Drake

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986), who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian rapper, songwriter, and actor. He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He first garnered recognition for his role as Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He later rose to prominence as a rapper, releasing several mixtapes like Room for Improvement before signing to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment in June 2009.

Drake's EP, So Far Gone (2009), spawned the hit single "Best I Ever Had" and the moderate hit "Successful". His first studio album, Thank Me Later (2010), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and generated notable singles, "Over" and "Find Your Love". It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA. His second album, Take Care (2011), is his most successful to date, topping charts in the United States and Canada and producing multiple hit singles, including "Headlines", "Take Care", "Make Me Proud", and "The Motto", the last of which is also credited for popularizing the widely used acronym YOLO. In promotion of Take Care, Drake embarked on the worldwide Club Paradise Tour, which became the most successful hip-hop tour of 2012, grossing over $42 million. His third studio album Nothing Was the Same was released on September 24, 2013. It has so far been supported by the singles "Started from the Bottom" and "Hold On, We're Going Home".

Drake has sold over 5 million albums worldwide. His work has earned him a Grammy Award, three Juno Awards, six BET Awards, and set several significant Billboard records. With twelve number-one singles, Drake has more than any other artist on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart. With ten number-one singles, he also has more than any other rapper on Billboard '​s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, passing Jay-Z in August 2012. He is one of two artists (the other being 50 Cent) that has simultaneously occupied the chart's top three positions.

Drake, along with being a record producer under the pseudonym C. Papi, has also written songs for other artists, including Alicia Keys "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)", Rita Ora "R.I.P.", Jamie Foxx and Trey Songz. He featured as a voice actor in Ice Age: Continental Drift as the mammoth Ethan. Drake was tied with Rihanna for the most nominations at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. He was ranked No. 2 on MTV's Hottest MCs in the Game VII list in 2012. Drake became the #1 Rhythmic artist of 2012 based on Mediabase.

Musical style

Drake's lyrics often discuss themes of wealth, fame, and past relationships. All Music describes Drake's moods as searching, thoughtful, introspective, brooding, confident, dramatic, earnest, energetic, humorous, intense, laid-back/mellow, literate, melancholy, nostalgic, playful, reflective, smooth, tender, warm and yearning. Drake's sound is labeled as "soft" for his lyrics and melody to most hip hop listeners. He denied this by saying "I'm not soft. I'm just not one of those people who's closed off emotionally." A large portion of Drake's work incorporates elements of both rapping and singing, which has led to him being unique as a recording artist. Drake has even described himself as "the first person to successfully rap and sing." He went on further about his statement by saying "I'm one of the few artists who gets to be himself every day. It doesn't take me six hours to get ready and I don't have to wake up in the morning and remember to act like this or talk like this. I just have to be me. That's one of the favourite parts of my life - I've done this purely by being myself."

Drake has a unique musical style that has set him apart from his (Young Money) counterparts. Regarding Drake's album Take Care, Lil Wayne commented on the project prior to its release that "I can tell, you know, I don't know nothing else out there that can touch it, including my stuff. That kid is on another planet." Recently, Drake has been making a notable shift away from Young Money/Cash Money collaborations and towards a new project, OVOXO. The OVO owl symbolizes OVOXO, which is a separate entity from Young Money/Cash Money and represents a collaboration group between Drake and R&B singer The Weeknd. Its eyes and beak form the acronym for October's Very Own. Drake has been moving in this new direction after the release of Take Care, which featured writing collaborations with The Weeknd on 5 tracks ranging from "Crew Love" to "Shot for Me" and 2 production collaborations on "Crew Love" and "The Ride", more than any Young Money/Cash Money collaboration.

Discography

So Far Gone (2009)
Thank Me Later (2010)
Take Care (2011)
Nothing Was the Same (2013)
Views from the 6 (2015)

 

Blake Lively

Blake Ellender Lively born Blake Ellender Brown August 25, 1987 is an American actress, model and celebrity homemaker. She starred as Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama series Gossip Girl, and has appeared in such films as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Town, Green Lantern, Accepted and Savages. Following her 2012 marriage to actor Ryan Reynolds, the couple relocated to Bedford, a suburb in Westchester County, New York.

Lively began her acting career at age 11, when she appeared in the 1998 film Sandman, which was directed by Lively's father. She describes her role as a "bit part". She appeared in the film adaptation of the novel of the same name, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in 2005 as Bridget, one of the four female leads. Lively's performance in the film earned her a nomination for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice Movie Breakout – Female.

In 2006, Lively co-starred with Justin Long in Accepted, and Lively had minor roles in the horror film, Simon Says. While Accepted was not well received by critics, Lively's performance was, earning her a 'Breakthrough Award' from Hollywood Life. In 2007, she played one of the two title characters in Elvis and Anabelle as Anabelle, a bulimic girl who hoped to win a beauty pageant. Lively said of getting into character for the role that she had 'shed serious weight' for her height. Lively stated that that process was difficult for her because food is “the No. 1 love of my life.”MovieLine.com praised her performance in the film and credited it as having been her "breakthrough role".

Lively was cast in the The CW's series Gossip Girl, based on the book series of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar, which premiered in September 2007. She played Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama until 2012 when the show ended. Her first magazine cover was the November 2007 issue of Cosmo Girl, where she discussed her time in high school and her career prior to Gossip Girl.

In 2009 , Lively reprised her role in the sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Similar to the first film, Lively was positively received by critics. As of November 2009, the film had earned over $44 million at the box office. In 2009, Lively appeared as Gabrielle DiMarco, a minor role in the romantic comedy, New York, I Love You, a sequel to the 2006 film Paris, je t'aime. Despite positive critical reception from critics, the film did not fare well at the box office.

One of Lively's most acclaimed roles to date is her supporting role playing the younger version of the title character in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee 2009. Paul Byrnes, of the Brisbane Times, described Lively's performance in the film as being "sensational".

In October 2009, Lively began filming her scenes for her role as Kristina "Kris" Coughlin, in the 2010 film The Town, based on Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The film, which stars Ben Affleck, was released in the United States on September 17, 2010.

Lively played Carol Ferris, the female lead and love interest of Hal Jordan in the superhero film Green Lantern, which was released in June 2011. The film grossed a worldwide total of $219,851,172. but was considered as a summer disappointment as it "failed to perform to expectations" even though it grossed more than its budget. Lively appeared in the music video for The Lonely Island's "I Just Had Sex" together with Jessica Alba in December 2010.

In 2011, she was featured in the annual TIME magazine 100 influential people. Additionally, AskMen.com named her the most desirable woman of 2011 and People magazine named her one of 2012's Most Beautiful at Every Age.

In 2012, she starred in Oliver Stone's Savages alongside Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, and John Travolta. Lively replaced Jennifer Lawrence as Ophelia, the latter dropped out to do The Hunger Games instead. HitFix film critic Drew McWeeny was positive of Lively's work, which he described as "smart and sad precisely because she plays O as such a broken, needy little soul". That same year, she was selected as the face of the new Gucci fragrance titled Gucci Premiere. She appeared in a short film ad directed by Nicolas Winding Refn for the fragrance.

In October 2013, Lively was named the new face of L'Oreal, marking her first major makeup campaign. In the same month, Lively was cast with Ellen Burstyn in the film The Age of Adaline.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Ray Cyrus born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992 is an American singer, actress, and songwriter. Her father is country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. She held minor roles in the television series Doc and the film Big Fish in her childhood. In 2006, Cyrus rose to prominence as a teen idol after being cast in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana, in which she portrayed the starring character Miley Stewart. After signing a recording contract with Hollywood Records in 2007, Cyrus released her debut studio album Meet Miley Cyrus. It was certified quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA for exceeding four million shipments, and produced the hit single "See You Again".

In 2008, Cyrus released her second album Breakout, which featured the successful track "7 Things", and launched her film career as the voice actress in the animated film Bolt. In 2009, Cyrus starred in the feature film Hannah Montana: The Movie; its soundtrack produced the hit single "The Climb". Cyrus developed a maturing image with the EP The Time of Our Lives 2009, which featured the successful track "Party in the U.S.A.". The transition continued with her third album Can't Be Tamed 2010 however, it made little commercial impact and became the lowest-selling record of her career. Later that year, Cyrus starred in the coming-of-age film The Last Song. During its production, she was involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with her co-star Liam Hemsworth; the couple ultimately separated after ending their year-long engagement in 2013.

Cyrus focused on her acting career with several television and film appearances throughout 2011 and 2012. Cyrus later signed a recording contract with RCA Records, and generated controversy by cultivating a sexually explicit public image while promoting her fourth studio album Bangerz 2013. Its singles "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" were promoted with controversial music videos; the latter became her first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Cyrus has had five non-consecutive number-one albums on the U.S. Billboard 200, two of which are soundtracks credited to her titular character Hannah Montana, and has earned numerous awards and nominations. In 2010, Cyrus ranked number thirteen on Forbes' Celebrity 100, and was named the "Most Charted Teenager" in the 2011 Guinness World Records with twenty-nine Billboard Hot 100 entries as of November 2009. In 2013, she was declared "Artist of the Year" by MTV.