Musical culture of contemporary Britain

Britain is the birthplace of many musical genres and many musical moves such as:

- Hard rock, heavy metal, Britpop, glam rock- Drum and bass, progressive rock, punk rock, gothic rock- Shoegazing, acid house, UK garage, trip hop and dubstep.Starting with the legendary Beatles and the iconic Queen, Britain has been an icon for the music industry. Its true that nowadays new artists show up on our screens every other day. But they wouldnt have been able to develop without the help of the true mentors represented by the great artists that Britain has got.Let's take for example the energic Tom Jones .The internationally recognised Welsh artist was one of the singers who revolutionised the music industry paving the way for the new artists. Even though some of us might find him a bit old,we have to remember that even now at the respectable age of 74 is able to keep the public entertained. He was decorated by the queen herself and sang at the Queen's dimond jubilee his well known eternal hits. At present,he is one of the four coaches at The Voice alongside Kylie Minogue, Will.I.Am and Ricky Wilson.Adele Laurie Blue Adkins is,also, a British singer and songwriter.Adele was offered a recording contract from XL Recordings after a friend posted her demo on Myspace in 2006. The next year she received the Brit Awards"Critics' Choice" award and won the BBC Sound of 2008. Her debut album, 19,was released in 2008 to commercial and critical success. It certified four times platinum in the UK, and double platinum in the U.S. Her career in the U.S. was boosted by a Saturday Night Live appearance in late 2008. At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, Adele received the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.Adele released her second studio album 21, in early 2011. The album was well received critically and surpassed the success of her dbut, earning the singer numerous awards in 2012 including a record-equalling six Grammy Awards, including Album of The Year two Brit Awards and three American Music Awards. The album has been certified 16 times platinum in the UK; in the U.S. the album has held the top position longer than any other album since 1985, and is certified Diamond. The album has sold 30 million copies worldwide. The success of 21 earned Adele numerous mentions in the Guiness World Records. Adele is the first female in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have three singles in the top 10 at the same time as a lead artist, and the first female artist to have two albums in the top five of the Billboard 200 and two singles in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously. 21 is the longest running number one album by a female solo artist on the UK and U.S. Albums Chart. In 2011 and 2012, Billboard named Adele Artist of the Year. In 2012, Adele was listed at number five on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music, and the American magazine Time named Adele one of the most influential people in the world. In 2013, she received an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe Aword for Best Original Song for her song "Skyfall", written for the James Bond film of the same name . Adele has stated that her biggest musical influences are Etta James and Beyonce. She has also stated that growing up, she listened to the Spice Girls, The Cure ,Dusty Springfield, Celine Dion, and Annie Lenox. She also claims that her mother, who is very close with her, exposed her to the music of Aaliah, Lauryn Hill, and Alicia Keys, all of which inspired her as well. One of Adele's earliest influences was British soul artist Gabrielle, who Adele has admired since the age of five, performing as the Hackney born star with an eye-patch in a school talent contest. Adele has named Pink as one of her biggest musical influences and considers Pink's performance at Brixton Academy in London as one of "the most defining moments" in her life, saying "It was the Missundaztood record, so I was about 13 or 14. I had never heard, being in the room, someone sing like that live. I remember sort of feeling like I was in a wind tunnel, her voice just hitting me. It was incredible." Another example is Rita Ora. Rita Sahatiu Ora is a British singer, songwriter and actress. Her debut studio album, Ora (2012), debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, and spawned the number-one singles "R.I.P. and "How We Do (Party). After reaching the peak position as a featured act on DJ Freshs "Hot Right Now, Ora became the artist with the most number-one singles on the UK Singles Chart in 2012, with three consecutive singles that reached the top position. She was nominated for three awards at the 2013 BRIT Awards. The first single from her second album, "I Will Never Let You Down", debuted atop the UK Singles Chart in 2014, making it her fourth UK number one.Ora possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range. She credited Gwen Stefani and Beyonc as her idols and biggest influences. Ora called Beyonc her mentor, expressing admiration and gratitude at being able to have Beyonc give her feedback on her debut album. Her other musical influences include Aaliyah, India Arie, Christina Aguilera, Brandy, Monica, Madonna, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Celine Dion, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, and Sade. Ora also stated that she was inspired by her parents' record collection which included artists such as Prince, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Ora has mentioned her admiration for Rita Hayworth as an early inspiration for wanting to pursue an acting career.Also,we can mention James Blunt. James Hillier Blount (born 22 February 1974), better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter. He had signed with EMI before securing a recording contract with Atlantic Records and Custard Records.Blunt rose to prominence in 2004 with the release of his debut studio album Back to Bedlam, before achieving worldwide fame with the singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover". The album sold over 11 million copies worldwide, topping the UK Albums Chart and peaking at number two in the US. Blunt's second album, All the Lost Souls, which was released in 2007, topped the charts in over 20 countries and produced the hit single "1973". His third album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released in 2010, after its lead single Stay the Night. A deluxe edition was released the following year, titled Some Kind of Trouble: Revisited. In 2013, he released his fourth album, Moon Landing, which was preceded by the lead single "Bonfire Heart", which peaked at number four in the UK Singles Chart following promotion on The One Show and The Graham Norton Show, as well as receiving extensive radio airplay.Blunt has sold over 20 million albums and 17 million singles worldwide, with his debut album, Back to Bedlam, being listed as the best selling album of the 2000s in the UK. He has received several awards and nominations, having won two Brit Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards as well as receiving five Grammy Award nominations.Blunt was an officer in the Life Guards, a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and served under NATO in Kosovo during the conflict in 1999. While posted to Kosovo, Blunt was introduced to the work of Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF or "Doctors Without Borders"). Since then, Blunt has been an active supporter of MSF by holding meet-and-greet auctions at many of his concerts, and filming the documentary Return to Kosovo, in which he visited the people and places he had encountered while stationed there. Blunt is a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities for wounded British soldiers. Blunt had piano and violin lessons as a child, but his first significant exposure to popular music was at Harrow School. There, he was introduced to the guitar by a fellow student, and started playing the instrument and writing songs at age 14. At University of Bristol, his undergraduate thesis was The Commodification of Image Production of a Pop Idol; one of his main references for the thesis was Simon Frith, a sociologist and rock critic, and chair of the Mercury Music Prize panel of judges since 1992. While still in the army Blunt would work on demos during his time off. A backing vocalist and songwriting collaborator suggested he contact Elton Johns manager Todd Interland, with whom she used to share a house. Interland told HitQuarters that he listened to Blunt's demo while driving home and after hearing the track 'Goodbye My Lover', pulled over and called the mobile number written on the CD to set up a meeting.