Rueben's Ramblings

30 Seconds to Mars

The American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars was founded in Los Angeles in 1998 by actor Jared Leto (vocals, rhythm guitar and songwriter) and his brother Shannon Leto (drums and percussion) as a family project. Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist and keyboard player (he left the band in 2007 however). After working with a number of guitarists, the trio auditioned Tomo Milicevic (lead guitar and keyboards) to round out the band’s roster.

The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 2002 and featured two singles “Edge of the Earth” and “Capricorn (A Brand New Name),” which peaked at number 31 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart.

You can read more of this article at my Examiner.com page here.

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Stereophonics

The Welsh classic rock band Stereophonics was formed in 1992 in Wales and they have released seven studio albums since 1997. Five of those albums topped the UK albums charts and their compilation album, released in 2008, charted at number two in the UK. They have also achieved a total of 10 top-ten singles as well as one number 1 single.

But first, the formation of the band came about by founding members Kelly Jones (lead vocals, rhythm guitar and keyboard), Richard Jones (bass guitar, vocals, piano and harmonica) and the late Stuart Cable (drums, percussion and backing vocals) who performed as a teenage cover band known as Tragic Love Company. They later changed the band’s name to Stereophonics, named after the manufacturer of a record player that had belonged to Cable’s father.

You can read the rest of this article at my Examiner.com page here.

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Anouk

Anouk is a Dutch singer, who has released 10 pop-rock albums since 1997. Her interest in music began thanks to the fact her mother was a blues singer and her early days were spent singing at weddings and parties in the Netherlands.

Her first album called “Together Alone” was released in October of 1997 and remained at the top of the Dutch music charts for a number of weeks, earning her several awards from the Dutch music channel known as The Music Factory in addition to an Edison award.

You can read the rest of this article at my Examiner.com page here.

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Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood was the winner of the fourth season of American Idol and began making strides in the world of country music very quickly. In the few years since her AI win, she has become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, has won multiple Grammy Awards, is a Grand Ole Opry inductee, a three-time American Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist winner and won back-to-back Academy of Country Music Awards for Entertainer of the Year (2009/2010).

Her debut album “Some Hearts” was released in 2005 and featured her three hit singles “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Waste” and “Before He Cheats.” In October of 2007, her second album “Carnival Ride” came out and has sold three million copies as of January 2010. This album produced four number one country hits, including “Last Name” and “All-American Girl”.

You can read more of this article at my Examiner.com page here.

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Sia

Sia is an Australia pop singer and songwriter, who recorded two albums as part of the jazz and indie formation known as Crisp before recording her own solo album called “Only See” in 1997. It wasn’t until 2000 that she signed with Sony Music and released her major-label debut “Healing is Difficult,” which featured the single “Little Man”. This album received wide critical acclaim, but she soon left Sony for Go! Beat Records (a subsidiary of  UMG). After releasing an EP called “Don’t Bring Me Down” in 2003, Sia released her second major album entitled “Colour the Small Ones” in 2004. This album featured one of Sia’s most recognizable songs “Breathe Me,” which was featured not only in the made-for-TV movie Fallen (which starred Paul Wesley, who can now be seen in the popular series on the CW The Vampire Diaires) but also appeared in the series finale of the HBO show Six Feet Under.

After changing records labels, again, touring throughout the United States and providing the vocals for the band Zero 7 on their hit single “Destiny,” Sia released an “almost EP-ish” album called “Lady Croissant” in April of 2007 and followed that up with her next album “Some People Have Real Problems” in January of 2008. Her most recent album, which was just released last month, is called “We Are Born”.

You can read the rest of this article at my Examiner.com page here.

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Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson was the winner of the first season of American Idol back in 2002. Since that time she has released four albums. Her debut album “Thankful” was released in April of 2003 and her popularity in the United States was solidified by her win at the 2003 People’s Choice Awards as Choice Female Music Artist.

Her sophomore album “Breakaway” was released in November of 2004, leading to her win in 11 different categories in 2005 at the Billboard Music Awards for singles from this album. She also won four American Music Awards; two in 2005 and two in 2006. This was topped off by her winning two Grammy Awards in 2006 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single “Since U Been Gone” and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Breakaway”. Kelly has also won three MTV Video Music Awards and countless other People’s Choice Awards.

In June of 2007, she released the album “My December” and later followed up with her most recent album “All I Ever Wanted,” which came out in March of 2009.

You can read more of this article at my Examiner.com Page here.

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Daughtry

When Chris Daughtry was voted off season 5 of American Idol, a lot of fans were outraged that he was eliminated too early and wondered what his next step would be in the music industry. Soon enough, Chris formed the rock band Daughtry and they released their self-titled debut album in 2006. While Chris was, of course, lead vocalist and guitarist for the band, Josh Steely was lead guitarist, Jeremy Brady was rhythm guitarist, Joss Paul was bass guitarist and Joey Barnes was drums and percussion on that debut album. All four also performed backing vocals on the album.

The album Daughtry sold more than four million copies and was named the number one selling album of 2007 by Billboard. The first single from this album was “It’s Not Over,” which became the 8th most played song on US radio in 2007. But it was their second single from that debut album – “Home” – which is today’s Song of the Day (July 2, 2010). “Home” went on to become the 10th most played song in the US in 2007. As the story goes, Chris wrote the song the day before he left for American Idol. The theme of the song centered around his being grateful for what he had, but still longing for his family. The song “Home” also won Favorite Rock Song at the People’s Choice Awards in 2008.

You can read more of this article at my Examiner.com Page here.

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Jason Mraz

On their own, Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat have successful music careers; but it was their joining on the January 2009 single “Lucky” – which was one of the songs on Mraz’s third studio album “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things” – that caught the attention of many more music lovers.

Colbie Caillat

While singer-songwriter Jason Mraz’s sound is heavily influenced by reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz and even hip hop, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat is all-American pop music. Their harmonious sound combined together beautifully in this light and refreshing love song about being in love with “my best friend”.

The pair came together on this song because of Mraz becoming a fan of Caillat after hearing her music on MySpace. He liked her sound so much that he cold-called her to see if she would write and sing with him. Thankfully, she agreed and the single went on to peak at number 48 on Billboard’s Pop 100 chart and hit number 9 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 Tracks. It also performed well in the overseas music market.

You can read the rest of this article at my Examiner.com Page here.

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The Cardigans

The Cardigans were a Swedish band formed in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson and bassist Magnus Sveningsson. They teamed with drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson, who were from their small hometown of Jonkoping, Sweden.

They recorded 6 albums between 1994 and 2005: Emmerdale (1994) – Life (1995) – First Band on the Moon (1996) – Gran Turismo (1998) – Long Gone Before Daylight (2003) and Super Extra Gravity (2005). Life was the album that broke ground for the band in the music industry, but it wasn’t until their single “Lovefool,” from the album First Band on the Moon, was featured on the soundtrack for William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (as directed by Baz Luhrmann) and their hit single “My Favorite Game” from their Gran Turismo album turned the tide for the band.

Another hit single from their Gran Turismo album is today’s song of the day (June 30, 2010): “Erase/Rewind”. This lilting, easy-to-sway-to song was featured in the 1999 Drew Barrymore movie Never Been Kissed in the scene where Josie Geller (Barrymore) is named prom queen

You can read more of this article at my Examiner.com Page here.

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Bush

The British alternative rock band Bush was formed in London in 1992 by singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale and guitarist Nigel Pulsford. The name of the band came from where Rossdale and Pulsford used to live in Shepherd’s Bush, London. Eventually, the pair recruited bassist Dave Parsons and drummer Robin Goodridge to make the band Bush.

The band released 6 albums between 1994 and 2010 even with a 6-year break-up that lasted from 2003 to 2009. Their albums include their debut “Sixteen Stone,” which was released in 1994, and was considered their most popular album; “Razorblade Suitcase,” which was released in 1996 and “The Science of Things,” which was released in 1999. They released “Golden State,” in 2001, but disbanded in 2002. They did eventually release a greatest hits album in 2005 called “The Best of: 1994-1999” and a live album that same year called “Zen X Four”.

You can read more of this article at my Examiner.com Page here.

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