A Look into the Life of a Teenage Star – Austin Mahone

The singer Austin Mahone, famous for the homemade music videos he posts to YouTube, has lived an interesting life. He was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1996. He never got to spend much time with his dad, who died when Austin was just sixteen months old.

Austin was raised by his mom Michele. He didn’t have any brothers or sisters. For most of his life, it was just the two of them. Eventually his mom got married again. She and her new husband and Austin moved to a new town in Texas, La Vernia.

In January of 2011, Austin started posted music videos of himself singing on YouTube. He’d experimented with doing a comedy channel before this but hadn’t had much success. But his music videos caught fire. In less than a month, he had 2,000 fans on YouTube. By the end of February that number had multiplied by ten.

His rocketing success can be attributed partially to his skillful use of social networking. He posted on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Ustream heavily to promote himself.

The other big factor is that Austin Mahone looks a lot like another teenage star: Justin Bieber. Many of his fans refer to him as “the second coming of Justin Bieber”. Austin is very aware of this, and has also used it to his advantage. Many of his music videos have been covers of him singing the wildly popular star’s most famous songs.

This is also a labor of love for Mahone; he describes Justin Bieber as his favorite musical artist. He has confessed that it would be a dream come true for him to meet the singer. Mahone hopes to collaborate with Bieber some day but would be thrilled just to have his idol tweet about him.

By the end of his first year, Austin had almost 300,000 fans on YouTube and even more followers on Twitter. Keep in mind that the number of fans on YouTube doesn’t represent the number of people who’ve seen his videos. That number is much, much higher. His fans are those who have signed up to see all his new videos.

Austin’s Internet fame has impacted his life in the real world. He moved back to San Antonio after his mom divorced her second husband. He started school at Lady Bird Johnson High School. He was immediately recognized by lots of fans. This proved to be too disruptive for his schooling. Now he’s being home schooled by his mom.

Austin Mahone is famous enough that his fans have their own name: Mahomies. While his exact future remains unknown, his rapid rise makes it seem certain that we’ll be hearing a lot more from him.

Want more Mahone? Read the latest news on Mahone by following Peggy Squires on Keek.com and her Facebook page.

Etta James

Etta James, or Jamesetta Hawkins in real life, was an American singer who was born on January 25, 1938. She was known for having a wide variety of styles including rhythm and blues, blues, soul, rock and roll, jazz and even gospel. James started her singing career during the mid-1950s when she gained recognition and fame with her songs “At Last”, “Tell Mama”, “Dance With Me, Henry” and “I’d rather Go Blind”.

Etta James is considered as the singer who has bridged the gap between rock and roll and rhythm and blues. She was able to collect 17 Blues Music Awards and six Grammys. In 1993, James was also inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame and into the Blues Hall of fame in 2001. In addition, she earned a rightful place at the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and 2008. The Rolling Stone magazine included James on their list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and was ranked number twenty-two. On the other hand, she was rank 62 on the list of 100 Greatest Artists.

During the course of her long career, Etta James’ musical style changed. From being an R&B and doo wop singer during the 50’s, she broke through as a traditional pop singer in 1960 after signing with another label, the Chess Records. She covered pop and jazz music standards on “At Last”, her debut album. Her voice also coarsened and deepened while her singing style moved into jazz and soul. Though amazingly gifted as a singer, James had been overlooked in American music history. It was only in the 1990s when she started receiving major awards from The Blues Foundation and the Grammys.

James’ musical prowess became an inspiration to a number of American musicians including Bonnie Rait, Christina Aguilera, Diana Ross, and Janis Joplin. British artists such as The Rolling Stones, Elkie Brooks, Rod Stewart, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and Adele were also influenced by Etta James.

In her personal life, the singer had experienced a string of legal issues because of her addiction to heroin. She had been in and out of rehabilitation centers and had been arrested for heroin possession. James was sentenced to a drug treatment in 1974 instead of serving time in prison. In January of 2010, Etta James was confined to the hospital to treat the a MRSA infection, an antibiotic-resistant bacterium. Her son Donto also revealed that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008. In early 2011, James was diagnosed with leukemia which took her life on January 20, 2012—five days before her 74^th birthday.

Joni Mitchell

Roberta Joan Anderson, more popularly known as Joni Mitchell, is a Canadian singer, musician, songwriter and painter born on the 7th November 1943. She started performing in small nightclubs in Western Canada and Saskatchewan before moving to the United States in 1965. Mitchell began gaining recognition when reputable and notable folk singers started covering her original songs such as “Urge for Going”, “Both Sides Now”, “Chelsea Morning” and “The Circle Game”.  This led her to signing a contract with Reprise Records and recording her debut album in 1968.

After settling in Southern California, she made several hit songs which have defined an era and a whole generation. “Woodstock” and “Big Yellow Taxi” were just a few of her endearing original renditions. In 1971, Mitchell released her more personal album entitled “Blue” which was considered to be one of the best albums ever created. She transferred to another label and this was also her shift towards more jazzy rhythms which was evident in her 1974 album “Court and Spark”—Mitchell’s best-selling LP.

Joni Mitchell is generally considered as a rock performer in the broad sense of the word with her wide-ranging vocals and open-tune piano and guitar compositions from folk to pop-rock to jazz during her thirty years in the music industry. She has undeniable talent for adventurous and nonconventional arrangements as well as for writing universally-appealing lyrics that engage listeners emotionally and intellectually. Here are some of her songs which have captivated the ears and hearts of listeners all around the world.

• A Case of You
• Amelia
• Black Crow
• Big Yellow Taxi
• The Boho Dance
• Court and Spark
• Dreamland
• Edith and the Kingpin
• For the Roses
• Free Man in Paris

The talented singer-songwriter was also able to collect several awards from prestigious bodies. She received Billboard’s Century award in 1995, the Polar Music Prize in 1996 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 despite not attending the ceremony. Mitchell also received eight Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2002. Her home country, Canada, also regards her as a national treasure and has bestowed several honors on her as well. In 1981, Mitchell was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and she also received a star on the country’s Walk of Fame in 2000. She became the 3rd famous singer or songwriter in Canada along with Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot to be appointed Canada’s highest civilian honor, a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Why Karaoke is Popular?

Nowadays, more and more people are turning to karaoke as a cheap and easy way to have a great time with friends and family. Karaoke, may it be karaoke Toronto or Quebec, usually consists of an individual’s rendition of a famous song whose lyrics are displayed on-screen, can either be done on a public bar or can be enjoyed at home with a private karaoke machine. Even though a lot of people are hesitant to try this form of entertainment for fear of being ridiculed, others are wholeheartedly joining in the fun, belting out their favorite songs to their heart’s content.

Perhaps one of the reasons why karaoke is currently skyrocketing in popularity—as evidenced by the plethora of different karaoke bars sprouting up all over the metropolis—is because karaoke enables people to express their emotions by means of their favorite songs. It also gives people the chance to show-off and develop their singing prowess at the same time. And because karaoke is almost always done in front of friends or family, singing is often interactive, giving introverted people the chance to sing along without having to go center stage. Others also enjoy evaluating the singing abilities of the different performers, while still others simply enjoy dancing to the more upbeat songs that are on the playlist. All in all, karaoke offers people a chance to have fun and create memorable events without having to cost too much money.

Diana Ross & The Supremes

The Supremes, contrary to what many fans believe, does not have an overnight success story. The members of the group—Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson met in the late 1950s in Brewster housing project and they were originally known as the “Primettes” with a fourth member, Barbara Martin. In 1960, the Primettes made their first single under Lupine Records and in the following year, the group has been renamed the Supremes when they debuted for Motown. After the release of their first single under the new recording label, Martin left the group.

Considered as the most successful black performers in the 1960s, the Supremes even posed a tight rivalry even with The Beatles when it comes to very popular commercial appeal, with five of their singles hitting the number one spot in a row at some point of their career. The trio also became successful in infiltrating Middle America with their songs and television appearances.

On their first Motown recordings, the Supremes were more inclined to the girl-group image as compared to their later years. Also, not all songs featured Diana Ross on the lead vocals. Florence Ballard, who has a good voice as Ross (some critics claim her voice is even better) also sang the lead parts. After a long series of flops, Motown’s big boss Berry Gordy retained his trust that the group would eventually become one of the record label’s biggest stars. The Supremes’ first Top 40 hit in 1963 was “When the Lovelight Starts Shining through His Eyes”, and from that point on, Ross was designated as the lead singer of the group.

Another Supremes hit, “Where Did Our Love Go” made it to the top of the music charts in mid-1964. This song paved the way for the group’s run of five consecutive number one songs from 1964 to 1965. The other four hits were “Baby Love”, “Stop! In the Name of Love”, “Come See About Me” and “Back in My Arms Again”.

However, all the success attained by the group did not come without a price. Behind the curtains, problems were brewing because other Motown artists were driven into the background as Gordy put more attention to Ross. Other Supremes members were also feeling insignificant. Ballard was replaced by Cindy Birdsong because of her “unprofessional behavior”. The group was renamed once again as “Diana Ross and the Supremes”, and this move created speculations that the record company was grooming Ross for a solo career—which eventually materialized in November 1969.

The Supremes were indeed imprinted on America’s consciousness as their hit songs continue to play and new artists make covers of these. Aside from the good music, they also influenced fashion with their lashes and wigs, designer couture and unforgettable Stop! Hand gestures.

Madonna

Madonna is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s best-selling female recording artist in music history, having sold over 300,000,000 records worldwide. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifies her as the biggest-selling female rock performer of the 20^th century, with 64 million hit albums sold in the United States alone.

Born Madonna Louise Ciccone in Bay City (located in the state of Michigan) on the 16th of August 1958, she moved to NYC in the year 1977 to start a career as a dancer. After a performing stint in the groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, Madonna signed a singles deal with Warner Bros Records’ Sire label. The ensuing album entitled Madonna zoomed to No. 8 in the Billboard 200 charts, with hits including Lucky Star, Borderline and Holiday.

Madonna’s unique look and dress style of fishnet stocking, crucifix jewelry, skirt over capri pants, and bleached hair had launched a new fashion trend for women and young girls.

Her second album, Like a Virgin, catapulted Madonna to international fame, reaching top of the charts in many countries, and becaming her first #1 album in Billboard 200. While the title track Like a Virgin carried innuendos of premarital sex and damaged moral values which caused the song to be banned in several places, it turned certified diamond and sold over twenty one million copies around the world.

Madonna made her film debut in 1985 on the movie Vision Quest where the song Crazy for You, her #1 US single, was included in the soundtrack. She went on to play the lead role in the comedy film Desperately Seeking Susan where another hit song, Into the Groove, was introduced. While she went to play different roles in several more movies, it was her role as Evita Peron that won her a Golden Globe Award and worldwide acclaim in the movie Evita.

More chart busting albums such as True Blue, Like a Prayer, Erotica, and Bedtime Stories were released, with her latest album, MDNA, launched in early 2012. Madonna also conducted sold out concert tours which included The Virgin Tour in 1985, Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993, and Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008 to 2009. Her latest concert tour is the much awaited Madonna World Tour this year.

In 2008, Madonna was ranked number two on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists, next only to the Beatles. Today, Madonna continues to be an influential musical performer and a huge icon admired by millions.