Hypnotic Celebrities Blog

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), who performed under the mononym Aaliyah, was an American recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At an early age, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside Gladys Knight. At age 12, Aaliyah was signed to Jive Records and Blackground Records by her uncle, Barry Hankerson. He introduced her to R. Kelly, who became her mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of her debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number. The album sold two million copies in the United States and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After facing allegations of an illegal marriage with Kelly, Aaliyah ended her contract with Jive and signed to Atlantic Records.

Aaliyah worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott for her second album, One in a Million; it sold two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide. In 2000, Aaliyah appeared in her first major film, Romeo Must Die. She contributed to the film’s soundtrack, which spawned the single “Try Again”. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 solely on airplay, making Aaliyah the first artist in Billboard history to achieve this feat. “Try Again” earned Aaliyah a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist.

After filming Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah filmed her part in Queen of the Damned. She released her third and final album, Aaliyah, in 2001. On August 25, 2001, Aaliyah and eight others were killed in an airplane crash in The Bahamas after filming the music video for the single “Rock the Boat”. The pilot, Luis Morales III, was unlicensed at the time of the accident and had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system. Aaliyah’s family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways, which was settled out of court. Since then, Aaliyah has achieved commercial success with several posthumous releases. Selling over 24 million records worldwide, she has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop and has been named the “Queen of Urban Pop”.

Life and career

1979–1990: Early life

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Born of African American and Native American descent, she was the second and youngest child of Diane and Michael Haughton. At a young age, Aaliyah was enrolled for voice lessons by her mother. When she was five years old, her family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised along with her older brother, Rashad. She attended a Catholic school, Gesu Elementary, where she received a part in the stage play Annie in first grade; from then on, she was determined to be an entertainer. Aaliyah’s mother was a vocalist, and her uncle, Barry Hankerson, was an entertainment lawyer who was previously married to Gladys Knight. As a child, Aaliyah traveled with Knight and worked with an agent in New York to audition for commercials and television programs, including Family Matters; she went on to appear on Star Search at the age of nine. She then auditioned for several record labels and appeared in concerts alongside Knight at age 11.

1991–1995: Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number

After Hankerson signed a distribution deal with Jive Records, he signed Aaliyah to his Blackground Records label at the age of 12. Hankerson later introduced her to recording artist and producer R. Kelly, who became Aaliyah’s mentor, as well as lead songwriter and producer of the album, which was recorded when she was 14. Released in June 1994, the album peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200 and sold over two million copies in the United States. Aaliyah’s debut single, “Back & Forth”, topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for three weeks and was certified Gold by the RIAA. The second single, a cover of The Isley Brothers’ “At Your Best (You Are Love)”, peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was also certified Gold by the RIAA. The title track, “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number”, peaked at number 75 on the Hot 100.

With the release of Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number, rumors began to circulate of a relationship between Aaliyah and Kelly. Shortly after, rumors of a secret marriage began with the release of “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” and the adult content that Kelly had written for Aaliyah. Vibe magazine later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple allegedly married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois. Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the certificate; the illegal marriage was reportedly annulled in February 1995 by her parents. The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married.

1996–1999: One in a Million

In 1996, Aaliyah left Jive Records and signed to Atlantic Records. She worked with record producers Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who contributed to her second studio album, One in a Million. The album yielded the single “If Your Girl Only Knew”, which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for two weeks. It also generated the singles “Hot like Fire” and “4 Page Letter”. The following year, Aaliyah was featured on Timbaland & Magoo’s debut single, “Up Jumps da Boogie”. One in a Million peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200, selling over two million copies in the United States and over eight million copies worldwide.

Aaliyah attended the Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, where she majored in drama and graduated in 1997 with a 4.0 grade point average. Aaliyah began her acting career that same year; she played herself in the police drama television series New York Undercover. She then released “The Thing I Like” from the soundtrack of A Low Down Dirty Shame; it peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Aaliyah appeared on the soundtrack album for the Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, performing a cover version of “Journey to the Past” which earned songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Aaliyah performed the song at the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony and became the youngest singer to perform at the ceremony.

2000–2001: Romeo Must Die and eponymous album

In 2000, Aaliyah landed her first major movie role in Romeo Must Die. A loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed $18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office. In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film soundtrack, where she contributed four songs. “Try Again” was released as a single from the soundtrack; the song topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Aaliyah the first artist to top the chart based solely on airplay; this led the song to be released in a 12″ vinyl and 7″ single. The music video won the Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film awards at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. It also earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocalist. The soundtrack went on to sell 1.5 million copies in the United States.

After Romeo Must Die, Aaliyah began to film for her second film, Queen of the Damned. She had the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha, which she described as a “manipulative, crazy, sexual being”. She was scheduled to film for the sequels of The Matrix as the character Zee. Aaliyah went on to release her eponymous album, Aaliyah, in July 2001. Produced primarily by Timbaland, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling 187,000 copies in its first week. The first single from the album, “We Need a Resolution”, peaked at number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Plane crash, death and wrongful death lawsuit

On August 25, 2001, at 6:45 pm (EST), Aaliyah and various members of the record company boarded a twin engine Cessna 402B (N8097W) at Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, The Bahamas, to travel to an airport in Opa-locka, Florida, after they completed filming the music video for “Rock the Boat”. They had a flight scheduled the following day, but with filming finishing early, Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States. They made the decision to leave immediately. Against the advice of baggage handlers and the pilot, all the equipment from the shoot was loaded on the plane. Therefore, the aircraft exceeded the standard weight and balance tolerance limit provided by Cessna.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the runway. Aaliyah, pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Forman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, video producer Douglas Kratz, stylist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Keith Wallace and Gina Smith were killed. According to findings from an inquest, conducted by the coroner’s office in The Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from “severe burns and a blow to the head”, in addition to severe shock. The coroner theorized that, even if Aaliyah had survived the crash, her recovery would have been virtually impossible given the severity of her injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated that “the airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27.” It also indicated that the pilot was not approved to pilot the plane he was attempting to fly. Morales falsely obtained his Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) license by showing hundreds of hours never flown, and he may also have falsified how many hours he had flown in order to get a job with his employer, Blackhawk International Airways. Additionally, an autopsy performed on Morales revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.

Further investigations determined the plane was over its total gross weight by 700 pounds and was loaded with one more passenger than it was allowed to carry. John Frank of the Cessna Pilots Association stated that the plane was “definitely overloaded”. The NTSB reported that the total gross weight of the plane was “substantially exceeded”, which caused the center of gravity to be pushed too far aft. Aaliyah’s funeral was held on August 31, 2001, at the Saint Ignatius Loyola Church in New York, which was attended by over 800 mourners. After service, 22 white doves were released to symbolize each year of her life. Aaliyah was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery.

The day of the crash was Morales’ first official day with Blackhawk International Airways, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. In addition, Morales was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk. As a result of the accident, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Aaliyah’s parents and was later settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote and capitalize Aaliyah and to oversee the production and distribution of her records and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Instinct Productions LLC, the company that was hired in August 2001 to produce the music video for “Rock the Boat”. The case was dismissed due to New York’s wrongful death statute only permitting certain people to recover damages for wrongful death.

2001–2005: Posthumous career

The week after Aaliyah’s death, her third studio album, Aaliyah, rose from number 19 to number one on the Billboard 200. “Rock the Boat” was released as a posthumous single. The music video was premiered on Black Entertainment Television’s Access Granted; it became the most viewed and highest rated episode in the history of the show. The song peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was also included on the Now That’s What I Call Music! 8 compilation series; a portion of the album’s profits were donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund. The following two singles from Aaliyah, “More than a Woman” and “I Care 4 U”, peaked within the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified double Platinum by the RIAA and sold 2.5 million copies in the United States.

She went on to win two posthumous awards at the American Music Awards of 2002; Favorite Female R&B Artist and Favorite R&B/Soul Album for Aaliyah. Her second and final film, Queen of the Damned, was released in February 2002. Before its release, Aaliyah’s brother, Rashad, re-dubbed part of her lines during post-production. It grossed $15.2 million in its first weekend, ranking number one at the box office. In December 2002, a collection of previously unreleased material was released as Aaliyah’s first posthumous album, I Care 4 U. A portion of proceeds was donated to the Aaliyah Memorial Fund, a program that benefits the Revlon UCLA Women Cancer Research Program and Harlem’s Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 280,000 copies in its first week. The album’s lead single, “Miss You”, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In August of the following year, clothing retailer Christian Dior donated profits from sales in honor of Aaliyah.

Aaliyah was signed to appear in several future films, including Honey (recast to Jessica Alba). Some Kind of Blue and a Whitney Houston-produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle were canceled due to Aaliyah’s death. Before her death, Aaliyah had filmed part of her role in The Matrix Reloaded and was scheduled to appear in The Matrix Revolutions as Zee. The role was later recast to Nona Gaye. With the release of the Matrix Ultimate Collection series, clips of Aaliyah were included in the tribute section.

In 2005, Aaliyah’s second compilation album, Ultimate Aaliyah was released in the UK by Blackground Records. Ultimate Aaliyah is a three disc set, which included a greatest hits audio CD and a DVD. Andy Kellman of Allmusic remarked “Ultimate Aaliyah adequately represents the shortened career of a tremendous talent who benefited from some of the best songwriting and production work by Timbaland, Missy Elliott, and R. Kelly.”

Musical style and image

Aaliyah had a vocal range of a soprano. With the release of her debut single “Back & Forth”, Dimitri Ehrlich of Entertainment Weekly expressed that Aaliyah’s “silky vocals are more agile than those of self-proclaimed queen of hip-hop soul Mary J. Blige.” Aaliyah described her sound as “street but sweet”, which featured her “gentle” vocals over a “hard” beat. Though Aaliyah did not write any of her own material, her lyrics were described to be in-depth. She incorporated R&B, pop and hip hop into her music. Her songs were often uptempo and melancholy, revolving around “matters of the heart”. Her songs have been said to have “crisp production” and “staccato arrangements” that “extend genre boundaries” while containing “old-school” soul music. When experimenting with other genres, such as Latin pop and heavy metal, writers panned the attempt.

As her albums progressed, writers felt that Aaliyah matured, calling her progress a “declaration of strength and independence”. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described her eponymous album, Aaliyah, as “a statement of maturity and a stunning artistic leap forward” and called it one of the strongest urban soul records of its time. She portrayed “unfamiliar sounds, styles and emotions”, but managed to please critics with the contemporary sound it contained. Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone felt that Aaliyah reflected a stronger technique, where she gave her best vocal performance. Others felt that she was “satisfying rather than extraordinary”, stating that she added little to modern R&B.

As an artist, Aaliyah often voiced that she was inspired by a number of performers. These include Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sade, En Vogue, Nine Inch Nails, ‘N Sync, Korn, Britney Spears, The Notorious B.I.G., Prince, Naughty by Nature, Johnny Mathis and Janet Jackson. Aaliyah expressed that Michael Jackson’s Thriller was her “favorite album” and that “[n]othing will ever top Thriller.” She stated that she admired Sade because “she stays true to her style no matter what… she’s an amazing artist, an amazing performer… and I absolutely love her.” Aaliyah expressed Janet Jackson—whom she had drawn frequent comparison to over the course of her career—was someone she had always desired to work with, stating “I admire her a great deal. She’s a total performer… I’d love to do a duet with Janet Jackson.” Jackson reciprocated Aaliyah’s affections, commenting “I’ve loved her from the beginning because she always comes out and does something different, musically.” Jackson also stated she would have enjoyed collaborating with Aaliyah.

Since the beginning of her career, Aaliyah focused on her public image. She often wore baggy clothes and sunglasses, stating that she “wanted to be me”. She described her image as being “important… to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack”. She often wore black clothing, which led women in the United States and Japan to utilize her look. Aaliyah participated in fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger’s All America Tour and was featured in Tommy Jean ads, which depicted her in boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube top. Hilfiger’s brother, Andy, called it “a whole new look” that was “classy but sexy”. When she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother’s advice to cover her left eye, much like Veronica Lake. In 1998, Aaliyah hired a personal trainer to keep in shape. She exercised five days a week and ate diet foods. Aaliyah was praised for her “clean-cut image” and “moral values”.

Legacy

Aaliyah has been credited for helping redefine R&B and hip hop in the 1990s, “leaving an indelible imprint on the music industry as a whole.” Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote Aaliyah ranks among the “elite” artists of the R&B genre, as she “played a major role in popularizing the stuttering, futuristic production style that consumed hip-hop and urban soul in the late ’90s.” Described as one of “R&B’s most important artists” during the 1990s, her second studio album, One in a Million, became one of the most influential R&B albums of the decade. According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, Aaliyah provided a “missing link between hip-hop and electronica”. Having sold 8.1 million albums in the United States and over 24 million records worldwide, Aaliyah has been named the “Queen of Urban Pop” and “prove[d] she was a muse in her own right”. Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone dubbed her as the “undisputed queen of the midtempo come-on”.

Aaliyah was honored at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards by Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Ginuwine and her brother, Rashad, who all paid tribute to her. In the same year, the United States Social Security Administration ranked the name Aaliyah one of the 100 most popular names for newborn girls. Aaliyah was ranked as one of “The Top 40 Women of the Video Era” and “100 Sexiest Artists” in VH1’s 2003 The Greatest series. She was also ranked at number 18 on BET’s “Top 25 Dancers of All Time”. In memory of Aaliyah, the Entertainment Industry Foundation created the Aaliyah Memorial Fund to donate money raised to charities she supported.

Discography

Studio albums Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number (1994) One in a Million (1996) Aaliyah (2001)

Compilations I Care 4 U (2002) Ultimate Aaliyah (2005)

External links

• Official website
• Aaliyah at the Internet Movie Database
• Aaliyah at Find a Grave

Music career

In November 2000, Lavigne was signed by Ken Krongard, an A&R representative to Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio “L.A.” Reid, to hear her sing at the Manhattan studio of producer Peter Zizzo. Signed as a singer, Lavigne was pitched with songs written by others. However, she dismissed them, insisting she wanted to write herself. For a year, Lavigne and Arista had conflicts in musical direction. She collaborated with the production team The Matrix, and the ensuing album is called Let Go.

Let Go (2002–2003)

Lavigne released her debut album, Let Go, on June 4, 2002 in the United States, where it reached number two. It peaked at number one in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This made Lavigne, at 17, the youngest female soloist to have a number-one album in the United Kingdom until that time. By the end of 2002, the album was certified four-time platinum by the RIAA, making her the best-selling female artist of 2002 and Let Go as the top-selling debut of the year. By May 2003, Let Go had accumulated over 1,000,000 sales in Canada, receiving a diamond certification from the Canadian Recording Industry Association. As of 2009, the album has sold over 16 million worldwide. RIAA has certified the album six-time platinum, denoting shipments of over six million.

Lavigne’s debut single and the album’s lead single, “Complicated”, went to number one in Australia and number two in the United States. “Complicated” was one of the best-selling Canadian singles of 2002. “Complicated” was also featured on the teen television show, Dawson’s Creek. Subsequent singles “Sk8er Boi” and “I’m With You” reached the top ten in the United States. Thanks to the big success of her first three singles Lavigne was the second artist in history to have three #1 songs from a debut album on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. Lavigne was named Best New Artist at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, won four Juno Awards in 2003 out of six nominations, received a World Music Award for “World’s Best-Selling Canadian Singer”, and was nominated for eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for “Complicated” and Best New Artist.

Lavigne performed “Fuel” during MTV’s Icon tribute to Metallica and posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in March 2003, she appeared in the video to “Hundred Million” by the pop-punk band Treble Charger and covered Green Day’s “Basket Case”, which she performed during her first headlining tour the “Try To Shut Me Up Tour”.

Under My Skin (2004–05)

Lavigne co-wrote “Breakaway” with Matthew Gerard, and was recorded by Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the 2004 film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. “Breakaway” was later included on Clarkson’s second album, Breakaway, and released as the album’s lead single. She covered The Goo Goo Dolls’ mega-hit “Iris”, performed with the band’s lead singer John Rzeznik at Fashion Rocks and posed sexy for the cover of Maxim magazine in October 2004. She also recorded the theme song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Lavigne’s second studio album, Under My Skin, was released on May 25, 2004, debuting at number one in several countries, including Australia, Mexico, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The album has sold more than 10 million copies. Lavigne wrote most of the album’s tracks with Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk. Kreviazuk’s husband, Our Lady Peace front man Raine Maida, co-produced the album with Butch Walker and Don Gilmore. Lavigne went on a “Live and by Surprise” twenty-one city mall-tour in the U.S. and Canada to promote the album, each performance consisted of a short live acoustic set of songs from the new album. She was accompanied by her guitarist, Evan Taubenfeld, by the end of 2004 and during a whole year in 2005 Lavigne embarked into her first world tour the “Bonez Tour” which visited almost every continent around the world.

“Don’t Tell Me” the first single of the album went to number one in Argentina and Mexico, top five in the UK and Canada, and top ten in Australia and Brazil. “My Happy Ending” the album’s lead single went to number one in Mexico, top five in the UK and Australia, In the United States it reached the top ten of Billboard Hot 100 and went to #1 in the U.S. Mainstream Top 40, making it her fourth-biggest hit there. Third single “Nobody’s Home” did not make the top 40 in the U.S., and it only went to number one in Mexico and Argentina. The fourth single from the album, “He Wasn’t”, reached top 40 positions in the UK and Australia, and was not released in the U.S. “Fall to Pieces” was released as the final single from the album, but did not do as well as previous singles.

Lavigne won two World Music Awards in 2004 for “World’s Best Pop/Rock Artist” and “World’s Best-Selling Canadian Artist”. She received five Juno Award nominations in 2005, picking up three, including “Artist of the Year”. She won the award for “Favorite Female Singer” at the eighteenth Annual Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and got nominated in every single MTV Award show around the world.

The Best Damn Thing (2006–08)

Lavigne represented Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, performing her song “Who Knows” during the eight minutes of the Vancouver 2010 portion.

While Lavigne was in the studio in 2006 for her third studio album, Fox Entertainment Group approached her to write a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 fantasy-adventure film Eragon. She wrote and recorded two “ballad-type” songs, one of which “Keep Holding On” ended up being used for the film. Lavigne admitted that writing the song was challenging, making sure it flows along with the film. She, however, noted that “Keep Holding On” was not indicative of what the next album would be. The song, which later appeared on the album, debuted on radio on November 20, 2006, and later released for digital download on November 28.

Lavigne’s third album, The Best Damn Thing, was released on April 17, 2007. Lavigne undertook a small tour to promote the album. Its lead single, “Girlfriend”, topped the Billboard Hot 100, the week The Best Damn Thing debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. “Girlfriend” was Lavigne’s first single to have reached number one in Billboard, the single was a worldwide hit it also went to number one in Australia, Canada, Japan, Italy and number two in the UK and France. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ranked “Girlfriend” as 2007’s most-downloaded track worldwide, selling 7.3 million copies in eight different languages. In December 2007, Lavigne, with annual earnings of $12 million, was ranked number eight in the Forbes “Top 20 Earners Under 25″. “When You’re Gone” second single went to number three in the UK, top five in Australia and Italy, top ten in Canada and was very close to be top twenty in the United States, “Hot” was the third single and has been Lavigne’s least succcessful single in the U.S. charting only at number 95, In Canada it made the top ten and in Australia the top 20; The album has sold around 6 million worldwide.

During this era Lavigne won mostly every single award she was up to including two World Music Awards for “World’s Best-Selling Canadian Artist” and “World’s Best Pop/Rock Female Artist” , she took her first two MTV Europe Music Awards, received one Teen Choice Awards for “Summer Single” and got nominated for five Juno Awards.

In March 2008, Lavigne undertook a world tour named “The Best Damn Tour” to support the album. In mid-August 2008, Malaysia’s Islamic opposition party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, attempted to ban Lavigne’s show in Kuala Lumpur, judging her stage moves “too sexy”. Her concert slated August 29 was deemed promoting wrong values ahead of Malaysia’s independence day on August 31. On August 21, 2008, MTV reported that the concert had been approved by the Malaysian government.

Fourth studio album (2009–Present)

Lavigne is currently working on her fourth studio album, which is due out in early 2010. Eight songs, four of which Lavigne had written as a teenager, have been recorded as of August 1. The album will be a return to Lavigne’s older musical style and is going to be largely acoustic. Tracks on the forthcoming album include: “Everybody Hurts,” “Black Star,” “Gone,” “Fine,” and “Darlin,” the latter being the second song Lavigne ever wrote as a 15-year-old while living in Napanee, Ontario. Lavigne has been working with her ex-husband Deryck Whibley and Butch Walker.

Film career

Lavigne made a cameo in the film Going the Distance and also appeared in an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, performing “Sk8er Boi” with her band. Lavigne made her film debut in the 2006 animated film Over the Hedge, which is based on the comic strip of same name. She voices the character Heather, a Virginia Opossum. In August 2006, Canadian Business magazine ranked her the seventh top Canadian actor dominating in Hollywood in their second-annual ranking Celebrity Power List. She is ranked second with the most web hits, and sixth in TV mentions.

Lavigne acted in the Richard Gere film The Flock, as the girlfriend of a crime suspect. Lavigne appears in the film Fast Food Nation, which is based on her favorite book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal.

The British publication The London Paper reported that she recently landed a lead role in an upcoming film. Lavigne revealed, “I’ve got a film role coming up – something you wouldn’t expect from me, something deep and dark.”

Other works

Entrepreneurship

Aside from musical and film career, Lavigne ventured into entrepreneurship. Lavigne launched the clothing line Abbey Dawn in July 2008, featuring back-to-school collection. It is produced by Kohl’s, which is the brand’s exclusive US retailer. Named after Lavigne’s childhood nickname, Abbey, used as an alias when she started her recording career, Lavigne designs for the company and concepts emanate from her. Kohl’s describe Abbey Dawn as a “juniors lifestyle brand”, which includes apparel and jewelry with skull and zebra patterns similar to the artwork featured on The Best Damn Thing. Lavigne wore some of the clothes in her line at various concerts before the launch. The designs were also featured on the internet game Stardoll, where figures can be dressed up as Avril Lavigne. On September 14, 2009 Lavigne took her latest collection for her clothing line ‘Abbey Dawn’ to be a part of the New York Fashion Week one of the most important fashion shows around the world, designer Tommy Hilfiger, olmypic gold medal gymnast Nastia Liukin and friend heiress Nicky Hilton were there to check out and support Avril’s threads.

Lavigne released her first fragrance called Black Star, created by Procter & Gamble Prestige Products. The fragrance was announced via Lavigne’s official website on March 7, 2009. Black Star, which contains notes of pink hibiscus, black plum and dark chocolate, will be released in summer 2009 in Europe, and later in America and Canada. It’s expected to generate $50 million in sales.

Philanthropy

Lavigne has been involved in a number of charitable activities, such as Make Some Noise, Amnesty International, Erase MS, AmericanCPR.org, Camp Will-a-Way, Music Clearing Minefields, U.S. Campaign for Burma, Make-a-Wish Foundation and War Child. She has also appeared in ALDO ads with YouthAIDS to raise money to educate people worldwide about HIV/AIDS. Lavigne took part of the Unite Against Aids concert presented by ALDO in support of Unicef on November 28 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec Canada.

Lavigne worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for her 2005 east coast tour. She covered ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ for War Child’s Peace Songs compilation. Lavigne recorded a cover of the John Lennon song “Imagine” as her contribution to the compilation album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Released on June 12, 2007, the album was produced to benefit Amnesty International’s campaign to alleviate the crisis in Darfur.

Musical style and public image

In Lavigne’s official MySpace page, she affirms that her music genre includes pop, rock, and the sub-genre punk rock. According to Allmusic, her styles encompass adult alternative, pop rock, pop punk, post-grunge and teen pop. According to MusicMight she is alternative rock, alternative pop, pop punk, pop rock and post-grunge.

Lavigne has been featured in a comic series Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes. She stars as herself, a rock star who is idolized by the protagonist of the story.

Controversy

On May 25, 2007, songwriters James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar sued Lavigne, her co-songwriter Lukasz Gottwald, Almo Music, and RCA Records, claiming that “Girlfriend” contains lyrics plagiarized from their song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”, originally performed by The Rubinoos and released by Beserkley Records in 1978. In January 2008, following a confidential settlement, Dunbar and Gangwer said in a statement that they “are satisfied that any similarities between the two songs resulted from Avril and Luke’s use of certain common and widely used lyrics”. They completely exonerated Lavigne and Luke “from any wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the claims made by us in our lawsuit”.

In June 2007, Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, with whom Lavigne co-wrote the majority of her second album, Under My Skin, spoke to Performing Songwriter magazine about Lavigne’s songwriting ability and ethics. Kreviazuk claimed that the song “Contagious”, which appears on The Best Damn Thing, was based on a track she had sent to Lavigne in 2005. On July 6, 2007, Lavigne denied both accusations in an open letter on her website, admitting that she had “never heard the [Rubinoos] song in [her] life” and also threatening legal action against Kreviazuk for her allegations, which she considers “damaging” to her reputation and a “clear defamation” of her character. On July 10, Kreviazuk made a full public apology and retracted the statements made in the aforementioned interview, admitting she had not heard the song in question before making the comments, but rather made the accusation after noticing a song of the same name on the track listing. She said that Lavigne “is an accomplished songwriter and it has been my privilege to work with her”. Kreviazuk and Lavigne share the same manager under Nettwerk Management.

Backing band

Current members Al Berry – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–present) Rodney Howard – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present) Steve Ferlazzo – electronic keyboard, backing vocals (2007–present) Jim McGorman – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2007–present) Steve Fekete – lead guitar, backing vocals (2008–present) Sofia Toufa – backing vocals, dancer (2007–present) Lindsay Bluafarb – backing vocals, dancer (2007–present)

Past members Mark Spicoluk – bass guitar, backing vocals (April–September 2002) Jesse Colburn – rhythm guitar (2002 – January 2004) Evan Taubenfeld – lead guitar, backing vocals (2002 – September 2004) Craig Wood – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, vocals on Song 2 (2004 – January 2007) Matt Brann – drums, percussion, vocals on Song 2 (2002 – February 2007) Charlie Moniz – bass guitar (2002 – February 2007) Devin Bronson – lead guitar, backing vocals (2004–08)

Discography

Studio Albums

• Let Go (2002)
• Under My Skin (2004)
• The Best Damn Thing (2007)

DVDs

• My World (2003)
• Live at Budokan (2005)
• Live in Toronto (2008)

External links

• Official site
• Avril Lavigne at the Internet Movie Database

Style and image

The New York magazine described Rihanna’s early look as a cookie-cutter teen queen and that she has the ability to shift looks so dramatically and with such ease. Since the release of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, [Rihanna's] has become a sex symbol and also set herself apart from other R&B starlets, opting for designer couture over belly-baring crop tops. Sonya Magett of Black Voices reported that Rihanna’s style has become quite risqué since she burst on the scene 4 years ago. In 2008, she constantly surprised, switching from pretty and sweet in pastels on the red carpet to dominatrix-leaning wear on stage and at awards shows. Rihanna’s fashion and style also landed her on the list of People’s 10 Best Dressed Stars of 2008. Glamour also awarded Rihanna with the seventeenth most glamorous woman of 2009 out of fifty. Glamour also commented on Rihanna’s style saying “rockstar of leading ladies” and “She almost can’t make a style mistake right now.” They also said her “little-bit-punky, very-much-girly look still entrances readers.” They also commented on Rihanna’s fashion risks saying “If style risks could be measured in miles, Rihanna would have criss-crossed the globe a thousand times over already.”

Rihanna’s image has also been identified as a sex symbol. Regal of the Associated Content stated that Rihanna quickly garnered a more mature and definitely sexier look. In 2007, she ranked #8 in Maxim’s 2007 Hot 100 list; she then ranked #15 on 2008 Hot 100 list the following year. In June 2007, Rihanna was named 2007 Venus Breeze’s “Celebrity Legs Of A Goddess” by Gillette. Margeaux Watson of Entertainment Weekly wrote an article entitled “Rihanna: Diva of the year” which he refers to her breakout success of 2008. In 2009, Maxim awarded Rihanna as the number 8th most sexiest woman on earth. This made Rihanna the only female of African descent in the top ten or top twenty for that matter.

Rihanna’s tattoos have drawn much media attention. One of her first tattoos was music note on her ankle and a Pisces sign behind her right ear. Her most visible and popular tattoo is her trail of stars going down her back. Rihanna has a total of twelve known tattoos, including music note tattoo on her ankle, a Pisces sign behind her right ear, a Sanskrit prayer going down her hip, a star in her left ear, the word ‘love’ on her left middle finger, an Arabic phrase on her ribcage area, meaning ‘Freedom is God,’ a trail of stars going down the back of her neck, a skull with a pink hair bow, the phrase ’shhh…’ on her right index finger, the date ‘4.11.1986′ on top of her left shoulder and a henna-style dragon claw, complete with Hawaiian hibiscus flowers. Her most recent gun tattoo was planned to be just below her shoulders but changed it to her ribcage. Although, she was likely to be criticised for her tattoo, BangBang, the tattoo artist, was quick to explain that the image simply “represents strength and power”.

Relations with Barbados

Rihanna is heavily involved in the marketing of her native country of Barbados. She began by including the flag and trident in many of her videos, also shooting her album packaging for A Girl Like Me there. In September 2007, she became the official face of tourism for Barbados, being included in many of their ad campaigns. She currently holds an honourary title of Ambassador for Culture and Youth in Barbados. She additionally was honored by the Prime Minister David Thompson, who presented her several gifts at a national concert on 20 February 2008 in Barbados, called “Rihanna Day”.Regardless, In February 2008, Rihanna thanked her country and honoured them during the acceptance speech for her win of “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration” at the Grammy Awards. Although Rihanna is heavily involved in the promotion of her country and works with the government in Barbados to do so, she is constantly criticized and ridiculed for everything from her music, her successes and for wearing “skimpy clothes”. Rihanna speaking on the incident, “I went to the beach and I had on a one-piece swimsuit with jeans, They took the picture and they made it look like a top that was really revealing. There were radio programmes about it. It was a big deal for, like, three weeks straight – talking about I’m not setting a good example.”

They also mentioned that Rihanna was too young for Def Jam to push her as a “sex symbol”, making a plea that she cover up. The media and The Nation newspaper constantly make personal attacks and have shown lack of support and encouragement. Rihanna spoke out against the scrutiny to Entertainment Weekly stating, “They all hate me. I didn’t have to talk about them. I didn’t have to even mention that I’m from Barbados. But I do and people kind of take it for granted. They hate me. They talk shit about me all the time. But I’m like, ”Whatever. I’m still doing this cause I love to do it and you’re not going to stop me”. Media fought back with letters to Rihanna publicly via there national newspaper, “[what she said] sounds as if though she is doing us a favour. If God didn’t give us a Rihanna, he would have given us someone else. So don’t ever for a second get to thinking you are irreplaceable, Rihanna” and “Her putting Barbados on the map is nonsense. Barbados was well on the map before she came along; and will be when she is gone”. Her mentor and music producer Evan Rogers spoke out to the media stating that Rihanna subsequently “formed her impression of any Bajan dislike from the reception she received at the recent Barbados Music Awards where,” according to Rogers, “It was disappointing the way some people reacted as if they were almost rooting against her”.

External links

• Official website
• Rihanna at MySpace
• Rihanna at Island Def Jam Music Group
• Rihanna’s Believe Foundation
• Rihanna at the Internet Movie Database

Musical style and influences

Volume 65 of the Contemporary Black Biography book series notes that “Rihanna is the rare rhythm and blues (R&B) diva to emerge from the Caribbean world.” Becoming an international sensation, Rihanna is known for blending R&B with Caribbean music, such as reggae and dancehall.^76] Peter Coulter of the Antrim Times, commented that “[Rihanna] has an amazing voice which showed during her acoustic set, she just needs to work on her audience engagement during live shows.” At the time of her debut, reviewers referred to her as a “bubblegum queen” and her music to “teen pop.” Larry Meyler of The Sun stated that Rihanna going bad is very good and that she had shook off any ‘teen pop’ image as she rocked the stage. While performing at the Ottawa Bluesfest in 2006, Denis Armstrong of Canadian Online Explorer commented on her performance saying “her show was a Disney-esque choreographed fantasy of non-stop hip-swivelling, sassy attitude and personal endearments and a string of funky, sugar-free hits.” After revealing a new image while headlining her first tour, she was likely to be criticize for her tight leather outfit during each show. A review in the The Times compared Rihanna’s stage wardrobe styling to that of Janet Jackson. He also described her outfit as “a vision of Ann Summers couture in thigh-high boots and a few scraps of black PVC.” However, Stuart Derdeyn of The Province commented that “even with the whole haute couture B&D clearly firing on all points, she’s still got a ways to go to become the new Janet Jackson.”

Music and themes

Rihanna’s musical style has changed during the release of her last three albums. She was originally marketed as a reggae singer since she burst on scene in 2005, with a styles of pop, R&B and dancehall. Her music also include various styles of musical genres, including contemporary R&B, dance-pop, pop rock and the Caribbean music styles of reggae, soca, and dancehall. With the release of her debut album Music of the Sun and its lead single “Pon de Replay”, Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described Rihanna’s musical style as “synthesize Caribbean rhythms and beats with standard-issue urban dance-pop: Caribbean-inflected urban, if you will.” Rihanna is also described as utilizing “dancehall-lite beats and a reggae vocal cadence.” NME describes the singer as a “heady mix of dancehall, reggae and contemporary R&B.” During the release of her sophomore album, many critics felt that Rihanna’s sound and substance was too heavily similar to that of Beyoncé’s. The media even made negative reviews comparing her music, music videos, performances and even her image to Beyoncé, which garnered Rihanna much criticism. Some media even unfairly claimed that Jay-Z fashioned her to be a replica of Beyoncé. Barry Walters of Rolling Stone considers Rihanna’s A Girl Like Me to be “lightweight dancehall and R&B jams.” After the release of Good Girl Gone Bad, Allmusic’s Andy Kellman credits Rihanna to be “as pop as pop gets.” Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times described her hit “Umbrella” as a lightweight pop confection with a heavy hip-hop backbeat, a breezy love song enriched by those unexpectedly goth-sounding keyboards and by the incongruous hint of anguish in Rihanna’s girlish voice.

Her debut album featured a refreshing touch from pop veterans Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken of Syndicated Rhythm productions, who first discovered her. Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers have collaborated with Rihanna many times, including with her debut single “Pon de Replay”, which helped launch her career with the tradition of reggae and dance pop and also collaborated on her sophomore album. Rihanna then enlisted into the pop and contemporary R&B working with music producer Stargate and singer-songwriter Ne-Yo on “Unfaithful” and sampling the key section, bass line, and drum beat from Soft Cell’s 1981 single “Tainted Love” on “SOS”. The concept of her third studio album was to head in a new direction with the help of music producers Timbaland, will.i.am and Sean Garrett, and also to re-imagine her album compositions with fresh, uptempo dance tracks. While recording the album, Rihanna stated that she wants to keep people dancing but still be soulful at the same time. She then commented “You feel different every album, and [at] this stage I feel like I want to do a lot of uptempo [songs].” She also began taking voice lessons from Ne-Yo for the third album. With songs like “Kisses Don’t Lie” and “Shut Up and Drive”, her music style became more pop rock oriented. Unlike Music of the Sun or A Girl Like Me, her third album contained a more dance-pop sound and less of the dancehall, reggae and ballad styles of her previous albums. She has included various styles of music from uptempo pop-reggae with “Pon De Replay”, to an 80’s new wave fueled club banger “SOS” to the whiff of gothic horror in a love song “Unfaithful”. Most of her love subject ballads contain a mid-tempo pop sound, with an R&B influences that uses of a gently strummed acoustic guitar with the production of Stargate and the songs written by Ne-Yo. Some of her up-tempo dance-pop songs include production from Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and J. R. Rotem. She has also taken to the music industry tradition of sampling songs from other artist like Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” on “SOS”, New Order’s “Blue Monday” on “Shut Up and Drive” and 70’s original song “Soul Makossa” of Manu Dibango with a part of the chorus from Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” on “Don’t Stop the Music”.

Influences

One of Rihanna’s major influence and idol is Mariah Carey, whose song “Hero” she covered while performing at a school talent show. She says, “I looked up to [Mariah] a lot and I still do. I admire her as an artist, and to [compete with her] was a moment I will never forget for the rest of my life.” She then stated that her song, “Vision of Love” made an impact on her. Rihanna has also named Beyoncé Knowles a major influence, citing that she was inspired to start her career after watching Knowles on television as part of a Destiny’s Child performance . Her other musical influences include Bob Marley, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, Celine Dion, Brandy, and Gwen Stefani. Her music also contains strong influences of caribbean music and says that it has influenced her tremendously. Her friend and former Island Def Jam record label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked up to, having a fellow artist writing, singing, and performing the music she truly loves. In a interview, Rihanna stated, that while growing up in Barbados, she grew up listening to reggae music and when she came to the United States she was exposed to many different types of music. Rihanna also considers Madonna as one of her biggest influences. She mentioned that she respects her ability to reinvent herself and aspires to be just as successful.

Videography

Jon Bream of the Star Tribune commented “[i]n the tradition of Madonna and Janet Jackson, Rihanna has become the video vixen of the ’00s … Rihanna has perfected the pout, the long-legged strut and trend-setting hairdos that keep women and men alike checking her out on YouTube.” George Epaminondas of InStyle considers Rihanna’s music videos to be “cinematic” due to her “blend of lush island rhythms and swinging pop and … mischievous sensuality.” Rihanna commented that Marilyn Monroe and vintage clothing served for visual inspiration for the music video “Hate That I Love You” and “Rehab”; in contrast, the “dark, creepy” scenes of “Disturbia” have drawn comparison to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The music video also ranked number five on the “Top Five Most Paranoid Music Videos” published by MTV Buzzworthy.

Rihanna – Bikini Candids in Mexico