Sting

     Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), universally known by his stage name Sting, is an Academy Award-nominated sixteen time Grammy-winning English musician from Wallsend in North Tyneside. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bass guitar player of the rock band The Police. As a solo musician and member of The Police, Sting has sold over 45 million records, and received over sixteen Grammy Awards for his work, receiving his first Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1981, and receiving an Oscar nomination for best song.
     Former lead singer for the Police, Sting embarked on a hugely successful solo career in 1985. He also acts in movies. The ex-Police man seems quite happy with his place as the grand old man of Adult Contemporary. Sting made his acting debut in 1979 as ‘Ace Face,’ the mod bell boy in the cult classic “Quadrophenia.” Sting gave strong performances in the movies Brimstone & Treacle and Stormy Monday. Though Sting was once a new wave superstar, today he counts light rockers Elton John and Billy Joel amongst his good friends.

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Ashanti

     Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, model, and fashion designer who rose to fame in the early 2000s.
     Ashanti’s breakthrough hit “Always on Time” is featured on Ja Rule’s album Pain Is Love.      Her debut solo single “Foolish” uses the same beat as “One More Chance/Stay With Me” by Biggie and Faith Evans. Ashanti was accepted at Hampton University and Princeton University, turning both down to pursue a singing career. Hitmaker Irv Gotti discovered the chanteuse in 2000 and produced her R&B self-titled debut. Ashanti has also appeared in a variety of films such as “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2004) and John Tucker Must Die (2006).
     Ashanti is most famous for her eponymous Grammy Award-winning debut album Ashanti which featured the hit song “Foolish”, and sold over 503,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S. in April 2002. In the same week, she became the first female performer to simultaneously hold the top two places on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “Foolish”, and “What’s Luv” (with Fat Joe). She broke records again by having three Top Ten songs Foolish, What’s Luv, and Always on Time, with Ja Rule, on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the same week, being the first female to accomplish this feat and being second only to The Beatles. Ashanti also wrote and sang background on the song “Ain’t It Funny” (Murder Remix) sung by Jennifer Lopez which was also in the top 10 charts at the same time as “Foolish”, “Always on Time” (with Ja Rule), and “What’s Luv” (with Fat Joe). In 2002, she was acclaimed as the “Princess of Hip Hop and R&B” and by 2008, Ashanti had sold more than 7 million albums in the U.S., and more than 15 million records worldwide.

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