Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (known professionally as Bad Bunny), Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, and Melissa Viviane Jefferson (known as Lizzo) are the voices of the next generation of music. They dreamed of a time when they'd be in the spotlight. Bad Bunny was a nerdy grocery store clerk for Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, while Harry Styles was a solo contestant on The X Factor, a British music competition series. Ariana Grande honed her craft at a local Boca Raton, Florida, theatre venue. At the same time, Lizzo, from Detroit, Michigan, started rapping at ten and, by 14, formed the musical group Cornrow Clique. Look at them now! This graphic novel explores their rise to fame and influence by telling the true story of their lives.

Harry Styles is a music icon! He sings, writes songs, and acts. His star has shone brightly since he rose to fame in 2010 as a contestant on The X Factor. Learn all about this talented British artist. Read about your favorite stars in the In the Spotlight series—part of the UpDog BooksTM collection. Dive into some of their greatest achievements and how they rose to fame. Special features include important stats on the stars and a reflection page about how you can do great things too!

Pop music surrounds us - in our cars, over supermarket speakers, even when we are laid out at the dentist - but how often do we really hear what's playing? Switched on Pop is the book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits. Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding shift pop from the background to the foreground, illuminating the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs. In 1939, Aaron Copland published What to Listen for in Music, the bestseller that made classical music approachable for generations of listeners. Eighty years later, Nate and Charlie update Copland's idea for a new audience and repertoire: 21st century pop, from Britney to Beyoncé, Outkast to Kendrick Lamar. Despite the importance of pop music in contemporary culture, most discourse only revolves around lyrics and celebrity. Switched on Pop gives readers the tools they need to interpret our modern soundtrack. Each chapter investigates a different song and artist, revealing musical insights such as how a single melodic motif follows Taylor Swift through every genre that she samples, André 3000 uses metric manipulation to get listeners to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee create harmonic ambiguity in "Despacito" that mirrors the patterns of global migration. Replete with engaging discussions and eye-catching illustrations, Switched on Pop brings to life the musical qualities that catapult songs into the pop pantheon. Readers will find themselves listening to familiar tracks in new waysand not just those from the Top 40. The timeless concepts that Nate and Charlie define can be applied to any musical style. From fanatics to skeptics, teenagers to octogenarians, non-musicians to professional composers, every music lover will discover something ear-opening in Switched on Pop.

Unleash your creative potential and start producing hip hop music today. This beginner’s guide breaks down the basics of music production and gives you the tools to start creating. Beat making isn’t a linear process, and there’s no exact science or method. Slime Green Beats provides a complete overview of the equipment, strategy, and mentality that you need to produce mind-blowing music, all without stifling your creativity. Whether you’re looking to produce your own music or start a career in music production, this handbook is a must-have. Learn beat making rules for different genres and musical styles, including hip hop, trap, R&B, and rap. You’ll learn: Setup - How to set up your home beat making studio - Tips for sound selection and melody creation - What drum layers make up a hip-hop beat - The stylistic difference between 808s and basslines Finishing - An introduction to mixing instrumentals - How to create vibrant, clean beats without over-compressing - Music theory rules for arranging - How to find and implement reliable feedback Sharing - Online marketing strategies for self-promotion - Email marketing tips to build industry connections - How to license, lease, and sell your beats - What to expect when selling exclusive beats, including track outs …And more! How to Make Beats explains music theory and technical software in easy-to-understand terms. The language of music production often feels elite, but Slime Green Beats breaks down barriers for new creators. Learn the lingo with an extensive terminology section in the back of the handbook and links to suggested resources. About the authors Slime Green Beats is led by 3E Wave and Stunna, two highly acclaimed music producers with an extensive fanbase on YouTube. With nearly a decade of beat making experience between them, their technical tips and recommendations are proven to work in the real world.

The dark journey of a boy who became a man, the man who became an artist, and the artist who became an icon. A talent for rhyme saved his life, but the demons and sins of his past continue to haunt him. This is the story of Earl Simmons.

Music, Lyrics, and Life is the songwriting class you always wish you'd taken, taught by the professor you always wish you'd had. It's a deep dive into the heart of questions asked by songwriters of all levels, from how to begin journaling to when you know that a song is finished. With humor and empathy, acclaimed singer-songwriter Mike Errico unravels both the mystery of songwriting and the logistics of life as a songwriter. For years, this set of tools, prompts, and ideas has inspired students on campuses including Yale, Wesleyan, Berklee, Oberlin, and NYU's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Alongside his own lessons, Errico interviews the writers, producers, and A&R executives behind today's biggest hits and investigates the larger questions of creativity through lively conversations with a wide range of innovative thinkers: astrophysicist Janna Levin explains the importance of repetition, both in choruses and in the exploration of the universe; renowned painter John Currin praises the constraints of form, whether it's within a right-angled canvas or a three-minute pop song; bestselling author George Saunders unpacks the hidden benefit of writing, and revising, authentically; and much more. The result is that Music, Lyrics, and Life ends up revealing as much about the art of songwriting as it does about who we are, and where we may be going. This is a book for songwriters, future content creators, music lovers, and anyone who wants to understand how popular art forms are able to touch us so deeply. Mike Errico has honed these lessons over years of writing, performing, teaching, and mentoring, and no matter where you are on your songwriting journey, Music, Lyrics, and Life will help you build a creative world that's both intrinsic to who you are, and undeniable to whoever is listening.

Gathers photographs of the popular British rock group in concert, on television, and offstage, taken from 1963 to 1971