Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989 in the city of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She is an American country pop singer-songwriter and guitarist. She is the daughter of Scott, a stock broker, and Andrea Swift, a homemaker. She has a younger brother, Austin. When she was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem entitled "Monster In My Closet".
At the age of ten, she began writing songs and singing at karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs around her hometown. During one summer, she devoted herself to writing a 350-page (unpublished) novel. She was a member of Kirk Cremer's SNL-inspired kid's sketch comedy group, TheatreKids Live!, where she was a natural comedic talent. After seeing her karaoke performance at one of the cast parties, it was Cremer's mother who first suggested that she seemed more of a natural to pursue a career in country music, rather than theatrical performing.
In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", which peaked at number six on the Billboard country charts. Later in October 2006, she released her self-titled debut album, which produced five hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and was certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. The New York Times described her as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country’s foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults".
According to Nielsen SoundScan, she was the biggest selling artist of 2008 in America with combined sales of more than four million albums. Her Fearless and her self-titled album finished 2008 at number three and number six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million. She was the first artist in the history of Nielsen SoundScan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. Fearless has topped the Billboard 200 in 11 non-consecutive weeks. No album has spent more time at number one since 1999-2000. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at #1 on The Billboard 200. In mid-January 2009, Swift became the first country artist to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with three different songs. As of the week ending February 8, 2009, her single "Love Story" became the country song with most paid downloads in history and the first country song to top the Mainstream Top 40 chart. According to the 2009 issue of Forbes, Swift is ranked as the 69th most powerful celebrity with over $18 million in earnings this year.
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Taylor Swift Profile
Lady Gaga Profile
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986 in Yonkers, New York, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American recording artist.
She the eldest child of Italian American parents. Her father, Joseph Germanotta, is an internet entrepreneur, and her mother, Cynthia, works as a telecommunications assistant. By the time she was eleven, she was set to join Juilliard School in Manhattan, but instead attended the private Catholic school Convent of the Sacred Heart. Having learned piano at the age of four, she went on to write her first piano ballad at thirteen and began performing at open mic nights by the age of fourteen. At the age of seventeen, she gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied music. She improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion and socio-political order.
She began playing in clubs in the New York City area while also working at Interscope Records as a songwriter for several established acts, including Akon, who signed her to a joint deal with his own label, Kon Live Distribution after hearing Gaga sing. She then started to work on new material for her first studio album.
She began working with a collective called the Haus of Gaga in 2008, and released her debut album The Fame. The album peaked in countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada, and topped the Billboard Top Electronic Albums chart in the United States. To date, the album has spawned the international number one singles "Just Dance" (nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards) and "Poker Face." After opening for New Kids On The Block and the Pussycat Dolls, Gaga headlined her first tour, The Fame Ball Tour.
She has been influenced by fashion and has been appreciated for her provocative sense of style and her influence on other celebrities. Musically, she is inspired by glam rockers such as David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Michael Jackson and Madonna.
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Britney Spears Profile
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist, is an American singer and entertainer. She was first appeared on national television in 1992 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to 1994.
Her parents are Lynne Irene, a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a former building contractor and chef. She has two siblings, Bryan and Jamie Lynn. Bryan Spears is married to Jamie-Lynn's manager, Graciella Rivera.
She was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions. She performed in local dance revues and sang in her local Baptist church choir. She entered New York City's Professional Performing Arts School when she was eight. Her parents would often argue, and they eventually divorced in 2002.
At age eight, she auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York City agent. She subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions. In 1992, she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost. At age eleven, she returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on The New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida. After the show ended, she returned to Kentwood and attended high school for a year.
In 1997, she briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense. Later that same year, she recorded a solo demo and was signed by Jive Records. She began a U.S. concert tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
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Beyonce Knowles Profile
She was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Best known mononymously as Beyoncé, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model.The daughter of Mathew Knowles, a successful record manager, and Tina Beyincé, a costume designer and hair stylist. Her father is African American and her mother is of Creole (African American, Native American, and French) descent. She was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother and to prevent the name from becoming obsolete, since only a few of the Beyincé males carry the name. Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles. She is the elder sister of Solange, a singer-songwriter and actress.
She was schooled at St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent in singing was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes. Although a shy girl, as her mother considered her, her interest in music and performing began unexpectedly after participating in a school talent show. Once she had a moment on the stage, she overcame her shyness and wanted to become a singer and performer. By age seven, she had entered her first talent show, singing John Lennon's "Imagine". She won the contest and was honored with a standing ovation. At the same age, she started gaining attention from the press, having mentioned in Houston Chronicle as a nominee for the local performing arts award The Sammy.
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