Did you know that "Just The Way You Are" earned Bruno Mars a Grammy Award?

"Just The Way You Are" earned Bruno Mars a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards?

"Just the Way You Are" has sold 12.5 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. "Just The Way You Are" is a pop and R&B song with an instrumentation that features piano, keyboard sounds and breakbeat. The instruments are arranged into what critics described as a "nice smooth ballad with vocals".

Bruno said of the song, "It took me months to come up with 'Just the Way You Are'... I wasn't thinking of anything deep or poetic. I was telling a story. Get ready to fall in love!" He added, "I'm a big fan of songs like Joe Cocker's 'You Are So Beautiful' and Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' - songs that go straight to the point. You know, there's no mind-boggling lyrics or twists in the story - they just come directly from the heart. And to me 'Just The Way You Are' is one of those songs. There's nothing mind-blowing about it. I'm just telling a woman she looks beautiful the way she IS - and, let's be honest, what woman doesn't wanna hear those lyrics?!"

Mars' A&R who was responsible for finding songs and songwriters to help in the process of composing the song, Aaron Bay-Schuck, told HitQuarters that as soon as "Just the Way You Are" was finished they knew they had the first single, saying:

"It had a massive chorus, an instantly memorable melody and lyric, and was a natural transition from the B.o.B and Travie McCoy songs ... [Also] it didn’t sound like anything else on the radio. It had everything we could want in a first single for Bruno."

His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez. He was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father at the age of two, because he was a chubby kid and there was a famous chubby wrestler at the time named Bruno Sammartino. At the start of his career he added "Mars" to his stage name because "a lot of girls say I'm out of this world, so I was like I guess I'm from Mars."

                                              Source: Wikipedia, Artistfacts, TheGleeWikiProject, YouTube

                          

Did you know that "Just The Way You Are" earned Bruno Mars a Grammy Award?

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Did you know that Barry Manilow's chart topping song entitled "I write the songs" wasn’t written by him?

"I Write the Songs" made famous by Barry Manilow reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976  after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. That song was not actually written by Barry Manilow. It was written by Bruce Johnston, who is a member of The Beach Boys.

The song is sometimes erroneously rumored to be about Brian Wilson. Johnston cleared this up when he told us: "The Captain & Tennille were the first artists to record my song 'I Write The Songs.' I never wrote 'I Write The Songs' about Brian Wilson. I wrote it about 'where music comes from' (for me, music comes only from God). My song has nothing to do with Brian! I admire Brian Wilson's great melodies and, as a member of the Beach Boys, I'm singing these fantastic songs in concert year after year."

This won a Grammy for Song Of The Year. The Beach Boys never won a Grammy - after winning this, Johnston became the only member of the group to get one until Brian Wilson's "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow" was awarded Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2005.

From the liner notes of The Complete Collection And Then Some...: Manilow was originally reluctant to record this song, saying to Arista Records chief Clive Davis, "This 'I Write The Songs' thing Clive, I really don't want to do it." Manilow says his worry "was that the listeners would think I was singing about how "I" write the songs, when it was really about the inspiration of music. Clive understood, but didn't think it would be a problem. "Besides," he told me, "You DO write songs!" Manilow says he was concerned about coming off as a gigantic egomaniac, but that he liked the song so much he decided to record it. He adds, "Whenever I heard the song in public, I felt the need to run to everyone who was listening and say, 'You know, I'm really not singing about myself!'"

Bruce Johnston shared his Song of the Year Grammy award with Barry Manilow.

                            

Sources: Songfacts, Artistfacts, Wikipedia, Skyminds.net

Did you know that Barry Manilow's chart topping song entitled "I write the songs" wasn’t written by him?

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Did you know that gummy bears are Alicia Keys's best secret to keep her voice immaculate?

Who would think of eating gummy bears can also give us good voice quality. Alicia Keys has this secret to keeping her voice 100 percent while on tour. She has used this same method involving the rubbery candy gummy bears for years to keep her voice immaculate.

“You melt a handful of gummy bears in hot water and something about the glycerin that really clears your voice,” 

“And it was amazing, my vocal coach told me it's like an ancient secret… now I can eat gummy bears anytime I want!” - Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys, born as Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981 in New York City, incorporates piano into a majority of her songs and often writes about love, heartbreak and female empowerment. She heavily incorporates classical piano with R&B, soul and jazz into her music. 

Often referred to as the "Princess of Soul", Keys has been commended as having a strong, raw and impassioned voice. Others feel that her voice is "emotionally manufactured" at times and that she pushes her voice out of its natural range. 

Throughout her career, Alicia Keys has won numerous awards and is listed on the Recording Industry Association of America's best-selling artists in the United States, with 15 million certified albums. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

She always sounds good on stage singing high note songs live. Now we know her secret, so for those aspiring amateur singers can also try this amazing jelly fruit gum candy, gummy bears and sing immaculately like Alicia Keys.

                                        

Sources: Artistfacts, Deannasdirt, YahooNews, Wikipedia, EurWeb, 4Music

Did you know that gummy bears are Alicia Keys's best secret to keep her voice immaculate?

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Did you know that Eminem's songs were called "sickening and offensive" by an Australian Prime Minister in 2001?

Eminem had trouble getting a visa to perform 2 shows in Australia in 2001. The rapper was to perform with his D12 posse in Sydney and Melbourne on July 26 and 27 that year.  The Australian Prime Minister John Howard tried to keep him out, calling his songs "sickening and offensive." 

But eventually Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock granted him a visa after Eminem acknowledged the requirements, and also acknowledged that breaching them could result a visa cancellation. Eminem was warned the visa "carried with it a responsibility with respect to our multicultural society and values and the need to avoid vilifying or inciting discord. . . To the point where a potentially dangerous disturbance resulted."

There were concerned groups that opposed to Eminem's Australian tour because according to them Eminem sang violent, foul-mouthed and racist lyrics that are often demeaning to women and gays.

The only reason why Eminem gets these bad ratings and critics is because he exposes the worst of society. This multi-awarded rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor, grow and raised in a not so ideal home. His parents were in a band and separated when their relationship went sour. When Eminem was in his teens, he wrote letters to his father and came back as "return to sender." The rapper was a bit loner and often bullied. He was beaten significantly by De'Angelo Bailey (former schoolmate), split his lip open and knocked the wind out of him. He suffered further beatings from the same bully, including a bathroom incident, where EM sustained injuries to his head, face, back and legs. In his worst run-in with the bully, Bailey hit Em in the face with a snowball containing a heavy object or a piece of ice, and then proceeded to beat him up, which resulted in a concussion and temporary loss of vision in one eye for Em.

Eminem later referenced his bully in his 1999 song "Brain Damage" which included the following lyrics about Bailey: "He banged my head against the urinal till he broke my nose/ Soaked my clothes in blood, grabbed me and choked my throat."

Bailey sued Eminem in 2001 for violation of privacy, but the suit was rightfully tossed out. Recently, Eminem has been speaking out against bullying, in an effort to combat the trend of suicides resulting from anti-gay bullying in schools, despite the fact that Em himself has been accused of fueling anti-gay bullying through his song lyrics.

Eminem's controversies over lyrics have been perceived as being homophobic and was the reason why Australian Prime Minister John Howard attempted to ban his entry to Australia. Eminem denies that he is homophobic and says that during his upbringing such obscene words as a faggot and queer were commonly spoken as being derogatory in general and not implicitly singled towards homosexuals.

When asked in an interview with the New York Times about same-sex marriage been legalized in his home state of Michigan, Eminem responded, "I think if two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want". He said that his "overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be."

EMINEM will return to Australia for an East Coast stadium tour in February 2014. In a bill sure to buck the trend of failing hip hop tours in Australia, Eminem will be joined by Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Melbourne rapper 360 in a bill, titled Rapture.

Eminem's Australian shows will be at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium on February 19, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on February 20 and Sydney's ANZ Stadium on February 22.

Eminem will release The Marshall Mathers LP2 on November 5. Tickets for the tour will go on sale October 31.

                                 

Sources: Wikipedia, ArtistFacts, TheGuardian, PerezHilton

Did you know that Eminem's songs were called "sickening and offensive" by an Australian Prime Minister in 2001?

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Did you know that Justin Bieber videos on YouTube led to his success?

Justin Bieber videos on YouTube attracted millions of visitors and led to his success

Justin Drew Bieber born March 1, 1994, is a Canadian pop musician, actor, and singer-songwriter. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by American talent manager Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on

YouTube and later became his manager. While searching for videos of a different singer, Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def, clicked on one of Bieber's 2007 videos by accident.

According to Jan Hoffman of The New York Times, part of Bieber's appeal stems from his YouTube channel. Long before he released his EP, My World, in mid-November, the YouTube videos attracted millions of views.

Bieber has also been criticized for looking and sounding younger than his age, his teen-pop music, image, and frequent media attention. He has been a frequent target of Internet bloggers and message board posters, notably by users of Internet message board 4chan and users of YouTube.

After posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007, where the multi-talented Bieber put his impeccable spin on songs from artists like Usher, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder, Justin racked up over 10,000,000 views purely from word of mouth. 

“I started singing about three years ago,” says the Canadian native who grew up an only child in Stratford, Ontario. “I entered a local singing competition called Stratford Idol. The other people in the competition had been taking singing lessons and had vocal coaches. I wasn’t taking it too seriously at the time, I would just sing around the house. I was only 12 and I got second place.”

In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin began posting his performance footage online. “I put my singing videos from the competition on YouTube so that my friends and family could watch them,” he says. “But it turned out that other people liked them and they started subscribing to them. That’s how my manager found me. He saw me on YouTube and contacted my family and now I’m signed!”

“I’m looking forward to influencing others in a positive way,” says Justin. “My message is you can do anything if you just put your mind to it. I grew up below the poverty line; I didn't have as much as other people did. I think it made me stronger as a person it built my character. Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college and just become a better person.” 

A virtually untapped well of natural artistic talent, Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force in music for many years to come. “I think older people can appreciate my music because I really show my heart when I sing, and it’s not corny,” he says. “I think I can grow as an artist and my fans will grow with me.” And just think, he’s just getting started.

Bieber has received numerous awards, including both Artist of the Year Awards at the 2010 American Music Awards and the 2012 American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. With a global fan base, termed as "Beliebers", and over 40 million followers on Twitter, he was named by Forbes magazine in 2012 as the third-most powerful celebrity in the world.

                                

Did you know that Justin Bieber videos on YouTube led to his success?

Sources: Wikipedia, FindFast.org, YouTube, JustinBeiber

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Did you know that Taylor Swift always write songs about people she knows?

Taylor Swift 

is known for her narrative songs about her experiences as a teenager and young adult. As a songwriter, she has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters Association and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed with the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house.

Here are few of the songs that Taylor Swift wrote about the people that were part of her life:

"Teardrops on my Guitar" was written for Drew Hardwick. Taylor Swift had a hidden crush on his seat mate Drew during their high school years. When Drew learned that the song was written for him, he asked Taylor Swift if he had a chance now, however Swift rejected him because it was just so late for Drew to realize it now.

"Stay Beautiful" was written for a guy named Cory. According to Taylor Swift... “This is a song I wrote about a guy I never dated! Wow, right? Haha. This song is about a guy I thought was cute, and never really talked to him much. But something about him inspired this song, just watching him.”

 "Hey Stephen" was written for Stephen Liles from the band Love and Theft. Taylor wrote this when they were on tour together. 

"Forever and Always" and "Last Kiss" as every one know was for a guy named Joe Jonas who broke up with Taylor Swift via 27-second phone call (Jerk!).

"Mine" was supposedly written for Cory Monteith even though the hidden word in her album is Toby (the guy from her music video). Cory and Taylor were sitting by a lake and he put his arm around her but that’s about far as it got because she was scared. But then she started thinking about what their relationship would be like if he was the one she stopped running away from love.

"Back to December" was written for Twilight hunk, Taylor Lautner. Although Taylor Swift never confirmed that it was for Taylor Lautner, the hidden message found on her album is “Tay” so it’s very much obvious that this is for Lautner.

"Dear John" and "The Story of Us" was written by Taylor Swift for the same person named John Mayer.

"Enchanted" was written for Owl City’s Adam Young. It is reported that after attending a concert of Owl City, Taylor was so enchanted that she made a song of meeting Adam. 

"Innocent" was written for Kanye West. Although she never confirmed it, when Taylor was performing this song live there is a video flashback of how Kanye interrupted her moment at the VMA’s 2009.

"Should’ve Said No" was written by Taylor Swift for her ex-boyfriend Sam who she broke up with after learning that he cheated on her.

"Better than Revenge" was supposed to be aimed to Camilla Belle who every body knows stole Joe Jonas from Taylor Swift. “She’s not a saint and she’s not what you think she’s an actress.”

"Long Live" was written by Taylor Swift for her band, her producer and her fans. It is like a thank you song.

"Speak Now" was written by Taylor Swift for one of her friends. Her friend’s ex-boyfriend is marrying someone else and Taylor had a dream that night that one of her ex-boyfriend was marrying and upon waking up she immediately went into writing a song of how it would feel like to go stop a wedding.

Taylor Swift rocks again!

Newcomers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will battle heavyweights Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift for the top prize at the 2013 American Music Awards.

Rihanna and Bruno Mars will also compete for artist of the year. Kelly Clarkson and will.i.am announced some of the nominees Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The AMAs will take place Nov. 24 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Miley Cyrus and Imagine Dragons will perform.

Swift, Rihanna and Pink are nominated for favorite female artist-pop/rock. 

Sources: HuffPost, Wikipedia, Entertainment Weekly, Taylor Swift, ThisIsMyLife

                      

Did you know that Taylor Swift always write songs about people she knows?

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