Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981), occasionally known by his initials JT, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer.
Raised in Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time.
Timberlake began to adopt a more mature image as an artist with the release of his debut solo album, the R&B-focused Justified (2002), which yielded the successful singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", and earned his first two Grammy Awards.
Edward Christopher Sheeran, MBE (born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play, No. 5 Collaborations Project. After signing with Asylum Records, his debut album, + (pronounced "plus"), was released in September 2011. It topped the UK and Australian charts, reached number five in the US, and has since been certified eight-times platinum in the UK.
The album contains the single "The A Team", which earned him the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. In 2012, Sheeran won the Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. "The A Team" was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards, where he performed the song with Elton John.
Bidding war for Hipgnosis escalates with Blackstone striking $1.6billion deal
nme.comShakira, Ed Sheeran, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young and more. The offer put forward by Concord was $1.25 per share (£1).Blackstone has already acquired the rights to songs by Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake, and this current deal will see more than 65,000 more tracks added to its catalogue.As highlighted by Reuters, Blackstone has also invested in U.S.
performance rights organisation SESAC – whose affiliates include rock veteran Bob Dylan and 16-time Grammy winner Adele.Its offer of $1.6billion was made today (April 29), and comes just days after Concord outbid the firm by 10 cents, and won Hipgnosis’s board backing for the deal.
Hipgnosis has since withdrawn its recommendation for the offer and followed through with the offer from Blackstone.“We are delighted that, following competitive interests in acquiring Hipgnosis, our investors now have a chance to immediately realise their holding at an increased premium,” said Hipgnosis Chairman Robert Naylor in a new statement (via Reuters).Blackstone is a majority shareholder in Hipgnosis’ investment adviser, HSM.
The adviser manages artists and songwriters for the fund, as well as holding a call option to make a higher offer for Hipgnosis’ portfolio if their advisory agreement were to be terminated.The news of a deal comes after the music fund – set up and launched by Chic legend Nile Rodgers and Merck Mercuriadis (former manager of Elton John and Beyoncé) – was mired by financial troubles last year.
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