. This was the only shot fired by the Panthers. Hampton, drugged by barbiturates, was sleeping on a mattress in the bedroom with Johnson, who was nine months pregnant with their child. Police officers removed her from the room while Hampton lay unconscious in bed. Then the raiding team fired at the head of the south bedroom. Hampton was wounded in the shoulder by the shooting. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, "upon that discovery, an officer shot him twice in his head and killed him". Fellow Black Panther Harold Bell said that he heard the following exchange: :"That's Fred Hampton." "Is he dead?... Bring him out." "He's barely alive." "He'll make it." The injured Panthers said they heard two shots. According to Hampton's supporters, the shots were fired point blank at Hampton's head. According to Johnson, an officer then said: "He's good and dead now." Hampton's body was dragged into the doorway of the bedroom and left in a pool of blood. The officers directed their gunfire at the remaining Panthers who had been sleeping in the north bedroom (Satchel, Anderson, Brewer and Harris). Brewer, Satchel, Anderson, and Harris were seriously wounded, then beaten and dragged into the street. They were arrested on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers. They were each held on $100,000 bail. In the early 1990s, Johnson was interviewed about the raid by Jose "Cha Cha" Jimenez, former president and co-founder of the Young Lords. He and his group had developed close ties to Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party during the late 1960s. She said: I believe Fred Hampton was drugged. The reason why is because when he woke up when the person [Truelock] said, "Chairman, chairman," he was shaking Fred's arm, you know, Fred's arm was folded across the head of the bed. And Fred—he just raised his head up real slow. It was like watching a slow motion. He raised. His eyes were open. He raised his head up real slow, you know, with his eyes toward the entranceway, toward the bedroom and laid his head back down. That was the only movement he made [...] The seven Panthers who survived the raid were indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, armed violence, and various other weapons charges. These charges were subsequently dropped. During the trial, the Chicago Police Department claimed that the Panthers were the first to fire shots. But a later investigation found that the Chicago police fired between 90 and 99 shots, while the only Panthers shot was from Clark's dropped shotgun. After the raid, the apartment was left unguarded. The Panthers sent some members to investigate, accompanied by videographer Mike Gray and stills photographer Norris McNamara to document the scene. This footage was instrumental in proving the raid was an assassination. The footage was later released as part of the 1971 documentary The Murder of Fred Hampton. After a break-in at an FBI office in Pennsylvania, the existence of COINTELPRO, an illegal counter-intelligence program, was revealed and reported. With this program revealed, many activists and others began to suspect that the police raid and Hampton's killing were conducted under this program. One of the documents released after the break-in was a floor plan of Hampton's apartment. Another document outlined a deal that the FBI brokered with US deputy attorney general Richard Kleindienst to conceal the FBI's role in Hampton's death and the existence of COINTELPRO. Aftermath At a press conference the next day, the police announced the arrest team had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and defended themselves accordingly. In a second press conference on December 8, the police leadership praised the assault team for their "remarkable restraint", "bravery", and "professional discipline" in not killing all the Panthers present. Photographic evidence was presented of "bullet holes" allegedly made by shots fired by the Panthers, but reporters soon challenged this claim. An internal investigation was undertaken, and the police claimed that their colleagues on the assault team were exonerated of any wrongdoing, concluding that they "used lawful means to overcome the assault". Five thousand people attended Hampton's funeral. He was eulogized by black leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr.'s successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In his eulogy, Jackson said that "when Fred was shot in Chicago, black people in particular, and decent people in general, bled everywhere." On December 6, members of the Weather Underground destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. The police called their raid on Hampton's apartment a "shootout". The Black Panthers called it a "shoot-in", because so many shots were fired by police. On December 11 and 12, the two competing daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, published vivid accounts of the events, but drew different conclusions. The Tribune has long been considered the politically conservative newspaper, and the Sun-Times the liberal paper. On December 11, the Tribune published a page 1 article titled, "Exclusive – Hanrahan, Police Tell Panther Story." The article included photographs, supplied by Hanrahan's office, that depicted bullet holes in a thin white curtain and door jamb as evidence that the Panthers fired multiple bullets at the police. Jack Challem, editor of the Wright College News, the student newspaper at Wright Junior College in Chicago, had visited the apartment on December 6, when it was still unsecured. He took numerous photographs of the crime scenes. A member of the Black Panthers was allowing visitors to tour the apartment. Challem's photographs did not show the bullet holes as reported by the Tribune. On the morning of December 12, after the Tribune article had appeared with the Hanrahan-supplied photos, Challem contacted a reporter at the Sun-Times, showed him his own photographs, and encouraged the other reporter to visit the apartment. That evening, the Sun-Times published a page 1 article with the headline: "Those 'bullet holes' aren't." According to the article, the alleged bullet holes (supposedly the result of the Panthers shooting in the direction of the police) were nail heads. Four weeks after witnessing Hampton's death at the hands of the police, Johnson gave birth to their son, Fred Hampton Jr. Civil rights activists Roy Wilkins and Ramsey Clark (styled as "The Commission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and the Police") subsequently alleged that the Chicago police had killed Hampton without justification or provocation, and had violated the Panthers' constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. "The Commission" further alleged that the Chicago Police Department had imposed a summary punishment on the Panthers. A federal grand jury did not return any indictment against any of the individuals involved with the planning or execution of the raid, including the officers involved in killing Hampton. O'Neal, who had given the FBI the floor plan of the apartment and drugged Hampton, later admitted his involvement in setting up the raid. He committed suicide on January 15, 1990. Inquest Shortly after the raid, Cook County Coroner Andrew Toman began forming a special six-member coroner's jury to hold an inquest into the deaths of Hampton and Clark. On December 23, Toman announced four additions to the jury, who included two African-American men: physician Theodore K. Lawless and attorney Julian B. Wilkins, the son of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. He said the four were selected from a group of candidates submitted to his office by groups and individuals representing both Chicago's black and white communities. Civil rights leaders and spokesmen for the black community were reported to have been disappointed with the selection. An official with the Chicago Urban League said, "I would have had more confidence in the jury if one of them had been a black man who has a rapport with the young and the grass roots in the community." Gus Savage said that such a man to whom the community could relate need not be black. The jury eventually included a third black man, who had been a member of the first coroner's jury sworn in on December 4. The blue-ribbon panel convened for the inquest on January 6, 1970. On January 21, they ruled the deaths of Hampton and Clark to be justifiable homicides. The jury qualified their verdict on Hampton's death as "based solely and exclusively on the evidence presented to this inquisition"; police and expert witnesses provided the only testimony during the inquest. Jury foreman James T. Hicks stated that they could not consider the charges made by surviving Black Panthers who had been in the apartment; they had told reporters that the police entered the apartment shooting. The survivors were reported to have refused to testify during the inquest because they faced criminal charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault during the raid. Attorneys for the Hampton and Clark families did not introduce any witnesses during the proceedings, but called the inquest "a well-rehearsed theatrical performance designed to vindicate the police officers". Hanrahan said the verdict was recognition "of the truthfulness of our police officers' account of the events". Federal grand jury Released on May 15, 1970, the reports of a federal grand jury criticized the actions of the police, the surviving Black Panthers, and the Chicago news media. The grand jury called the police department's raid "ill conceived" and said many errors were committed during the post-raid investigation and reconstruction of the events. It said that the surviving Black Panthers' refusal to cooperate hampered the investigation, and that the press "improperly and grossly exaggerated stories". 1970 civil rights lawsuit In 1970, the survivors and relatives of Hampton and Clark filed a civil suit, stating that the civil rights of the Black Panther members were violated by the joint police/FBI raid and seeking $47.7 million in damages. Twenty-eight defendants were named, including Hanrahan as well as the City of Chicago, Cook County, and federal governments. It took years for the case to get to trial, which lasted 18 months. It was reported to have been the longest federal trial up to that time. After its conclusion in 1977, Judge Joseph Sam Perry of United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the suit against 21 of the defendants before jury deliberations. After jurors deadlocked on a verdict, Perry dismissed the suit against the remaining defendants. The plaintiffs appealed. In 1979, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago found that the government had withheld relevant documents, thereby obstructing the judicial process. Reinstating the case against 24 of the defendants, the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal by defendants, but voted 5–3 in 1980 to remand the case to the District Court for a new trial. In 1982, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government agreed to a settlement in which each would pay $616,333 (equivalent to $ million per payee in ) to a group of nine plaintiffs, including the mothers of Hampton and Clark. The $1.85 million settlement (equivalent to $ million in ) was believed to be the largest ever in a civil rights case. G. Flint Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said, "The settlement is an admission of the conspiracy that existed between the FBI and Hanrahan's men to murder Fred Hampton." Assistant United States Attorney Robert Gruenberg said the settlement was intended to avoid another costly trial and was not an admission of guilt or responsibility by any of the defendants. Controversy Ten days afterward, Bobby Rush, the then deputy minister of defense for the Illinois Black Panther Party, called the raiding party an "execution squad". As is typical in settlements, the three government defendants did not acknowledge claims of responsibility for plaintiffs' allegations. Michael Newton is among the writers who have concluded that Hampton was assassinated. In his 2016 book Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934–1970, Newton writes that Hampton "was murdered in his sleep by Chicago police with FBI collusion." This view is also presented in Jakobi Williams's book From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago. Personal life Hampton was very close with Chicago Black Catholic priest George Clements, who served as his mentor and as a chaplain for the local Panther outfit. Hampton and the Panthers also used Clements's parish, Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago, as a refuge in times of particular surveillance or pursuit from the police. They also provided security for a number of Clements's "Black Unity Masses", part of his revolutionary activities during the Black Catholic Movement. Clements spoke at Hampton's funeral, and also said a Requiem Mass for him at Holy Angels. Legacy Legal and political effects According to a 1969 Chicago Tribune report, "The raid ended the promising political career of Cook County State's Atty. Edward V. Hanrahan, who was indicted but cleared with 13 other law-enforcement agents on charges of obstructing justice. Bernard Carey, a Republican, defeated him in the next election, in part because of the support of outraged black voters." The families of Hampton and Clark filed a $47.7 million civil suit against the city, state, and federal governments. The case went to trial before Federal Judge J. Sam Perry. After more than 18 months of testimony and at the close of the plaintiffs' case, Perry dismissed the case. The plaintiffs appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, ordering the case to be retried. More than a decade after the case had been filed, the suit was finally settled for $1.85 million. The two families each shared in the settlement. Jeffrey Haas, who, together with his law partners G. Flint Taylor and Dennis Cunningham and attorney James D. Montgomery, were the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan, conducted additional research and wrote a book about these events. It was published in 2009. He said that Chicago was worse off without Hampton: In 1990, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed a resolution, introduced by then-Alderman Madeline Haithcock, commemorating December 4, 2004, as Fred Hampton Day in Chicago. The resolution read in part: "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization." Monuments and streets A public pool was named in his honor in his home town of Maywood, Illinois. On September 7, 2007, a bust of Hampton by sculptor Preston Jackson was erected outside the Fred Hampton Family Aquatic Center in Maywood. In March 2006, supporters of Hampton's charity work proposed the naming of a Chicago street in his honor. Chicago's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police opposed this effort. Weather Underground reaction Two days after the killings of Hampton and Clark, on December 6, 1969, members of the Weathermen destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street in Chicago. After that, the group became more radical. On May 21, 1970, the group issued a "Declaration of War" against the U.S. government, and for the first time used its new name, the "Weather Underground Organization". They adopted fake identities and decided to pursue covert activities only. These initially included preparations to bomb a U.S. military non-commissioned officers' dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in what Brian Flanagan later said was intended to be "the most horrific hit the United States government had ever suffered on its territory"."We've known that our job is to lead white kids into armed revolution... Kids know the lines are drawn: revolution is touching all of our lives. Tens of thousands have learned that protest and marches don't do it. Revolutionary violence is the only way." —Bernardine Dohrn Media and popular culture In film A 27-minute documentary, Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story, was used as evidence in the civil suit. The 2002 documentary The Weather Underground shows in detail how that group was deeply influenced by Hampton and his death—as well as showing that Hampton kept his distance from them for being what he called "adventuristic, masochistic and Custeristic". Much of the first half of Eyes on the Prize episode 12, "A Nation of Law?", chronicles Hampton's leadership and extrajudicial killing. The events of his rise to prominence, Hoover's targeting of him, and Hampton's subsequent death are also recounted with footage in the 2015 documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. The Murder of Fred Hampton is a documentary shot from within the movement, released in 1971. It has no narration, relying solely on footage shot from within the Black Panther organization and portraying Hampton and his colleagues on their own terms. In the 1999 TV miniseries The 60s, Hampton appears serving free breakfast with the BPP. David Alan Grier plays Hampton. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) features Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Hampton, in which he advises Bobby Seale as he was denied counsel, with the Chicago Seven. Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 film about O'Neal's betrayal of Hampton. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and was directed by Shaka King. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021. For his performance, Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In literature Jeffrey Haas wrote an account of Hampton's death, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther (2009). Stephen King refers to Hampton in the novel 11/22/63 (2012), in which a character discusses the ripple effect of traveling back in time to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination. He postulates that other events would follow that could have prevented Hampton's assassination as well. In music American rapper and businessman Jay-Z has made multiple references in his music to being born on the day Hampton died. American rock band Rage Against the Machine referenced Hampton in their 1996 song Down Rodeo, saying "They ain't gonna send us campin' like they did my man Fred Hampton." Notes References External links The Marxists Internet Archive: Fred Hampton Archive Transcribed speeches and collected works. "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" – video report by Democracy Now! December 4, 2009. (A 1971 documentary film directed by Howard Alk) FBI files on Fred Hampton From COINTELPRO to the Shadow Government: As Fred Hampton Jr. Is Released From 9 Years of Prison, a Look Back at the Assassination of Fred Hampton. 36:48 real audio. Tape: Fred Hampton, Deborah Johnson. Guests: Fred Hampton Jr., Mutulu Olugabala, Rosa Clemente. Interviewer: Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2005. "Power Anywhere Where There's People" A Speech By Fred Hampton National Young Lords Brief notes on Young Lords origins Grand Valley State University Oral History Collection 1948 births 1969 deaths Activists from Chicago African-American activists African-American communists African-American history American anti-capitalists American Maoists American Marxists American revolutionaries Anti-poverty advocates Anti-revisionists Assassinated American civil rights activists African-American Marxists African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States COINTELPRO targets Deaths by firearm in Illinois Extrajudicial killings Members of the Black Panther Party People from Maywood, Illinois People from Summit, Illinois People murdered in Illinois	false	[ "Steven George Mandis (born in 1970) is an American investor and the founder of Kalamata Capital. He is an adjunct associate professor in finance and economics at Columbia University Business School. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and as a senior advisor to McKinsey. He is the author of three books: What Happened to Goldman Sachs: An Insider's Story of Organizational Drift and its Unintended Consequences, The Real Madrid Way: How Values Created the Most Successful Sports Team on the Planet, and What Happened to Serie A: The Rise, Fall and Signs of Revival.\n\nEarly life and education\nMandis was born in Chicago, Illinois as one of three children to his parents, Greek emigres George and Theoni. He spent his childhood in Chicago and Grand Rapids, Michigan where he attended Forest Hills Central High School. In 1992 he received an A.B. from the University of Chicago. After a 16-year career on Wall Street he enrolled at Columbia University, where he received an M.A. in Museum Anthropology in 2010, and an M.Phil in Sociology in 2013, and a Ph.D. in Sociology.\n\nBusiness career\nMandis began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1992 as a mergers-and-acquisitions banker. He later joined the proprietary trading department, where he helped build the Special Situations Proprietary Trading Group (SSG) and worked under Henry Paulson.\n\nIn 2004 Mandis left Goldman to join Halcyon Structured Asset Management, an alternative asset management company. He remained at Halcyon until 2008, and later worked as a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company. He then worked as an executive at Citigroup in various roles including chief of staff to its president.\n\nIn 2013 Mandis founded Kalamata Capital, a small business finance company that he funded with his own money, naming it after the area of Greece his parents are from.\n\nSince leaving Wall Street in 2012, Mandis has taught at Columbia Business School as an adjunct professor.\n\nBooks\nIn 2013 Mandis's book What Happened to Goldman Sachs: An Insider’s Story of Organizational Drift and its Unintended Consequences was published by Harvard Business Press, based upon his PhD dissertation at Columbia. It won the 2014 Gold Axiom Business Book Award for Corporate History.\n\nIn 2016 Mandis's book The Real Madrid Way: How Values Created the Most Successful Sports Team on the Planet was published by BenBella Books. The book was the subject of a documentary by BBC Radio World Service, and won the 2017 International Book Award for Sports.\n\nIn 2018 Mandis's book What Happened to Serie A: The Rise, Fall and Signs of Revival, a history of the Serie A Italian professional football league, was published by Arena Sport.\n\nPersonal life \nMandis lives in New York City. He was awarded an Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2012.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Steven Mandis profile at Columbia Business School\n\n1970 births\nLiving people\nAmerican financial businesspeople\nUniversity of Chicago alumni\nColumbia University alumni\nColumbia University faculty\nAmerican company founders\nBusinesspeople from Chicago\nAmerican business writers\nAmerican bankers", "David Cerda (born June 13, 1961, Hammond, Indiana) is an American performer and playwright based in Chicago, Illinois. He is currently the Artistic Director for Hell In A Handbag Productions, which he co-founded in 2002. His campy, highly theatrical plays have made him an infamous icon within the Chicago theater scene. He has written and appeared in many of his works including a transgressive adaptation of Rudolph, the Red-Hosed Reindeer, How ‘What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?’ Happened and POSEIDON! An Upside-Down Musical which won the New York International Fringe Festival Best Ensemble Award and was the most attended show of the festival that year.\n\nHis most recent works include The Drag Seed, A Showgirls Musical, an updated version of POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, and The Golden Girls-The Lost Episodes. The Golden Girls Lost Episodes series began in 2017 and has been continuously updated with new editions.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Hell In A Handbag Productions\n\nAmerican gay writers\n20th-century American dramatists and playwrights\nWriters from Chicago\nLiving people\n1961 births\nLGBT dramatists and playwrights\nAmerican male dramatists and playwrights\n20th-century American male writers\n21st-century LGBT people" ]
[ "Fred Hampton", "Chicago", "What happened in Chicago?", "Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood," ]	C_8185814a6285494d9533139b85cfa88c_1	who are the young lords?	2	who are the young lords that Fred Hampton met?	Fred Hampton	About the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African-Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) started rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a ten-point program that integrated black self-determination on the basis of Maoism. Hampton joined the Party and relocated to downtown Chicago, and in November 1968 he joined the Party's nascent Illinois chapter--founded by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer Bob Brown in late 1967. Over the next year, Hampton and his associates made a number of significant achievements in Chicago. Perhaps his most important accomplishment was his brokering of a nonaggression pact between Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict between gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge a class-conscious, multi-racial alliance between the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez. Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood, the day after the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting, held on the second floor hall of the Chicago 18th District Police Station. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by the Students for a Democratic Society ("SDS"), the Brown Berets, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that this "rainbow coalition" had formed. It was a phrase coined by Hampton and made popular over the years by Reverend Jesse Jackson, who eventually appropriated the name in forming his own, unrelated, coalition, Rainbow/PUSH. Hampton's organizing skills, substantial oratorical gifts, and personal charisma allowed him to rise quickly in the Black Panthers. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Brown left the Party with Stokely Carmichael in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP, automatically making him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the Panther leadership across the country began to be decimated by the impact of the FBI's COINTELPRO, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually, Hampton was in line to be appointed to the Party's Central Committee's Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had it not been for his death on the morning of December 4, 1969. CANNOTANSWER	the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting,	Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African American, he founded the antiracist, anticlass Rainbow Coalition, a prominent multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots (which organized poor whites), and the Young Lords (which organized Hispanics), and an alliance among major Chicago street gangs to help them end infighting and work for social change. A Marxist–Leninist, Hampton considered fascism the greatest threat, saying, "nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.” In 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Hampton as a radical threat. It tried to subvert his activities in Chicago, sowing disinformation among black progressive groups and placing a counterintelligence operative in the local Panthers organization. In December 1969, Hampton was drugged, shot and killed in his bed during a predawn raid at his Chicago apartment by a tactical unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who received aid from the Chicago Police Department and the FBI leading up to the attack. Law enforcement sprayed more than 90 gunshots throughout the apartment; the occupants fired once. During the raid, Panther Mark Clark was also killed and several others were seriously wounded. In January 1970, the Cook County Coroner held an inquest; the jury concluded that Hampton's and Clark's deaths were justifiable homicides. A civil lawsuit was later filed on behalf of the survivors and the relatives of Hampton and Clark. It was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million (equivalent to $ million in ); the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government each paid one-third to a group of nine plaintiffs. Given revelations about the illegal COINTELPRO program and documents associated with the killings, many scholars now consider Hampton's death an assassination at the FBI's initiative. Biography Early life and youth Hampton was born on August 30, 1948, in present-day Summit Argo, Illinois (generally shortened to Summit), and moved with his parents to another Chicago suburb, Maywood, at age 10. His parents had come from Louisiana as part of the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 20th century out of the South. They both worked at the Argo Starch Company, a corn starch processor. As a youth, Hampton was gifted both in the classroom and athletically, and hoped to play center field for the New York Yankees. Fred couldn't accept injustice anywhere. At 10 years old, he started hosting weekend breakfasts for other children from the neighborhood, cooking the meals himself in what could be described as a precursor to the Panthers’ free breakfast program. In high school, he led walkouts protesting black students' exclusion from the competition for homecoming queen and calling on officials to hire more black teachers and administrators. Hampton graduated from Proviso East High School with honors and varsity letters, and a Junior Achievement Award, in 1966. He enrolled at Triton Junior College in nearby River Grove, Illinois, where he majored in pre-law. He planned to become more familiar with the legal system to use it as a defense against police. When he and fellow Black Panthers later followed police in his community supervision program, watching out for police brutality, they used his knowledge of law as a defense. In 1966, Fred Hampton turned 18. At that time, he started identifying with the Third World socialist struggles, as well as reading communist revolutionaries Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, and Mao Zedong. Shortly after, Hampton urged not only peace in the Vietnam War, but also North Vietnam's victory. Hampton became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and assumed leadership of its West Suburban Branch's Youth Council. In his capacity as an NAACP youth organizer, he demonstrated natural leadership abilities: from a community of 27,000, he was able to muster a youth group 500-members strong. He worked to get more and better recreational facilities established in the neighborhoods and to improve educational resources for Maywood's impoverished black community. Activity in Chicago At about the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a Ten-Point Program that integrated black self-determination with class and economic critique from Maoism. He joined the party and relocated to downtown Chicago. In November 1968, he joined the party's nascent Illinois chapter, founded in late 1967 by Bob Brown, a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer. In 1968, Hampton was accused of assaulting an ice cream truck driver, stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, and giving them to kids in the street. He was convicted in May 1969 and sentenced to two to five years in prison. Writer Frank B. Wilderson III places this incident within the framework of COINTELPRO efforts to disrupt the Black Panthers of Chicago, in this case by "leveling [...] trumped-up charges". In 1969, Hampton, now deputy chairman of the BPP Illinois chapter, conducted a meeting condemning sexism. After 1969, the party considered sexism counter-revolutionary. In 1970, about 40–70% of party members were women. Over the next year, Hampton and his friends and associates achieved a number of successes in Chicago. Perhaps the most important was a nonaggression pact among Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict among gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge an anti-racist, class-conscious, multiracial alliance among the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, leading to the Rainbow Coalition. Hampton met the Young Lords in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood the day after they were in the news for occupying a police community workshop at the Chicago 18th District Police Station. He was arrested twice with Jimenez at the Wicker Park Welfare Office, and both were charged with "mob action" at a peaceful picket of the office. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Brown Berets, AIM, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that the coalition had formed. What the coalition groups would do was based on common action. Some of their joint issues were poverty, anti-racism, corruption, police brutality, and substandard housing. If there was a protest or a demonstration, the groups would attend the event and support each other. Jeffrey Haas, who was Hampton's lawyer, has praised some of Hampton's politics and his success in unifying movements. But Haas criticizes the way Hampton and the BPP organized in a pyramidal/vertical structure, contrasting this with the horizontal structure of Black Lives Matter: "They may also have picked up on the vulnerability of a hierarchical movement where you have one leader, which makes the movement very vulnerable if that leader is imprisoned, killed, or otherwise compromised. I think the fact that Black Lives Matter says 'We're leaderfull, not leaderless' perhaps makes them less vulnerable to this kind of government assault." Hampton rose quickly in the Black Panthers, based on his organizing skills, oratorical gifts, and charisma. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, participated in strikes, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6 am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Bob Brown left the party with Kwame Ture, in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP. This automatically made him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the FBI's COINTELPRO began to decimate the nationwide Panther leadership, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually he was in line to be appointed to the party's Central Committee Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had he not been killed on December 4, 1969. FBI investigation The FBI believed that Hampton's leadership and talent for communication made him a major threat among Black Panther leaders. It began keeping close tabs on his activities. Investigations have shown that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive Black movement in the United States. Hoover believed the Panthers, Young Patriots, Young Lords, and similar radical coalitions that Hampton forged in Chicago were a stepping stone to the rise of a revolution that could cause a radical change in the U.S. government. The FBI opened a file on Hampton in 1967. It tapped Hampton's mother's phone in February 1968 and by May placed Hampton on the bureau's "Agitator Index" as a "key militant leader". In late 1968, the Racial Matters squad of the FBI's Chicago field office recruited William O'Neal to work with it; he had recently been arrested twice for interstate car theft and impersonating a federal officer. In exchange for having his felony charges dropped and receiving a monthly stipend, O'Neal agreed to infiltrate the BPP as a counterintelligence operative. O'Neal joined the party and quickly rose in the organization, becoming Director of Chapter Security and Hampton's bodyguard. In 1969, the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in San Francisco wrote Hoover that the agent's investigation had found that, in his city at least, the Panthers were primarily feeding breakfast to children. Hoover responded with a memo implying that the agent's career prospects depended on his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the BPP was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means". By means of anonymous letters, the FBI sowed distrust and eventually instigated a split between the Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers. O'Neal instigated an armed clash between them on April 2, 1969. The Panthers became effectively isolated from their power base in the Chicago ghetto, so the FBI worked to undermine its ties with other radical organizations. O'Neal was instructed to "create a rift" between the party and Students for a Democratic Society, whose Chicago headquarters was near that of the Panthers. The FBI released a batch of racist cartoons in the Panthers' name, aimed at alienating white activists. It also launched a disinformation program to forestall the formation of the Rainbow Coalition, but the BPP did make an alliance with the Young Patriots and Young Lords. In repeated directives, Hoover demanded that COINTELPRO personnel investigate the Rainbow Coalition, "destroy what the [BPP] stands for", and "eradicate its 'serve the people' programs". Documents secured by Senate investigators in the early 1970s revealed that the FBI actively encouraged violence between the Panthers and other radical groups; this provoked multiple murders in cities throughout the country. On July 16, 1969, an armed confrontation between party members and the Chicago Police Department resulted in one BPP member mortally wounded and six others arrested on serious charges. In early October, Hampton and his girlfriend Deborah Johnson (now known as Akua Njeri), who was pregnant with their child (Fred Hampton Jr.), rented a four-and-a-half-room apartment at 2337 West Monroe Street to be closer to BPP headquarters. O'Neal reported to his superiors that much of the Panthers' "provocative" stockpile of arms was stored there. He drew them a map of the apartment. In early November, Hampton traveled to California on a speaking engagement to the UCLA Law Students Association. There he met with the remaining BPP national hierarchy, who appointed him to the party's central committee. He was soon to take the position of chief of staff and major spokesman. Death Prelude While Hampton was in California in November 1969, two Chicago police officers, John J. Gilhooly and Frank G. Rappaport, were killed in a gun battle with Panthers on the night of November 13; one died the next day. A total of nine police officers were shot. Spurgeon Winter Jr, a 19-year-old Panther, was killed by police. Another Panther, Lawrence S. Bell, was charged with murder. In an unsigned editorial headlined "No Quarter for Wild Beasts", the Chicago Tribune urged that Chicago police officers approaching suspected Panthers "should be ordered to be ready to shoot." As part of the larger COINTELPRO operation, the FBI was determined to prevent any improvement in the effectiveness of the BPP leadership. The FBI orchestrated an armed raid with the Chicago police and State Attorney on Hampton's Chicago apartment. They had obtained detailed information about the apartment, including a layout of furniture, from O'Neal. An augmented, 14-man team of the SAO (state Special Prosecutions Unit) was organized for a predawn raid; they were armed with a search warrant for illegal weapons. On the evening of December 3, Hampton taught a political education course at a local church, which was attended by most Panther members. Afterward, as was typical, he was accompanied to his Monroe Street apartment by Johnson and several Panthers: Blair Anderson, James Grady, Ronald "Doc" Satchell, Harold Bell, Verlina Brewer, Louis Truelock, Brenda Harris and Mark Clark. O'Neal was already there, having prepared a late dinner, which the group ate around midnight. O'Neal had slipped the secobarbital into a drink that Hampton consumed during the dinner in order to sedate Hampton so he would not awaken during the subsequent raid. O'Neal left after the dinner. At about 1:30 am, December 4, Hampton fell asleep mid-sentence while talking to his mother on the telephone. Although Hampton was not known to take drugs, Cook County chemist Eleanor Berman later reported that she had run two tests, which each showed evidence of barbiturates in Hampton's blood. An FBI chemist failed to find similar traces, but Berman stood by her findings. Raid The office of Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan organized the raid, using officers attached to his office. Hampton had recently strongly criticized Hanrahan, saying that Hanrahan's talk about a "war on gangs" was really rhetoric used to enable him to carry out a "war on black youth". At 4 am, the heavily armed police team arrived at the site, divided into two teams, eight for the front of the building and six for the rear. At 4:45 am, they stormed the apartment. Mark Clark, sitting in the front room of the apartment with a shotgun in his lap, was on security duty. The police shot him in the chest, killing him instantly. An alternative account said that Clark answered the door and police immediately shot him. Either way, Clark's gun discharged once into the ceiling. This single round was fired when he suffered a reflexive death-convulsion after being shot. This was the only shot fired by the Panthers. Hampton, drugged by barbiturates, was sleeping on a mattress in the bedroom with Johnson, who was nine months pregnant with their child. Police officers removed her from the room while Hampton lay unconscious in bed. Then the raiding team fired at the head of the south bedroom. Hampton was wounded in the shoulder by the shooting. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, "upon that discovery, an officer shot him twice in his head and killed him". Fellow Black Panther Harold Bell said that he heard the following exchange: :"That's Fred Hampton." "Is he dead?... Bring him out." "He's barely alive." "He'll make it." The injured Panthers said they heard two shots. According to Hampton's supporters, the shots were fired point blank at Hampton's head. According to Johnson, an officer then said: "He's good and dead now." Hampton's body was dragged into the doorway of the bedroom and left in a pool of blood. The officers directed their gunfire at the remaining Panthers who had been sleeping in the north bedroom (Satchel, Anderson, Brewer and Harris). Brewer, Satchel, Anderson, and Harris were seriously wounded, then beaten and dragged into the street. They were arrested on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers. They were each held on $100,000 bail. In the early 1990s, Johnson was interviewed about the raid by Jose "Cha Cha" Jimenez, former president and co-founder of the Young Lords. He and his group had developed close ties to Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party during the late 1960s. She said: I believe Fred Hampton was drugged. The reason why is because when he woke up when the person [Truelock] said, "Chairman, chairman," he was shaking Fred's arm, you know, Fred's arm was folded across the head of the bed. And Fred—he just raised his head up real slow. It was like watching a slow motion. He raised. His eyes were open. He raised his head up real slow, you know, with his eyes toward the entranceway, toward the bedroom and laid his head back down. That was the only movement he made [...] The seven Panthers who survived the raid were indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, armed violence, and various other weapons charges. These charges were subsequently dropped. During the trial, the Chicago Police Department claimed that the Panthers were the first to fire shots. But a later investigation found that the Chicago police fired between 90 and 99 shots, while the only Panthers shot was from Clark's dropped shotgun. After the raid, the apartment was left unguarded. The Panthers sent some members to investigate, accompanied by videographer Mike Gray and stills photographer Norris McNamara to document the scene. This footage was instrumental in proving the raid was an assassination. The footage was later released as part of the 1971 documentary The Murder of Fred Hampton. After a break-in at an FBI office in Pennsylvania, the existence of COINTELPRO, an illegal counter-intelligence program, was revealed and reported. With this program revealed, many activists and others began to suspect that the police raid and Hampton's killing were conducted under this program. One of the documents released after the break-in was a floor plan of Hampton's apartment. Another document outlined a deal that the FBI brokered with US deputy attorney general Richard Kleindienst to conceal the FBI's role in Hampton's death and the existence of COINTELPRO. Aftermath At a press conference the next day, the police announced the arrest team had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and defended themselves accordingly. In a second press conference on December 8, the police leadership praised the assault team for their "remarkable restraint", "bravery", and "professional discipline" in not killing all the Panthers present. Photographic evidence was presented of "bullet holes" allegedly made by shots fired by the Panthers, but reporters soon challenged this claim. An internal investigation was undertaken, and the police claimed that their colleagues on the assault team were exonerated of any wrongdoing, concluding that they "used lawful means to overcome the assault". Five thousand people attended Hampton's funeral. He was eulogized by black leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr.'s successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In his eulogy, Jackson said that "when Fred was shot in Chicago, black people in particular, and decent people in general, bled everywhere." On December 6, members of the Weather Underground destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. The police called their raid on Hampton's apartment a "shootout". The Black Panthers called it a "shoot-in", because so many shots were fired by police. On December 11 and 12, the two competing daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, published vivid accounts of the events, but drew different conclusions. The Tribune has long been considered the politically conservative newspaper, and the Sun-Times the liberal paper. On December 11, the Tribune published a page 1 article titled, "Exclusive – Hanrahan, Police Tell Panther Story." The article included photographs, supplied by Hanrahan's office, that depicted bullet holes in a thin white curtain and door jamb as evidence that the Panthers fired multiple bullets at the police. Jack Challem, editor of the Wright College News, the student newspaper at Wright Junior College in Chicago, had visited the apartment on December 6, when it was still unsecured. He took numerous photographs of the crime scenes. A member of the Black Panthers was allowing visitors to tour the apartment. Challem's photographs did not show the bullet holes as reported by the Tribune. On the morning of December 12, after the Tribune article had appeared with the Hanrahan-supplied photos, Challem contacted a reporter at the Sun-Times, showed him his own photographs, and encouraged the other reporter to visit the apartment. That evening, the Sun-Times published a page 1 article with the headline: "Those 'bullet holes' aren't." According to the article, the alleged bullet holes (supposedly the result of the Panthers shooting in the direction of the police) were nail heads. Four weeks after witnessing Hampton's death at the hands of the police, Johnson gave birth to their son, Fred Hampton Jr. Civil rights activists Roy Wilkins and Ramsey Clark (styled as "The Commission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and the Police") subsequently alleged that the Chicago police had killed Hampton without justification or provocation, and had violated the Panthers' constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. "The Commission" further alleged that the Chicago Police Department had imposed a summary punishment on the Panthers. A federal grand jury did not return any indictment against any of the individuals involved with the planning or execution of the raid, including the officers involved in killing Hampton. O'Neal, who had given the FBI the floor plan of the apartment and drugged Hampton, later admitted his involvement in setting up the raid. He committed suicide on January 15, 1990. Inquest Shortly after the raid, Cook County Coroner Andrew Toman began forming a special six-member coroner's jury to hold an inquest into the deaths of Hampton and Clark. On December 23, Toman announced four additions to the jury, who included two African-American men: physician Theodore K. Lawless and attorney Julian B. Wilkins, the son of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. He said the four were selected from a group of candidates submitted to his office by groups and individuals representing both Chicago's black and white communities. Civil rights leaders and spokesmen for the black community were reported to have been disappointed with the selection. An official with the Chicago Urban League said, "I would have had more confidence in the jury if one of them had been a black man who has a rapport with the young and the grass roots in the community." Gus Savage said that such a man to whom the community could relate need not be black. The jury eventually included a third black man, who had been a member of the first coroner's jury sworn in on December 4. The blue-ribbon panel convened for the inquest on January 6, 1970. On January 21, they ruled the deaths of Hampton and Clark to be justifiable homicides. The jury qualified their verdict on Hampton's death as "based solely and exclusively on the evidence presented to this inquisition"; police and expert witnesses provided the only testimony during the inquest. Jury foreman James T. Hicks stated that they could not consider the charges made by surviving Black Panthers who had been in the apartment; they had told reporters that the police entered the apartment shooting. The survivors were reported to have refused to testify during the inquest because they faced criminal charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault during the raid. Attorneys for the Hampton and Clark families did not introduce any witnesses during the proceedings, but called the inquest "a well-rehearsed theatrical performance designed to vindicate the police officers". Hanrahan said the verdict was recognition "of the truthfulness of our police officers' account of the events". Federal grand jury Released on May 15, 1970, the reports of a federal grand jury criticized the actions of the police, the surviving Black Panthers, and the Chicago news media. The grand jury called the police department's raid "ill conceived" and said many errors were committed during the post-raid investigation and reconstruction of the events. It said that the surviving Black Panthers' refusal to cooperate hampered the investigation, and that the press "improperly and grossly exaggerated stories". 1970 civil rights lawsuit In 1970, the survivors and relatives of Hampton and Clark filed a civil suit, stating that the civil rights of the Black Panther members were violated by the joint police/FBI raid and seeking $47.7 million in damages. Twenty-eight defendants were named, including Hanrahan as well as the City of Chicago, Cook County, and federal governments. It took years for the case to get to trial, which lasted 18 months. It was reported to have been the longest federal trial up to that time. After its conclusion in 1977, Judge Joseph Sam Perry of United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the suit against 21 of the defendants before jury deliberations. After jurors deadlocked on a verdict, Perry dismissed the suit against the remaining defendants. The plaintiffs appealed. In 1979, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago found that the government had withheld relevant documents, thereby obstructing the judicial process. Reinstating the case against 24 of the defendants, the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal by defendants, but voted 5–3 in 1980 to remand the case to the District Court for a new trial. In 1982, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government agreed to a settlement in which each would pay $616,333 (equivalent to $ million per payee in ) to a group of nine plaintiffs, including the mothers of Hampton and Clark. The $1.85 million settlement (equivalent to $ million in ) was believed to be the largest ever in a civil rights case. G. Flint Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said, "The settlement is an admission of the conspiracy that existed between the FBI and Hanrahan's men to murder Fred Hampton." Assistant United States Attorney Robert Gruenberg said the settlement was intended to avoid another costly trial and was not an admission of guilt or responsibility by any of the defendants. Controversy Ten days afterward, Bobby Rush, the then deputy minister of defense for the Illinois Black Panther Party, called the raiding party an "execution squad". As is typical in settlements, the three government defendants did not acknowledge claims of responsibility for plaintiffs' allegations. Michael Newton is among the writers who have concluded that Hampton was assassinated. In his 2016 book Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934–1970, Newton writes that Hampton "was murdered in his sleep by Chicago police with FBI collusion." This view is also presented in Jakobi Williams's book From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago. Personal life Hampton was very close with Chicago Black Catholic priest George Clements, who served as his mentor and as a chaplain for the local Panther outfit. Hampton and the Panthers also used Clements's parish, Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago, as a refuge in times of particular surveillance or pursuit from the police. They also provided security for a number of Clements's "Black Unity Masses", part of his revolutionary activities during the Black Catholic Movement. Clements spoke at Hampton's funeral, and also said a Requiem Mass for him at Holy Angels. Legacy Legal and political effects According to a 1969 Chicago Tribune report, "The raid ended the promising political career of Cook County State's Atty. Edward V. Hanrahan, who was indicted but cleared with 13 other law-enforcement agents on charges of obstructing justice. Bernard Carey, a Republican, defeated him in the next election, in part because of the support of outraged black voters." The families of Hampton and Clark filed a $47.7 million civil suit against the city, state, and federal governments. The case went to trial before Federal Judge J. Sam Perry. After more than 18 months of testimony and at the close of the plaintiffs' case, Perry dismissed the case. The plaintiffs appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, ordering the case to be retried. More than a decade after the case had been filed, the suit was finally settled for $1.85 million. The two families each shared in the settlement. Jeffrey Haas, who, together with his law partners G. Flint Taylor and Dennis Cunningham and attorney James D. Montgomery, were the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan, conducted additional research and wrote a book about these events. It was published in 2009. He said that Chicago was worse off without Hampton: In 1990, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed a resolution, introduced by then-Alderman Madeline Haithcock, commemorating December 4, 2004, as Fred Hampton Day in Chicago. The resolution read in part: "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization." Monuments and streets A public pool was named in his honor in his home town of Maywood, Illinois. On September 7, 2007, a bust of Hampton by sculptor Preston Jackson was erected outside the Fred Hampton Family Aquatic Center in Maywood. In March 2006, supporters of Hampton's charity work proposed the naming of a Chicago street in his honor. Chicago's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police opposed this effort. Weather Underground reaction Two days after the killings of Hampton and Clark, on December 6, 1969, members of the Weathermen destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street in Chicago. After that, the group became more radical. On May 21, 1970, the group issued a "Declaration of War" against the U.S. government, and for the first time used its new name, the "Weather Underground Organization". They adopted fake identities and decided to pursue covert activities only. These initially included preparations to bomb a U.S. military non-commissioned officers' dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in what Brian Flanagan later said was intended to be "the most horrific hit the United States government had ever suffered on its territory"."We've known that our job is to lead white kids into armed revolution... Kids know the lines are drawn: revolution is touching all of our lives. Tens of thousands have learned that protest and marches don't do it. Revolutionary violence is the only way." —Bernardine Dohrn Media and popular culture In film A 27-minute documentary, Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story, was used as evidence in the civil suit. The 2002 documentary The Weather Underground shows in detail how that group was deeply influenced by Hampton and his death—as well as showing that Hampton kept his distance from them for being what he called "adventuristic, masochistic and Custeristic". Much of the first half of Eyes on the Prize episode 12, "A Nation of Law?", chronicles Hampton's leadership and extrajudicial killing. The events of his rise to prominence, Hoover's targeting of him, and Hampton's subsequent death are also recounted with footage in the 2015 documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. The Murder of Fred Hampton is a documentary shot from within the movement, released in 1971. It has no narration, relying solely on footage shot from within the Black Panther organization and portraying Hampton and his colleagues on their own terms. In the 1999 TV miniseries The 60s, Hampton appears serving free breakfast with the BPP. David Alan Grier plays Hampton. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) features Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Hampton, in which he advises Bobby Seale as he was denied counsel, with the Chicago Seven. Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 film about O'Neal's betrayal of Hampton. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and was directed by Shaka King. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021. For his performance, Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In literature Jeffrey Haas wrote an account of Hampton's death, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther (2009). Stephen King refers to Hampton in the novel 11/22/63 (2012), in which a character discusses the ripple effect of traveling back in time to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination. He postulates that other events would follow that could have prevented Hampton's assassination as well. In music American rapper and businessman Jay-Z has made multiple references in his music to being born on the day Hampton died. American rock band Rage Against the Machine referenced Hampton in their 1996 song Down Rodeo, saying "They ain't gonna send us campin' like they did my man Fred Hampton." Notes References External links The Marxists Internet Archive: Fred Hampton Archive Transcribed speeches and collected works. "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" – video report by Democracy Now! December 4, 2009. (A 1971 documentary film directed by Howard Alk) FBI files on Fred Hampton From COINTELPRO to the Shadow Government: As Fred Hampton Jr. Is Released From 9 Years of Prison, a Look Back at the Assassination of Fred Hampton. 36:48 real audio. Tape: Fred Hampton, Deborah Johnson. Guests: Fred Hampton Jr., Mutulu Olugabala, Rosa Clemente. Interviewer: Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2005. "Power Anywhere Where There's People" A Speech By Fred Hampton National Young Lords Brief notes on Young Lords origins Grand Valley State University Oral History Collection 1948 births 1969 deaths Activists from Chicago African-American activists African-American communists African-American history American anti-capitalists American Maoists American Marxists American revolutionaries Anti-poverty advocates Anti-revisionists Assassinated American civil rights activists African-American Marxists African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States COINTELPRO targets Deaths by firearm in Illinois Extrajudicial killings Members of the Black Panther Party People from Maywood, Illinois People from Summit, Illinois People murdered in Illinois	false	[ "The Young Lords: A Reader (2010), is a collection of speeches, essays, and images related to the Puerto Rican movement organization, Young Lords, founded in Chicago. Dr. Darrel Enck-Wanzer, its editor, uses his background studies in communication and culture to create a source book for the revolutionary organization. The Young Lords: A Reader was published in 2010, 42 years after the mass evictions and gentrification in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago that led to the organization's founding. This book includes a foreword by former Young Lords Iris Morales and Denise Oliver-Vélez.\n\nWhile historical documentation of the Young Lords in Chicago exists mostly through oral history, the New York City chapter's actions are preserved in printed archival materials, like the newspaper Pa'lante. \n\nEditor Darrel Enck-Wanzer states in the introduction of the book that the editors' motivation for publishing this collection of Young Lords archival materials was the lack of historical acknowledgment of the group and their political actions: \"If only the history of [the Young Lords] had been written by now... It is unjust that when the name 'Young Lords' is uttered, most people have little or no understanding of what Marta Moreno calls, 'this group of young men and women of color who made significant impact on history.' This book represents an attempt to right that wrong and to set the historical record straight...\"\n\nThis book developed out of Enck-Wanzer's own research in the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University. According to Enck-Wanzer, this book \"only scratches the surface of a vast body of discourse by the Young Lords... [it] is an attempt at a fair introduction that offers breadth and some depth; but it is far from a comprehensive collection.\"\n\nExternal links\nFull text of The Young Lords: A Reader (2010) edited by Darrel Enck-Wanzer\n\nReferences\n\nPolitical books", "In 1970, the Young Lords staged an occupation of the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx, New York City. This occupation took place as a protest to demand for better health care and practices by the Lincoln Hospital administrative staff. The takeover resulted in hundreds of news reports that highlighted and publicized the inadequacies of the Lincoln Hospital. In the years that followed, laws were changed that provided the residents of the South Bronx (at the time, primarily African-American and Puerto Rican residents) with improved healthcare. However, discrepancies in funding for hospitals in lower-income areas, such as the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx, remain so.\n\nHistory of the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx \nResearch conducted on the Lincoln Hospital has proven that there are increased odds of deaths for African American and Hispanic patients after diagnosis of colorectal cancer. An article from the New York Times quotes a nurse who claimed the Lincoln hospital was like \"a butcher shop that kills patients and frustrates workers from serving these patients\". Many hospital staff and members of the Young Lords Party believed the hospital was in dire need of financial and community support. The hospital was neglected by both the city and the state for many years, which was the due direct cause of such hospital conditions during the late 1960s and early 1970s.\n\nContext of the Young Lords and the Hospital Takeover in 1970 \nThe Young Lords, a group of Puerto Rican activists, began to develop in Chicago, Illinois. As chapter size in Chicago increased and prominence grew, Puerto Ricans in New York wanted to expand to their own communities of East Harlem, Brooklyn, the Bronx, etc. The New York chapter of the Young Lords was established in 1969, one year before the Takeover of the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx took place. In a statement describing Young Lords Party in New York, the branch identified that its basis concerned itself primarily with \"immediate needs of the people\". This broad ideology extended itself to improvements in healthcare, housing, institutionalized disparities, and more. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Young Lords facilitated the help of opening up testing centers for Tuberculosis for people of color in lower-income neighborhoods such as the South Bronx. These clinics were opened in response to the lack of available testing clinics for African Americans and Puerto Ricans at public hospitals and private practices. The Young Lords claimed \"community control is the heart of the work\".\n\nWith reference to the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx, there have been multiple accounts of inadequate conditions and improper practice by the hospital staff. These accounts include doctors and nurses leaving surgical instruments inside patients after surgical procedures. In addition, research proves that the infant mortality rate in the Lincoln Hospital (between 1960 and 1970) was three times the national average. One impactful death that was deemed \"preventable\" by the Young Lords Party was the death of Carmen Rodriguez. Her death led to the establishment of the Patient Bill of Rights. The Young Lords Party drafted this document and demanded that all patients, no matter the race, social, or economic status, would be treated with dignity and respect when they received hospital care.\n\nIn response to these conditions, the Young Lords Party in New York confronted the Lincoln Hospital staff on many accounts. However, their demands were not met. As a result, the Young Lords Party in New York decided to organize and participate in a hospital overtake.\n\nDescription of the Hospital Takeover \nAt 5:15 AM, on July 14, 1970, a group of 150 people (mostly members or affiliates of the Puerto Rican group, the Young Lords Party) entered the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx, New York. Key players in the takeover of the Lincoln Hospital included, but were not limited to: Iris Morales, Felipe Luciano, Juan Gonzalez, Miguel \"Mickey\" Melendez, and Pablo \"Yoruba\" Guzman. Pablo Guzman and Louis Alvarez Perez, were the only two arrested after police ended the 12-hour takeover. However, their charges were dropped that night. The Young Lords' occupation of the hospital building led to a lack of hospital staff attendance that day (see Controversy below). During the day, leaders of the Young Lords Party, alongside the Think Lincoln Committee and members of the Health Revolutionary Unity Movement, met with hospital administrator Dr. Antero Lecot, assistant to Mayor Lindsay Sidney Davidoff, and members of the new Health and Hospitals Corporation to discuss hospital action that would meet the conditions and requirements demanded by the Young Lords Party. According the New York Times written by Alfonso A. Narvaez (1970), the Young Lords claimed that their demands included the following: \"no cutback services in or jobs, the quick completion of the new Lincoln Hospital, door-to-door preventative care emphasizing tests for lead poisoning, anemia and tuberculosis and drug addiction and a day-care center for patients who have to bring their children to the hospital\". These listed demands by the Young Lords paralleled their values as an organization—values that emphasized community care and involvement, in addition to basic health care services that were designed specifically for the needs of the Bronx community. At around 4:30 PM, hospital staff and the leaders of the Young Lords reached an agreement. The agreement included an end to the hospital takeover, but the Young Lords were given permission to run certain community programs within the hospital, with the aid of hospital staff and administration. The entire hospital takeover lasted 12 hours and ended with the removal of the Puerto Rican flag from the exterior of the Lincoln Hospital building. Other accounts offer the idea that the Young Lords were forced out of the hospital by the police department. To escape punishment, many of the members of the Young Lords exited the hospital wearing medical coats and scrubs.\n\nControversy \nThough the majority of the Lincoln hospital staff and administration validated the concerns the Young Lords, many believed the hospital takeover was detrimental to the health of the patients who resided in the hospital at the time. Doctors complained that the Young Lords' takeover instilled fear among the hospital staff and many were not present to take care of the patients who were in critical condition. There were also controversies regarding the Young Lords Party interactions with the New York Police Department.\n\nReferences \n\nWikipedia Student Program\nYoung Lords\n20th century in the Bronx\n1970 in New York City\nJuly 1970 events in the United States\n1970 protests\nHealth activism\nMott Haven, Bronx\nHistory of the Bronx\nRiots and civil disorder in New York City" ]
[ "Fred Hampton", "Chicago", "What happened in Chicago?", "Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood,", "who are the young lords?", "the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting," ]	C_8185814a6285494d9533139b85cfa88c_1	How did this effect him?	3	How did the Young Lords being in the news effect Fred Hampton?	Fred Hampton	About the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African-Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) started rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a ten-point program that integrated black self-determination on the basis of Maoism. Hampton joined the Party and relocated to downtown Chicago, and in November 1968 he joined the Party's nascent Illinois chapter--founded by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer Bob Brown in late 1967. Over the next year, Hampton and his associates made a number of significant achievements in Chicago. Perhaps his most important accomplishment was his brokering of a nonaggression pact between Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict between gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge a class-conscious, multi-racial alliance between the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez. Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood, the day after the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting, held on the second floor hall of the Chicago 18th District Police Station. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by the Students for a Democratic Society ("SDS"), the Brown Berets, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that this "rainbow coalition" had formed. It was a phrase coined by Hampton and made popular over the years by Reverend Jesse Jackson, who eventually appropriated the name in forming his own, unrelated, coalition, Rainbow/PUSH. Hampton's organizing skills, substantial oratorical gifts, and personal charisma allowed him to rise quickly in the Black Panthers. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Brown left the Party with Stokely Carmichael in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP, automatically making him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the Panther leadership across the country began to be decimated by the impact of the FBI's COINTELPRO, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually, Hampton was in line to be appointed to the Party's Central Committee's Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had it not been for his death on the morning of December 4, 1969. CANNOTANSWER	Hampton called a press conference to announce that this "rainbow coalition" had formed.	Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African American, he founded the antiracist, anticlass Rainbow Coalition, a prominent multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots (which organized poor whites), and the Young Lords (which organized Hispanics), and an alliance among major Chicago street gangs to help them end infighting and work for social change. A Marxist–Leninist, Hampton considered fascism the greatest threat, saying, "nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.” In 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Hampton as a radical threat. It tried to subvert his activities in Chicago, sowing disinformation among black progressive groups and placing a counterintelligence operative in the local Panthers organization. In December 1969, Hampton was drugged, shot and killed in his bed during a predawn raid at his Chicago apartment by a tactical unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who received aid from the Chicago Police Department and the FBI leading up to the attack. Law enforcement sprayed more than 90 gunshots throughout the apartment; the occupants fired once. During the raid, Panther Mark Clark was also killed and several others were seriously wounded. In January 1970, the Cook County Coroner held an inquest; the jury concluded that Hampton's and Clark's deaths were justifiable homicides. A civil lawsuit was later filed on behalf of the survivors and the relatives of Hampton and Clark. It was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million (equivalent to $ million in ); the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government each paid one-third to a group of nine plaintiffs. Given revelations about the illegal COINTELPRO program and documents associated with the killings, many scholars now consider Hampton's death an assassination at the FBI's initiative. Biography Early life and youth Hampton was born on August 30, 1948, in present-day Summit Argo, Illinois (generally shortened to Summit), and moved with his parents to another Chicago suburb, Maywood, at age 10. His parents had come from Louisiana as part of the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 20th century out of the South. They both worked at the Argo Starch Company, a corn starch processor. As a youth, Hampton was gifted both in the classroom and athletically, and hoped to play center field for the New York Yankees. Fred couldn't accept injustice anywhere. At 10 years old, he started hosting weekend breakfasts for other children from the neighborhood, cooking the meals himself in what could be described as a precursor to the Panthers’ free breakfast program. In high school, he led walkouts protesting black students' exclusion from the competition for homecoming queen and calling on officials to hire more black teachers and administrators. Hampton graduated from Proviso East High School with honors and varsity letters, and a Junior Achievement Award, in 1966. He enrolled at Triton Junior College in nearby River Grove, Illinois, where he majored in pre-law. He planned to become more familiar with the legal system to use it as a defense against police. When he and fellow Black Panthers later followed police in his community supervision program, watching out for police brutality, they used his knowledge of law as a defense. In 1966, Fred Hampton turned 18. At that time, he started identifying with the Third World socialist struggles, as well as reading communist revolutionaries Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, and Mao Zedong. Shortly after, Hampton urged not only peace in the Vietnam War, but also North Vietnam's victory. Hampton became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and assumed leadership of its West Suburban Branch's Youth Council. In his capacity as an NAACP youth organizer, he demonstrated natural leadership abilities: from a community of 27,000, he was able to muster a youth group 500-members strong. He worked to get more and better recreational facilities established in the neighborhoods and to improve educational resources for Maywood's impoverished black community. Activity in Chicago At about the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a Ten-Point Program that integrated black self-determination with class and economic critique from Maoism. He joined the party and relocated to downtown Chicago. In November 1968, he joined the party's nascent Illinois chapter, founded in late 1967 by Bob Brown, a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer. In 1968, Hampton was accused of assaulting an ice cream truck driver, stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, and giving them to kids in the street. He was convicted in May 1969 and sentenced to two to five years in prison. Writer Frank B. Wilderson III places this incident within the framework of COINTELPRO efforts to disrupt the Black Panthers of Chicago, in this case by "leveling [...] trumped-up charges". In 1969, Hampton, now deputy chairman of the BPP Illinois chapter, conducted a meeting condemning sexism. After 1969, the party considered sexism counter-revolutionary. In 1970, about 40–70% of party members were women. Over the next year, Hampton and his friends and associates achieved a number of successes in Chicago. Perhaps the most important was a nonaggression pact among Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict among gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge an anti-racist, class-conscious, multiracial alliance among the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, leading to the Rainbow Coalition. Hampton met the Young Lords in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood the day after they were in the news for occupying a police community workshop at the Chicago 18th District Police Station. He was arrested twice with Jimenez at the Wicker Park Welfare Office, and both were charged with "mob action" at a peaceful picket of the office. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Brown Berets, AIM, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that the coalition had formed. What the coalition groups would do was based on common action. Some of their joint issues were poverty, anti-racism, corruption, police brutality, and substandard housing. If there was a protest or a demonstration, the groups would attend the event and support each other. Jeffrey Haas, who was Hampton's lawyer, has praised some of Hampton's politics and his success in unifying movements. But Haas criticizes the way Hampton and the BPP organized in a pyramidal/vertical structure, contrasting this with the horizontal structure of Black Lives Matter: "They may also have picked up on the vulnerability of a hierarchical movement where you have one leader, which makes the movement very vulnerable if that leader is imprisoned, killed, or otherwise compromised. I think the fact that Black Lives Matter says 'We're leaderfull, not leaderless' perhaps makes them less vulnerable to this kind of government assault." Hampton rose quickly in the Black Panthers, based on his organizing skills, oratorical gifts, and charisma. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, participated in strikes, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6 am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Bob Brown left the party with Kwame Ture, in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP. This automatically made him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the FBI's COINTELPRO began to decimate the nationwide Panther leadership, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually he was in line to be appointed to the party's Central Committee Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had he not been killed on December 4, 1969. FBI investigation The FBI believed that Hampton's leadership and talent for communication made him a major threat among Black Panther leaders. It began keeping close tabs on his activities. Investigations have shown that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive Black movement in the United States. Hoover believed the Panthers, Young Patriots, Young Lords, and similar radical coalitions that Hampton forged in Chicago were a stepping stone to the rise of a revolution that could cause a radical change in the U.S. government. The FBI opened a file on Hampton in 1967. It tapped Hampton's mother's phone in February 1968 and by May placed Hampton on the bureau's "Agitator Index" as a "key militant leader". In late 1968, the Racial Matters squad of the FBI's Chicago field office recruited William O'Neal to work with it; he had recently been arrested twice for interstate car theft and impersonating a federal officer. In exchange for having his felony charges dropped and receiving a monthly stipend, O'Neal agreed to infiltrate the BPP as a counterintelligence operative. O'Neal joined the party and quickly rose in the organization, becoming Director of Chapter Security and Hampton's bodyguard. In 1969, the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in San Francisco wrote Hoover that the agent's investigation had found that, in his city at least, the Panthers were primarily feeding breakfast to children. Hoover responded with a memo implying that the agent's career prospects depended on his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the BPP was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means". By means of anonymous letters, the FBI sowed distrust and eventually instigated a split between the Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers. O'Neal instigated an armed clash between them on April 2, 1969. The Panthers became effectively isolated from their power base in the Chicago ghetto, so the FBI worked to undermine its ties with other radical organizations. O'Neal was instructed to "create a rift" between the party and Students for a Democratic Society, whose Chicago headquarters was near that of the Panthers. The FBI released a batch of racist cartoons in the Panthers' name, aimed at alienating white activists. It also launched a disinformation program to forestall the formation of the Rainbow Coalition, but the BPP did make an alliance with the Young Patriots and Young Lords. In repeated directives, Hoover demanded that COINTELPRO personnel investigate the Rainbow Coalition, "destroy what the [BPP] stands for", and "eradicate its 'serve the people' programs". Documents secured by Senate investigators in the early 1970s revealed that the FBI actively encouraged violence between the Panthers and other radical groups; this provoked multiple murders in cities throughout the country. On July 16, 1969, an armed confrontation between party members and the Chicago Police Department resulted in one BPP member mortally wounded and six others arrested on serious charges. In early October, Hampton and his girlfriend Deborah Johnson (now known as Akua Njeri), who was pregnant with their child (Fred Hampton Jr.), rented a four-and-a-half-room apartment at 2337 West Monroe Street to be closer to BPP headquarters. O'Neal reported to his superiors that much of the Panthers' "provocative" stockpile of arms was stored there. He drew them a map of the apartment. In early November, Hampton traveled to California on a speaking engagement to the UCLA Law Students Association. There he met with the remaining BPP national hierarchy, who appointed him to the party's central committee. He was soon to take the position of chief of staff and major spokesman. Death Prelude While Hampton was in California in November 1969, two Chicago police officers, John J. Gilhooly and Frank G. Rappaport, were killed in a gun battle with Panthers on the night of November 13; one died the next day. A total of nine police officers were shot. Spurgeon Winter Jr, a 19-year-old Panther, was killed by police. Another Panther, Lawrence S. Bell, was charged with murder. In an unsigned editorial headlined "No Quarter for Wild Beasts", the Chicago Tribune urged that Chicago police officers approaching suspected Panthers "should be ordered to be ready to shoot." As part of the larger COINTELPRO operation, the FBI was determined to prevent any improvement in the effectiveness of the BPP leadership. The FBI orchestrated an armed raid with the Chicago police and State Attorney on Hampton's Chicago apartment. They had obtained detailed information about the apartment, including a layout of furniture, from O'Neal. An augmented, 14-man team of the SAO (state Special Prosecutions Unit) was organized for a predawn raid; they were armed with a search warrant for illegal weapons. On the evening of December 3, Hampton taught a political education course at a local church, which was attended by most Panther members. Afterward, as was typical, he was accompanied to his Monroe Street apartment by Johnson and several Panthers: Blair Anderson, James Grady, Ronald "Doc" Satchell, Harold Bell, Verlina Brewer, Louis Truelock, Brenda Harris and Mark Clark. O'Neal was already there, having prepared a late dinner, which the group ate around midnight. O'Neal had slipped the secobarbital into a drink that Hampton consumed during the dinner in order to sedate Hampton so he would not awaken during the subsequent raid. O'Neal left after the dinner. At about 1:30 am, December 4, Hampton fell asleep mid-sentence while talking to his mother on the telephone. Although Hampton was not known to take drugs, Cook County chemist Eleanor Berman later reported that she had run two tests, which each showed evidence of barbiturates in Hampton's blood. An FBI chemist failed to find similar traces, but Berman stood by her findings. Raid The office of Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan organized the raid, using officers attached to his office. Hampton had recently strongly criticized Hanrahan, saying that Hanrahan's talk about a "war on gangs" was really rhetoric used to enable him to carry out a "war on black youth". At 4 am, the heavily armed police team arrived at the site, divided into two teams, eight for the front of the building and six for the rear. At 4:45 am, they stormed the apartment. Mark Clark, sitting in the front room of the apartment with a shotgun in his lap, was on security duty. The police shot him in the chest, killing him instantly. An alternative account said that Clark answered the door and police immediately shot him. Either way, Clark's gun discharged once into the ceiling. This single round was fired when he suffered a reflexive death-convulsion after being shot. This was the only shot fired by the Panthers. Hampton, drugged by barbiturates, was sleeping on a mattress in the bedroom with Johnson, who was nine months pregnant with their child. Police officers removed her from the room while Hampton lay unconscious in bed. Then the raiding team fired at the head of the south bedroom. Hampton was wounded in the shoulder by the shooting. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, "upon that discovery, an officer shot him twice in his head and killed him". Fellow Black Panther Harold Bell said that he heard the following exchange: :"That's Fred Hampton." "Is he dead?... Bring him out." "He's barely alive." "He'll make it." The injured Panthers said they heard two shots. According to Hampton's supporters, the shots were fired point blank at Hampton's head. According to Johnson, an officer then said: "He's good and dead now." Hampton's body was dragged into the doorway of the bedroom and left in a pool of blood. The officers directed their gunfire at the remaining Panthers who had been sleeping in the north bedroom (Satchel, Anderson, Brewer and Harris). Brewer, Satchel, Anderson, and Harris were seriously wounded, then beaten and dragged into the street. They were arrested on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers. They were each held on $100,000 bail. In the early 1990s, Johnson was interviewed about the raid by Jose "Cha Cha" Jimenez, former president and co-founder of the Young Lords. He and his group had developed close ties to Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party during the late 1960s. She said: I believe Fred Hampton was drugged. The reason why is because when he woke up when the person [Truelock] said, "Chairman, chairman," he was shaking Fred's arm, you know, Fred's arm was folded across the head of the bed. And Fred—he just raised his head up real slow. It was like watching a slow motion. He raised. His eyes were open. He raised his head up real slow, you know, with his eyes toward the entranceway, toward the bedroom and laid his head back down. That was the only movement he made [...] The seven Panthers who survived the raid were indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, armed violence, and various other weapons charges. These charges were subsequently dropped. During the trial, the Chicago Police Department claimed that the Panthers were the first to fire shots. But a later investigation found that the Chicago police fired between 90 and 99 shots, while the only Panthers shot was from Clark's dropped shotgun. After the raid, the apartment was left unguarded. The Panthers sent some members to investigate, accompanied by videographer Mike Gray and stills photographer Norris McNamara to document the scene. This footage was instrumental in proving the raid was an assassination. The footage was later released as part of the 1971 documentary The Murder of Fred Hampton. After a break-in at an FBI office in Pennsylvania, the existence of COINTELPRO, an illegal counter-intelligence program, was revealed and reported. With this program revealed, many activists and others began to suspect that the police raid and Hampton's killing were conducted under this program. One of the documents released after the break-in was a floor plan of Hampton's apartment. Another document outlined a deal that the FBI brokered with US deputy attorney general Richard Kleindienst to conceal the FBI's role in Hampton's death and the existence of COINTELPRO. Aftermath At a press conference the next day, the police announced the arrest team had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and defended themselves accordingly. In a second press conference on December 8, the police leadership praised the assault team for their "remarkable restraint", "bravery", and "professional discipline" in not killing all the Panthers present. Photographic evidence was presented of "bullet holes" allegedly made by shots fired by the Panthers, but reporters soon challenged this claim. An internal investigation was undertaken, and the police claimed that their colleagues on the assault team were exonerated of any wrongdoing, concluding that they "used lawful means to overcome the assault". Five thousand people attended Hampton's funeral. He was eulogized by black leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr.'s successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In his eulogy, Jackson said that "when Fred was shot in Chicago, black people in particular, and decent people in general, bled everywhere." On December 6, members of the Weather Underground destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. The police called their raid on Hampton's apartment a "shootout". The Black Panthers called it a "shoot-in", because so many shots were fired by police. On December 11 and 12, the two competing daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, published vivid accounts of the events, but drew different conclusions. The Tribune has long been considered the politically conservative newspaper, and the Sun-Times the liberal paper. On December 11, the Tribune published a page 1 article titled, "Exclusive – Hanrahan, Police Tell Panther Story." The article included photographs, supplied by Hanrahan's office, that depicted bullet holes in a thin white curtain and door jamb as evidence that the Panthers fired multiple bullets at the police. Jack Challem, editor of the Wright College News, the student newspaper at Wright Junior College in Chicago, had visited the apartment on December 6, when it was still unsecured. He took numerous photographs of the crime scenes. A member of the Black Panthers was allowing visitors to tour the apartment. Challem's photographs did not show the bullet holes as reported by the Tribune. On the morning of December 12, after the Tribune article had appeared with the Hanrahan-supplied photos, Challem contacted a reporter at the Sun-Times, showed him his own photographs, and encouraged the other reporter to visit the apartment. That evening, the Sun-Times published a page 1 article with the headline: "Those 'bullet holes' aren't." According to the article, the alleged bullet holes (supposedly the result of the Panthers shooting in the direction of the police) were nail heads. Four weeks after witnessing Hampton's death at the hands of the police, Johnson gave birth to their son, Fred Hampton Jr. Civil rights activists Roy Wilkins and Ramsey Clark (styled as "The Commission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and the Police") subsequently alleged that the Chicago police had killed Hampton without justification or provocation, and had violated the Panthers' constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. "The Commission" further alleged that the Chicago Police Department had imposed a summary punishment on the Panthers. A federal grand jury did not return any indictment against any of the individuals involved with the planning or execution of the raid, including the officers involved in killing Hampton. O'Neal, who had given the FBI the floor plan of the apartment and drugged Hampton, later admitted his involvement in setting up the raid. He committed suicide on January 15, 1990. Inquest Shortly after the raid, Cook County Coroner Andrew Toman began forming a special six-member coroner's jury to hold an inquest into the deaths of Hampton and Clark. On December 23, Toman announced four additions to the jury, who included two African-American men: physician Theodore K. Lawless and attorney Julian B. Wilkins, the son of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. He said the four were selected from a group of candidates submitted to his office by groups and individuals representing both Chicago's black and white communities. Civil rights leaders and spokesmen for the black community were reported to have been disappointed with the selection. An official with the Chicago Urban League said, "I would have had more confidence in the jury if one of them had been a black man who has a rapport with the young and the grass roots in the community." Gus Savage said that such a man to whom the community could relate need not be black. The jury eventually included a third black man, who had been a member of the first coroner's jury sworn in on December 4. The blue-ribbon panel convened for the inquest on January 6, 1970. On January 21, they ruled the deaths of Hampton and Clark to be justifiable homicides. The jury qualified their verdict on Hampton's death as "based solely and exclusively on the evidence presented to this inquisition"; police and expert witnesses provided the only testimony during the inquest. Jury foreman James T. Hicks stated that they could not consider the charges made by surviving Black Panthers who had been in the apartment; they had told reporters that the police entered the apartment shooting. The survivors were reported to have refused to testify during the inquest because they faced criminal charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault during the raid. Attorneys for the Hampton and Clark families did not introduce any witnesses during the proceedings, but called the inquest "a well-rehearsed theatrical performance designed to vindicate the police officers". Hanrahan said the verdict was recognition "of the truthfulness of our police officers' account of the events". Federal grand jury Released on May 15, 1970, the reports of a federal grand jury criticized the actions of the police, the surviving Black Panthers, and the Chicago news media. The grand jury called the police department's raid "ill conceived" and said many errors were committed during the post-raid investigation and reconstruction of the events. It said that the surviving Black Panthers' refusal to cooperate hampered the investigation, and that the press "improperly and grossly exaggerated stories". 1970 civil rights lawsuit In 1970, the survivors and relatives of Hampton and Clark filed a civil suit, stating that the civil rights of the Black Panther members were violated by the joint police/FBI raid and seeking $47.7 million in damages. Twenty-eight defendants were named, including Hanrahan as well as the City of Chicago, Cook County, and federal governments. It took years for the case to get to trial, which lasted 18 months. It was reported to have been the longest federal trial up to that time. After its conclusion in 1977, Judge Joseph Sam Perry of United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the suit against 21 of the defendants before jury deliberations. After jurors deadlocked on a verdict, Perry dismissed the suit against the remaining defendants. The plaintiffs appealed. In 1979, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago found that the government had withheld relevant documents, thereby obstructing the judicial process. Reinstating the case against 24 of the defendants, the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal by defendants, but voted 5–3 in 1980 to remand the case to the District Court for a new trial. In 1982, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government agreed to a settlement in which each would pay $616,333 (equivalent to $ million per payee in ) to a group of nine plaintiffs, including the mothers of Hampton and Clark. The $1.85 million settlement (equivalent to $ million in ) was believed to be the largest ever in a civil rights case. G. Flint Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said, "The settlement is an admission of the conspiracy that existed between the FBI and Hanrahan's men to murder Fred Hampton." Assistant United States Attorney Robert Gruenberg said the settlement was intended to avoid another costly trial and was not an admission of guilt or responsibility by any of the defendants. Controversy Ten days afterward, Bobby Rush, the then deputy minister of defense for the Illinois Black Panther Party, called the raiding party an "execution squad". As is typical in settlements, the three government defendants did not acknowledge claims of responsibility for plaintiffs' allegations. Michael Newton is among the writers who have concluded that Hampton was assassinated. In his 2016 book Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934–1970, Newton writes that Hampton "was murdered in his sleep by Chicago police with FBI collusion." This view is also presented in Jakobi Williams's book From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago. Personal life Hampton was very close with Chicago Black Catholic priest George Clements, who served as his mentor and as a chaplain for the local Panther outfit. Hampton and the Panthers also used Clements's parish, Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago, as a refuge in times of particular surveillance or pursuit from the police. They also provided security for a number of Clements's "Black Unity Masses", part of his revolutionary activities during the Black Catholic Movement. Clements spoke at Hampton's funeral, and also said a Requiem Mass for him at Holy Angels. Legacy Legal and political effects According to a 1969 Chicago Tribune report, "The raid ended the promising political career of Cook County State's Atty. Edward V. Hanrahan, who was indicted but cleared with 13 other law-enforcement agents on charges of obstructing justice. Bernard Carey, a Republican, defeated him in the next election, in part because of the support of outraged black voters." The families of Hampton and Clark filed a $47.7 million civil suit against the city, state, and federal governments. The case went to trial before Federal Judge J. Sam Perry. After more than 18 months of testimony and at the close of the plaintiffs' case, Perry dismissed the case. The plaintiffs appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, ordering the case to be retried. More than a decade after the case had been filed, the suit was finally settled for $1.85 million. The two families each shared in the settlement. Jeffrey Haas, who, together with his law partners G. Flint Taylor and Dennis Cunningham and attorney James D. Montgomery, were the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan, conducted additional research and wrote a book about these events. It was published in 2009. He said that Chicago was worse off without Hampton: In 1990, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed a resolution, introduced by then-Alderman Madeline Haithcock, commemorating December 4, 2004, as Fred Hampton Day in Chicago. The resolution read in part: "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization." Monuments and streets A public pool was named in his honor in his home town of Maywood, Illinois. On September 7, 2007, a bust of Hampton by sculptor Preston Jackson was erected outside the Fred Hampton Family Aquatic Center in Maywood. In March 2006, supporters of Hampton's charity work proposed the naming of a Chicago street in his honor. Chicago's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police opposed this effort. Weather Underground reaction Two days after the killings of Hampton and Clark, on December 6, 1969, members of the Weathermen destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street in Chicago. After that, the group became more radical. On May 21, 1970, the group issued a "Declaration of War" against the U.S. government, and for the first time used its new name, the "Weather Underground Organization". They adopted fake identities and decided to pursue covert activities only. These initially included preparations to bomb a U.S. military non-commissioned officers' dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in what Brian Flanagan later said was intended to be "the most horrific hit the United States government had ever suffered on its territory"."We've known that our job is to lead white kids into armed revolution... Kids know the lines are drawn: revolution is touching all of our lives. Tens of thousands have learned that protest and marches don't do it. Revolutionary violence is the only way." —Bernardine Dohrn Media and popular culture In film A 27-minute documentary, Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story, was used as evidence in the civil suit. The 2002 documentary The Weather Underground shows in detail how that group was deeply influenced by Hampton and his death—as well as showing that Hampton kept his distance from them for being what he called "adventuristic, masochistic and Custeristic". Much of the first half of Eyes on the Prize episode 12, "A Nation of Law?", chronicles Hampton's leadership and extrajudicial killing. The events of his rise to prominence, Hoover's targeting of him, and Hampton's subsequent death are also recounted with footage in the 2015 documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. The Murder of Fred Hampton is a documentary shot from within the movement, released in 1971. It has no narration, relying solely on footage shot from within the Black Panther organization and portraying Hampton and his colleagues on their own terms. In the 1999 TV miniseries The 60s, Hampton appears serving free breakfast with the BPP. David Alan Grier plays Hampton. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) features Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Hampton, in which he advises Bobby Seale as he was denied counsel, with the Chicago Seven. Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 film about O'Neal's betrayal of Hampton. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and was directed by Shaka King. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021. For his performance, Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In literature Jeffrey Haas wrote an account of Hampton's death, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther (2009). Stephen King refers to Hampton in the novel 11/22/63 (2012), in which a character discusses the ripple effect of traveling back in time to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination. He postulates that other events would follow that could have prevented Hampton's assassination as well. In music American rapper and businessman Jay-Z has made multiple references in his music to being born on the day Hampton died. American rock band Rage Against the Machine referenced Hampton in their 1996 song Down Rodeo, saying "They ain't gonna send us campin' like they did my man Fred Hampton." Notes References External links The Marxists Internet Archive: Fred Hampton Archive Transcribed speeches and collected works. "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" – video report by Democracy Now! December 4, 2009. (A 1971 documentary film directed by Howard Alk) FBI files on Fred Hampton From COINTELPRO to the Shadow Government: As Fred Hampton Jr. Is Released From 9 Years of Prison, a Look Back at the Assassination of Fred Hampton. 36:48 real audio. Tape: Fred Hampton, Deborah Johnson. Guests: Fred Hampton Jr., Mutulu Olugabala, Rosa Clemente. Interviewer: Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2005. "Power Anywhere Where There's People" A Speech By Fred Hampton National Young Lords Brief notes on Young Lords origins Grand Valley State University Oral History Collection 1948 births 1969 deaths Activists from Chicago African-American activists African-American communists African-American history American anti-capitalists American Maoists American Marxists American revolutionaries Anti-poverty advocates Anti-revisionists Assassinated American civil rights activists African-American Marxists African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States COINTELPRO targets Deaths by firearm in Illinois Extrajudicial killings Members of the Black Panther Party People from Maywood, Illinois People from Summit, Illinois People murdered in Illinois	false	[ "The spotlight effect is the phenomenon by which people tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are. Being that one is constantly in the center of one's own world, an accurate evaluation of how much one is noticed by others is uncommon. The reason for the spotlight effect is the innate tendency to forget that although one is the center of one's own world, one is not the center of everyone else's. This tendency is especially prominent when one does something atypical.\n\nResearch has empirically shown that such drastic over-estimation of one's effect on others is widely common. Many professionals in social psychology encourage people to be conscious of the spotlight effect and to allow this phenomenon to moderate the extent to which one believes one is in a social spotlight.\n\nHistory \nThe term \"spotlight effect\" was coined by Thomas Gilovich, Victoria Husted Medvec, and Kenneth Savitsky. The phenomenon made its first appearance in the world of psychology in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science in 1999. Although this was the first time the effect was termed, it was not the first time it had been described. There were other studies done before 1999 that had looked at phenomena similar to the spotlight effect that Gilovich, Husted Medvec, and Savitsky described. Thomas Gilovich had been studying this phenomenon for many years and wrote other research papers in the years leading up to his work with Savitsky. In his study with Husted Medvec and Savitsky, he combined the different effects he had observed previously to describe the spotlight. Gilovich was not the only one who had noticed this occurrence of the spotlight effect. David Kenny and Bella DePaulo conducted a study that looked at whether or not people knew how others view them. Kenny and DePaulo thought that individuals would base what others thought of them using their own self-perceptions rather than other feedback given to them. The study found that individuals' views of what others think of them is variable compared to what is actually thought of them.\n\nTies to other psychological concepts \nThe spotlight effect is an extension of several psychological phenomena. Among these is the phenomenon known as anchoring and adjustment, which suggests that individuals will use their own internal feelings of anxiety and the accompanying self-representation as an anchor, then insufficiently correct for the fact that others are less privy to those feelings than they are themselves. Consequently, they overestimate the extent to which their anxiety is obvious to onlookers. In fact, Clark and Wells (1995) suggest that socially phobic people enter social situations in a heightened self-focused state, namely, from a raised emotional anchor. This self-focused state makes it difficult for individuals to set aside public and private self-knowledge to focus on the task.\n\nAnother related phenomenon is called the false-consensus effect. The false-consensus effect occurs when individuals overestimate the extent to which other people share their opinions, attitudes, and behavior. This leads to a false conclusion which will increase someone's self-esteem. The false-consensus effect is the opposing theory to the false uniqueness effect, which is the tendency of one to underestimate the extent to which others share the same positive attitudes and behavior. Either of these effects can be applied to the spotlight effect.\n\nThe self-as-target bias is another closely linked phenomenon with the spotlight effect. This concept describes when someone believes that events are disproportionately directed towards him or herself. For example, if a student had an assignment due in class and did not prepare as well as they should have, the student may start to panic and think that simply because they did not prepare well, the teacher will know and call on them for answers.\n\nAlso relevant to the spotlight effect is the illusion of transparency (sometimes called the observer's illusion of transparency), which is people's tendency to overestimate the degree to which their personal mental state is known by others. Another manifestation of the illusion of transparency is a tendency for people to overestimate how well they understand others' personal mental states. This cognitive bias is similar to the illusion of asymmetric insight, in which people perceive their knowledge of others to surpass other people's knowledge of themselves.\n\nOther related concepts are egocentric bias, self-referential encoding, self-reference effect and Ideas of reference and delusions of reference.\n\nResearch \nThe spotlight effect plays a significant role in many different aspects of psychology and society. Primarily, research on this phenomenon has been pioneered by four individuals: Thomas Gilovich, Kenneth Savitsky, Victoria Medvec, and Thomas Kruger. The main focuses of their research center around social judgments, salience of individual contributions, actions of individuals, and how individuals believe others perceive them.\n\nSocial judgment and salience \nIn social judgment, embarrassment plays a considerable role in the degree to which the spotlight effect is manifested. Research by Gilovich, Kruger, and Medvec indicated that certain situations in which perceivably embarrassing items are factors, such as an embarrassing t-shirt, increase the extent to which the spotlight effect is experienced by an individual. The timing of the exposure during a perceivably embarrassing situation also plays a role in the severity of the spotlight effect. If the exposure is immediate, the spotlight effect significantly increases in decision making scenarios. Delayed exposure, however, decreases spotlight effect intensity.\n\nSalience of ideas and important contributions within a group are additional aspects of social judgment that are affected by the spotlight effect. Individuals tend to overestimate the extent to which their contributions make an impact on those around them. In a group setting, those contributions are thought of by the individual as being more significant than the contributions of their group members and that the other members believe the same about that individual's contributions.\n\nActions and perceptions \nActions of individuals and how they believe others perceive their performance also plays an important part of spotlight effect research. Gilovich, Medvec, and Savitsky further explored this idea. In situations that involve large, interacting groups, a common detail identifies the reason attention of others is not solely focused on the individual. In these settings, like a class lecture or athletic competition, attention is divided between focusing on the individual and on the actions of the group. The inability to identify the split attention leads individuals to overestimate the likelihood that their peers will perceive them poorly.\n\nSimilarly, Gilovich, Medvec, and Savitsky further elaborated upon their research and concluded that in situations involving an audience member whose sole purpose is to observe, the severity of the spotlight effect is not overestimated because the focus of an audience's attention is centered upon the individual performing.\n\nSee also\n Self-consciousness\nSocial projection\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nHuman behavior", "Matthew 14:31 is a verse in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.\n\nContent\nIn the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort for this verse is:\nΕὐθέως δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα ἐπελάβετο αὐτοῦ, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Ὀλιγόπιστε, εἰς τί ἐδίστασας; \n\nIn the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:\nAnd immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?\n\nThe New International Version translates the passage as:\nImmediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. \"You of little faith,\" he said, \"why did you doubt?\"\n\nAnalysis\n\"Why did you doubt,\" in Greek is εἰς τί ἐδίστασας, which literally is: why did you divide your mind in two? Because two things were here presented to Peter, 1) the strength of the wind making him afraid of being drowned, and 2) the voice of Christ instilling confidence and security. Still, the strength of the wind was more obvious. The effect was to cause Peter's faith to fail.\n\nCommentary from the Church Fathers\nChrysostom: \"He bade not the winds to cease, but stretched forth His hand and caught him, because his faith was required. For when our own means fail, then those which are of God stand. Then to show that not the strength of the tempest, but the smallness of his faith worked the danger, He saith unto him, O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? which shows that not even the wind would have been able to hurt him, if his faith had been firm. But as the mother bears on her wings and brings back to the nest her chick which has left the nest before its time and has fallen, so did Christ. And when they were come into the boat, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, Truly thou art the Son of God.\"\n\nRabanus Maurus: \" This may be understood either of the sailors, or of the Apostles.\"\n\nChrysostom: \"Observe how He leads all gradually to that which is above them; He had before rebuked the sea, now He shows forth His power yet more by walking upon the sea, by bidding another to do the same, and by saving him in his peril; therefore they said unto Him, Truly thou art the Son of God, which they had not said above.\"\n\nJerome: \"If then upon this single miracle of stilling the sea, a thing which often happens by accident after even great tempests, the sailors and pilots confessed them to be truly the Son of God, how does Arrius preach in the Church itself that He is a creature?\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOther translations of Matthew 14:31 at BibleHub\n\n14:31" ]
[ "Fred Hampton", "Chicago", "What happened in Chicago?", "Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood,", "who are the young lords?", "the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting,", "How did this effect him?", "Hampton called a press conference to announce that this \"rainbow coalition\" had formed." ]	C_8185814a6285494d9533139b85cfa88c_1	Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?	4	Besides the "rainbow coalition", Are there any other interesting aspects about this article regarding Fred Hampton?	Fred Hampton	About the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African-Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) started rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a ten-point program that integrated black self-determination on the basis of Maoism. Hampton joined the Party and relocated to downtown Chicago, and in November 1968 he joined the Party's nascent Illinois chapter--founded by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer Bob Brown in late 1967. Over the next year, Hampton and his associates made a number of significant achievements in Chicago. Perhaps his most important accomplishment was his brokering of a nonaggression pact between Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict between gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge a class-conscious, multi-racial alliance between the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez. Fred Hampton met the Young Lords in the Chicago Lincoln Park Neighborhood, the day after the Young Lords were in the news after they had occupied a police community workshop meeting, held on the second floor hall of the Chicago 18th District Police Station. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by the Students for a Democratic Society ("SDS"), the Brown Berets, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that this "rainbow coalition" had formed. It was a phrase coined by Hampton and made popular over the years by Reverend Jesse Jackson, who eventually appropriated the name in forming his own, unrelated, coalition, Rainbow/PUSH. Hampton's organizing skills, substantial oratorical gifts, and personal charisma allowed him to rise quickly in the Black Panthers. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Brown left the Party with Stokely Carmichael in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP, automatically making him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the Panther leadership across the country began to be decimated by the impact of the FBI's COINTELPRO, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually, Hampton was in line to be appointed to the Party's Central Committee's Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had it not been for his death on the morning of December 4, 1969. CANNOTANSWER	Hampton was successfully organizing young African-Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party	Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party, and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African American, he founded the antiracist, anticlass Rainbow Coalition, a prominent multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots (which organized poor whites), and the Young Lords (which organized Hispanics), and an alliance among major Chicago street gangs to help them end infighting and work for social change. A Marxist–Leninist, Hampton considered fascism the greatest threat, saying, "nothing is more important than stopping fascism, because fascism will stop us all.” In 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified Hampton as a radical threat. It tried to subvert his activities in Chicago, sowing disinformation among black progressive groups and placing a counterintelligence operative in the local Panthers organization. In December 1969, Hampton was drugged, shot and killed in his bed during a predawn raid at his Chicago apartment by a tactical unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who received aid from the Chicago Police Department and the FBI leading up to the attack. Law enforcement sprayed more than 90 gunshots throughout the apartment; the occupants fired once. During the raid, Panther Mark Clark was also killed and several others were seriously wounded. In January 1970, the Cook County Coroner held an inquest; the jury concluded that Hampton's and Clark's deaths were justifiable homicides. A civil lawsuit was later filed on behalf of the survivors and the relatives of Hampton and Clark. It was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million (equivalent to $ million in ); the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government each paid one-third to a group of nine plaintiffs. Given revelations about the illegal COINTELPRO program and documents associated with the killings, many scholars now consider Hampton's death an assassination at the FBI's initiative. Biography Early life and youth Hampton was born on August 30, 1948, in present-day Summit Argo, Illinois (generally shortened to Summit), and moved with his parents to another Chicago suburb, Maywood, at age 10. His parents had come from Louisiana as part of the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 20th century out of the South. They both worked at the Argo Starch Company, a corn starch processor. As a youth, Hampton was gifted both in the classroom and athletically, and hoped to play center field for the New York Yankees. Fred couldn't accept injustice anywhere. At 10 years old, he started hosting weekend breakfasts for other children from the neighborhood, cooking the meals himself in what could be described as a precursor to the Panthers’ free breakfast program. In high school, he led walkouts protesting black students' exclusion from the competition for homecoming queen and calling on officials to hire more black teachers and administrators. Hampton graduated from Proviso East High School with honors and varsity letters, and a Junior Achievement Award, in 1966. He enrolled at Triton Junior College in nearby River Grove, Illinois, where he majored in pre-law. He planned to become more familiar with the legal system to use it as a defense against police. When he and fellow Black Panthers later followed police in his community supervision program, watching out for police brutality, they used his knowledge of law as a defense. In 1966, Fred Hampton turned 18. At that time, he started identifying with the Third World socialist struggles, as well as reading communist revolutionaries Che Guevara, Ho Chi Minh, and Mao Zedong. Shortly after, Hampton urged not only peace in the Vietnam War, but also North Vietnam's victory. Hampton became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and assumed leadership of its West Suburban Branch's Youth Council. In his capacity as an NAACP youth organizer, he demonstrated natural leadership abilities: from a community of 27,000, he was able to muster a youth group 500-members strong. He worked to get more and better recreational facilities established in the neighborhoods and to improve educational resources for Maywood's impoverished black community. Activity in Chicago At about the same time that Hampton was successfully organizing young African Americans for the NAACP, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was rising to national prominence. Hampton was quickly attracted to the Black Panthers' approach, which was based on a Ten-Point Program that integrated black self-determination with class and economic critique from Maoism. He joined the party and relocated to downtown Chicago. In November 1968, he joined the party's nascent Illinois chapter, founded in late 1967 by Bob Brown, a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizer. In 1968, Hampton was accused of assaulting an ice cream truck driver, stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, and giving them to kids in the street. He was convicted in May 1969 and sentenced to two to five years in prison. Writer Frank B. Wilderson III places this incident within the framework of COINTELPRO efforts to disrupt the Black Panthers of Chicago, in this case by "leveling [...] trumped-up charges". In 1969, Hampton, now deputy chairman of the BPP Illinois chapter, conducted a meeting condemning sexism. After 1969, the party considered sexism counter-revolutionary. In 1970, about 40–70% of party members were women. Over the next year, Hampton and his friends and associates achieved a number of successes in Chicago. Perhaps the most important was a nonaggression pact among Chicago's most powerful street gangs. Emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict among gangs would only keep its members entrenched in poverty, Hampton strove to forge an anti-racist, class-conscious, multiracial alliance among the BPP, the Young Patriots Organization, and the Young Lords under the leadership of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, leading to the Rainbow Coalition. Hampton met the Young Lords in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood the day after they were in the news for occupying a police community workshop at the Chicago 18th District Police Station. He was arrested twice with Jimenez at the Wicker Park Welfare Office, and both were charged with "mob action" at a peaceful picket of the office. Later, the Rainbow Coalition was joined nationwide by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Brown Berets, AIM, and the Red Guard Party. In May 1969, Hampton called a press conference to announce that the coalition had formed. What the coalition groups would do was based on common action. Some of their joint issues were poverty, anti-racism, corruption, police brutality, and substandard housing. If there was a protest or a demonstration, the groups would attend the event and support each other. Jeffrey Haas, who was Hampton's lawyer, has praised some of Hampton's politics and his success in unifying movements. But Haas criticizes the way Hampton and the BPP organized in a pyramidal/vertical structure, contrasting this with the horizontal structure of Black Lives Matter: "They may also have picked up on the vulnerability of a hierarchical movement where you have one leader, which makes the movement very vulnerable if that leader is imprisoned, killed, or otherwise compromised. I think the fact that Black Lives Matter says 'We're leaderfull, not leaderless' perhaps makes them less vulnerable to this kind of government assault." Hampton rose quickly in the Black Panthers, based on his organizing skills, oratorical gifts, and charisma. Once he became leader of the Chicago chapter, he organized weekly rallies, participated in strikes, worked closely with the BPP's local People's Clinic, taught political education classes every morning at 6 am, and launched a project for community supervision of the police. Hampton was also instrumental in the BPP's Free Breakfast Program. When Bob Brown left the party with Kwame Ture, in the FBI-fomented SNCC/Panther split, Hampton assumed chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP. This automatically made him a national BPP deputy chairman. As the FBI's COINTELPRO began to decimate the nationwide Panther leadership, Hampton's prominence in the national hierarchy increased rapidly and dramatically. Eventually he was in line to be appointed to the party's Central Committee Chief of Staff. He would have achieved this position had he not been killed on December 4, 1969. FBI investigation The FBI believed that Hampton's leadership and talent for communication made him a major threat among Black Panther leaders. It began keeping close tabs on his activities. Investigations have shown that FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive Black movement in the United States. Hoover believed the Panthers, Young Patriots, Young Lords, and similar radical coalitions that Hampton forged in Chicago were a stepping stone to the rise of a revolution that could cause a radical change in the U.S. government. The FBI opened a file on Hampton in 1967. It tapped Hampton's mother's phone in February 1968 and by May placed Hampton on the bureau's "Agitator Index" as a "key militant leader". In late 1968, the Racial Matters squad of the FBI's Chicago field office recruited William O'Neal to work with it; he had recently been arrested twice for interstate car theft and impersonating a federal officer. In exchange for having his felony charges dropped and receiving a monthly stipend, O'Neal agreed to infiltrate the BPP as a counterintelligence operative. O'Neal joined the party and quickly rose in the organization, becoming Director of Chapter Security and Hampton's bodyguard. In 1969, the FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in San Francisco wrote Hoover that the agent's investigation had found that, in his city at least, the Panthers were primarily feeding breakfast to children. Hoover responded with a memo implying that the agent's career prospects depended on his supplying evidence to support Hoover's view that the BPP was "a violence-prone organization seeking to overthrow the Government by revolutionary means". By means of anonymous letters, the FBI sowed distrust and eventually instigated a split between the Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers. O'Neal instigated an armed clash between them on April 2, 1969. The Panthers became effectively isolated from their power base in the Chicago ghetto, so the FBI worked to undermine its ties with other radical organizations. O'Neal was instructed to "create a rift" between the party and Students for a Democratic Society, whose Chicago headquarters was near that of the Panthers. The FBI released a batch of racist cartoons in the Panthers' name, aimed at alienating white activists. It also launched a disinformation program to forestall the formation of the Rainbow Coalition, but the BPP did make an alliance with the Young Patriots and Young Lords. In repeated directives, Hoover demanded that COINTELPRO personnel investigate the Rainbow Coalition, "destroy what the [BPP] stands for", and "eradicate its 'serve the people' programs". Documents secured by Senate investigators in the early 1970s revealed that the FBI actively encouraged violence between the Panthers and other radical groups; this provoked multiple murders in cities throughout the country. On July 16, 1969, an armed confrontation between party members and the Chicago Police Department resulted in one BPP member mortally wounded and six others arrested on serious charges. In early October, Hampton and his girlfriend Deborah Johnson (now known as Akua Njeri), who was pregnant with their child (Fred Hampton Jr.), rented a four-and-a-half-room apartment at 2337 West Monroe Street to be closer to BPP headquarters. O'Neal reported to his superiors that much of the Panthers' "provocative" stockpile of arms was stored there. He drew them a map of the apartment. In early November, Hampton traveled to California on a speaking engagement to the UCLA Law Students Association. There he met with the remaining BPP national hierarchy, who appointed him to the party's central committee. He was soon to take the position of chief of staff and major spokesman. Death Prelude While Hampton was in California in November 1969, two Chicago police officers, John J. Gilhooly and Frank G. Rappaport, were killed in a gun battle with Panthers on the night of November 13; one died the next day. A total of nine police officers were shot. Spurgeon Winter Jr, a 19-year-old Panther, was killed by police. Another Panther, Lawrence S. Bell, was charged with murder. In an unsigned editorial headlined "No Quarter for Wild Beasts", the Chicago Tribune urged that Chicago police officers approaching suspected Panthers "should be ordered to be ready to shoot." As part of the larger COINTELPRO operation, the FBI was determined to prevent any improvement in the effectiveness of the BPP leadership. The FBI orchestrated an armed raid with the Chicago police and State Attorney on Hampton's Chicago apartment. They had obtained detailed information about the apartment, including a layout of furniture, from O'Neal. An augmented, 14-man team of the SAO (state Special Prosecutions Unit) was organized for a predawn raid; they were armed with a search warrant for illegal weapons. On the evening of December 3, Hampton taught a political education course at a local church, which was attended by most Panther members. Afterward, as was typical, he was accompanied to his Monroe Street apartment by Johnson and several Panthers: Blair Anderson, James Grady, Ronald "Doc" Satchell, Harold Bell, Verlina Brewer, Louis Truelock, Brenda Harris and Mark Clark. O'Neal was already there, having prepared a late dinner, which the group ate around midnight. O'Neal had slipped the secobarbital into a drink that Hampton consumed during the dinner in order to sedate Hampton so he would not awaken during the subsequent raid. O'Neal left after the dinner. At about 1:30 am, December 4, Hampton fell asleep mid-sentence while talking to his mother on the telephone. Although Hampton was not known to take drugs, Cook County chemist Eleanor Berman later reported that she had run two tests, which each showed evidence of barbiturates in Hampton's blood. An FBI chemist failed to find similar traces, but Berman stood by her findings. Raid The office of Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan organized the raid, using officers attached to his office. Hampton had recently strongly criticized Hanrahan, saying that Hanrahan's talk about a "war on gangs" was really rhetoric used to enable him to carry out a "war on black youth". At 4 am, the heavily armed police team arrived at the site, divided into two teams, eight for the front of the building and six for the rear. At 4:45 am, they stormed the apartment. Mark Clark, sitting in the front room of the apartment with a shotgun in his lap, was on security duty. The police shot him in the chest, killing him instantly. An alternative account said that Clark answered the door and police immediately shot him. Either way, Clark's gun discharged once into the ceiling. This single round was fired when he suffered a reflexive death-convulsion after being shot. This was the only shot fired by the Panthers. Hampton, drugged by barbiturates, was sleeping on a mattress in the bedroom with Johnson, who was nine months pregnant with their child. Police officers removed her from the room while Hampton lay unconscious in bed. Then the raiding team fired at the head of the south bedroom. Hampton was wounded in the shoulder by the shooting. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, "upon that discovery, an officer shot him twice in his head and killed him". Fellow Black Panther Harold Bell said that he heard the following exchange: :"That's Fred Hampton." "Is he dead?... Bring him out." "He's barely alive." "He'll make it." The injured Panthers said they heard two shots. According to Hampton's supporters, the shots were fired point blank at Hampton's head. According to Johnson, an officer then said: "He's good and dead now." Hampton's body was dragged into the doorway of the bedroom and left in a pool of blood. The officers directed their gunfire at the remaining Panthers who had been sleeping in the north bedroom (Satchel, Anderson, Brewer and Harris). Brewer, Satchel, Anderson, and Harris were seriously wounded, then beaten and dragged into the street. They were arrested on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers. They were each held on $100,000 bail. In the early 1990s, Johnson was interviewed about the raid by Jose "Cha Cha" Jimenez, former president and co-founder of the Young Lords. He and his group had developed close ties to Hampton and the Chicago Black Panther Party during the late 1960s. She said: I believe Fred Hampton was drugged. The reason why is because when he woke up when the person [Truelock] said, "Chairman, chairman," he was shaking Fred's arm, you know, Fred's arm was folded across the head of the bed. And Fred—he just raised his head up real slow. It was like watching a slow motion. He raised. His eyes were open. He raised his head up real slow, you know, with his eyes toward the entranceway, toward the bedroom and laid his head back down. That was the only movement he made [...] The seven Panthers who survived the raid were indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, armed violence, and various other weapons charges. These charges were subsequently dropped. During the trial, the Chicago Police Department claimed that the Panthers were the first to fire shots. But a later investigation found that the Chicago police fired between 90 and 99 shots, while the only Panthers shot was from Clark's dropped shotgun. After the raid, the apartment was left unguarded. The Panthers sent some members to investigate, accompanied by videographer Mike Gray and stills photographer Norris McNamara to document the scene. This footage was instrumental in proving the raid was an assassination. The footage was later released as part of the 1971 documentary The Murder of Fred Hampton. After a break-in at an FBI office in Pennsylvania, the existence of COINTELPRO, an illegal counter-intelligence program, was revealed and reported. With this program revealed, many activists and others began to suspect that the police raid and Hampton's killing were conducted under this program. One of the documents released after the break-in was a floor plan of Hampton's apartment. Another document outlined a deal that the FBI brokered with US deputy attorney general Richard Kleindienst to conceal the FBI's role in Hampton's death and the existence of COINTELPRO. Aftermath At a press conference the next day, the police announced the arrest team had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and defended themselves accordingly. In a second press conference on December 8, the police leadership praised the assault team for their "remarkable restraint", "bravery", and "professional discipline" in not killing all the Panthers present. Photographic evidence was presented of "bullet holes" allegedly made by shots fired by the Panthers, but reporters soon challenged this claim. An internal investigation was undertaken, and the police claimed that their colleagues on the assault team were exonerated of any wrongdoing, concluding that they "used lawful means to overcome the assault". Five thousand people attended Hampton's funeral. He was eulogized by black leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr.'s successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In his eulogy, Jackson said that "when Fred was shot in Chicago, black people in particular, and decent people in general, bled everywhere." On December 6, members of the Weather Underground destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street, Chicago. The police called their raid on Hampton's apartment a "shootout". The Black Panthers called it a "shoot-in", because so many shots were fired by police. On December 11 and 12, the two competing daily newspapers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, published vivid accounts of the events, but drew different conclusions. The Tribune has long been considered the politically conservative newspaper, and the Sun-Times the liberal paper. On December 11, the Tribune published a page 1 article titled, "Exclusive – Hanrahan, Police Tell Panther Story." The article included photographs, supplied by Hanrahan's office, that depicted bullet holes in a thin white curtain and door jamb as evidence that the Panthers fired multiple bullets at the police. Jack Challem, editor of the Wright College News, the student newspaper at Wright Junior College in Chicago, had visited the apartment on December 6, when it was still unsecured. He took numerous photographs of the crime scenes. A member of the Black Panthers was allowing visitors to tour the apartment. Challem's photographs did not show the bullet holes as reported by the Tribune. On the morning of December 12, after the Tribune article had appeared with the Hanrahan-supplied photos, Challem contacted a reporter at the Sun-Times, showed him his own photographs, and encouraged the other reporter to visit the apartment. That evening, the Sun-Times published a page 1 article with the headline: "Those 'bullet holes' aren't." According to the article, the alleged bullet holes (supposedly the result of the Panthers shooting in the direction of the police) were nail heads. Four weeks after witnessing Hampton's death at the hands of the police, Johnson gave birth to their son, Fred Hampton Jr. Civil rights activists Roy Wilkins and Ramsey Clark (styled as "The Commission of Inquiry into the Black Panthers and the Police") subsequently alleged that the Chicago police had killed Hampton without justification or provocation, and had violated the Panthers' constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. "The Commission" further alleged that the Chicago Police Department had imposed a summary punishment on the Panthers. A federal grand jury did not return any indictment against any of the individuals involved with the planning or execution of the raid, including the officers involved in killing Hampton. O'Neal, who had given the FBI the floor plan of the apartment and drugged Hampton, later admitted his involvement in setting up the raid. He committed suicide on January 15, 1990. Inquest Shortly after the raid, Cook County Coroner Andrew Toman began forming a special six-member coroner's jury to hold an inquest into the deaths of Hampton and Clark. On December 23, Toman announced four additions to the jury, who included two African-American men: physician Theodore K. Lawless and attorney Julian B. Wilkins, the son of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. He said the four were selected from a group of candidates submitted to his office by groups and individuals representing both Chicago's black and white communities. Civil rights leaders and spokesmen for the black community were reported to have been disappointed with the selection. An official with the Chicago Urban League said, "I would have had more confidence in the jury if one of them had been a black man who has a rapport with the young and the grass roots in the community." Gus Savage said that such a man to whom the community could relate need not be black. The jury eventually included a third black man, who had been a member of the first coroner's jury sworn in on December 4. The blue-ribbon panel convened for the inquest on January 6, 1970. On January 21, they ruled the deaths of Hampton and Clark to be justifiable homicides. The jury qualified their verdict on Hampton's death as "based solely and exclusively on the evidence presented to this inquisition"; police and expert witnesses provided the only testimony during the inquest. Jury foreman James T. Hicks stated that they could not consider the charges made by surviving Black Panthers who had been in the apartment; they had told reporters that the police entered the apartment shooting. The survivors were reported to have refused to testify during the inquest because they faced criminal charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault during the raid. Attorneys for the Hampton and Clark families did not introduce any witnesses during the proceedings, but called the inquest "a well-rehearsed theatrical performance designed to vindicate the police officers". Hanrahan said the verdict was recognition "of the truthfulness of our police officers' account of the events". Federal grand jury Released on May 15, 1970, the reports of a federal grand jury criticized the actions of the police, the surviving Black Panthers, and the Chicago news media. The grand jury called the police department's raid "ill conceived" and said many errors were committed during the post-raid investigation and reconstruction of the events. It said that the surviving Black Panthers' refusal to cooperate hampered the investigation, and that the press "improperly and grossly exaggerated stories". 1970 civil rights lawsuit In 1970, the survivors and relatives of Hampton and Clark filed a civil suit, stating that the civil rights of the Black Panther members were violated by the joint police/FBI raid and seeking $47.7 million in damages. Twenty-eight defendants were named, including Hanrahan as well as the City of Chicago, Cook County, and federal governments. It took years for the case to get to trial, which lasted 18 months. It was reported to have been the longest federal trial up to that time. After its conclusion in 1977, Judge Joseph Sam Perry of United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed the suit against 21 of the defendants before jury deliberations. After jurors deadlocked on a verdict, Perry dismissed the suit against the remaining defendants. The plaintiffs appealed. In 1979, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago found that the government had withheld relevant documents, thereby obstructing the judicial process. Reinstating the case against 24 of the defendants, the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial. The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal by defendants, but voted 5–3 in 1980 to remand the case to the District Court for a new trial. In 1982, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government agreed to a settlement in which each would pay $616,333 (equivalent to $ million per payee in ) to a group of nine plaintiffs, including the mothers of Hampton and Clark. The $1.85 million settlement (equivalent to $ million in ) was believed to be the largest ever in a civil rights case. G. Flint Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said, "The settlement is an admission of the conspiracy that existed between the FBI and Hanrahan's men to murder Fred Hampton." Assistant United States Attorney Robert Gruenberg said the settlement was intended to avoid another costly trial and was not an admission of guilt or responsibility by any of the defendants. Controversy Ten days afterward, Bobby Rush, the then deputy minister of defense for the Illinois Black Panther Party, called the raiding party an "execution squad". As is typical in settlements, the three government defendants did not acknowledge claims of responsibility for plaintiffs' allegations. Michael Newton is among the writers who have concluded that Hampton was assassinated. In his 2016 book Unsolved Civil Rights Murder Cases, 1934–1970, Newton writes that Hampton "was murdered in his sleep by Chicago police with FBI collusion." This view is also presented in Jakobi Williams's book From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago. Personal life Hampton was very close with Chicago Black Catholic priest George Clements, who served as his mentor and as a chaplain for the local Panther outfit. Hampton and the Panthers also used Clements's parish, Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago, as a refuge in times of particular surveillance or pursuit from the police. They also provided security for a number of Clements's "Black Unity Masses", part of his revolutionary activities during the Black Catholic Movement. Clements spoke at Hampton's funeral, and also said a Requiem Mass for him at Holy Angels. Legacy Legal and political effects According to a 1969 Chicago Tribune report, "The raid ended the promising political career of Cook County State's Atty. Edward V. Hanrahan, who was indicted but cleared with 13 other law-enforcement agents on charges of obstructing justice. Bernard Carey, a Republican, defeated him in the next election, in part because of the support of outraged black voters." The families of Hampton and Clark filed a $47.7 million civil suit against the city, state, and federal governments. The case went to trial before Federal Judge J. Sam Perry. After more than 18 months of testimony and at the close of the plaintiffs' case, Perry dismissed the case. The plaintiffs appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed, ordering the case to be retried. More than a decade after the case had been filed, the suit was finally settled for $1.85 million. The two families each shared in the settlement. Jeffrey Haas, who, together with his law partners G. Flint Taylor and Dennis Cunningham and attorney James D. Montgomery, were the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the federal suit Hampton v. Hanrahan, conducted additional research and wrote a book about these events. It was published in 2009. He said that Chicago was worse off without Hampton: In 1990, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed a resolution, introduced by then-Alderman Madeline Haithcock, commemorating December 4, 2004, as Fred Hampton Day in Chicago. The resolution read in part: "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization." Monuments and streets A public pool was named in his honor in his home town of Maywood, Illinois. On September 7, 2007, a bust of Hampton by sculptor Preston Jackson was erected outside the Fred Hampton Family Aquatic Center in Maywood. In March 2006, supporters of Hampton's charity work proposed the naming of a Chicago street in his honor. Chicago's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police opposed this effort. Weather Underground reaction Two days after the killings of Hampton and Clark, on December 6, 1969, members of the Weathermen destroyed numerous police vehicles in a retaliatory bombing spree at 3600 N. Halsted Street in Chicago. After that, the group became more radical. On May 21, 1970, the group issued a "Declaration of War" against the U.S. government, and for the first time used its new name, the "Weather Underground Organization". They adopted fake identities and decided to pursue covert activities only. These initially included preparations to bomb a U.S. military non-commissioned officers' dance at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in what Brian Flanagan later said was intended to be "the most horrific hit the United States government had ever suffered on its territory"."We've known that our job is to lead white kids into armed revolution... Kids know the lines are drawn: revolution is touching all of our lives. Tens of thousands have learned that protest and marches don't do it. Revolutionary violence is the only way." —Bernardine Dohrn Media and popular culture In film A 27-minute documentary, Death of a Black Panther: The Fred Hampton Story, was used as evidence in the civil suit. The 2002 documentary The Weather Underground shows in detail how that group was deeply influenced by Hampton and his death—as well as showing that Hampton kept his distance from them for being what he called "adventuristic, masochistic and Custeristic". Much of the first half of Eyes on the Prize episode 12, "A Nation of Law?", chronicles Hampton's leadership and extrajudicial killing. The events of his rise to prominence, Hoover's targeting of him, and Hampton's subsequent death are also recounted with footage in the 2015 documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. The Murder of Fred Hampton is a documentary shot from within the movement, released in 1971. It has no narration, relying solely on footage shot from within the Black Panther organization and portraying Hampton and his colleagues on their own terms. In the 1999 TV miniseries The 60s, Hampton appears serving free breakfast with the BPP. David Alan Grier plays Hampton. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) features Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Hampton, in which he advises Bobby Seale as he was denied counsel, with the Chicago Seven. Judas and the Black Messiah is a 2021 film about O'Neal's betrayal of Hampton. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and was directed by Shaka King. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1, 2021. For his performance, Kaluuya won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In literature Jeffrey Haas wrote an account of Hampton's death, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther (2009). Stephen King refers to Hampton in the novel 11/22/63 (2012), in which a character discusses the ripple effect of traveling back in time to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination. He postulates that other events would follow that could have prevented Hampton's assassination as well. In music American rapper and businessman Jay-Z has made multiple references in his music to being born on the day Hampton died. American rock band Rage Against the Machine referenced Hampton in their 1996 song Down Rodeo, saying "They ain't gonna send us campin' like they did my man Fred Hampton." Notes References External links The Marxists Internet Archive: Fred Hampton Archive Transcribed speeches and collected works. "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" – video report by Democracy Now! December 4, 2009. (A 1971 documentary film directed by Howard Alk) FBI files on Fred Hampton From COINTELPRO to the Shadow Government: As Fred Hampton Jr. Is Released From 9 Years of Prison, a Look Back at the Assassination of Fred Hampton. 36:48 real audio. Tape: Fred Hampton, Deborah Johnson. Guests: Fred Hampton Jr., Mutulu Olugabala, Rosa Clemente. Interviewer: Amy Goodman. Democracy Now!. Tuesday, March 5, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2005. "Power Anywhere Where There's People" A Speech By Fred Hampton National Young Lords Brief notes on Young Lords origins Grand Valley State University Oral History Collection 1948 births 1969 deaths Activists from Chicago African-American activists African-American communists African-American history American anti-capitalists American Maoists American Marxists American revolutionaries Anti-poverty advocates Anti-revisionists Assassinated American civil rights activists African-American Marxists African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States COINTELPRO targets Deaths by firearm in Illinois Extrajudicial killings Members of the Black Panther Party People from Maywood, Illinois People from Summit, Illinois People murdered in Illinois	false	[ "Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region", "Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice" ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	Is Adam's voice special?	1	Is Adam Lambert's voice special?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	false	[ "Kent Williams is an American voice actor who works on English dubs of anime at Funimation/OkraTron 5000. He is known as the voice of Mercenary Tao, Dr. Gero, and Supreme Kai from the Dragon Ball franchise, Father in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the Judge from the Ace Attorney anime series, and Hatori Soma from the original Fruits Basket series, as well as its 2019 reboot.\n\nPersonal life \nKent has a son, Adam, who voiced for Funimation under an alias as a child actor.\n\nFilmography\n\nAnime series\n\nAnimation\nDeath Battle – Bruce Wayne\nRed vs. Blue – Surge\nRWBY – Ghira Belladonna\n\nFilm/special\n\nVideo games\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nKent Williams at the English Voice Actor & Production Staff Database\n\nPlace of birth missing (living people)\nAmerican male voice actors\nAmerican voice directors\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)", "Bryan Keith is an American singer based in New York City. His father is a two-time Grammy-winning artist.\n\nThe Voice\nBryan Keith was a contestant on the third season of The Voice, and came in at third place on Adam Levine's team. All four coaches, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton, pushed their I WANT YOU buttons. Bryan elected to join Team Adam.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican rock singers\n21st-century American singers\nPlace of birth missing (living people)\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nSingers from New York City\nThe Voice (franchise) contestants\nLiving people" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones." ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	Did Adam like to sing as a child?	2	Did Adam :ambert like to sing as a child?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	CANNOTANSWER	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	false	[ "Two Steps from Heaven is a 2016 Hong Kong modern television series directed by Joe Chan and written by Kwan Chung-ling and Cheng Sing-mo. Two Steps from Heaven premiered on 24 October 2016. The series stars Bosco Wong, Edwin Siu and Louis Cheung as a trio working in public relations.\n\nKaty Kung won Best Supporting Actress at the 2016 TVB Anniversary Awards for her role as Carmen Ching Sze-yu.\n\nSynopsis \n\nIn the public relations (PR) industry, \"the three musketeers\" Sheldon Chun (Bosco Wong), Sean Fung Chik-yin (Edwin Siu) and Tim Yau (Louis Cheung) are known for their sharp wit and ability to defuse PR crises. As owners of their PR company, The Rainmakers, they often rub elbows with upper-class people. Sean re-encounters his ex-girlfriend Max Koo Sing-sheung (Priscilla Wong) and reconciles with her. Motivated by greed and ambition to make it to the top, Sheldon befriends Sing-sheung, who is the illegitimate child of real estate mogul Koo Fuk-sang (Pat Poon). Sean believes that he and Sing-sheung will be happy together this time, but Sing-sheung has plans to help herself and her brother Ted (Billy Luk) claim their share of their father's real estate empire.\n\nCast and characters\n\nMain \n Bosco Wong as Sheldon Chun Sing-hoi (秦昇海): A former journalist, he is married to Carmen and the two have a daughter named Chun Ying-sam. Although loyal to his friends Chik-yin and Tim, he is hiding an affair with Emma. Calm and devious, Sheldon aspires to be like the wealthy and influential clients he serves. As a result, he cultivates a relationship with Chik-yin's wife, Sing-sheung, in order to gain access to the Fuk Seng Properties.\nEdwin Siu as Sean Fung Chik-yin (馮汐然): Sean is kind-hearted and very loyal to his two friends. He has an eye for design and art. Though he was forced to break up with his first love Sing-sheung when they were young, they rekindle their relationship when they meet again. Although Sing-sheung's father disapproves of Sean, Sing-sheung gets married with Sean.\nLouis Cheung as Tim Yau Tin-hang (游天恆): Tim was a foster child of a staff member in Sean's restaurant and overcame his gambling addiction only after he talked to a woman from the suicide prevention hotline. He hosts public speaking classes due to his fluent Chinese. Tim tries to pursue a romantic relationship with Emma, but gives up after he learns that she is Sheldon's mistress. He later falls in love with Tsin Ka-yan, but considering her future as an actress, he chooses not to pursue her until she succeeds at her dream of becoming a movie star in South Korea.\nPriscilla Wong as Max Koo Sing-sheung: The illegitimate child of Koo Fuk-seng, she approaches Rainmakers to organize an auction for her late ex-boyfriend's artwork, encountering Chik-yin once again. She used to work for Fuk Seng Properties but left after a failed real estate project in Shanghai. After her boyfriend died in a car accident, she has insomnia and hyperventilation syndrome (HVS). \nKaty Kung as Carmen: Sheldon's wife and the mother of his daughter, Ying-sam, she is a freelance journalist. She took care of Sheldon when he was assaulted as a journalist. She is kind and devoted to her family, which Sheldon's mother appreciates and values.\n Gloria Tang as Tsin Ka-yan, a freelancer who worked odd jobs before Tim invites her to join Rainmakers. She frequently encounters Tim, who eventually falls for her. She aspires to become an actress.\n\nRecurring \n Alice Chan as Selina Koo Sing-fun, Sing-sheung's older half-sister. She is the vice chairperson of Fuk Seng Properties. She appears friendly with Sing-sheung, but actually hates her and Ted, and does not want them working at Fuk Seng. \nMoon Lau as Emma Yip Wah: A former beauty blogger, she joins Rainmakers after an interview with Tim, whom she flirts with at work. She is secretly Sheldon's mistress and later on wants Sheldon to divorce his wife. Though she is deeply in love with Sheldon, his interest in her wanes as he turns to Sing-sheung in hopes of gaining more power and influence.\n Kandy Wong as Ada (Da), who works for Sheldon. She cultivates a friendship with Ted.\n Pat Poon as Koo Fuk-sang, the chairperson of Fuk Seng Properties.\n Ching Hor Wai as Koo Fuk-seng's wife. She spoils Ted in hopes of him being unable to work at Fuk Seng Properties and wants to keep him away from her husband. \n Claire Yiu as Carrie, who works at Rainmakers. \n Jacquelin Ch'ng as Moon Chun: Sheldon's older twin sister. Unlike Sheldon, she is emotional and careless. Moon gets sentenced to community service for hitting her cheating husband on the head.\n Billy Luk as Ted, Sing-sheung's younger brother and illegitimate child of Koo Fuk-seng. He lives a reckless life after his father sent him to study in America but later returns to Hong Kong after setting his professor's house on fire. He changes for the better after he learns the truth behind his mother's death.\n Lee Shing Cheong as Ng, a designer at Rainmakers, he later becomes Ted's mentor.\n\nOther \n\n Sarah Song as Bonnie \n Yoyo Chen as Natalie, Sing-fun's assistant.\n C Allstar as themselves (episode 1)\n William Chak as Dick, a tabloid journalist who later joins Rainmakers.\n Lau Kong as Uncle Gim\n\nViewership Ratings\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nTwo Steps from Heaven TVB Official website \n\nTVB dramas\n2016 Hong Kong television series debuts\n2016 Hong Kong television series endings\nHong Kong television shows", "Adam Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ian Williams. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 9 August 1990. Williams was cast in the role in early 1990, but did not start filming until June because he had work commitments to another television project. News outlets claimed producers cast Williams to replace former fan-favourite cast members, a claim the actor found insulting.\n\nHe is introduced as the eldest child of Doug (Terence Donovan) and Pam Willis (Sue Jones). He is characterised as a studious medical student who does not want to follow his father's example of working on a building site. He is Pam's favourite child and she has high hopes for his medical career. Writers devised romance stories for the character alongside fellow newly introduced characters Caroline Alessi (Gillian Blakeney) and Gemma Ramsay (Beth Buchanan). Williams liked his role in the show but had issues with Adam's naivety.\n\nCasting\nWilliams was signed up to appear in the show in early 1990 but did not know exact details about his character. In April that year writers were still working on stories for the character. Williams was filming a role in Bony, another Grundy production. He was scheduled to begin filming in June once Bony had finished production. Dani Rogers from TV Week reported that Williams had been touted in the media as the actor to fill the void left by the departures of Guy Pearce and Craig McLachlan. Williams said that he felt \"insulted\" to think of such comparisons. He told Rogers that \"I'm not anybody's clone. I want to bring some individuality to my role.\" He later told James Gibley from Fast Forward that \"I joined Neighbours because they wanted a tall, handsome, young man. That's me.\"\n\nDevelopment\nAdam is the eldest son of Doug (Terence Donovan) and Pam Willis (Sue Jones). Anthony Hayward wrote in his book \"The who's who of soap operas\" that Adam was Pam's favourite child because \"in her eyes he can do no wrong\". Adam grew up in an era where the building trade was suffering a decline. He decided he did not want to live a life of uncertainty and chooses to pursue a career in law. But he found it dull, quit and tried out various jobs before leaving for Europe. When he arrives in Erinsborough he is studying medicine and he puts his \"heart and soul\" into it because he finds it \"interesting and challenging\". Josephine Monroe, author of Neighbours: The First 10 Years stated that \"Adam was bright and it was clear that he would one day flee the nest.\" Adam was portrayed as the show's naive medical student. Williams explained that he felt similar to his character as they both loved their families, but he was not impressed with Adam's naivety. Williams told Diana Peters from BIG! magazine that family is important to Adam. He added that \"Adam has a more macabre sense of humour than i do.\"\n\nTo help subsidise his living he takes a job as a chauffeur. Williams liked playing a chauffeur and he recalled it created Adam's \"funniest\" ever Neighbours scenes. Pam soon convinces him to move into the family home. Hayward described an awkward dynamic between Adam and Pam. He stated \"she finds it difficult to understand his macabre sense of humour, something he shares with other medical students. To them, it is a means of survival.\" Pam worked as a nurse and was often anxious over her son completing his studies. She helped him by sharing her own experiences in the profession to discredit any pretensions he had about the career. Adam's relationship with his father differed. Doug is not as supportive towards him than Pam. He doubts his son's ability to finish his studies because he would often quit jobs. Hayward observed that Doug was closest to Brad (Scott Michaelson) because of his basketball skills. Williams said the part appealed to him as it was flexible and Adam's humour kept him \"fired up.\" Williams enjoyed working with Donovan on their character's story because he liked his co-stars energy on-set. Adam appeared in the series at the same time as Amelia Frid, who plays his on-screen sister Cody Willis. Williams told Caroline Westbrook from TV Hits that he missed working with Frid when she left because they had built a brother and sister type relationship off-screen too.\n\nWriters devised a romance storyline for the character involving Caroline Alessi (Gillian Blakeney). Monroe assessed that there was \"a certain disparity between her high-flying income and his student grant\" but Adam's \"genuine charm and cute looks\" attracted Caroline to Adam. Williams told Darren Devlyn (TV Week) that their romance is \"certainly not of the storybook variety.\" Viewers had already been expecting a romance to develop between Caroline and much older character Jim Robinson (Alan Dale). Writers pitched Adam and Jim against one another in a fight for Caroline's affections. Williams explained that their feud leads to a \"huge confrontation\" which also upsets respected neighbour and his employer Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy). She is not impressed that Adam has caused trouble for her son. Prior to Caroline, Williams believed that the only thing his character took seriously was his medical studies. But he makes every effort to win Caroline's love. But Adam and Jim take completely different approaches to impress her. The actor stated \"I love the fact Adam has no pretence. Adam wears his heart on his sleeve, while Jim wears his on his bank balance trying to impress with flashy dinners and flowers.\" He concluded that he wanted to stay on the show longer because he believed Adam had \"a lot of growing to do\". Caroline eventually decides to be with Jim rather than Adam.\n\nWriters later paired Adam with Gemma Ramsay (Beth Buchanan). Di Stanley from TV Extra reported that the character would experience problems with Gemma following his condoning of Ryan McLachlan's (Richard Norton) drug use. Stanley revealed that Gemma would pay him a \"stormy visit\" in retaliation. Adam left the series in 1991, and he was reunited with Gemma in Newcastle. Of their reunion, Monroe wrote \"like many other Ramsay Street teenagers, Adam and Gemma confounded the odds by making a go of things.\" Williams' departure occurred during a revamp of Neighbours following a decline in ratings. Network Ten's executive John Holmes devised the changes; he introduced new characters and helped to write out Adam, Gemma and six other characters. Holmes believed the show had become \"tired\" and that the cast changes would rejuvenate the show.\n\nWilliams wanted to pursue theatre work instead of television. Producers of the rival soap opera Home and Away then offered him a role in their show, which he turned down. He added that he was never a fan of soap operas but was glad he chose to appear in Neighbours. In April 1992, Williams spoke about his departure and told TV Hits Westbrook that did not regret leaving the role. He also revealed that he felt that appearing in Neighbours took away his privacy off-set. Adam's final episode was broadcast in Australia the night before he debuted on-screen in the United Kingdom. In 2019, it was revealed that Adam and Gemma had married and had a child Roxy Willis (Zima Anderson), who was then introduced into the series.\n\nStorylines\nAdam is the eldest child of Doug and Pam. When his parents and his younger sister Cody decide to move to a smaller house in Ramsay Street, Adam opts to move with them as living on his own will be expensive as he is a medical student. The family move into Number 28 and Adam soon takes a job working for as a chauffeur for Helen's limousine company Home James.\n\nAdam soon falls for Caroline but she is involved with Jim. Adam competes with Jim to win Caroline's affections which culminates in Adam injuring Jim during basketball practice, which fails to impress Caroline. After Jim and Caroline break up, Caroline realises she is attracted to Adam and they begin dating. However, Adam's struggle with expenses in his student lifestyle leave him feeling inferior; and as a result he and Caroline split but remain good friends. After struggling at university, Adam decides he wants to give up medicine and drops out to join Doug on his building site. Doug, however isn't convinced and engineers a plan to make Adam's time on the site miserable so he will return to medicine. The plan is successful and Adam returns to university to pursue his degree, much to Pam's delight.\n\nRyan starts taking sedatives and Adam defends him because his university friends take them. This angers Gemma who confronts him. Adam later develops feelings for Gemma who is reluctant to commit to him after her failed relationship with Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett). She soon realises she has feelings for him too and they begin a relationship. Several months into their romance Gemma receives a job offer in Newcastle at an animal sanctuary and she leaves. Adam follows her one month later and transfers to a university nearby. He completes his studies and becomes a doctor. Adam and Gemma become engaged, marry and later have a daughter, Roxy. When Gemma returns to the street to visit Roxy in 2019, she mentions that she and Adam have separated and in the process of divorce.\n\nReception\nThe BBC said Adam's most notable moment was \"Chauffeuring a Lassiter’s client while wearing a toga.\" During a feature on the show, Anna Pickard from The Guardian tried to choose the characters she would be most starstruck by if she met them. She said \"It would have to be the Willis family. All of them. Pam, Doug, Adam, Gaby, Brad and Cody\". Adam was named a \"soap swot\" by an Inside Soap columnist. They said, \"Although bright, Adam's career as a student wasn't plain sailing\". Diana Peters from BIG! magazine opined that Adam filled the show's \"mad-cap\" and \"concerned doctor\" role. James Gibley from Fast Forward stated \"he's also a bit like that doctor they used to have in Neighbours... that Dr Gibbons fellow.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Character profile at the Official AU Neighbours website\n\nNeighbours characters\nTelevision characters introduced in 1990\nWillis family\nMale characters in television" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know." ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	What do people normally say about his voice?	3	What do people normally say about Adam Lambert's voice?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command.	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	true	[ "What Do You Say may refer to:\n\"What Do You Say\" (Reba McEntire song)\n\"What Do You Say\" (Filter song)", "\"Say What You Want\" is a song by Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies. It is the lead single from their 2015 album, Silverball. It was made available for streaming by Entertainment Weekly on April 27, 2015, then for digital download the following day.\n\nHistory\nBarenaked Ladies frontman, Ed Robertson was quoted as saying \"Say What You Want is a celebration of letting go. It’s about feeling confident, and realizing that you can’t control what other people do or say, you can only control how you react to it. It’s a very triumphant song for me.\"\n\nRelease\n\nReferences\n\nBarenaked Ladies songs\nSongs written by Ed Robertson\nSong recordings produced by Gavin Brown (musician)\n2015 singles\n2015 songs\nVanguard Records singles" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know.", "What do people normally say about his voice?", "Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command." ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	Who has his voice been compared to?	4	Who has Adam Lambert's voice been compared to?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin,	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	true	[ "A voice engine is a software subsystem for bidirectional audio communication, typically used as part of a telecommunications system to simulate a telephone. It functions like a data pump for audio data, specifically voice data. The voice engine is typically used in an embedded system.\n\nThe term became popularized after 2000 with the proliferation of voice over internet protocol technology in software DSP systems. Voice engines handle the voice processing for an IP Phone system on a standard processor, compared to prior generations of systems which required dedicated, math-optimized digital signal processor chips.\n\nVoice engines are highly optimized software subsystems due to the mathematically complex signal processing required for voice filtering and speech coding. The filter stages and coding elements within a voice engine are designed to work in conjunction with a larger telecommunications system, including only a specific and limited range of processing to minimize the voice engine's memory size and processor usage. Compared to software desktop applications which might employ plugins to continually add flexibility or extensibility, a voice engine is designed to meet specific industry standards for interoperability.\n\nReferences\n\nBroadband\nVoice over IP", "is a Japanese voice actor and narrator who is affiliated with Arts Vision. He has been acting since the 1990s.\n\nPersonal life\nHe is the eldest of three brothers.\n\nHe also works as a lecturer at Nihon Narēshon Engi Kenkyūjo.\n\nHis first appearance in Niconico live broadcast (for Kotoura-san ) have created a huge impact on the Japanese audience, due to the way he acted freely (he was often compared to a comedian by the Japanese audience.) during the broadcast, which was completely opposite to the image of the character he voiced previously – Jin Muso from Aquarion Evol. But according to other voice actors (such as Kana Hanazawa and Hiroki Yasumoto), Fukushima is actually a very serious person at the recording studio that barely speaks. His style during live broadcast and radio is likely to be affected by the personality of the characters he voiced.\n\nFilmography\n\nAnime\n\nAnimated films\n\nOriginal video animation (OVA)\n\nOriginal net animation (ONA)\n\nGames\n\nLive-Action\n\nDubbing\n\nLive-action\n\nAnimation\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Jun Fukushima at Arts Vision\n Jun Fukushima at Ameblo\n \n\n1976 births\nMale voice actors from Ehime Prefecture\nJapanese male video game actors\nJapanese male voice actors\nLiving people\n20th-century Japanese male actors\n21st-century Japanese male actors\nArts Vision voice actors" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know.", "What do people normally say about his voice?", "Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command.", "Who has his voice been compared to?", "Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin," ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	Have things have celebrities said about his singing?	5	Have celebrities said things about Adam Lambert's singing?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	true	[ "Pink BH is a Bosnian cable television channel based in Sarajevo. It was established on 3 September 2018 as Pink Media BH when Pink Media Group sold its terrestrial commercial channels Pink BH (now Nova BH) and Pink M (now Nova M) (now Nova M) to The United Group.\n\nProgramming\nPink BH channel lineup consists of programmes from Pink's terrestrial channel Pink TV intended for linear broadcasting or re-broadcasting on the Bosnian market. By concept and name, a similar tv channel called Pink M is intended for public in neighboring Montenegro.\n\nNews\n Minut 2 - daily news bulletin, every full hour - duration 2 minutes with an overview of the most important news for and from Bosnia and Herzegovina.\n\nEntertainment\n Zadruga - reality TV show \n Pinkove Zvezdice - music singing contest for kids\n Pinkove Zvezde - music singing contest for adults\n Bravo Show - music show\n Ami G Show - talk show hosted by Ognjen Amidžić\n Premijera - tv magazine about celebrities \n Ekskluzivno - tv magazine about celebrities \n - tv magazine about celebrities \n Akademija debelih - reality show\n Kuvanje i muvanje - cooking show\n Prvi kuvar Srbije - reality cooking show\n Kuća od srca - TV show of humanitarian character\n Izvedi me - Take Me Out\n\nSeries, Telenovelas\nSeptember 2018:\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nTelevision stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina\nTelevision channels and stations established in 2018", "My Swordhand Is Singing is a novel written by Marcus Sedgwick, set in the early 17th century. It won the 2007 Booktrust Teenage Prize. It was also shortlisted for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL in 2007. \nThe novel is inspired by the original vampire folklore of Eastern Europe. The novel follows the story of Peter, the son of drunkard woodcutter Tomas, and his life in the seemingly normal village of Chust. He and his father travel from place to place, living a nomadic life. They have been working in Chust for over a year when things start to happen. Things unexplainable, but things Tomas seems to know about.... My Swordhand is Singing is a story of loss and redemption, written in the genre of Gothic Fiction.\nFor this story, Sedgwick went to various gloomy locations for the inspiration and research for the book \n'My Swordhand Is Singing' was published by Orion Children's Books and is the seventh Sedgewick novel to be published from here.\n\nReferences\n\n2006 British novels\nBritish fantasy novels\nBritish young adult novels" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know.", "What do people normally say about his voice?", "Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command.", "Who has his voice been compared to?", "Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin,", "Have things have celebrities said about his singing?", "Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has \"sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range" ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	Who else has talked about his voice?	6	Who else has talked about Adam Lambert's voice other than Brian May?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	Pharrell Williams,	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	true	[ "The Voice of Asia (1951) is a work of non-fiction published by American author James A. Michener. The book chronicles his travels throughout Asia, detailing the cultures and lives of locals in areas such as Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, Burma, India, Thailand, etc.\n\n\"Today Asia is of utmost importance to Americans. What happens there may make or mar us as a nation. We need to know what makes Asia tick. I had the good luck to travel to many towns and villages in Asia and to talk with the people about what worried them. I met rickshaw boys and millionaires, peasant farmers and heads of state. They told me about the religious problems, the economic questions and the social revolutions that disturb them today. I talked of America and of Russia; and, like people everywhere, they told me some very funny stories about their politicians. In 'The Voice of Asia' I have tried to share with you what the people of Asia told me.\" --James A. Michener\n\nReferences\n\n1951 non-fiction books\nBooks by James A. Michener\nRandom House books\nBooks about Asia", "The following is a list of Radio Disney Music Award winners and nominees for Most Talked About Artist.\n\nWinners and nominees\n\n2000s\n\n2010s\n\nReferences\n\nMost Talked About Artist" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know.", "What do people normally say about his voice?", "Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command.", "Who has his voice been compared to?", "Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin,", "Have things have celebrities said about his singing?", "Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has \"sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range", "Who else has talked about his voice?", "Pharrell Williams," ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	What did Pharrell say?	7	What did Pharrell say about Adam Lambert's voice?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range.	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	false	[ "The following is a discography of production by the Neptunes, a production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo.\n\nSingles produced\n\n1996–2003\n{\| class=\"wikitable plainrowheaders\" style=\"text-align:center;\" border=\"1\"\n\|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name\n! scope=\"col\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width:16em;\"\| Title\n! scope=\"col\" rowspan=\"2\"\| Year\n! scope=\"col\" colspan=\"10\"\| Peak chart positions\n! scope=\"col\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"width:10em;\"\| Certifications\n! scope=\"col\" rowspan=\"2\"\| Album\n\|-\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| US\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| US R&B\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| AUS\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| CAN\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| FRA\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| GER\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| IRE\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| NL\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| SWI\n! scope=\"col\" style=\"width:3em;font-size:90%;\"\| UK\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Use Your Heart\"(SWV)\n\|1996\n\|22\n\|6\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|New Beginning\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"I Can't Make a Mistake\"(MC Lyte)\n\| rowspan=\"4\" \|1998\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|46\n\|\n\| rowspan=\"2\" \|Seven & Seven\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"It's All Yours\"(MC Lyte featuring Gina Thompson)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|36\n\|\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Lookin' at Me\"(Mase featuring Puff Daddy)\n\|8\n\|8\n\|—\n\|17\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n RIAA: Gold\n\|Harlem World\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Superthug\"(N.O.R.E.)\n\|36\n\|15\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|N.O.R.E.\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"The Funeral\"(Clipse)\n\| rowspan=\"5\" \|1999\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Exclusive Audio Footage\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Got Your Money\"(Ol' Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis)\n\|26\n\|19\n\|—\n\|—\n\|82\n\|—\n\|—\n\|96\n\|—\n\|11\n\|\n BPI: Silver\n\|Nigga Please\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Oh No\"(N.O.R.E.)\n\|—\n\|49\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|113\n\|\n\|Melvin Flynt - Da Hustler\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Caught Out There\"(Kelis)\n\|54\n\|9\n\|26\n\|10\n\|96\n\|40\n\|23\n\|3\n\|35\n\|4\n\|\n\| rowspan=\"3\" \|Kaleidoscope\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Good Stuff\"(Kelis)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|72\n\|49\n\|78\n\|74\n\|19\n\|\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Get Along with You\"(Kelis)\n\| rowspan=\"7\" \|2000\n\|—\n\|57\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|93\n\|—\n\|51\n\|\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Shake Ya Ass\"(Mystikal)\n\|13\n\|3\n\|62\n\|—\n\|—\n\|87\n\|—\n\|66\n\|—\n\|30\n\|\n\|Let's Get Ready\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Girls Dem Sugar\"(Beenie Man featuring Mýa)\n\|54\n\|16\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|13\n\|\n\|Art & Life\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Cross the Border\"(Philly's Most Wanted)\n\|98\n\|50\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Get Down or Lay Down\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)\"(Jay-Z)\n\|11\n\|1\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|75\n\|—\n\|61\n\|86\n\|7\n\|\n\|The Dynasty: Roc La Familia\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Danger (Been So Long)\"(Mystikal featuring Nivea)\n\|14\n\|1\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|45\n\|—\n\|36\n\|60\n\|28\n\|\n\|Let's Get Ready\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Southern Hospitality\"(Ludacris)\n\|23\n\|6\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Back for the First Time\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Dem Thangs\"(Angie Martinez)\n\| rowspan=\"15\" \|2001\n\|—\n\|80\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Up Close and Personal\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Lapdance\"(N.E.R.D. featuring Vita and Lee Harvey)\n\|—\n\|85\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|56\n\|—\n\|20\n\|\n\|In Search Of...\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Wait a Minute\"(Ray J featuring Lil' Kim and Pharrell)\n\|30\n\|8\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|72\n\|\n\|75\n\|80\n\|54\n\|\n\|This Ain't a Game\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"I'm Serious\"(T.I. featuring Beenie Man)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|I'm Serious\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"There She Goes\"(Babyface)\n\|31\n\|10\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Face2Face\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Please Don't Mind\"(Philly's Most Wanted)\n\|—\n\|48\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Get Down or Lay Down\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Candy\"(Foxy Brown featuring Kelis)\n\| —\n\|48\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Broken Silence\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"I'm a Slave 4 U\"(Britney Spears)\n\|27\n\|85\n\|7\n\|8\n\|8\n\|3\n\|6\n\|9\n\|7\n\|4\n\|\n ARIA: Gold\n SNEP: Silver\n BPI: Silver\n\|Britney\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Young, Fresh n' New\"(Kelis)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|89\n\|—\n\|32\n\|\n\|Wanderland\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Knock Yourself Out\"(Jadakiss)\n\|114\n\|34\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Kiss Tha Game Goodbye\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Diddy\"(P. Diddy featuring the Neptunes)\n\|66\n\|21\n\|31\n\|—\n\|—\n\|59\n\|—\n\|—\n\|84\n\|19\n\|\n\|The Saga Continues...\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)\"(Mystikal)\n\|37\n\|8\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|45\n\|\n\|Tarantula\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"As I Come Back\"(Busta Rhymes)\n\|—\n\|91\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Genesis\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Run Away (I Wanna Be with U)\"(Nivea featuring Pusha T)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|47\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|48\n\|\n\|Nivea\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Young'n (Holla Back)\"(Fabolous)\n\|33\n\|17\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Ghetto Fabolous\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"U Don't Have to Call\"(Usher)\n\| rowspan=\"21\" \|2002\n\|3\n\|2\n\|56\n\|—\n\|72\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|27\n\|6\n\|\n\|8701\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"I Still Love You\"(702)\n\|—\n\|49\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Star\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Formal Invite\"(Ray J featuring Pharrell)\n\|—\n\|54\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|95\n\|—\n\|20\n\|\n\|This Ain't a Game\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Pass the Courvoisier, Part II\"(Busta Rhymes featuring P. Diddy and Pharrell)\n\|11\n\|4\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|16\n\|\n\|Genesis\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Girlfriend\"(NSYNC featuring Nelly)\n\|5\n\|23\n\|2\n\|1\n\|—\n\|6\n\|8\n\|8\n\|23\n\|2\n\|\n ARIA: Gold\n BPI: Silver\n\|Celebrity\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Take Ya Home\"(Lil Bow Wow)\n\|72\n\|21\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Doggy Bag\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Hot in Herre\"(Nelly)\n\|1\n\|1\n\|3\n\|1\n\|23\n\|8\n\|10\n\|4\n\|10\n\|4\n\|\n RIAA: 2× Platinum\n ARIA: Platinum\n BVMI: Gold\n BPI: Platinum\n\|Nellyville\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Grindin'\"(Clipse)\n\|30\n\|10\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Lord Willin'\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Nothin'\"(N.O.R.E. featuring Pharrell)\n\|10\n\|2\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|11\n\|\n\|God's Favorite\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Work It Out\"(Beyoncé)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|21\n\|—\n\|87\n\|75\n\|12\n\|26\n\|48\n\|7\n\|\n ARIA: Gold\n\|Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Feel It Boy\"(Beenie Man featuring Janet Jackson)\n\|28\n\|31\n\|18\n\|15\n\|—\n\|72\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|9\n\|\n ARIA: Gold\n\|Tropical Storm\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Boys\"(Britney Spears)\n\| —\n\|—\n\|14\n\|21\n\|55\n\|19\n\|10\n\|13\n\|20\n\|7\n\|\n ARIA: Gold\n\|Britney\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Rock Star\"(N.E.R.D.)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|32\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|74\n\|—\n\|15\n\|\n\|In Search Of...\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"When the Last Time\"(Clipse featuring Kelis and Pharrell)\n\|19\n\|8\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|41\n\|\n\|Lord Willin\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Luv U Better\"(LL Cool J featuring Marc Dorsey)\n\|4\n\|1\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|42\n\|7\n\|\n\|10\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Like I Love You\"(Justin Timberlake)\n\|11\n\|53\n\|8\n\|11\n\|—\n\|16\n\|5\n\|5\n\|14\n\|2\n\|\n ARIA: Platinum\n BPI: Gold\n\|Justified\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"From tha Chuuuch to da Palace\"(Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell)\n\|77\n\|23\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|75\n\|—\n\|97\n\|—\n\|27\n\|\n\|Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Hit the Freeway\"(Toni Braxton featuring Loon)\n\|86\n\|32\n\|46\n\|31\n\|—\n\|56\n\|40\n\|—\n\|38\n\|29\n\|\n\|More Than A Woman\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Come Close\"(Common featuring Mary J. Blige)\n\|65\n\|21\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Electric Circus\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Ma, I Don't Love Her\"(Clipse featuring Faith Evans)\n\|86\n\|40\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|38\n\|\n\|Lord Willin'''\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Star\"(702 featuring Clipse)\n\|—\n\|98\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Star\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Beautiful\"(Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell and Uncle Charlie Wilson)\n\| rowspan=\"13\" \|2003\n\|6\n\|3\n\|4\n\|—\n\|39\n\|27\n\|1\n\|13\n\|19\n\|23\n\|\n ARIA: Gold\n BPI: Silver\n\|Paid tha Cost to Be da Boss\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Excuse Me Miss\"(Jay-Z)\n\|8\n\|1\n\|38\n\|8\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|17\n\|\n RIAA: Gold\n\|The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"What Happened to That Boy\"(Baby featuring Clipse)\n\|45\n\|14\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Birdman\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Belly Dancer\"(Kardinal Offishall featuring Pharrell)\n\|—\n\|96\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|\n\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Rock Your Body\"(Justin Timberlake)\n\|5\n\|45\n\|1\n\|\n\|15\n\|25\n\|4\n\|6\n\|34\n\|2\n\|\n RIAA: Gold\n ARIA: 2× Platinum\n BPI: Platinum\n\|Justified\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Amazin'\"(LL Cool J featuring Kandice Love)\n\|—\n\|73\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|10\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Hot Damn\"(Clipse featuring Ab-Liva, Pharrell, and Roscoe P. Coldchain)\n\|—\n\|58\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Lord Willin and Clones\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Frontin'\"(Pharrell Williams featuring Jay-Z)\n\|5\n\|1\n\|28\n\|15\n\|—\n\|61\n\|16\n\|21\n\|23\n\|6\n\|\n\|Clones\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Señorita\"(Justin Timberlake)\n\|27\n\|—\n\|6\n\|19\n\|41\n\|51\n\|15\n\|26\n\|42\n\|13\n\|\n ARIA: Platinum\n BPI: Silver\n\|Justified\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Light Your Ass on Fire\"(Busta Rhymes)\n\|58\n\|23\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|—\n\|\n\|Clones\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Milkshake\"(Kelis)\n\|3\n\|4\n\|2\n\|—\n\|52\n\|22\n\|1\n\|7\n\|22\n\|2\n\|\n RIAA: Gold\n ARIA: Platinum\n BPI: Gold\n\|Tasty\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Change Clothes\"(Jay-Z featuring Pharrell)\n\|10\n\|6\n\|46\n\|—\n\|—\n\|54\n\|—\n\|40\n\|3\n\|32\n\|\n\|The Black Album\|-\n! scope=\"row\"\| \"Show Me Your Soul\"(Lenny Kravitz, P. Diddy, Loon, and Pharrell)\n\|—\n\|—\n\|45\n\|—\n\|—\n\|61\n\|—\n\|—\n\|62\n\|35\n\|\n\|Bad Boys 2 OST\|-\n\|colspan=\"14\" style=\"font-size:90%\"\| \"—\" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.\n\|}\n\n2004–present\n\n Albums produced \n\n 1996 \nTotal – Total 14. \"When Boy Meets Girl\" (produced with Sean \"Puffy\" Combs)\n\nSWV – The New Beginning 6. \"Use Your Heart\"\n 10. \"Use Your Heart (Interlude)\"\n 13. \"When This Feeling\"\n\n 1997 \nKeystone – A Tear Falls In Brooklyn If It Ain't Love (The Neptunes Remix)\n The Day the Earth Stood Still\n\nMase – Harlem World 6. \"Lookin' At Me\" featuring Puff Daddy\n\n 1998 \nNoreaga – N.O.R.E. 13. \"Superthug\"\n\nMC Lyte – Seven & Seven 10. \"It's All Yours\" (featuring Gina Thompson)\n 11. \"I Can't Make A Mistake\" \n 16. \"Closer\" (featuring Space Nine)\n\n 1999 \nClipse – Exclusive Audio Footage 1. \"The Prayer (Intro)\"\n 2. \"Hear Me Out\"\n 3. \"Power\"\n 4. \"Interlude 1\"\n 5. \"You Don't Even Know\" (featuring Pharrell & Kelis)\n 6. \"Breakfast In Cairo\" (featuring Noreaga & Kurupt)\n 7. \"Skit\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 8. \"Hostage\" (featuring Pharrell & Kelis)\n 9. \"Wild Cowboy\" (featuring Markita)\n 10. \"Got Caught Dealin' Part II\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 11. \"Interlude 2\"\n 12. \"Taiwan To Texas\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 13. \"Interlude 3\"\n 14. \"Stick Girl\" (featuring Pharrell & Kelis)\n 15. \"You Can't Touch Me\" (featuring Lee Harvey & Nako)\n 16. \"Feel Like Me\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 17. \"Bodysnatchers\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 18. \"Diana Ross\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 19. \"Watch Over Me\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 20. \"Interlude 4\" (featuring Nicole Wray)\n 21. \"The Funeral\"\n\nPras – What'cha Wanna Do (CDS) Whatcha Wanna Do (The Neptunes Bang Your Head Remix) (feat. Pharrell, Kelis and Clipse)\n\nHarlem World – Tha Movement 10. One Big Fiesta (featuring Mase)\n 13. Not the Kids (featuring Rashad)\n\nNoreaga – Melvin Flynt - Da Hustler 5. \"Cocaine Business (Hysteria)\" (featuring Kelis)\n 16. \"Oh No\"\n\nOl' Dirty Bastard – Nigga Please 1. \"Recognize\" (featuring Chris Rock)\n 3. \"Cold Blooded\" \n 4. \"Got Your Money\" (featuring Kelis)\n\nPrince – The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (CDM) \"The Greatest Romance Ever Sold\" (Neptunes Extended Edit, featuring Q-Tip)\n\nKelis – Kaleidoscope 1. \"Intro\"\n 2. \"Good Stuff\" (featuring Pusha T)\n 3. \"Caught Out There\" \n 4. \"Get Along With You\"\n 5. \"Mafia\" (featuring Markita)\n 6. \"Game Show\"\n 7. \"Suspended\" \n 8. \"Mars\"\n 9. \"Ghetto Children\" (featuring NERD & Marc Dorsey)\n 10. \"I Want Your Love\"\n 11. \"No Turning Back\" \n 12. \"Roller Rink\" \n 13. \"In the Morning\"\n 14. \"Wouldn't You Agree\" (featuring Justin Vince)\n\n 2000 \nBen Harper and the Innocent Criminals – Steal My Kisses (CDS) 4. \"Steal My Kisses (The Neptunes Beatbox Mix)\"\n\n504 Boyz – The Goodfellas 18. \"D-Game\" (featuring Pharrell and Pusha T)\n\nHalf-A-Mill – Milion 10. \"Thug Onez\" (featuring Noreaga, Kool G Rap & Musalini)\n\nBeenie Man – Art & Life 2. \"Ola\" (featuring Steve Perry)\n 4. \"Girls Dem Sugar\" (featuring Mýa)\n 7. \"Jamaica Way\" (featuring Kelis)\n\nMystikal – Let's Get Ready 2. \"Shake Ya Ass\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 3. Jump\n 4. \"Danger (Been So Long)\" (featuring Nivea) \n 10. \"Family\" (featuring Latrelle)\n\nShyne – Shyne 9. \"Niggas Gonna Die\"\n\nGuru – Jazzmatazz Vol. 3: Streetsoul 4. \"All I Said\" (featuring Macy Gray)\n 10. \"Supa Luv\" (featuring Kelis)\n\nSade – By Your Side (The Neptunes Remix) (Promo CDS) \"By Your Side (The Neptunes Remix)\"\n\nLudacris – Back for the First Time 14. \"Southern Hospitality\"\n\nLil' Kim – How Many Licks (CDS) \"How Many Licks (Neptunes Remix)\"\n\nSheã Seger – May Street Project 3. \"Blind Situation\" (featuring D.R.U.G.S.) (produced with Martin Terefe)\n\nJay-Z – The Dynasty: ROC La Familia 3. \"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me) (featuring Pharrell, Shay Haley & Omilio Sparks)\n\nBackstreet Boys – Black & Blue 16. \"The Call (Neptunes Remix)\" (featuring Clipse)\n\n 2001 \nVarious artists – Urban Renewal: The Songs Of Phil Collins 8. \"I Don't Care Anymore\" (Kelis featuring Pharrell)\n\nBackstreet Boys – The Call Remixes (CDS) 4. \"The Call\" (Neptunes Remix with Pharrell and Clipse)\n\nAngie Martinez – Up Close & Personal 17. \"Dem Thangz\" (featuring Pharrell & Q-Tip)\n\nVarious artists – Dr. Dolittle 2 OST 7. \"What It Is Part II\" (Flipmode Squad featuring Busta Rhymes and Kelis)\n\nRay J – This Ain't a Game 2. \"Wait A Minute\" (featuring Pharrell & Lil' Kim)\n 4. \"Formal Invite\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 8. \"Out Tha Ghetto\" (featuring Shorty Mack)\n\nP. Diddy – The Saga Continues... 7. \"Diddy\"\n\nTha Liks – X.O. Experience 13. \"Best U Can\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nFoxy Brown – Broken Silence 7. \"Candy\" (featuring Kelis) \n 14. \"Gangsta Boogie\"\n\nNSYNC – Celebrity 4. \"Girlfriend\"\n\nVarious artists – Rush Hour 2 OST 13. Blow My Whistle (Hikaru Utada featuring Foxy Brown)\n\nNERD – In Search Of... 1. \"Lapdance\" (featuring Lee Harvey & Vita)\n 2. \"Intro\"\n 3. \"Things Are Getting Better\"\n 4. \"Brain\"\n 5. \"Provider\"\n 6. \"Truth Or Dare\" (featuring Kelis & Pusha T)\n 7. \"Run to the Sun\"\n 8. \"Stay Together\"\n 9. \"Baby Doll\"\n 10. \"Tape You\"\n 11. \"Am I High\" (featuring Malice)\n 12. \"Rock Star \"\n 13. \"Bobby James\"\n\nJadakiss – Kiss Tha Game Goodbye 4. \"Knock Yourself Out\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nPhilly's Most Wanted – Get Down Or Lay Down 1. \"Radikal\"\n 3. \"Suckas\"\n 4. \"Pretty Tony\"\n 5. \"Please Don't Mind\"\n 6. \"Philly Celebrities\"\n 7. \"Ladies Choice\"\n 9. \"Cross the Border\"\n 10. \"Dream Car\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 13. \"Suckas, Pt. 2\" (featuring Beanie Sigel)\n 16. \"Street Tax\" (featuring Clipse)\n\nUsher – 8701 3. \"I Don't Know\" (featuring Pharrell & P. Diddy)\n 8. \"U Don't Have To Call\"\n\nKrayzie Bone – Thug On Da Line 14. \"I Don't Know What\" (featuring Kelis)\n\nMary J. Blige – No More Drama 3. \"Steal Away\" (featuring Pharrell and Malice)\n\nMusaliny-N-M.a.z.e. - Thugmania (Rock With Us) 1. \"Thugmania (Rock Wit Us)\" (featuring Capone-N-Noreaga)\n\nBabyface – Face2Face 2. \"There She Goes\"\n 4. \"Stressed Out\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nFabolous – Ghetto Fabolous 3. \"Young'n (Holla Back)\"\n\nVarious artists – Training Day OST 12. \"Guns N' Roses\" (performed by Clipse)\n\nGarbage – Androgyny (CDS) (UK) 2. \"Androgyny\" (The Neptunes Remix)\n\nT.I. – I'm Serious 7. \"I'm Serious\" (featuring Beenie Man) \n 9. \"What's Yo Name\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nDaft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (CDS) 3. \"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger\" (The Neptunes Remix)\n\nAll Saints – Saints & Sinners 14. \"Black Coffee (The Neptunes Remix)\"\n \nKelis – Wanderland 1. \"Intro\"\n 2. \"Young, Fresh & New\" \n 3. \"Flashback\"\n 4. \"Popular Thug\" (featuring Pusha T)\n 5. \"Daddy\" (featuring Malice)\n 6. \"Scared Money\"\n 7. \"Shooting Stars\"\n 8. \"Digital World\" (featuring Rosco P. Coldchain)\n 9. \"Perfect Day\" (featuring No Doubt)\n 10. \"Easy Come, Easy Go\"\n 11. \"Junkie For Your Love\"\n 12. \"Get Even\"\n 13. \"Mr. U.F.O. Man\" (featuring John Otsby)\n 14. Little Suzie/Star Wars/I Don't Care Anymore\"\n\nAlana Davis – Fortune Cookies 6. \"Bye Bye\"\n\nAll Star Tribute – What's Going On: All-Star Tribute 8. \"What's Going On (The Neptunes This One's For You Mix)\"\n\nJermaine Dupri – Instructions 14. \"Let's Talk About It\" (featuring Clipse and Pharrell)\n\nBritney Spears – Britney 1. \"I'm A Slave 4 U\"\n 5. \"Boys\"\n Am I A Sinner (outtake)\n My Big Secret (outtake)\n Baby Can't You See (outtake) \n\nFaith Evans – Faithfully 4. \"Burnin' Up\"\n\nBusta Rhymes – Genesis 3. \"As I Come Back\"\n 16. \"What It Is\" (featuring Kelis)\n\nLimp Bizkit – New Old Songs 1. \"Nookie - For the Nookie\" (Remixed by the Neptunes)\n 6. \"N 2 Gether Now - All in Together Now\" (Remixed by the Neptunes)\n\nIce Cube – The Greatest Hits 17. \"In the Late Night Hour\" (featuring Clipse)\n\nJoe – Better Days 5. \"Isn't This the World\"\n\nLil' Bow Wow – Doggy Bag 3. \"Take Ya Home\"\n\nMystikal – Tarantula 1. \"Bouncin' Back (Bouncin' Me Against the Wall)\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 12. \"Go 'Head\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nLatrelle – Dirty Girl, Wrong Girl, Bad Girl 1. \"Infatuated\"\n 2. \"I Need U\"\n 3. \"My Life featuring Kelis\"\n 4. \"Dirty Girl featuring Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes\"\n 5. \"Long Night\"\n 6. \"House Party\"\n 7. \"Wrong Girl\"\n 8. \"Nothing Else\"\n 9. \"I Want U featuring Pusha T\"\n\n 2002 \nAir – Everybody Hertz 4. \"Don't Be Light\" (Neptunes Remix)\n\nBusta Rhymes - Pass the Courvoisier Part II (VLS) \"Pass the Courvoisier Part II\" (featuring Pharrell & P. Diddy)\n\nDestiny's Child – This Is the Remix 2. \"Emotion\" (The Neptunes Remix)\n\nNelly – Nellyville 3. \"Hot In Herre\"\n\nN.O.R.E. – God's Favorite 3. \"Nothin'\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 4. \"Grimey\"\n 9. \"Full Mode\"\n 11. \"Head Bussa\"\n 16. \"Consider This\" (featuring Kelis)\n\nVarious Artists – Austin Powers In Goldmember OST 1. \"Work It Out\"\n\nScarface – The Fix 9. \"Someday\" (featuring Faith Evans)\n\nBeenie Man – Tropical Storm 2. \"Feel It Boy\" (featuring Janet Jackson)\n 3. \"Bad Girl\" (featuring Justin Vince)\n 10. \"Bossman\" (featuring Lady Saw and Sean Paul)\n\nClipse – Lord Willin' 1. \"Intro\" \n 2. \"Young Boy\" (featuring Pharrell)\n \"Virginia\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 4. \"Grindin'\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 5. \"Cot Damn\" (featuring Pharrell, Ab-Liva & Rosco P. Coldchain)\n 6. \"Ma, I Don't Love Her\" (featuring Pharrell and Faith Evans)\n 7. \"Fam-Lay\" (Freestyle) (performed by Fam-Lay and Pharrell)\n 8. \"When the Last Time\" (featuring Pharrell and Kelis)\n 9. \"Ego\" featuring (Pharrell and Kelis)\n 10. \"Comedy Central\" (featuring Fabolous)\n 11. \"Let's Talk About It\" (featuring Pharrell & Jermaine Dupri)\n 12. \"Gangsta Lean\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 13. \"I'm Not You\" (featuring Jadakiss, Styles P and Rosco P. Coldchain)\n\nNivea – Nivea 7. \"Run Away (I Wanna Be With U)\" (featuring Pusha T)\n\nTLC – 3D 5. \"In Your Arms Tonight\"\n\nLL Cool J – 10 3. \"Luv U Better\" (featuring Marc Dorsey) \n 6. \"Niggy Nuts\"\n 7. \"Amazin'\" (featuring Kandice Love)\n 8. \"Clockin' G's\"\n 12. \"U Should\"\n\nAlicia Keys – Remixed & Unplugged In A Minor 7. \"How Come You Don't Call Me\" (Neptunes Remix)\n\nJustin Timberlake – Justified 1. \"Señorita\"\n 2. Like I Love You (featuring Clipse)\n 4. \"Take It from Here\"\n 6. \"Rock Your Body\"\n 7. \"Nothin' Else\"\n 8. \"Last Night\" \n 12. \"Let's Take A Ride\"\n\nMs. Jade – Girl Interrupted 4. \"The Come Up\"\n\nJay-Z – The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse 5. \"Excuse Me Miss\"\n 9. \"Fuck All Nite\" \n 19. \"Nigga Please\" (featuring Young Chris)\n 22. \"A Ballad for the Fallen Soldier\" (featuring DJ Clue?)\n\nSean Paul – Dutty Rock 18. \"Bubble\" (featuring Fahrenheit)\n\nToni Braxton – More Than A Woman 4. \"Hit the Freeway\" (featuring Loon)\n\nJa Rule – The Last Temptation 4. \"Pop Niggas\"\n\nBirdman – Birdman 10. \"What Happened To That Boy\" (featuring Clipse)\n\nBusta Rhymes – It Ain't Safe No More... 4. \"Call the Ambulance\" (featuring Rampage)\n\nRoyce da 5'9\" – Rock City 3. \"Off Parole\" (featuring Tre Little)\n 6. \"Mr. Baller\" (featuring Clipse, Pharrell and Tre Little)\n\nSnoop Dogg – Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$ 4. \"From Tha Chuuuch To Da Palace\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 8. \"Beautiful\" (featuring Pharrell & Charlie Wilson)\n\nCommon – Electric Circus 6. \"Come Close\" (featuring Mary J. Blige) \n 9. \"I Got A Right Tha\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nSolange – Solo Star 5. \"Crush\"\n\n 2003 \nVarious artists – Biker Boyz OST 4. \"Don't Look Back\" (performed by Papa Roach and NERD)\n\n702 – Star 6. \"I Still Love You\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 2. \"Star\" (featuring Clipse)\n\nKardinal Offishall – Belly Dancer (CDS) Belly Dancer (featuring Pharrell)\n\nVarious artists – Charlie's Angels 2 – Full Throttle OST 10. \"Nas' Angels...The Flyest\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nVarious artists - Bad Boys 2 OST 2. \"Show Me Your Soul\" (performed by P. Diddy, Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell and Loon) (produced with Lenny Kravitz and Sean \"Puffy\" Combs)\n 3. \"La-La-La\" (performed by Jay-Z)\n\nBow Wow – Unleashed 6. \"The Don, the Dutch\"\n 7. \"The Movement\"\n 11. \"I'll Move On\" (featuring Mario)\n\nThe Neptunes - Clones 1. \"Intro\"\n 2. \"Light Your Ass on Fire\" (performed by Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell Williams)\n 3. \"Blaze of Glory\" (performed by Clipse featuring Pharrell and Ab-Liva)\n 4. \"It Wasn't Us\" (performed by Ludacris featuring I-20)\n 5. \"Frontin'\" (Pharrell Williams featuring Jay-Z)\n 6. \"Good Girl\" (performed by Vanessa Marquez)\n 7. \"If\" (performed by Nelly)\n 8. \"Hot\" (performed by Rosco P. Coldchain featuring Pusha T and Boo-Bonic)\n 9. \"It Blows My Mind\" (performed by Snoop Dogg)\n 10. \"Half-Steering...\" (performed by Spymob)\n 11. \"Fuck N' Spend\" (performed by the High Speed Scene)\n 12. \"Loser\" (performed by N.E.R.D featuring Clipse)\n 13. \"Rock 'n' Roll\" (performed by Fam-Lay)\n 14. \"The Don of Dons (Put De Ting Pon Dem)\" (performed by Super Cat featuring Jadakiss)\n 15. \"Hot Damn\" (performed by Clipse featuring Ab-Liva, Pharrell and Rosco P. Coldchain)\n 16. \"Put 'Em Up\" (performed by N.O.R.E. featuring Pharrell)\n 17. \"Pop Shit\" (performed by Ol' Dirty Bastard featuring Pharrell)\n 18. \"Popular Thug\" (performed by Kelis featuring Nas)\n\nLudacris - Chicken-n-Beer 10. \"P-Poppin\" (featuring Shawnna and Lil Fate) (produced with Zukhan Bey)\n\nJay-Z – The Black Album 5. \"Change Clothes\" \n 13. \"Allure\"\n\nKelis – Tasty 3. \"Milkshake\"\n 6. \"Flashback\"\n 7. \"Protect My Heart\"\n 10. \"Sugar Honey Iced Tea\"\n 12. \"Rolling Through the Hood\"\n\nRosco P. Coldchain – Delinquent (CDS) \"Delinquent\" feat. Pharrell\n\n 2004 \nRe-Up Gang – We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1 13. \"Stuntin' Y'all\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nVarious artists – Barbershop 2: Back In Business OST \"Pussy\" (performed by Clipse)\n\nCee Lo Green – Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine 3. \"The Art Of Noise\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 16. \"Let's Stay Together\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nNERD – Fly Or Die 1. \"Don't Worry About It\"\n 2. \"Fly Or Die\"\n 3. \"Jump\" (featuring Joel Madden and Benji Madden)\n 4. \"Backseat Love\"\n 5. \"She Wants to Move\" \n 6. \"Breakout\"\n 7. \"Wonderful Place/Waiting for You\"\n 8. \"Drill Sergeant/Preservation\" \n 9. \"Thrasher\"\n 10. \"Maybe\"\n 11. \"The Way She Dances\"\n 12. \"Chariot Of Fire/Find My Way\"\n\nJadakiss – Kiss Of Death 9. \"Hot Sauce To Go\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nTalib Kweli– The Beautiful Struggle 3. \"Broken Glass\"\n\nFabolous – Real Talk 5. \"Tit 4 Tat\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 14. \"Young & Sexy\" (featuring Pharrell and Mike Shorey)\n\nGwen Stefani – Love.Angel.Music.Baby. 3. \"Hollaback Girl\"\n\nLil Jon & the East Side Boyz – Crunk Juice 19. \"Stick Dat Thang Out (Skeezer)\" (featuring Pharrell and Ying Yang Twins)\n\nSnoop Dogg – R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece 3. Drop It Like It's Hot (featuring Pharrell) \n 8. Let's Get Blown (featuring Pharrell) \n 10. \"Perfect\" (featuring Charlie Wilson)\n 16. \"Signs\" (featuring Justin Timberlake & Charlie Wilson)\n 18. \"Pass It Pass It\"\n\nT.I. – Urban Legend 11. \"Freak Though\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nUsher - Yeah! CD Single\n 3. \"Sweet Lies\" featuring Vanessa Marquez\n\n 2005 \nOmarion – O 2. \"Touch\"\n\nBeanie Sigel – The B. Coming 5. \"Don't Stop\" (featuring Snoop Dogg)\n\nFaith Evans – The First Lady 1. \"Goin' Out\" (featuring Pharrell & Pusha T)\n\nMariah Carey – The Emancipation of Mimi 5. \"Say Somethin' (featuring Snoop Dogg)\n 12. \"To the Floor\" (featuring Nelly)\n\nMissy Elliott – The Cookbook 7. \"On & On\"\n\nSlim Thug – Already Platinum 2. \"Like A Boss\"\n 6. \"I Ain't Heard Of That (Remix)\" (featuring Bun B)\n 7. \"Click Clack\" (featuring Pusha T)\n 9. \"Already Platinum\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 10. \"Ashy To Classy\"\n 12. \"Playa Ya Don't Know\"\n 15. \"This Is My Life\" (featuring LeToya Luckett)\n 16. \"Dedicate\"\n\nNelly – Sweat 3. Flap Your Wings\"\n\nNelly – Suit 1. \"Play It Off\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nTwista – The Day After 5. \"Lavish\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 10. \"When I Get You Home (A.I.O.U.)\" (featuring Jamie Foxx and Pharrell)\n\nQ-Tip – For the Nasty (CDS) \"For the Nasty\" (featuring Pharrell and Busta Rhymes)\n\nTeriyaki Boyz – Beef Or Chicken 6. \"超 L A R G E\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\n 2006 \nT.I. – King 15. \"Goodlife\" (featuring Pharrell and Common)\n\nLL Cool J – Todd Smith 5. \"Best Dress\" (featuring Jamie Foxx)\n\nVarious artists – Fast & Furious 3 – Tokyo Drift OST 1. \"Tokyo Drift\" (performed by Teriyaki Boyz)\n\nBeyoncé – B'Day 6. \"Kitty Kat\" (produced with Beyonce)\n 8. \"Green Light\" (produced with Beyonce and Sean Garrett)\n\nLupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor 5. \"I Gotcha\"\n\nLudacris – Release Therapy 3. \"Money Maker\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 4. \"Girls Gone Wild\"\n\nRobin Thicke – The Evolution of Robin Thicke 10. \"Wanna Love You Girl\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nSleepy Brown – Mr. Brown 2. \"Margarita\" (featuring Pharrell & Big Boi)\n\nDiddy – Press Play 19. \"Partners For Life\" (featuring Jamie Foxx)\n\nJay-Z – Kingdom Come 9. \"Anything\" (featuring Pharrell and Usher)\n\nSnoop Dogg – Tha Blue Carpet Treatment 4. \"Vato\" (featuring B-Real) \n 11. \"10 Lil' Crips\"\n\nClipse – Hell Hath No Fury \n 1. \"We Got It for Cheap (Intro)\"\n 2. \"Momma I'm So Sorry\"\n 3. \"Mr. Me Too\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 4. \"Wamp Wamp (What It Do)\" (featuring Slim Thug)\n 5. \"Ride Around Shining\" (featuring Ab Liva)\n 6. \"Dirty Money\"\n 7. \"Hello New World\"\n 8. \"Keys Open Doors\"\n 9. \"Ain't Cha\" (featuring Re-Up Gang)\n 10. \"Trill\"\n 11. \"Chinese New Year\" (featuring Rosco P. Coldchain)\n 12. \"Nightmares\" featuring Bilal and Pharrell)\n\nGwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape 1. \"Wind It Up\" (produced with Spike Stent and Ron Fair)\n 3. \"Orange County Girl\"\n 7. \"Yummy\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 11. \"U Started It\" (produced with Spike Stent)\n\nCiara – The Evolution 5. \"I Proceed\"\n 17. \"I'm Just Me\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nFefe Dobson – Sunday Love 2. \"In the Kissah\" (produced with Fefe Dobson)\n\nOmarion – 21 6. \"Obsession\"\n\nMos Def – True Magic 11. \"Murder Of A Teenage Life\"\n\n 2007 \nYung Joc – Hustlenomics 5. \"Hell Yeah\" (featuring Diddy)\n 9. \"BYOB\"\n\nTwista – Adrenaline Rush 2007 14. \"Give It Up (featuring Pharrell)\n\nTito El Bambino – It's My Time 7.\"Booty\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nBritney Spears – Blackout 12. \"Why Should I Be Sad\"\n Sugarfall (outtake)\n Love In The Bahamas (outtake) \n\nJay-Z – American Gangster 8. \"I Know\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 14. \"Blue Magic\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nMario – Go! 1. \"Go\"\n\nMary J. Blige – Growing Pains 8. \"Till the Morning\"\n\n 2008 \nSnoop Dogg – Ego Trippin' 10. \"Sets Up\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nMadonna – Hard Candy 1. \"Candy Shop\" (produced with Madonna)\n 3. \"Give It 2 Me\" (produced with Madonna)\n 4. \"Heartbeat\" (produced with Madonna)\n 6. \"She's Not Me\" (produced with Madonna)\n 7. \"Incredible\" (produced with Madonna)\n 8. \"Beat Goes On\" (featuring Kanye West) (produced with Madonna)\n 10. \"Spanish Lesson\" (produced with Madonna)My Drive Thru (Converse Anniversary) (Promo CDS) \"My Drive Thru\" (featuring Pharrell, Santogold and Julian Casablancas)\n\nNERD – Seeing Sounds 1. \"Time for Some Action (Intro)\"\n 2. \"Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)\"\n 3. \"Windows\"\n 4. \"Anti Matter\"\n 5. \"Spaz\"\n 6. \"Yeah You\"\n 7. \"Sooner or Later\"\n 8. \"Happy (Skit)\"\n 9. \"Kill Joy\"\n 10. \"Love Bomb\"\n 11. \"You Know What\"\n 12. \"Laugh About It\"\n 13. \"Lazer Gun\"\n\nSolange – Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams 6. \"I Decided\"\n\nNelly – Brass Knuckles 10. \"Let It Go (Lil' Mama)\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nChester French – She Loves Everybody EP 2. \"She Loves Everybody (The Neptunes Remix)\"\n\nCommon – Universal Mind Control 1. \"Intro/Universal Mind Control\" (featuring Pharrell) \n 2. \"Punch Drunk Love (The Eye)\" (featuring Kanye West)\n 4. \"Sex For Suga\"\n 5. \"Announcement\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 6. \"Gladiator\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 8. \"Inhale\"\n 9. \"What A World\" (featuring Chester French)\n\n 2009 \nTeriyaki Boyz – Serious Japanese 2. Work That!\" (featuring Pharrell & Chris Brown) \n 9. \"Zock On!\" (featuring Pharrell and Busta Rhymes)\n 14. \"Tokyo Drift (Remix)\" (featuring Pusha T & Fam-Lay)\n\nVarious artists – Fast & Furious 4 OST 2. \"G-Stro\" (performed by Busta Rhymes)\n 4. \"Blanco\" (performed by Pitbull and Pharrell)\n 6. \"You Slip, She Grip\" (performed by Tego Calderón and Pitbull)\n 7. \"Head Bust\" (performed by Shark City Click and Pharrell)\n 8. \"Bad Girls\" (performed by Pitbull and Robin Thicke)\n\nJadakiss – The Last Kiss 7. \"Stress Ya\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 11. \"Rockin' With the Best\" (featuring Pharrell & Bobby V)\n\nMos Def – The Ecstatic 2. \"Twilite Speedball\" (produced with Mos Def)\n\nQueen Latifah – Persona 12. \"If He Wanna\" (featuring Serani)\n\nJay-Z – The Blueprint 3 14. \"So Ambitious\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nShakira – She Wolf 2. Did It Again (produced with Shakira)\n 3. \"Long Time\" (produced with Shakira)\n 4. \"Why Wait\" (produced with Shakira)\n 5. \"Good Stuff\" (produced with Shakira)\n 10. Lo Hecho Está Hecho (produced with Shakira)\n 11. Años Luz (produced with Shakira)\nJennifer Lopez (aka Lola) – Fresh Out the Oven (CDM) \"Fresh Out the Oven\" (featuring Pharrell & Pitbull)\n\nVarious artists – 90210 OST 2. \"Soldier\" (performed by NERD and Santigold)\n\nMichael Jackson – The Remix Suite 2. \"Never Can Say Goodbye (Neptunes Remix)\"\n\nWale – Attention Deficit 6. \"Let It Loose\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nClipse – Til the Casket Drops 2. \"Popular Demand (Popeyes)\" (featuring Cam'ron & Pharrell)\n 4. \"Showing Out\" (featuring Yo Gotti & Pharrell)\n 5. \"I'm Good\" (featuring Pharrell)\n 7. \"Door Man\"\n 9. \"All Eyes On Me\" (featuring Keri Hilson)\n 10. \"Counseling\" (featuring Nicole Hurst & Pharrell)\n 11. \"Champion\" (featuring Graph Nobel)\n 13. \"Life Change\" (featuring Kenna)\n\nSnoop Dogg – Malice in Wonderland 13. \"Special\" (featuring Brandy and Pharrell)\n\n 2010 \nLudacris – Battle of the Sexes 15. \"Sexting\"\n\nNERD – Nothing 1. \"Party People\" (featuring T.I.)\n 2. \"Hypnotize U\" (produced with Daft Punk)\n 3. \"Help Me\"\n 4. \"Victory\" \n 5. \"Perfect Defect\"\n 6. \"I've Seen the Light/Inside of Clouds\"\n 7. \"God Bless Us All\"\n 8. \"Life As A Fish\"\n 9. \"Nothing On You\"\n 10. \"Hot-N-Fun\" (featuring Nelly Furtado)\n 11. \"It's in the Air\"\n 12. \"Sacred Temple\"\n 13. \"I Wanna Jam\"\n 14. \"The Man\"\n 15. \"Fuego\"\n 16. \"Ride That Thang\" (featuring Fam-Lay)\n\nT.I. – No Mercy 3. \"Get Back Up\" (featuring Chris Brown) \n 10. \"Amazing\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nCee-Lo Green – It's OK 4. \"Bridges\"\n\n 2011 \nLupe Fiasco – Lasers 13. \"I'm Beamin\"\n\nTravis Barker – Give the Drummer Some 2. \"If You Want To\" (featuring Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco)\n\nBig Sean – Finally Famous\t\n 8. \"Get It (DT)\"\n\nThe Cool Kids – When Fish Ride Bicycles 8. \"Get Right\"\n 11. \"Summer Jam\" (featuring Maxine Ashley)\n\nJAY-Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne 5. \"Gotta Have It\" (produced with Kanye West)\n\nPusha T – Fear of God II: Let Us Pray 3. \"Trouble On My Mind\" (featuring Tyler, the Creator) (produced with Left Brain)\n 9. \"Raid\" (featuring 50 Cent and Pharrell)\n\n 2012 \nJay-Z – Glory (Promo CDS) \"Glory\" (featuring B.I.C.)\n\nRye Rye – Go! Pop! Bang! 11. \"Shake, Twist, Drop\" (featuring Tyga)\n\nCurren$y – The Stoned Immaculate 9. \"Chasin' Paper\" (featuring Pharrell)\n\nGame - California Republic 15. \"When My Niggas Come Home\" (featuring Snoop Dogg and Pharrell)\n 16. \"It Must Be Tough\" (featuring Pharrell and Mysonne)\n 22. \"They Don't Want None\" (featuring Shyne and Pharrell)\n 24. \"Roll My Shit\" (featuring Snoop Dogg)\n\nD.O.P.E. - D.O.P.E. \n 2. \"Block Blazer\" (feat. T.I.)\n\n 2013 \nEarl Sweatshirt – Doris 2. \"Burgundy\" (featuring Vince Staples)\n\nPusha T - Wrath Of Caine 6. Revolution\n\n 2015 \nNERD – The SpongeBob Movie 2: Sponge Out Of Water OST 1. \"Squeeze Me\"\n 2. \"Sandy Squirrel\"\n 3. \"Patrick Star\"\n\nSnoop Dogg – Bush 1. \"California Roll\" (featuring Stevie Wonder)\n 2. \"This City\"\n 3. \"R U A Freak\"\n 4. \"Awake\"\n 5. \"So Many Pros\"\n 7. \"Edibles\" (featuring T.I.)\n\n 2016 \nLittle Big Town - Wanderlust 7. \"Miracle\"\n\n 2017 \nNER*D - No One Ever Really Dies 6. \"ESP\"\n\n 2018 \nJustin Timberlake - Man of the Woods 2. \"Midnight Summer Jam\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 4. \"Man of the Woods\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 5. \"Higher, Higher\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 6. \"Wave\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 7. \"Supplies\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 11. \"Flannel\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 12. \"Montana\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 13. \"Breeze Off the Pond\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n 14. \"Living Off the Land\" (produced with Justin Timberlake)\n\n2019\nDaniel Caesar - Case Study 01 4. \"Frontal Lobe Muzik\"\n\nPharrell Williams – Music from The Black Godfather 1. \"Letter To My Godfather\"\n\n 2020 \nMegan Thee Stallion - Suga\n 7. \"Stop Playing\" (featuring Gunna)\n 8. \"Crying in the Car\"\n\nBuju Banton - Upside Down 2020 9. \"Cherry Pie\"\n\nMonica - Trenches 1. \"Trenches\" (featuring Lil Baby)\n\nSZA - Hit Different 1. \"Hit Different\" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign)\n\ndeadmau5 and the Neptunes - Pomegranate 1. \"Pomegranate\"\n\nPharrell Williams - Entrepreneur 1. \"Entrepreneur\" (featuring Jay-Z)\n\n 2021 \nSummer Walker - Still Over It\n\n 14. \"Dat Right There\"\nCassie - Hide 01 \"Hide\" (featuring Pharrell Williams)\n\nMoneybagg Yo - A Gangsta's Pain 15. \"Projects\" \n 18. \"Certified Neptunes\" (featuring Pharrell Williams)\n\nBrent Faiyaz - Wasting Time \n 01. \"Wasting Time\" (featuring Drake)\n\nSnoh Aalegra - Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies \n 03. \"In Your Eyes\"\n\nIDK - USEE4YOURSELF \n 12. Keto (featuring Swae Lee & Rico Nasty)\n\n Pop Smoke - Faith \n 07. \"Top Shotta\" (featuring BEAM, Pusha T, TRAVI)\n 17. \"Spoiled\" (featuring Pharrell Williams)\n 20. \"Merci Beaucoup\"\n\n Metallica - The Metallica BlacklistDisc 3\n 03. \"Wherever I May Roam\" (Remix) \n\n A$AP Ferg - Green Juice \n 01. \"Green Juice\"\n\n Orelsan - Civilisation''\n 12. \"Dernier verre\"\n\nReferences\n\nDiscographies of American artists\nProduction discographies\nDiscography\nHip hop discographies", "\"Awake\" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg, taken from his thirteenth album, Bush (2015). The song, produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo. The song contains additional vocals performed by Pharrell.\n\nBackground\nOn August 28, 2014 was released a video of what would be a preview of one of the songs work together between Snoop and Pharrell. In the video are together Snoop, Kurupt and Daz Dillinger in the background plays a verse of the song.\n\nReferences\n\n2015 songs\nSnoop Dogg songs\nSongs written by Snoop Dogg\nSongs written by Pharrell Williams\nSong recordings produced by the Neptunes" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know.", "What do people normally say about his voice?", "Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command.", "Who has his voice been compared to?", "Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin,", "Have things have celebrities said about his singing?", "Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has \"sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range", "Who else has talked about his voice?", "Pharrell Williams,", "What did Pharrell say?", "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	Is there anything else important?	8	Is there anything else important other than other singer's comments about Adam Lambert's voice?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	false	[ "In baseball, a fair ball is a batted ball that entitles the batter to attempt to reach first base. By contrast, a foul ball is a batted ball that does not entitle the batter to attempt to reach first base. Whether a batted ball is fair or foul is determined by the location of the ball at the appropriate reference point, as follows:\n\n if the ball leaves the playing field without touching anything, the point where the ball leaves the field;\n else, if the ball first lands past first or third base without touching anything, the point where the ball lands;\n else, if the ball rolls or bounces past first or third base without touching anything other than the ground, the point where the ball passes the base;\n else, if the ball touches anything other than the ground (such as an umpire, a player, or any equipment left on the field) before any of the above happens, the point of such touching;\n else (the ball comes to a rest before reaching first or third base), the point where the ball comes to a rest.\n\nIf any part of the ball is on or above fair territory at the appropriate reference point, it is fair; else it is foul. Fair territory or fair ground is defined as the area of the playing field between the two foul lines, and includes the foul lines themselves and the foul poles. However, certain exceptions exist:\n\n A ball that touches first, second, or third base is always fair.\n Under Rule 5.09(a)(7)-(8), if a batted ball touches the batter or his bat while the batter is in the batter's box and not intentionally interfering with the course of the ball, the ball is foul.\n A ball that hits the foul pole without first having touched anything else off the bat is fair.\n Ground rules may provide whether a ball hitting specific objects (e.g. roof, overhead speaker) is fair or foul.\n\nOn a fair ball, the batter attempts to reach first base or any subsequent base, runners attempt to advance and fielders try to record outs. A fair ball is considered a live ball until the ball becomes dead by leaving the field or any other method.\n\nReferences\n\nBaseball rules", "Transcendent truths are those unaffected by time or space. They define the world, but are not defined by the world. An example of a transcendent truth is \"God is good\", or \"there is no God\". Either way, how one looks at things contained by time and space is a result of the transcendent truth. One is true; both cannot be true at the same time.\n\nWorld views are made up of transcendent truths, things we believe are true before we question whether or not anything else is true.\n\nTheories of truth" ]
[ "Adam Lambert", "Voice", "Is Adam's voice special?", "Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones.", "Did Adam like to sing as a child?", "I don't know.", "What do people normally say about his voice?", "Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command.", "Who has his voice been compared to?", "Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin,", "Have things have celebrities said about his singing?", "Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has \"sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range", "Who else has talked about his voice?", "Pharrell Williams,", "What did Pharrell say?", "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range.", "Is there anything else important?", "In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice" ]	C_207ac1056ad74f14ac26d3194ede7a5e_1	How much did he insure it for?	9	How much did Adam Lambert's voice insurance cost?	Adam Lambert	Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range, and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 - B5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren - there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, British tabloid the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert had insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." CANNOTANSWER	$48 million.	Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after finishing as runner-up on the eighth season of American Idol. Later that year, he released his debut album For Your Entertainment, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album spawned several singles, including "Whataya Want from Me", for which he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance". In 2012, Lambert released his second studio album Trespassing. The album premiered at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making him the first openly gay artist to top the album charts. In 2015, Lambert released his third album The Original High, which debuted at number three on the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the single "Ghost Town". Alongside his solo career, Lambert has collaborated with rock band Queen as lead vocalist for Queen + Adam Lambert since 2011, including several worldwide tours from 2014 to 2020. Their first album, Live Around the World, released in October 2020, and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In late 2019, Lambert founded the non-profit Feel Something Foundation, anchoring his ongoing philanthropy, LGBTQ+ and human rights activism. Its particular focus is support for organizations and projects that directly and disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community, including education and the arts, mental health, suicide prevention and homelessness. Early life and family Lambert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on January 29, 1982, to mother Leila, a dental hygienist; and father Eber Lambert, a program manager for Novatel Wireless. His father is of partial Norwegian descent and his mother is Jewish, with roots in Romania. Lambert was raised in his mother's religion. He has a younger brother, Neil. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to San Diego, California. Lambert began performing with Metropolitan Educational Theatre network (now MET2) from the age of nine. A few years later, he began more intense acting and vocal coaching, continuing to perform with both MET2 and what was to become the Broadway Bound Youth Theatre Foundation, as he moved through Mesa Verde Middle School and then Mount Carmel High School. There, he became heavily involved with theater and choir, performed vocals with the school's jazz band, and competed in the local Air Bands competitions. He also appeared in local professional productions such as Hello, Dolly!, Camelot, The Music Man, Grease, Chess and Peter Pan, at venues such as The Starlight, The Lyceum and others. After graduating from high school in 2000, he attended California State University, Fullerton, but left after five weeks to move to Los Angeles: "I just decided that what I really wanted to do was try to work in the real entertainment world. Life is all about taking risks to get what you want." Career 2001–2008: Career beginnings At 19, Lambert got his first professional job, performing on a cruise ship for ten months with Anita Mann Productions. Afterwards, he performed in light opera in Orange County, California. By 21, he was signed with a manager and cast in a European tour of Hair. In 2004, he appeared in the Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) production of Brigadoon and a Pasadena Playhouse production of 110 in the Shade, before being cast in the role of Joshua in The Ten Commandments: The Musical at the Kodak Theatre alongside Val Kilmer. He came to the attention of the casting director for Wicked, and was hired as the understudy for the role of Fiyero and an ensemble member in the first national touring production of the musical from 2005, and the Los Angeles production from 2007. He finished performances with the musical in 2008. During this same period, Lambert briefly fronted underground rock band The Citizen Vein with Steve Sidelnyk, Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman. He also worked as a demo singer and a session musician; a compilation of his 2005 recordings were released in 2009 on the album Take One. 2009: American Idol Lambert auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco, California by singing "Rock with You" and "Bohemian Rhapsody". Advancing to Hollywood week, he performed "What's Up" and "Believe" solo, and "Some Kind of Wonderful" in the group effort. Simon Cowell voiced some concern about his theatricality, but Randy Jackson found it "current". He advanced easily to the top 36 performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In the first week of live shows, his rendition of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was praised by all four judges. For Country week, he sang a sitar-infused version of "Ring of Fire". His Motown night acoustic version of The Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears" drew praise from judges and a standing ovation from Smokey Robinson, the week's mentor. Advancing to the top 8, he sang the 2001 Michael Andrews and Gary Jules arrangement of "Mad World". Because the show exceeded its time slot, only Cowell gave a critique, which he did by giving Lambert a standing ovation, the only one he bestowed during his decade-long run as an American Idol judge. After Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You", delivering what DioGuardi called his "most memorable performance", Cowell described his vocals as "immaculate". For the top 3 show, he performed "One" before Cowell declared, "If you are not in the final next week, it will be one of the biggest upsets"; and continued with "Cryin'" before Abdul affirmed, "we'll be seeing you next week and many years after that". Lambert performed three solos in the finale, a reprise of "Mad World", followed by the 1960s civil rights anthem "A Change Is Gonna Come", to tremendously positive judge reaction. After his performance of the mandatory winner's single, "No Boundaries" Cowell summed up Lambert's journey: "Over the entire season, you've been one of the best, most original contestants we've ever had on the show. The hope and whole idea of a show like this is to find a worldwide star, and I truly believe we've found that in you". Lambert was announced as the runner-up for the eighth season of American Idol. Upon winning, Kris Allen stated: "Adam deserved this", later explaining he thought Lambert deserved to win as much as he did, and that Lambert "was the most consistent person all year. He was seriously one of the most gifted performers that I've ever met". Lambert's version of the winner's single was released alongside Allen's. The Los Angeles Times later ranked Lambert fifth in its list of the top 120 American Idol contestants, selected from the first nine seasons of the show, above Allen. Photos of Lambert kissing another man surfaced during the American Idol competition. Highlighted as controversial, they were displayed by conservative commentators on The O'Reilly Factor, who called them "embarrassing", but did not agree that the images would impact the competition. Lambert confirmed that the photos were of him, stating he had nothing to hide and had always been open about his life. Mainstream media speculated on his sexuality and the readiness of American Idol voters for an openly gay winner. He confirmed that he was gay in a Rolling Stone cover interview shortly thereafter. Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week. Lambert performed "Mad World" on The Early Show and Live with Regis and Kelly. He began the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 in July and that summer was also the recipient of two awards: the Young Hollywood Award for Artist of the Year and the Teen Choice Award for Male Reality/Variety Star. 2009–2011: For Your Entertainment and touring For Your Entertainment, Lambert's first studio album, was released on November 23, 2009. Debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 and selling 198,000 copies in the US its first week, the album saw Lambert in collaboration with producers such as Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke and Max Martin; and writers who included Matthew Bellamy, Ryan Tedder, Rivers Cuomo, Justin Hawkins, P!nk, Linda Perry and Lady Gaga. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 71, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Spin said the album is "perhaps the strongest, most flavorful batch of tunes to reach an AI vet, and Lambert's polymorphous vocal skills unite dancefloor strut and hard-rock pomp in a convincing glam package". Rolling Stone, however, gave it a more mixed review: "The songs sound great but feel strangely stuffy—[it] seems like a disc that was overthought. Next time, the hugely talented Lambert should make sure he's going straight for the gut." Its Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke-produced lead single "For Your Entertainment" preceded the album's release but was not as successful as its second single "Whataya Want from Me" which impacted on charts worldwide, became his highest-peaking single (at number 10) on the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd awards ceremony. Another notable single was "Time for Miracles", the ending theme for the disaster movie 2012. , For Your Entertainment has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and was certified gold in the US in June 2010. On November 22, Lambert performed "For Your Entertainment" at the American Music Awards of 2009. The controversial performance, which was the night's finale, showed Lambert kissing a male bassist and grabbing the crotch of another. In response, the Parents Television Council, a conservative decency group urged viewers to complain to the FCC and launched a formal complaint—though the performance aired "outside the FCC's usual 6am-10pm time frame prohibiting the broadcast of indecent material". ABC received about 1,500 telephoned complaints and cancelled Lambert's performance of November 25 on Good Morning America, his upcoming performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and removed him from consideration for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Discussing the incident in a Rolling Stone interview, Lambert stated: "Female performers have been doing this for years—pushing the envelope about sexuality—and the minute a man does it, everybody freaks out. We're in 2009—it's time to take risks, be a little more brave, time to open people's eyes and if it offends them, then maybe I'm not for them. My goal was not to piss people off, it was to promote freedom of expression and artistic freedom." Lambert returned to the AMAs two years later as a presenter, and was warmly received. Rejecting claims that the singer was banned from the show in 2009, Executive Producer Larry Klein said that he's anticipating future Lambert performances: "Adam Lambert is a friend of ours, he's talented and I like everything about him." Lambert's performance was included in Billboard's list of "Top Ten American Music Awards Moments" on the eve of its 40th anniversary, in November 2012. In the months leading to his album release, Lambert appeared on the cover of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly in May 2009, Rolling Stone in June 2009 and Details in November 2009. His Rolling Stone cover story became the magazine's best selling issue of the year. He appeared on the cover of Out magazine in their 2009 "Out 100" issue, sparking controversy as Outs publisher issued him an open letter questioning the "gayness" of his image. In April, he became one of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People 2010. He was chosen for Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009, and interviewed on the show of December 10. In late 2009, he performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, The Jay Leno Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He performed his first official solo concert, which sold-out, at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. In April 2010, Lambert returned to American Idol as the first former contestant to mentor during an Elvis Presley themed week, where he also performed. In June, he appeared on Canada's MuchMusic Video Awards to receive the UR Fav International Video award for "Whataya Want from Me". In early June 2010, Lambert embarked on his debut headlining Glam Nation Tour, playing in the United States, Europe and Asia for 113 shows, nearly all of them sold out. The Indianapolis show was filmed for Lambert's first video release Glam Nation Live, a 13-track CD with DVD. The concert, which MTV called "out of this world", and his subsequent video release, were well-received, with Entertainment Weekly saying it "sizzles" with the energy that Lambert's vocals bring in a live concert setting. Glam Nation Live debuted at number one on the SoundScan Music Video chart and landed at number 12 on Billboards 2011 year-end music video sales chart. This followed the release of his first extended play, Acoustic Live!, consisting of acoustic versions of songs recorded live in various countries. The EP garnered excellent reviews and was called "electrifying" by the New York Daily News. In August, he was profiled in an hour-long documentary for VH1's Behind the Music series; and later in the year mentored for a second time on The Hub TV Network's Majors & Minors, coaching singing contestants who were children. In November 2011, Lambert joined Queen as the lead singer at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where the band was honored with the Global Icon Award and they performed a medley of classic hits. 2012–2013: Trespassing Lambert changed management from 19 Entertainment to Direct Management Group in August 2011. The title track of his second studio album, Trespassing, was co-written with Pharrell Williams; while the album's lead single, "Better Than I Know Myself", a collaboration with Dr. Luke and Claude Kelly, was released digitally on December 20, 2011. Trespassing was released on May 15, 2012, to positive reviews. On May 23, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 77,000 copies. and at number three in United Kingdom's midweek chart. His second single "Never Close Our Eyes", written by Bruno Mars and produced by Dr. Luke, was released digitally on April 17, to positive reviews. Lambert returned to American Idol for his third consecutive year on the results show that preceded Idol's final week. The performance of May 17 of "Never Close Our Eyes" was touted for its vibrant energy and dazzle, as well as for the powerhouse vocals that had become his signature. Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, Lambert performed across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, appearing in festivals, on radio and television, and in concert, including one of several headlining spots at Summer Sonic Festival 2012. In September, he appeared on the finale of The Voice of China, the country's most popular program. Lambert joined Queen for a six concert date collaboration, kicking off with a two-hour extravaganza under the auspices of the UEFA in Kyiv on June 30, the eve of the Euro 2012 Football Championship. Viewed live by hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's main square, the performance was touted for the strength of Lambert's showmanship, vocal excellence and interpretative skill, which confidently balanced old and new. Almost uniformly, reviews noted Lambert's vocals, his "sizzle" and "electrifying" presence; along with the synergy of the collaboration, which Brian May called "organic". Lambert's third single, "Trespassing", was released as part of an eight track EP of remixes that included a radio edit of the original song. Entitled Trespassing Remixes, it became available to radio and digital outlets in October, with hard copies sold from his official website only. "Trespassing" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, giving Lambert his tenth number one Billboard entry. On October 23, Lambert acted and performed two songs from Trespassing in the Halloween special of the television series Pretty Little Liars. Lambert appeared for the first time in South Africa in November, headlining arena concerts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. South Africa's The Sunday Times called Lambert's Johannesburg performance "epic" and "electrifying", stating: "His voice is stunning and his entertainment factor is through the roof." Later that month he was in Hong Kong delivering a "powerful performance" at the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2012 MAMA.) The album Trespassing was rewarded in year end lists and polls, among them best album of the year at Rolling Stone, number three at Billboard for "Favorite 200 No.1" albums, and number eight on People magazine's list of "Top Ten Music" in its year end issue. Queen + Adam Lambert was named best live act of 2012 at Gigwise, and one of Classic Rock magazine's top events of the year. Lambert left 19 Recordings when his contract expired, but remained with RCA Records. On February 17, the newly dubbed "We Are Glamily Tour" kicked off in Seoul, with seventeen stops throughout Asia and Europe. His first solo concert in Hong Kong on March 5 was noted for the live debut of two songs, "Time for Miracles" and a cover of "Shout", called "stunning" and vocally impressive. Lambert won the "Favorite International Artist" category at the STAR TV 17th Chinese Music Awards held in Macau in April, also performing two songs from Trespassing. Lambert also appeared as a guest judge during auditions on Chinese Idol. On May 11, Lambert for his album Trespassing along with Frank Ocean for Channel Orange were co-recipients of the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards. He returned to American Idol on May 16 for the fourth consecutive year, performing a duet with Angie Miller on the twelfth season finale of American Idol, where Miller was a finalist in the top three. The pair tackled the song "Titanium". In a letter sent to The Hollywood Reporter on July 12, Lambert revealed that he would be leaving RCA due to "creative differences" centering most directly on his next release. With RCA "pushing" for a covers album, Lambert stated: "my heart is simply not in doing a covers album ... I am already deep into writing new material with some very talented colleagues for a brand new album, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this new sound and direction. This music is where my heart is". Lambert unveiled a collaboration with Nile Rodgers and DJ-producer Avicii when the three appeared onstage together for the track's US debut at an August benefit concert on Long Island. The song, entitled "Lay Me Down", released on Avicii's debut album TRUE on September 17 in the US, though it had already begun climbing charts worldwide. It received wide acclaim in previews, and landed at number one on a compilation of Rolling Stones favorite songs, albums and videos. Lambert and Queen made their first live concert appearance in the United States, closing the night on September 20, at the 2013 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Arena. Reviews for the performance were stellar, with Rolling Stone stating that they dominated night one, also calling them most anticipated act of the evening, with Lambert "astound[ing] the audience". Billboard was equally laudatory, remarking on the "magnetic power" of the vocals, adding that Lambert "oozed charisma". Lambert made his debut on the fifth season of Glee on November 7, playing the role of Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert in what became a multi-episode arc. His rendition of Lady Gaga's "Marry the Night" was released prior to air date, garnering publicity and positive reviews. Accolades for Lambert's debut spotlighted his powerful vocals and dynamic presence. His remake of "Marry the Night" impacted Billboard the following week, debuting at number 39 on the Pop Digital Songs chart. Lambert was in attendance to receive two awards at China's Huading Music Awards, Best International Male Vocalist and the Fan Choice Award, on December 18 in Shanghai. Lambert tied at number three on Forbes annual list of top earning American Idols, due to his live performances and other endeavors. 2014–2018: The Original High and Queen + Adam Lambert In February 2014, Lambert returned to American Idol, where he was a guest mentor during Randy Jackson's two-night "Boot Camp" workshop. He was a guest judge on the season 6 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race the following week. Glee returned on February 25 with the episode "Frenemies" featuring Lambert in a performance of The Darkness's "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". On May 27, 2014, a compilation album The Very Best of Adam Lambert was released by Sony Legacy's Playlist series, featuring recordings from Lambert's two studio albums along with studio recordings from American Idol and Glee. It debuted on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart at number 14. Lambert started touring with Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen in June 2014, with 35 dates in North America, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was a critical and commercial success, as reviews highlighted the musical virtuosity of May and Taylor, alongside Lambert's impressive vocal dexterity, charisma and affinity with Queen's repertoire – all augmented by the elaborate spectacle of the production. In 2015, a second leg of eleven countries and 26 dates in Europe and the UK was performed. On November 4, Queen + Adam Lambert was named Band of the Year at the 10th annual Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards. Following a much reviewed "soaring" performance on the UK's X Factor, Lambert and Queen presented an exclusive New Year's Eve concert in London at Central Hall Westminster, Queen + Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live. The praised concert was called "pitch-perfect". In January, Queen + Adam Lambert appeared on the cover of Classic Rock magazine; he was applauded in the cover story by Taylor and May, who called him "a gift from god". In September, Queen and Lambert headlined Rock in Rio's "30 Years Celebration" in Brazil, as part of a six date South American tour. The tour was a critical success; and their Rock in Rio performance was the seven-day festival's most popular, based on ticket sales. On January 15, 2015, Lambert became the first former contestant to appear as a guest judge on American Idol at the fourteenth season's New York City auditions, filling in for Keith Urban. That same day, Lambert revealed in a Billboard interview that he signed to Warner Bros. Records within twenty-four hours after announcing his departure from RCA. He further stated that his upcoming studio release, scheduled for early summer with a single out in April, would be executive produced by the Swedish songwriter-producers Max Martin and Shellback. Promotion for the new album, The Original High, began with a series of magazine cover stories, television appearances and teasers of the lead single, "Ghost Town", prior to its release on April 21, 2015. Also notable was "Ghost Town"'s performance at the 2015 Logo Trailblazer Honors; and its performance in early August on Australia's The Voice. Spin named it one of 2015's best songs so far; and The New York Times stated it "was perhaps his best single to date." "Ghost Town" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73, and charted on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It reached 100 million Spotify streams in early December 2015 and was certified gold in the US on January 15, 2016. The Original High debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 selling 42,000 albums and moving 47,000 total units, including track and streaming equivalent albums. Lambert garnered his first top ten album in the United Kingdom, with a number eight debut on the UK Albums Chart. As with "Ghost Town", reviews were largely positive. The Original High Tour commenced in January 2016 with six dates in Australia and New Zealand and seven dates in Japan. On August 29, Lambert received the award for Best Foreign Artist at the 2015 Eska Music Awards held in Szczecin, Poland. On the 30th, he made his first UK festival appearance, performing a set at Fusion Festival 2015 in Birmingham. In early October, Lambert released "Another Lonely Night". It debuted live as the new single at 538LIVE XXL at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, and a few days later on X Factor Australia. Twenty dates were then added to "The Original High Tour" to include thirteen European countries; "RedFest DXB", a two-day music festival, in Dubai; and two dates in China. The tour commenced at No. Celebrate2016 in The Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on December 31, 2015. In November, an online petition supported by conservative groups was launched to remove Lambert from the Singapore program, citing his controversial performance at the AMA's in 2009, and active support for LGBT rights. He was not removed from the headlining spot, but it was reiterated that his performance would conform to strict broadcast regulations. Throughout the fall, Lambert continued appearances in the US, Europe and Asia. Notable performances included Today, Swedish Idol, The Voice of Poland and BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, as a musical guest. After participating in a Billboard news conference in Beijing announcing the inclusion of China in its music charts, he was the guest performer at Alibaba's Singles' Day event. On December 2, he performed at the CMT "Artists of the Year" special to honor Little Big Town and their controversial song "Girl Crush" in a duet with Leona Lewis. The performance was nominated for "Performance of the Year" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. Lambert received several year end accolades, among them a number one in Forbes yearly earnings ranking of American Idol contestants; and the top spot in Rolling Stones "The Ten Best Albums of 2015" readers' poll, with the publication noting his "vocals are as massive as his performances." In January 2016, twenty-three US dates were added to "The Original High Tour", bringing it to 56 dates worldwide. In mid-January, Lambert partnered with Oreo to launch a diversity focused global ad campaign, "Open Up", featuring his vocals in an animated spot. In February, he featured in the finale tribute to David Bowie at Clive Davis and The Recording Academy's pre-Grammy event. In March, he debuted "Welcome to the Show" in the final fifteenth season of American Idol. The next week, the DJ produced Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn track "Can't Go Home" debuted, with Lambert as the featured vocalist. In May 2016, Lambert became the new face of Macy's lifestyle brand, I.N.C. International Concepts, and a participant in its "American Icons" summer campaign. Queen + Adam Lambert headlined Rock in Rio Lisbon, Sweden Rock Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, and twelve more European festivals and shows in May and June 2016. In September, they headlined the 2016 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, performed one date in Tel Aviv, three dates in Tokyo, and one each in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei as part of an Asia Tour. In June, Lambert joined the judging panel for the eighth season of The X Factor Australia. Lambert released his first independent, self-produced music video in July to accompany "Welcome to the Show". He performed Faith on the season finale of ABC's Greatest Hits in August. Lambert is featured on the single "Broken", released in August by DJ/producers Tritonal in collaboration with producer Jenaux. In October, Lambert co-starred in the television remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The X Factor Australia wrapped its 2016 season in November, with a member of Lambert's team declared the winner. In December, he performed a duet with finalist Saara Aalto on The X Factor UK finale, and presented the award for British Artist of the Year on the BBC Music Awards 2016 live telecast. Lambert featured on the soundtrack album of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie with "Think", released in June 2017. Queen + Adam Lambert commenced a worldwide arena tour on June 23, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona consisting of dates in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The group appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden with Lambert and Corden having a sing-off to be the Queen frontman. Lambert and Queen performed a mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with a four-song set list that included the debut of a new track from Lambert entitled "Two Fux". Early reviews for the shows were strongly positive, highlighting both the synergy of the collaboration, which Billboard stated was perhaps the most "serendipitous fusion of two established recording acts" since Fleetwood Mac; and the emergence of something new, moving the band forward. "Two Fux" was released to digital retailers on June 30, with reviews that were similarly positive: Yahoo! Music called it "a delightfully attitudinal rock 'n' roll waltz" exhibiting a highly confident "almost superhuman" Lambert. Esquire stated the song was "effervescent, and a showcase for the nosebleed-inducing heights his falsetto can scale; it also serves as the conflation of Queen's influence and Lambert's own experiences and perspective". "Two Fux" is included in the Queen + Adam Lambert live show set list. Lambert appeared as guest judge and musical coach on an episode of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. Due to its success, the Queen + Adam Lambert tour announced a fourth leg to commence June 7 in Lisbon, ending July 8 in Dublin. In March, Billboard reported that Queen + Adam Lambert topped their "Hot Tours" recap, with their Australian shows. In May, Lambert teamed up with Melissa Etheridge to open the 29th GLAAD Media Awards with a "ripping" performance of "I'm the Only One". Days later, he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan, announcing a 10-date Las Vegas residency for Queen+Adam Lambert in September 2018, at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The new production, titled "The Crown Jewels", was well received. Lambert changed management to Philymack. Lambert was a guest judge in the "Judges' Houses" segment of The X Factor in October. He performed the duet "As Long As You're Mine" with Ledisi on NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween, commemorating Wicked 's fifteen years on Broadway. The performance was lauded for its brilliant harmonies and "impressive vocal riffs", and later released on Wicked: The 15th Anniversary Special Edition album. On December 2, he appeared on the results show of Strictly Come Dancing 's Musicals Week, singing "We Are the Champions", from We Will Rock You. On the same date, he performed live at the Kennedy Center Honors in support of honoree Cher, singing "I Got You Babe" with Cyndi Lauper and an orchestral ballad version of "Believe", called an "event high point" by The Washington Post. Following the ceremony's broadcast on December 26, Lambert's performance was widely praised. 2019–present: Velvet and Queen + Adam Lambert Lambert appeared with James Corden on The Late Late Show on January 20, 2019, for an NFL themed episode, singing a parody of "Don't Stop Me Now". On February 17, he performed a well-reviewed "rocking" version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on NBC's Elvis All-Star Tribute, a recreation of Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. Lambert voiced the character Emperor Maximus and sung original songs for Playmobil: The Movie, a combination animated live-action film released in 2019. On December 3, Queen and Adam Lambert announced a 23 date arena and stadium tour with a brand new production for North America. The Rhapsody Tour added additional dates in NYC and LA; at 25 dates the tour ran from July 10 through August 23, 2019. Lambert released the song "Feel Something" on February 22, called an "achingly yearning ballad" by Rolling Stone that "showcases [his] acrobatic vocal range". Co-written with Benedict Cork, Josh Cumbee and produced by Cumbee and Afshin Salmani, it was the first track revealed from the singer's then-upcoming fourth studio album, which was released through the independent label Empire. Calling the song "a gift" to fans and the launch of a new era prior to his official first single, Lambert explained via Instagram the process by which he emerged from a dark period of second-guessing, compromise and disillusionment - with "Feel Something" the emotional starting point for his new work. Days later he released a "captivating" live studio performance of "Feel Something", whose beauty and soothing tone capture the song's intent. On February 24, 2019, Lambert and Queen were the first rock band to open the Oscars with an "explosive" performance of two classic Queen songs that earned a standing ovation. The following day, they announced a two-hour documentary, The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story, depicting the journey of their ongoing collaboration. The film aired on ABC in April, offering rare behind-the-scenes concert footage and new interviews. Roger Taylor appeared on Good Morning America the same morning, calling the collaboration with Lambert "magical", and an example of "fate unfolding". On April 28, Lambert guest mentored American Idol'''s top 8 finalists on a Queen-themed night, and was praised for actionable advice that elevated performances. In April 2019, The Rhapsody Tour expanded to include seven stadium dates in Australia and three in New Zealand, slated for February 2020; four shows in Japan and two in South Korea, for January 2020; and 26 shows in Europe including a ten show residency at The O2 Arena in London. On May 15, 2019, Lambert released "New Eyes", the lead single from his fourth studio album Velvet, co-written with Paris Carney and produced by Jamie Sierota. The "effortlessly cool, sleek" song fuses modern and classic rock, while its video reflects the song's lyrics and '70s-inspired aesthetic. Directed by Miles & AJ, the video was the first part of a short film that accompanied the lead-up to the album release. Lambert returned to American Idol for its May 19 season finale to perform "New Eyes" and a duet with a contestant. On May 31, he performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and again on June 24 on the finals of The Voice Australia. Lambert released The Monarch-produced track "Comin in Hot" on June 26, along with the second video installment of the short film supporting Velvet. The video was called "bewitching" and "mesmerizing", and the song said to extend the '70s rock-driven sound of the album's first single. Lambert revealed that Velvet would be released in two parts, with Side A slated for September 2019. "Comin In Hot" saw its broadcast debut on June 28 when Lambert performed a five-song set and was interviewed on Good Morning Americas Summer Concert Series, in celebration of Pride month and WorldPride NYC 2019. On September 4, Lambert released the single and video for "Superpower", appearing on Velvet: Side A, the first half of his fourth studio album. The Tommy English produced song was co-written by Lambert, English and Ilsey Juber, with video direction by Millient Hailes. Its weighty baseline and "smooth falsettos" reflect the '70s rock, funk-heavy core of the multi-genre album, which was released on September 27. Billboard called the 6 track EP his "best work yet", exuding confidence and raw vocal power. His proficiency and artistry across genres was also noted. He performed "Superpower" live on October 2 on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and for Halloween week of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. On the 12th, he delivered a "show-stopping" performance of "Superpower" on The Talk. On October 15, a live black-and-white video version of the track "Closer to You" from Velvet: Side A was released, lauded as "a vocal masterclass". Its broadcast debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden was highly praised, characterized as "scaling the song's heights with pop operatic virtuosity." On September 28, Lambert with Queen headlined the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park. Dedicated to mobilizing world governments to eradicate extreme poverty and address climate change, the festival posted its best ratings yet: with 60,000 in attendance and nearly 21 million views worldwide, it generated close to $1 billion in pledges. In November, Lambert released a cover of "Please Come Home for Christmas" for the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection. He was among several performers at the Avicii tribute concert at Friends Arena in Stockholm on December 5, to support suicide prevention and promote mental health awareness. On December 6, Lambert released a cover of Cher's "Believe" based on his 2018 performance at the Kennedy Center Honors. He performed the song as a duet with Katie Kadan on the December 17 finale of the seventeenth season of The Voice. On December 22, he performed on the CBS A Home for the Holidays Christmas special to raise awareness about adoption and the foster care system. Lambert gave four well received solo concerts throughout December to promote Velvet: Side A. In January 2020, Lambert was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Music Artist category for Velvet: Side A. Lambert opened the 31st GLAAD Media Awards with a special performance on March 19 in New York City. On February 16 in Sydney, Lambert with Queen performed at the Fire Fight Australia concert to raise funds for relief from Australia's bushfires and replicated Queen's 1985 Live Aid set in its entirety. On February 4, 2020, Lambert released the retro-funk track "Roses" featuring Nile Rodgers. The Velvet Tour begins on August 3 at Manchester Pride, followed by London's SSE Arena Wembley and seven more shows across Europe. The tour was preceded by a mini-residence of five shows at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in April. Lambert with Queen united virtually on April 30 to release "You Are the Champions", a reimagining of "We Are the Champions", on streaming and download services, with proceeds going to the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. In May, Lambert was part of a 3-day livestream event called "Stronger Than You Think", a conversation to address mental health issues affecting teens and young adults, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss his support and experience of the Black Lives Matter movement, and gave an acoustic performance of "On the Moon" from Velvet. Lambert participated in the GRAMMY Museum's virtual Programs at Home, with an in-depth interview and acoustic four song set. In July, in support of Joe Biden's presidential bid, he performed "Ready to Run" at Biden's live-streaming fundraiser "Celebration for Change". Queen with Lambert released their first album on October 2, 2020, Queen + Adam Live Around the World. Debuting at number one on the UK's Official Albums Chart, it was followed by a concert film of the same name on January 29, 2021, with tour footage and streaming or purchase access. The group announced that their United Kingdom and European tour would be postponed a second time to 2022 with multiple shows subsequently added. In November, Moonbase 8 debuted, with Lambert in a non-musical guest acting role. Lambert sang "Starman" for the three hour livestream event, "A Bowie Celebration", on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday. He played the role of "Emile" in Ratatouille the Musical, a first of its kind collaboration between TikTok and the theater community. What emerged was a full Broadway-style musical, streamed on January 1, raising two million dollars for The Actors Fund, and scoring a Drama League Award nomination in an expanded digital category. Lambert sang on the concept recording of Cinderella, "rocking out" in his Prince Charming solo. The album was released in July, and debuted at number one on the UK Official Compilations Chart, later garnering a 2022 Grammy nomination. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation in partnership with Pride Live, curated and headlined a three-day festival, the annual June Stonewall Day global celebration, to boost and preserve the legacy of the Stonewall riots and LGBTQ activism. He appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on January 26, and discussed the possibility of developing his own beauty brand. In March 2021, Lambert revealed that he was writing a Broadway-style rock and roll stage musical in collaboration with other songwriters. Set in the 1970s, the work will be about a real person; and represents his intent to expand into other creative spaces like acting and producing. Lambert sang "These Are Your Rights", an "anthemic power ballad," for the episode "The Bill of Rights" in the streaming series We the People on July fourth. In September, he participated in Global Citizen Live, a worldwide 24-hour broadcast and livestream event to defeat poverty and address the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May he appeared as a guest judge on the second season of Legendary. Lambert appeared on The Ellen Show in advance of his role as a judge on the reality competition Clash of the Cover Bands, that debuted in October. He voices the devil in a second animated program, A Tale Dark & Grimm, that also debuted in fall 2021. He returned to Las Vegas for six solo shows, including a live stream component, at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Las Vegas in October. In November, Lambert performed on the prime time television special, The Queen Family Singalong. On The Kelly Clarkson Show, he performed the duet he recorded with Darren Criss for Criss' holiday album, a jazzy big band cover of the classic "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag"; a music video of the track was released the following day. Lambert performed two songs to close the 2021 ITV Palooza event; and appeared as a judge on the ITV talent show Starstruck, that debuted on February 12. Artistry Voice Critics, celebrities and colleagues have been outspoken in their praise for Lambert's vocal command. Kathie Bretches-Urban, co-founder of Metropolitan Educational Theatre Network (now MET2) where Lambert performed as a youth, said "He has invested his entire life in music and performing ... He'd just come out onstage, and it popped". Record producer Rob Cavallo once described Lambert as having an unlimited range and able to sing every note on a guitar from the lowest to the highest. In a March 2012 interview, rock artist Meat Loaf rated Lambert's voice in the company of only two others, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, based on "that jet pack quality to their voice that just lets it take off." Lambert's total recorded vocal range spans from bass E to B flat above tenor high C (E2 – B♭5), giving him three octaves and six semitones. In 2011, when he took the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards, honoree Queen guitarist Brian May noted that Lambert's voice has "sensitivity, depth, maturity, and awesome range and power which will make jaws drop"; while Roger Taylor added that Lambert had "the best range I've ever heard" in a BBC interview in 2012. Pharrell Williams, after collaborating with Lambert on his Trespassing album, commented, "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood-Peter Cetera range." In October 2012, the Sunday Mirror reported that Lambert insured his voice for $48 million. A source told the tabloid newspaper: "Insurance for stars is a big deal in the US and Adam's voice is his bacon." In a 2019 interview James Michael, lead vocalist for the band Sixx:A.M., praised Lambert's vocal technique, power and the facility of his vocal control - judging him one of the best vocalists in the world. Style and image Lambert is best known for his theatrical performance style and meticulous attention to detail in all aspects of his personal presentation. He draws upon extensive stage experience in the ease with which he can refine and define his image through fashion and other imagery, which are essential to how he chooses to inhabit his songs, rivet his audiences and showcase his individuality. While a contestant on American Idol, Lambert's precise yet varied stagings of himself kept audiences and judges glued as much to his presentation as to his vocal talent. His signature flamboyance and glam rock styling was a break-out moment in men's fashion, duly noted by fashion publications and taste-makers, who compared him to Lady Gaga in terms of crossing style boundaries and being unabashedly individual. Lambert made three fashion related TV appearances at the close of 2010. He fused his passion for music and fashion on MTV's "Talk@Playground", appearing in discussion with Skingraft designer Jonny Cota. He was a guest judge on Project Runway in an episode that styled a rock band for their upcoming Rolling Stone cover. He was the subject for whom the young designers of "All on the Line with Joe Zee" created a modern look, which he then critiqued along with the show's hosts. Lambert continued to grace the covers of magazines, moving more specifically into the fashion and culture space. Reflecting the mood and concept behind his album Trespassing, the Fault Magazine fashion shoot exemplified Lambert's commitment to aligning the elements of his artistic vision so that a cohesive narrative emerges. When Lambert appeared on the December 2012 cover of London-based high style magazine Fiascos "Obsession" issue, he again took the opportunity to manipulate and provoke with his image and style. Sporting a sophisticated, minimalist look that recalled old Hollywood, Lambert played with male stereotypes and representations; and in the interview, emphasized that his fashion and presentation are often disparate from gay as well as straight regimes: "For the general audience, they look at the way I style myself and they go, 'Errrr, that's gay', but you ask a handful of gay guys and they're like, 'I would never wear that! In August 2015, he was one of four artists to appear on the cover of Billboards "Music's Men of Style" issue. He discussed his natural shift towards a cleaner, more classic look; and reiterated that the intersection of music and fashion—the constant motion of trends—is a fascination and part of being a pop musician. Lambert is represented by London-based MiLK Management modelling agency . Influences Lambert was inspired when his father gave him access to his large record collection of 1970s music. He was attracted to theatrical rock from artists like Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Queen, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. Lambert referred to Michael Jackson and Madonna as "King and Queen" because they creatively merged music with makeup, fashion and cinematic video. Among his strongest influences are British singers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Robert Plant: "Those are the people I really gravitate towards". In March 2013, Lambert wrote an article for Out magazine's tribute to David Bowie, who was about to release a new album. In it, he explained how Bowie helped inform the expression of his own sexuality and gender in his work: "A light bulb went off—I wasn't into drag, I didn't want to dress like a woman, but I wanted to express my gender and artistic identity differently than the mainstream. Bowie was a key inspiration. It was about the androgyny of mixing it up, and that was what was so incredible about his concepts—he was one of the first rock stars to really push the idea that sexuality was not black and white but an exploration". Lambert's own music has been influenced by numerous genres including classic rock, pop, and electronic music; and his performance style draws heavily from his stage experience. Lambert envisions himself as the type of artist "that creates from the ground up, not only an amazing song, but one with a beat, and a story, and a look, and a theme". For his second album, he used inspiration from classic disco, 1990s electronica, funk and dubstep music. Philanthropy Since his appearance on American Idol, Lambert has lent considerable support and time to charitable causes. , financial donations reached the $1,000,000 mark. In January 2010, in lieu of gifts for his 28th birthday, Lambert asked fans to donate to DonorsChoose.org, as 2,435 fans donated $322,700. In June 2010, Lambert teamed with the charity for his "Glam A Classroom" campaign, raising another $208,590, supported by 3,020 fans. In October 2010, he collaborated on a second Signature Collection with The Pennyroyal Studio, which sold out after raising $43,092 for DonorsChoose. Lambert contributed to the MusiCares charity when he and The Pennyroyal Studio collaborated on the design of an Eye of Horus pendant, whose sale raised $32,000 in 7 days. In January 2011, he began a campaign to raise $29,000 for charity: water to commemorate his 29th birthday and the campaign raised $323,803, which helped 16,190 people receive clean water. He continued his efforts for his 30th birthday, in January 2012, this time asking fans to "give up" their birthdays in an ongoing drive that raised $82,000 by May 2012. In June 2013, an accounting by charity:water listed 55 projects thus far completed with funds raised by Lambert. Lambert returned to the American Idol stage for the March 10, 2011 results show, singing an acoustic version of his For Your Entertainment track "Aftermath". After the performance, a dance remix version was made available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting The Trevor Project. Lambert performed at a Royal Albert Hall concert on June 7, 2012, benefiting the Rays Of Sunshine Children's Charity. On June 30, Elton John and Queen + Adam Lambert coordinated with the Olena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation for a concert to benefit the fight against HIV/AIDS. On September 25, 2012, Lambert headlined a fundraising benefit in Washington, D.C. on behalf of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. On January 31, 2013, he received the Unity Award, which honors artists whose music spreads "peaceful messages", from the We Are Family Foundation at their 2012 Celebration Gala 2.0. Lambert "donated" his 31st birthday to the charity, raising more than $82,000 in just over a week. For his 32nd birthday, he chose the charity again, coordinating with artist Chris Saunders on the creation of limited and open edition prints and posters whose sales benefited the foundation. On May 25, Lambert was a participant in the opening ceremony of 2013 Life Ball in Vienna. Appearing as Ali Baba, he performed the gala's official song, "Love Wins Over Glamour", which he co-wrote with the Vienna-based production team Beat4Feet. On June 23, he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" to open Broadway Bares to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Lambert was a featured performer at the August 19 Dance Party event in Riverhead, Long Island, benefiting All For The East End (AFTEE). On November 2, he was the musical entertainer for South Florida's Make-A-Wish Foundation Ball. The sold-out 2013 Ball raised a record-breaking 2 million dollars. Lambert is featured in the video launch for UNICEF's #IMAGINE campaign. In collaboration with Queen, he is a participant in Coca-Cola's [RED] campaign to help end mother-to-child HIV transmission. In June 2015, he performed at the Roundhouse for the "One for the Boys" Fashion Ball. Earlier that month, he performed at the "Live Aid Uusi Lastensairaala" concert in Finland. In July 2016, he took part in the charity single "Hands", a tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting. In August 2017, Lambert performed a mini-set tribute to George Michael at Project Angel Food's Angel Awards gala, where Michael was the recipient of the Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award, in recognition of his philanthropy. Lambert through his "Feel Something Foundation" again worked with the charity in November 2020 to deliver medically tailored Thanksgiving meals to those most vulnerable during COVID. He performed a duet in October with Cynthia Erivo for the virtual 2020 Carousel of Hope Ball in support of the Children's Diabetes Foundation. In July, 2021, he helped raise $1.1 million in funds for Project Angel Food during their KTLA telethon. LGBT advocacy and social activism Lambert has been a contributor to social justice. Lambert stated, "I feel like with celebrity and visibility and fame, there's a responsibility to try to give back and try to use the visibility for the greater good. It's not all about me. It's about trying to raise awareness and getting people to take action." His heavily provocative AMA performance, featuring a gay kiss on live television, served to push societal boundaries by highlighting a double standard of ethics in media regulation as well.Matasar-Padilla, Maria."Music Lessons: What Adam Lambert Can Teach Us About Media Self-Regulation."Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 29.1(2011):113-142.Retrieved October 15, 2013 Lambert was presented the "Equality Idol Award" by Sam Sparro at the Equality California Los Angeles Equality Awards in August 2011 for being an exemplary role model for the LGBT community. He was honored with his mother the following month at the PFLAG National Los Angeles event for his "authentic" voice. Lambert received a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Music Artist in 2010. The same year, he lent his voice to a one-and-a-half minute video message on YouTube for the It Gets Better campaign – a project created by columnist Dan Savage in response to school bullying and a rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The following March, he released a Billboard remix version of his For Your Entertainment song "Aftermath" with a portion of the proceeds going to support The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth. He raised an additional $43,500 for The Trevor Project after collaborating with The Pennyroyal Studio to make his own Peace pendant. In October 2011, donations on behalf of the Adam Lambert Glambert Fan Army for the MTV Dance Party Marathon raised funds to combat bullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month. Lambert was a participant in Spirit Day, a movement begun in 2010 to honor LGBT lives lost to suicide, "going purple" in the push to support LGBT youth in the fight against bullying. In December, he performed at the "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert, which raised funds in support of the "True Colors Fund" and the organization's "Forty to None Project", targeting the epidemic of homelessness among LGBT youth. In January 2012, in an exclusive interview with UK music news magazine Pressparty, Lambert noted that despite social progress in the US, there was still a long way to go, particularly in the music industry: "I still long for the LGBT community's diversity to be more broadly represented in the entertainment industry. I think larger strides have been made in film and TV but we still are just at the beginning with mainstream music. I consider myself a post-gay man working in a pre-gay industry." Lambert was the headline performer at the Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival on April 14, 2013, and was also given the key to the city. Lambert was presented with the prestigious GLAAD Davidson/Valentini Award on May 11 in San Francisco. The honorary award is bestowed yearly to out media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights in the LGBT community. On May 30, he was honored with the "Hope of Los Angeles Award" as part of the city's 3rd Annual LGBT Heritage Month. Lambert is featured in "The New F Word" campaign sponsored by the grassroots Friend Movement organization, which has launched a global effort aimed at self-empowerment and raising anti-bullying awareness through positive images in media and the arts. On June 15, declared "Adam Lambert Day" by the City Council, he headlined Pittsburgh's "Pride in the Street" concert. In honor of Pride season, Lambert partnered with AT&T and The Trevor Project for the "Live Proud Campaign", aiming to empower and raise awareness in the LGBTQ community. The $50,000 goal was met and on July 3 a check presentation was made to The Trevor Project during the private finale show given by Lambert. At the October 15 Los Angeles premiere of the movie Bridegroom, Lambert revealed that he donated a song to the score, and felt "humbled" to be connected to the project. The powerful documentary about the intersection of love and the politics of marriage equality won the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Documentary. Lambert was one of the featured performers at the TrevorLIVE gala on December 8 at the Hollywood Palladium. In February 2014, he performed for the Family Equality Council's 10th Annual Los Angeles Award's dinner. In June 2014, he teamed up with AT&T for its second annual "Live Proud" campaign, again in support of LGBT Pride Month and Pride season. In April 2015 he was the recipient of the "Music Icon" award at the 2015 British LGBT Awards, honoring those whose actions help promote equality. In October, he received the "Music Award/ International Album" at the Attitude Pride Awards in London. In June 2017, Pride month, Lambert was a speaker at the Los Angeles Pride march, delivering a message against hate in all its human rights presentations. A few weeks earlier, he co-hosted BuzzFeed's first "Queer Prom" for LGBTQ high school seniors from across the US. He was featured in Billboards tribute to Pride month, naming the LGBTQ community his "true inspiration" and "life lines". Released during Pride week, Lambert's newest single, "Two Fux", is a Pride anthem. Lambert performed for Point Foundation Honors Gala in October 2017 in recognition of those who had made a significant impact on the LGBTQ community. Point Foundation is the largest scholarship-granting organization for LGBTQ students of merit in the country. Later in the month, he performed on behalf of GLAAD's kickoff to its annual Spirit Day at the 'Believer' Spirit Day concert event. In May 2018, along with Melissa Etheridge, he performed to open GLAAD's New York City 29th annual Media Awards; and later in the month hosted a talk for teenagers at the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre in London. Mosaic is an organization that seeks to support, educate and inspire by offering a safe space and variety of programs for LGBTQ+ youth. In January 2020, Lambert launched an LGBTQ+ non-profit advocacy group called the Feel Something Foundation, a name it shares with his first single release from the album Velvet. Its mission is to support "LGBTQ+ organizations that are moving the needle for communities of all ages and backgrounds," and impacting important areas of LGBTQ life. Another specific goal is to "abolish 'coming out' as a term used to define someone simply being themselves." During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the Foundation in partnership with eBay launched two charity auctions of Lambert's stage-wear, with funds raised directed to GLAAD for LGBTQ people in need. The auction in June kicked off a series of events for Pride 2020 in support of GLAAD's youth engagement programs, including a panel with their Campus Ambassadors from around the US. In April, Lambert had participated in GLAAD's Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone livestream event, raising funds for LGBTQ community centers providing critical services during COVID. In early June, he announced a sizable donation from the Foundation to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, to assist with bail for community members that were arrested during peaceful protests of Black Lives Matter. On June 28, the Pride Music Business Creatives Roundtable was hosted by the Foundation, with Lambert and special guest artists discussing discrimination in the industry, their own coming out stories, and steps forward toward LGBTQ equalty. Other notable Pride performances included "Can't Cancel Pride" to support multiple LGBTQ+ organizations; and Global Pride, a 24-hour live-stream event, at which he also spoke on behalf of Black Lives Matter and people of color in the community. Lambert featured in a speaking segment on Conde Nast's LGBTQ brand them.'s "Out Now Live", a virtual pride celebration to educate, entertain and raise money for the Ali Forney Center targeting LGBTQ youth homelessness. In December he again performed for Cyndi Lauper's annual "Home for the Holidays" benefit concert for True Colors United, which works to combat homelessness in LGBTQ+ youth. He hosted the first of two Stonewall Day Unplugged sessions on February 18 as part of the lead up to the June Stonewall Day celebration that Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, will be headlining and curating with Pride Live. The resulting OUTLOUD: Raising Voices event featured a "queer for queer" lineup of LGBTQ artists only. On March 4, he participated in a celebratory event in support of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital. Lambert, through his Feel Something Foundation, teamed up with Soundwaves Art Foundation in late March to create art prints, 100% of whose sale's profits would benefit The Trevor Project. He appeared on the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Love in Action telethon on August 14, 2021. Personal life Lambert is openly gay. He was in a relationship with Finnish entertainment reporter and reality TV personality Sauli Koskinen from November 2010 until April 2013 when Lambert announced that they split up amicably. From March to November 2019, Lambert was in a relationship with model Javi Costa Polo. Lambert got his first tattoo at age 27 and continues to accumulate the symbols and artwork as representations of important themes and moments in his life. His first tattoo, an Eye of Horus, was on his wrist, acquired just before the start of American Idol. Since then he's covered his arms and torso with many more. He has been tattooed by notable tattoo artists Maxime Plescia-Büchi, Daniel Meyer, and Roxx. Discography For Your Entertainment (2009) Trespassing (2012) The Original High (2015) Velvet'' (2020) Concert tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 (2009) Glam Nation Tour (2010) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (2012) We Are Glamily Tour (2013) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (2014–15) The Original High Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (2016) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (2017–18) The Rhapsody Tour with Queen (2019–21) The Velvet Tour (2020) Filmography See also List of awards and nominations received by Adam Lambert References External links 1982 births Living people 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century LGBT people American dance musicians American electronic musicians American gay actors American gay musicians American Idol participants American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American people of Norwegian descent American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American philanthropists American pop rock singers American rock singers American rock songwriters American tenors Jewish American male actors Jewish American musicians Jewish American songwriters Jewish rock musicians Jewish singers LGBT Jews LGBT people from California LGBT people from Indiana LGBT singers from the United States LGBT songwriters Male actors from California Male actors from Indianapolis Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from San Diego Musicians from Indianapolis Musicians from San Diego Queen + Adam Lambert members RCA Records artists Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Indiana	true	[ "Insure++ is a memory debugger computer program, used by software developers to detect various errors in programs written in C and C++. It is made by Parasoft, and is functionally similar to other memory debuggers, such as Purify, Valgrind and Dr Memory.\n\nOverview\nInsure++ can automatically find erroneous accesses to freed memory (use-after-free situations), array-bounds violations, freeing unallocated memory (which often happens when a programmer frees the same memory twice, or when he frees global or stack memory), and many others.\n\nUnlike Purify and Valgrind, Insure++ inserts its instrumentation at the source-code level, which allows it to detect errors that the other tools miss. In particular, Insure++ can detect buffer overflows in automatic arrays, and overflows which involve pointers that accidentally \"jump\" from one valid memory region to another, as in the following example:\n\n#include <stdlib.h>\nint main()\n {\n char p = malloc(1024); / first dynamically-allocated block /\n char q = malloc(1024); /* second block /\n p += 1200; / At this point, \"p\" is likely to point into the second block. \n However, false assumptions about the real behaviour lead to mistakes. /\n p = 'a'; /* invalid write (past the end of the first block) */\n }\n\nThe source-level instrumentation allows it to not only identify that a leak occurred, but where it occurred. Some tools merely provide information about where the memory was allocated, Insure++ also gives a stack trace for when/where the actual leak occurred.\n\nAdditionally, Insure++ will produce Linear Code Sequence and Jump Code Coverage metrics for all tested code.\n\nSee also\nRuntime error detection\nSoftware development\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Parasoft's Insure++ site\n Linux Journal review of Parasoft Insure++\n\nMemory management software\nDebuggers\nSoftware testing tools", "Henrik Verder (born 1942) is a pediatrician and the inventor of the INSURE (Intubation Surfactant Extubation) method combined with nasal CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). In 1989 he used this pioneering method to successfully treat the first premature infant with severe RDS. Verder is a significant researcher within the field of paediatrics, with more than 50 publications and over 500 citations.\n\nBiography\n\nVerder received his medical degree from Copenhagen University in 1968 and went on to specialise in paediatrics in 1978, concentrating on prenatal determination of lung maturity and prevention of RDS (Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome). In 1980 he was awarded his medical doctorate from Copenhagen University for his thesis on “Prenatal determination of lung maturity and prevention of RDS”.\n\nCareer\n\nIn 1972 Verder began his associated professorship at Copenhagen University where he went on to become a Professor of Paediatrics and Neonatology. In 1989, at Holbaek Hospital, Verder was the first physician to successfully combine nasal CPAP and surfactant to treat an infant with severe RDS (28 weeks). This unique method was later named INSURE by Mats Blennow et al. The full method was first published in 1992 along with the first documentation of infants treated with surfactant via a small diameter tube. Egbert Herting has since described this method as ‘Less Invasive Surfactant Administration (LISA)’. In addition surfactant administration via a laryngeal mask was described for the first time in 1992. The introduction of CPAP in the treatment of RDS more than halved the mortality rate of RDS – reducing mortality from an estimated 50% to 20%. CPAP, when combined with the use of surfactant (INSURE), halved the mortality rate once again, lowering it to approximately 10%. Early treatment of premature infants with RDS using the nasal CPAP and surfactant (INSURE) method is today considered the Global Gold standard of care.\n\nAlongside his clinical achievements, Verder has also been actively involved in improving childcare and in 1975 he took the position of consultant for “Glostrup Observation Home” an institution for observation and treatment of neglected infants and toddlers. In 1998 Verder began working with Professor Bo Sun at Fudan University, Shanghai, to improve neonatal care across China. As a part of this initiative he has visited more than 50 hospitals across 25 provinces and given lectures on the prevention and treatment of RDS, nutrition of pre-term and newborn infants and mother child attachment. Alongside his contributions to Copenhagen University and his work in China, Verder also took the position of Co-chairman at Save the Children Denmark from 1990 to 1993. In this position, together with secretary-general Kristian Sørensen and lawyer Hanne Jensbo from Save the Children Denmark, he spearheaded the opening of Romanian orphanages after the fall of Ceaucescu in 1989. Verder was also involved in several initiatives, which supported the Romanian healthcare system. In 2011 Verder became a member of the steering committee of “The Family Center” directed by Dr. May Olofsson, Hvidovre University Hospital, Copenhagen. An organisation that treats infants and mothers suffering from sequelae, caused by alcohol and drug addiction during pregnancy.\n\nThe INSURE Method\n\nVerder is the inventor and pioneer of the INSURE method, a very effective approach to managing preterm neonates with respiratory distress. The method itself has been shown to successfully decrease the use of mechanical ventilation and lower the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Since its inception in 1989 the INSURE method has been academically cited in more than 500 papers. The first randomised study on the INSURE method was published in 1994 and a second randomised study in infants less than 30 weeks gestation was published by the group in 1999. In the last 15 years Verder has worked with lung maturity diagnostics on gastric aspirates obtained at birth. By combining this diagnostic method with INSURE, Verder has worked to further improve the clinical outcome of RDS. The lung maturity tests used have been the microbubble test, lamellar body counts (LBC) and measurements of lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio (L/S) with chemometrics, involving a collaboration with Agnar Höskuldsson.\n\nReferences\n\nDanish pediatricians\nLiving people\n1942 births\nDanish intensivists" ]

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