Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is a singer/songwriter currently signed under Atlantic Records. Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, before moving to Framlingham, Suffolk. He learned guitar at a very young age, and began writing songs during his time at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham. Many of his early childhood memories that he referred to in a interview on the Zane Lowe show included listening to Van Morrison on his countless trips to London with his parents and going to an intimate gig with Damien Rice in Ireland when he was 11.
Ryan Star
Ryan Star’s time is now. As the title of the New York rocker’s Atlantic debut provocatively suggests, Star’s whole life has been building to this point. The songs on “11:59” play out in real time, the stories spin out in narratives that resonate with urgency and truth. Star’s often stripped-bare vocals give the songs an added resonance.
The Fray
The Fray's third album Scars and Stories, was produced by Brendan O'Brien (best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Rage Against the Machine) and was recorded in Blackbird studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. During an interview with Colorado Daily, Isaac Slade explained why the band had recruited Brendan O'Brien as their producer; "Sonically, we wanted to make this record sound as close as possible to the live shows", citing Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen as influences for the sound of the record that they were trying to capture.
Tonic
Six Top 10 singles. Over 4 million records sold. Grammy nominations, platinum albums, numerous awards and hit songs around the world, plus the #1 most-played rock song of 1998. Tonic was a musical powerhouse, merging the raw honesty of rock to unabashed melody…and ushering rock n roll into a new millennium. Many bands would be content with that sort of history. Not Tonic. The band is back in the studio after a two-year break, working on a follow up to their last album, Grammy-nominated Head On Straight.
Colbie Caillat
Los Angeles based R&B vocalist Colbie Caillat is a singer songwriter with songs based on a humble approach sounding like sweet honey flowing over rocks. Although her music is acoustic based, the arrangements go much deeper, culling from classical folk, jazz & pop, with her distinguished breathy vocals and dynamic melodies commanding the audience of the listeners she’s gained. Colbie Caillat, born in California grew up in Malibu and Ventura County. Growing up surrounded by music with her father, Ken Caillat, who was most notably remembered for Co-Production and Engineer credits on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours among several others. Every sound of Colbie’s soulful style unfolds a story of her many travels through life.
Matt Nathanson
Matt is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (usually a twelve-string) and electric guitar, and has played both solo and with a full band. His work includes the platinum-selling song "Come On Get Higher".
Uncle Kracker
Is there anyone better to tell it like it is than one's kid? In January 2008, when Uncle Kracker began to write the songs that appear on his new album Happy Hour, it was his eight year-old daughter who suggested that he try writing something a little less downbeat than usual. "She said to me, 'I can't really dance to any of your songs,'" the father of three says with a laugh. "Not that I needed to make a dance record, but it dawned on me that I tend to write a lot of acoustic ballads and mid-tempo type tunes. And I thought, 'It's pretty bad when your own kids won't listen to your records. Your own kids!' At the end of the day, people want to have fun more than they want to cry. I realized that it was time for something a little more upbeat and positive and that's what I ended up with on Happy Hour."
Fitz & the Tantrums
In just a year or so, soulsters Fitz & the Tantrums went from the living room to the main stage. The recipe for meteoric success? Six killer musicians, five dapper suits, irresistible songs, some serendipity and one vintage organ. Since their first show at Hollywood’s Hotel Café in December 2008, Fitz and co. have toured with Maroon 5, played to thousands at Colorado’s world famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, shared the stage New Year’s Eve with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and performed on KCRW’s esteemed show, Morning Becomes Eclectic, all this on the strength of their stellar five-song EP, Songs for a Breakup, Vol. 1.
Plain White T's
Plain White T's is an American pop rock band, originally from Lombard, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes. The band is best known for the songs "Hey There Delilah", which charted highly in many countries, and "1, 2, 3, 4".
Parachute
Mixing full–throttle rock with dollops of blue–eyed soul, vintage R&B and melodic pop radio anthems in–the–making, Parachute has arrived. The band’s debut Mercury/Island Def Jam Music Group album takes off from the individual members’ shared histories, from “She Is Love,” the ballad torch song and first single, with its Van Morrison–like scatting by lead singer/songwriter/guitarist and piano player Will Anderson, to Nate McFarland’s chiming, The Edge–styled chunks of guitar laced through “Back Again,” “Under Control,” “Ghost,” “Words Meet Heartbeats” and “All That I Am.”
Neon Trees
Neon Trees is a rock band, from Provo, Utah, with origins in Temecula, California. Formed initially by neighbors Tyler Glenn (vocals, keyboards) and Chris Allen (guitar), the band made its first home in Provo, eventually adding Branden Campbell (bass guitar, vocals) and Elaine Bradley (drums, percussion, vocals) to the lineup. David Charles also plays with the band as touring keyboardist & guitarist. Although a well known band in Provo, the band didn't receive nationwide exposure until late 2008 when they were chosen as openers for several of The Killers' North American tour dates. Not long after, the band was signed by major record label Mercury Records and released their first full length album, Habits, in 2010. Their first single "Animal" has climbed to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Alternative Rock Chart.
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer. Some of their most popular songs include "Name" from 1995's A Boy Named Goo, "Iris" and "Slide" from 1998's Dizzy Up The Girl, which produced five top-10 singles, and "Here Is Gone" and "Big Machine" from 2002's Gutterflower. The Goo Goo Dolls have 14 top-10 singles and have sold nearly 9 million albums in the United States alone.
Ryan Star
Ryan Star’s time is now. As the title of the New York rocker’s Atlantic debut provocatively suggests, Star’s whole life has been building to this point. The songs on “11:59” play out in real time, the stories spin out in narratives that resonate with urgency and truth. Star’s often stripped-bare vocals give the songs an added resonance.
Thriving Ivory
Thriving Ivory are a San Francisco quintet led by singer Clayton Stroope that specializes in swooning, anthemic ballads high in romantic melodrama. Forming the group in the middle of the 2000s in Santa Barbara, California, Stroope teamed up with keyboardist Scott Jason, eventually recruiting bassist Bret Cohune, guitarist Drew Cribley and drummer Paul Niedermier to round out the lineup. Moving to San Francisco, Thriving Ivory toured across the American West building their fan base and recording self-released albums. Signing with Wind-Up Records in 2007, the band worked with producers Howard Benson (Seether, Daughtry) and Chris Manning for their debut. Released in 2008, Thriving Ivory contained several songs that had been available on the group’s self-released records. The first single was “Angels on the Moon,” a moony ballad that represented the band's yearning, heartfelt reach.
Hanson
Sounding like a revamped Jackson 5 for the '90s, Hanson came storming out of Tulsa, OK, in 1997, blessed with photogenic looks and a surprisingly infectious sense of melody. Hanson had a sunny pop sense that stood in direct contrast to the gloomy grunge that had dominated the first half of the '90s, yet they also arrived with hip credentials -- a handful of the cuts on their debut were produced by the Dust Brothers (Beastie Boys, Beck, Sukia), and the rest were produced by Steve Lironi, who helmed Black Grape's debut. Along with the hip production, the record was comprised of songs co-written by the band with professional songwriters like Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil and Desmond Child. It had the sound of a hip recording and the craft of professional pop record, making Middle of Nowhere the best of both worlds.
Jason Castro
With his rich tenor voice, distinctive looks, and endearingly innocent charm, Jason Castro won over millions of viewers as a contestant on the seventh season of American Idol, parlaying his substantial singer-songwriter appeal into a third-place runner-up finish. He may not have won the competition, but the 22-year-old Texan earned himself a devoted fan base eager to hear what he would do once freed to perform his own songs. Those folks will get their chance with the release of Castro’s self-titled debut album on Atlantic Records.
The Script
It’s been a rags to riches glory ride, an emotional rollercoaster, an all action, all-star blockbuster. Three young Dubliners took on the world, with music fashioned from the emotional detritus of their own hard lives raised up by a love of pop, rock, hip hop and soul. In two years they notched up a handful of hit singles, including ‘We Cry’, ‘Breakeven’ and ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’. Their 2008 debut album, ‘The Script’, went to number one in the UK and Ireland, approaching 2 million world wide sales. They played stadium shows with music heroes U2, Take That and Paul McCartney. They played a triumphant homecoming set at Ireland’s Oxegen festival before 78,000 fans and won Best Live Performance at the 2010 Meteor Awards (beating their mentors U2). And to cap it all, ‘Breakeven’ became one of the slowest climbers in US pop history.
Bowling For Soup
Writing one perfect album is hard enough. But nine? Come on! Who else in the history of recorded sound has even dared reach such a milestone? Neil Young? Bob Dylan? Herb Alpert? Tiny Tim? Throw out greatest-hits packages, and you’ve got maybe HALF a decent album among them! No, the only band to have hit the nine-album mark without so much as a bum note is Denton, Texas’ Bowling for Soup. And there’s no debating those stats, so don’t even try!
David Cook
Often referred two as "the Battle of the Davids," the 2008 finale of American Idol pitted David Cook against 17-year-old wunderkind David Archuleta, who many critics and fans predicted would beat the elder Cook. However, on May 21, 2008, Cook ultimately received 56 percent of the final vote and was crowned the winner. Two weeks later, 11 songs by David Cook entered the Billboard Hot 100, an unprecedented feat that nearly doubled the chart's previous record. His full-length major-label debut was released six months later, featuring collaborations with artists like Chris Cornell, Collective Soul's Ed Roland, and Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida. The album was certified platinum in early 2009, just as the new season of American Idol was starting up.
Staind
Staind are a Massachusetts quartet identified with the alt-metal (or nu-metal) movement. The band formed in 1995 with Aaron Lewis on vocals, Johnny April on bass, Mike Mushok on guitar, and Jon Wysocki on drums. Though Staind incorporate the harsh textures of metal in their music, the most popular Staind songs feature stripped-down, often acoustic arrangements augmented by Lewis’s sensitive lyrics about relationships and his battles with his demons.
Rob Thomas
Given Rob Thomas’s stature as one of modern music’s most compelling and commercially successful artists for well over a decade – between Matchbox Twenty, his solo work, and his various collaborations with iconic artists like Santana and Mick Jagger, his tally now stands at more than 80 million albums sold worldwide – it’s easy to let the charts and numbers overshadow the essential reason he’s come so far in the first place. As he says with typical understatement, “I’m a guy who hears songs in his head, and I have to write them down, and I have to get them out. I’m just lucky enough that I can make it my life’s work.”
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms is an alternative rock band formed in 1987, in Tempe, Arizona. They took their name from a photo of W.C. Fields which bore the caption "W.C. Fields with gin blossoms," referring to the actor's gin-ravaged nose. The band released three albums and had several hits in the mid 1990s, before breaking up in 1997. Five years later in 2002, the band reunited, released a DVD, resumed touring, and promised a fourth album. Major Lodge Victory, the Gin Blossoms' first album in ten years, was released on August 8, 2006 on the Hybrid Recordings label. According to rock critic Jet Knowles, the band today is considered to have a wide influence on modern rock, due to its consolidation of melodic rock, folk, and country elements.
Emerson Hart
If Emerson Hart's name wasn't a household word when he released his first solo album, 2007's Cigarettes and Gasoline, his voice and his songs were already familiar to millions of fans from his years as the leader of the group Tonic. Hart was born on July 21, 1969, in South Orange, NJ.
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born November 26, 1981) is an English singer and songwriter who debuted in the 1980s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. She recorded her first album Unwritten in 2004. The album contained primarily uptempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music, it enjoyed international success with over 2.5 million sold worldwide. In 2007, she received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for "Unwritten". Bedingfield's second album N.B (2007) was yielded by "I Wanna Have Your Babies" and "Soulmate". Bedingfield has achieved 5 top ten singles in the United Kingdom to date.
Anna Nalick
Her love of the Cranberries, John Mayer, and Fiona Apple is easy to hear when one listens to the poignant music of singer/songwriter Anna Nalick, but it's her beloved Blind Melon that had the most impact on her career. The California native had been recording demos on a cheap cassette recorder when one of her tapes ended up in the hands of former Blind Melon members Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith.
Ed Sheeran
Ryan Star
The Fray
Tonic
Colbie Caillat
Matt Nathanson
Uncle Kracker
Fitz & the Tantrums
Plain White T's
Parachute
Neon Trees
Goo Goo Dolls
Ryan Star
Thriving Ivory
Hanson
Jason Castro
The Script
Bowling For Soup
David Cook
Staind
Rob Thomas
Gin Blossoms
Emerson Hart
Natasha Bedingfield
Anna Nalick
