Con un total de 23 "vocalistas" acreditados en este paquete de lo mejor, está claro que Seventh Avenue era más un grupo conceptual de estudio que una banda cohesionada con química. Dirigido por el famoso productor dance inglés Ian Levine, el nombre Seventh Avenue comenzó con un álbum disco de 1979 -distribuido en EE.UU. por AVI- en el que aparecían cuatro hombres de unos treinta años con un aspecto y un material decididamente gay. Pasaron algunos años antes de que se publicaran más discos, pero el regreso del "grupo" a mediados de los 80 trajo consigo una formación más juvenil y sexy, y sustituyó la música disco de cuerdas de la primera por números Hi-NRG cargados de sintetizadores. La música de este disco representa ambas etapas, desde los suaves arreglos disco y las sublimes voces de "Miami Heat Wave" hasta el pegadizo estribillo pop y la programación carnavalesca ligeramente inspirada en la new wave de "The Right Combination". Además de esas entradas, otros números fuertes incluyen el jingle digno de "Ending Up on a High", el himno "Armed Robbery" y el puramente pop "Standing by Your Side". Aunque no todos los vocalistas son los más fuertes, la entrega es siempre sincera y agradable. Esto, combinado con ganchos sólidos y una producción accesible, es prueba suficiente de que el concepto de "boy band" orientado al productor estaba vivo y fuerte mucho antes de la llegada de New Kids on the Block o Take That.
Monika Borzym (Polish: [mɔˈnikaˈbɔʐɨm]; born March 3, 1990) is a Polish jazz singer who studied at Los Angeles Music Academy. Her debut album Girl Talk, released in 2011 was certified platinum in Poland.
Began her musical education in 1998, when she started attending music school in Warsawand playing the piano. From August 2005 to June 2006, she was living in the U.S., where she attendedJohn Hersey High SchoolinArlington Heights, Illinoisand started learning jazz improvisation from Gail Bisesi inChicago.
After her return to Poland, she continued her education in Fryderyk Chopin Public Secondary School of Music in Warsaw in the class of Jazz Vocal (also attended by another Polish jazz vocalist, Aga Zaryan, several years earlier). In 2008, Borzym received a scholarship to study at University of MiamiFrost School of Music, where she studied in classes of jazz musicians, such as Lisanne Lyons, Dante Luciani, Chuck Bergeron, Larry Lapin and Greg Gisbert.
In 2010, Borzym signed a contract with Sony Music Poland. Her debut album Girl Talk, recorded in the U.S. and produced by Matt Pierson, was released on 3 October 2011. It contained fresh interpretations (arranged by Gil Goldstein) of songs originally recorded by female jazz, soul and pop artists, such as Joni Mitchell, Björk, Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse, among others. The album has received critical acclaim and was certified Platinum in Poland.
On 15 October 2013, Borzym released her sophomore album, My Place, consisting of original material and three covers.
Helmut Lotti(22 de octubrede1969enGante), es un tenorbelga, cantante y compositor. Lotti interpreta en varios estilos y lenguajes: Gran admirador e imitador de Elvis Presley, ha cantado éxitos africanos y latinoamericanos ha incursionado en la música clásica en la década de 1990.
Hijo de Luc Lotigiers y Rita Lagrou, Lotti comenzó su carrera como cantante con un estilo visual y de canto en una imitación obvia de Elvis Presley, y fue descrito como "El Nuevo Elvis". Sus dos primeros álbumes fueron Vlaamse Nachten ("Noches flamencas", 1990) y Alles Wat Voel Ik ("todo lo que siento", 1992). Después de algunos álbumes más, cambió de dirección en 1995 con el primero de lo que se convirtió en una larga serie de "Helmut Lotti Goes Classic" álbumes, los cuales aumentaron su popularidad. Desde el año 2000 ha realizado grabaciones exitosas de música tradicional tanto latinoamericana como africana y rusa.
Helmut Lotti canta con fluidez en su lengua materna holandesa, así como en afrikáans, inglés, francés, alemán, ruso, ucraniano, hebreo, italiano, latín y español. Ha vendido más de 13 millones de álbumes en todo el mundo y recibió más de 90 discos de platino y 70 de oro.
Lotti hace trabajo voluntario como un embajador de la UNICEF. Lotti participó en los 0110 conciertos contra el racismo y la extrema derecha, organizado por Tom Barman.
Erik Grönwall(born 3 December 1987) is a Swedishhard rockandheavy metalsinger. In 2009, he won the SwedishIdolreality television. During several of the shows, he receivedstanding ovationsfrom the jury for his performances. His first single, "Higher", sold gold on digital downloads after only three days. His debut album, self-titledErik Grönwall, was released just ten days after the finals and debuted at number one on theSwedish albums chartand was certified platinum. In 2012, Grönwall joined rock bandH.E.A.Tas lead singer.
Erik was born in Knivsta, a small town about 30 miles north of Stockholm. He started his musical career by playing the guitar in a local punk/rock band. During high school, his focus went from mostly playing the guitar to singing. He became the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the metalband RAID from north-eastern Stockholm and played with them until summer 2008. His future as a singer really took shape for the first time as he performed the leading role as Galileo Figaro in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, doing a number of shows at Oscarsteatern in Stockholm. Aggressive, charismatic hard rock frontmen such as Paul Stanley (of Kiss) and Freddie Mercury (of Queen) proved huge influences on Grönwall.
Grönwall first auditioned for Swedish Idol in 2007, but he did not reach the final auditions at that time. In 2009, he came back, and made quite an impression on the jury who reacted with a mix of crying and laughing after his audition singing Skid Row's "18 and Life". Grönwall performed several rock songs during the show (Kiss – "Shout It Out Loud", Iron Maiden – "Run to the Hills" and Queen – "The Show Must Go On"). He subsequently won the competition.
Immediately following Idol, Grönwall released his debut single, "Higher", which debuted at number one on Sverigetopplistan. One week later, his self-titled debut album "Erik Grönwall" was released, which included songs performed during the Idol shows. The album made it right into the number one spot on Sverigetopplistan. The album has been certified with platinum.
In 2009, Grönwall began working on his second studio album titled "Somewhere Between a Rock and a Hard Place" scheduled to be released on 2 June 2010. The lead single for the album, "Crash and Burn", was released on 19 April 2010. The album included songs written by Joey Tempest, Paul Stanley, Jörgen Elofsson, Nicke Borg, etc.
Following the departure of former vocalist Kenny Leckremo in 2010, Grönwall joined Swedish rock band H.E.A.T as lead vocalist. In 2012, they released the album Address the Nation. It was listed number one on the rock charts and was well received by critics. In 2013 H.E.A.T started recording their album, Tearing Down the Walls, which was released in 2014. The band subsequently started their tour with the album. They have played all over the world and been the opening act for bands like Scorpions. In late 2020, Grönwall left H.E.A.T after four albums with the band, and former vocalist Kenny Leckremo rejoined.
In 2021, it was announced that Grönwall and former bandmate Jona Tee had a new project going, the power metal band New Horizon. Official audio of the track We Unite dropped online on 29 November 2021. Already signed to Frontiers Records,their debut album Gate of the Gods was released in early 2022. A video for the track was launched on 5 January 2022, featuring project guest musicians Robban Bäck (Mustasch, ex-Eclipse, ex-Sabaton, ex-Ammunition) and Dave Dalone (also former bandmate in H.E.A.T.) among others.
In March 2022 Grönwall announced that he would be joining American heavy metal band Skid Row as their new vocalist, replacing ZP Theart.
Over the course of the past two decades,Lloyd Brownhas risen to the very pinnacle of his profession, and with a string of hit singles and critically acclaimed albums to his credit, is now hailed as one of this country’s best ever reggae singer/songwriters.
Born and raised in London to Jamaican parents, he began his career in 1979 by dee-jaying in “blues-dances” before progressing on fully fledged sound-systems in the early eighties with London-based sound-systems Marcus, Exodus and East Man. After taking a sabbatical in Jamaica, he then joined vocal harmony group Sweet Distortion, who were voted Best Reggae Newcomers by the readers of Black Echoes in 1984, just prior to their guest appearance on the BRAFA (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal) single, Let's Make Africa Green Again. Led by Lloyd’s namesake and early source of musical inspiration, Dennis Brown, this record helped raised funds for Ethiopian famine victims, and remains a milestone of UK reggae history. By 1987 Sweet Distortion had successfully auditioned for the part of the Jackson Five in the acclaimed British musical, Black Heroes In The Hall Of Fame, but split up soon afterwards, leaving Lloyd free to pursue a solo career. His earliest singles included Music Medley, Ring Up My Number and The Love In Me, all of them released on Robert Ribs’ Unity label circa 1987. In the meantime, he’d started performing more demanding roles with Black Heroes In The Hall Of Fame – most notably those of Otis Redding, Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie and Nelson Mandela. Sharing The Night (produced by Junior Frost), then provided him with his first No. 1 hit, and was voted Reggae Single Of The Year in 1990. You Can't Hurry Love, For The Love Of You and Love U Down (his second No. 1 hit, and another Reggae Single Of The Year) soon followed, together with a version of Otis Redding’s These Arms Of Mine.
Despite his success with other people’s songs, Lloyd was increasingly writing his own material by this time, as demonstrated on It's A Love Thing, which marked the start of his long-standing partnership with dee-jay Tippa Irie. Their follow-up smash hit, Stress, caused controversy since it put into song what many men were thinking about their female partners, but both singles duly topped the UK reggae charts, then won the duo a well deserved contract with Arista, who released their follow-up single, Baby Mother (another vibrant slice of social commentary), in 1995. An album recorded for Arista during this period was subsequently released as Combination on Discotex at the end of 2001 – Lloyd & Tippa’s association with Arista having ended as unexpectedly as it had begun. Undaunted by such disappointments and eager to reclaim his popularity among grassroots reggae fans, Lloyd began recording with leading UK lovers’ rock producers Groove And & Quarter, who issued his debut album, Straight No Chaser, in 1996. Among the many highlights was A Mother's Prayer, which he recorded with a veritable Who’s Who of UK soul and reggae talent and dedicated to the memory of his mother, who’d recently died of cancer. Two other tracks, Jah Works and Increase The Peace, offered early evidence of the roots and culture content he was to showcase on his next set, Rhyme & Reason, which he recorded for Saxon. Prior to its release in 1998, the singles Need A Revolution and Power Of Jah had marked a turning point in both his life and career. His new head of dreadlocks illustrated this change of direction, and he began writing lyrics with far more spiritual content than before, even whilst continuing to make sublime lovers rock hits such as Night Shift, Blackbird and Real Love. He named Buju's 'Til Shiloh LP as a formative influence during this stage of his career, and after announcing that the emergence of the new cultural artists had taken reggae to a different plane, said he wanted to sing songs that will uplift people. His Saxon album thus had transformation at its artistic core, and with its emphasis on self-penned material, proved a masterly showcase of his talents.
Once Saxon producer Lloyd “Muscle Head” Francis had decided to concentrate on his sound-system, rather than production, the durable Mr. Brown embarked on a run of hits for Jet Star that still shows no sign of abating three years later. Their most significant triumph to date has been a massively successful cover of Craig David’s Fill Me In, as included on Vol. 2 of Jet Star’s Pop Hits In A Reggae series. With Fill Me In getting regular airplay in Jamaica – where Lloyd enjoys widespread support – Jet Star then helped further his dominance with several other notable single releases, including Hook It Up, Put It Down and Memories, which like Humanity Part 2 (recorded for Mikey Koos’ ARM label), is another joyous celebration of old school reggae vibes, and so steeped in nostalgia, it could bring tears to the eyes. In-between voicing for Jet Star and making preparations for his starring role in yet another musical, The Best Years Of Our Lives (starring alongside the great Pam Hall), Lloyd then began work on an independent project with former international hit maker Bitty McLean, who’d served his apprenticeship with UB40. Aided and abetted by Bitty’s production and engineering skills, and with his own creative ideas going into overdrive, Lloyd completed the nucleus of his album Deep at Bitty’s Platinum Suite studios in Birmingham before adding a choice selection of Jet Star material into the mix. It was the kind of album only true craftsmen could produce. Its dazzling range of lyrical perceptions being matched to some of the most enthralling, contemporary reggae and crossover rhythms heard all year. I Know (inspired by Bob Marley’s Kinky Reggae) subsequently became one of 2001’s biggest reggae hits, even as Deep was being acclaimed as a masterpiece and his best album thus far. By the time the follow-up, Against The Grain, was released two years later his tally of hit singles had swelled to include You Must Know, co-starring Don Campbell; Bless Me and the unstoppable Main Squeeze, which rocketed into the Reggae Top 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. Like its predecessor, Against The Grain was another world-class collection, showcasing tracks like the popular Mr. Brown, Food For Thought (a version of Aswad’s Warrior Charge); he and Omar’s stunning cover of Stevie Wonder’s Feeding Off The Love Of The Land and the magical Love Within The Music, co-starring a galaxy of UK talent. Against The Grain was nominated for Best Album at the 11th Annual Reggae Soca Awards in Florida; an event that saw Lloyd being crowned Best Newcomer for the second time in his career. His next set was Dreams To Remember, produced by Lloyd Campbell and released on VP Records in 2004. This album, recorded in Miami, yielded four hit singles in the shape of Bless Me, Since You’ve Been Gone, Heartaches and Bongo Nyah, which soon gave Lloyd his second Reggae Top 5 hit in New York. Songs like that, voiced over Lloyd Campbell’s more traditional style reggae rhythms, fuelled growing demand for his sublime vocal and writing talents in America. Its success prompted the release of an album shared with Peter Hunnigale as part of Jet Star’s celebrated Toe 2 Toe series that same year. Here was an album that made artistic, as well as commercial sense, since both singers epitomise the best of UK reggae music.
Three of Lloyd’s more recent hits were included, namely Full Hundred, No Watch Dat and the compelling Black Bags, together with other tracks that inspired comparisons with reggae legend Beres Hammond. Red-hot form like this saw him embark on a string of European tour dates with Sanchez throughout the summer of 2004, as he continued on his journey towards some long-overdue international recognition. His follow-up album for VP Really Together featuring Fiona was cited by Lloyd as a “true labour of love” as Fiona was an artist he really admired and wanted to work with-which proved its point in the finished product, also with the panel of the Grammys who have shortlisted the album for nomination for Best Reggae Album 2005. Now armed with album number 10 called Said And Done in the bag (entirely self-produced) and his own studio RiddimWorks will truly demonstrate his skills as a producer in his own right with all he has absorbed over the last two decades.
Deschanel y Ward se conocieron en el rodaje de la película The Go-Getter, en la que la actriz tuvo un papel estelar. El director, Martin Hynes, les presentó el uno al otro y les pidió que hacer un dueto juntos para ser emitido en los créditos finales de la película. Decidieron realizar la canción titulada "When I Get to the Border" de Richard y Linda Thompson. Ambos se unieron por un interés común en las grabaciones producidas por George Martin y Phil Spector y sobre todo de las producidas por Ralph Peer como The Carter Family.
Ward, después de haber oído cantar a Deschanel previamente en la película Elf, se sorprendió al saber que ella misma escribió canciones, pero que nunca había seguido una carrera musical. En realidad, Deschanel había hecho durante años grabaciones caseras, pero nunca se atrevió a publicarlas. Un día, por capricho, decidió enviárselas a Ward. Ward llamó poco tiempo después, diciéndole que le gustaría grabar sus canciones correctamente, y su banda She & Him se formó.
La pareja comenzó a colaborar vía correo electrónico, Ward trabajando en su estudio de Portland y Deschanel en su casa de Los Ángeles. La ciudad tuvo una gran influencia en la música de Deschanel, evocando largos paseos por las carreteras de la costa escuchando a Brian Wilson y grandes piezas de la década de los 1970. La escena musical de California también ha alimentado la producción de Ward, hasta tal punto que ha inspirado algunas de sus obras posteriores de guitarra con cantantes de country alternativo como Jenny Lewis.
Ward se pasaba el tiempo "jugueteando" con la música después de que Deschanel se la pasaba, y en algunas ocasiones era Zooey quien en su estudio daba los últimos toques. Grabaron el disco en Portland en diciembre de 2006 y en febrero - marzo de 2007. Les llevó tres sesiones de grabación para terminar el álbum. También grabaron en los estudios de Mike Coykendall y Adam Selzer y tuvieron una sesión de mezcla con Mike Mogis en su estudio de Omaha (Nebraska) tanto en abril como en mayo de 2007. El álbum es un buen ejemplo de lo que se conoce como el sonido de Omaha.
Se tomaron un descanso mientras Ward estuvo de gira y Deschanel grabando una película. Su álbum fue lanzado el 18 de marzo de 2008. Sin embargo, su primera aparición pública había sido un año y dos meses antes en la proyección de The Go-Getter en el Festival de Cine de Sundance. Participaron de forma esporádica en otros eventos y finalmente dieron su primera gira en el verano de 2008.
Paste magazine declaró el debut de She & Him el álbum nº 1 del año.
Actuaron en el Festival South by Southwest en marzo de 2008 y se fueron de gira durante julio y agosto de ese mismo año.
El 17 de marzo de 2010 lanzaron su segundo álbum Volume Two. El álbum recoge canciones como Ridin' in My Car, Gonna Get Along Without You Now e In the Sun, entre otras.
She & Him comenzaron su gira la primavera de 2010, realizado conciertos en los Estados Unidos, incluyendo los festivales de música South by Southwest, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Savannah, Sasquatch, Nateva, Verge y el LouFest. También la gira siguió por Europa, visitando Londres, Madrid, Barcelona, París, Berlín, Copenhague, Estocolmo, Oslo y Ámsterdam.
A Very She & Him Christmas fue anunciada en Pitchfork.com en septiembre de 2011. Es un álbum de 12 pistas que fue lanzado el 24 de octubre de 2011.
Classics es el quinto álbum de estudio del dúo, seguido por Christmas Party. Classics fue anunciado a través de un video en YouTube, contó con 13 versiones los cuales en palabras de Zooey Deschanel son sus canciones favoritas, por lo que era su sueño grabar dichos temas en una forma que enaltecieran las letras y la belleza de las melodías. Esta producción contó con la participación de una orquesta conformada por 20 músicos. Classics estuvo disponible a partir de octubre de 2014.
Christmas Party es el segundo álbum de Navidad y el sexto álbum de estudio de la banda. El 15 de septiembre de 2016 lo anunciaron, el cual fue lanzado el 28 de octubre de ese mismo año y presenta varias versiones de canciones clásicas de vacaciones. Las críticas fueron generalmente favorables.
