Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Bette Midler was born on 1st December 1945 to a seamstress mother and housepainter father from Paterson, NJ. The couple had moved to Hawaii just prior to Midler's birth, where her father landed a job at a Navy yard. The transplanted Jewish East Coasters were a bit of an oddity in the rural South Pacific sugar cane fields, but Midler developed a quick wit to combat her outsider status, winding up as a well-liked class clown and notorious performer.
After a run as The Acid Queen in a Seattle Opera Association production of "Tommy," Midler returned to New York, determined to focus on her singing career. After rave club reviews which took note of her powerful pipes, she was booked on all the top variety TV shows of the day. She took a 16-week engagement that electrified the towel-clad gay clientele of the Continental Baths, where Barry Manilow backed her on piano. It was at that time, that the larger-than-life persona of 'The Divine Miss M' - not to mention a loyal gay following - was born.
Despite initially positive reviews, ratings were so-so and negative gossip about behind-the-scenes problems plagued the series' image. After dabbling in the executive producer role when she helped bring "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (2002) to the big screen, Midler reunited with former collaborator Barry Manilow to record Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook for Columbia Records. The album was a bit of a surprise hit and went gold, in addition to earning the pair a Grammy nod.
Midler and Manilow recreated their previous album success with 2005's Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook and Midler returned to the studio in 2006 to record Cool Yule, a Grammy-nominated album of pop holiday classics. Helen Hunt lured Midler back to the big screen to star as her biological mother in Hunt's pet project, the comedic drama "Then She Found Me" (2008). That same year, the 62-year-old powerhouse began a two-year run of "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On" at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Julianne Hough was born on 20th july 1988 in Cancer.Although she has been winning world dance titles since her early teens, Julianne’s ultimate goal has always been a career in country music. Her self-titled debut album, released by Universal Music Group Nashville in 2008, hit the Billboard Country charts at #1 and entered the Billboard 200 at #3, marking the highest debut for a country artist since 2006.
Her first two singles from the album, “That Song in My Head” and “My Hallelujah Song,” soared up the country charts and she earned her first two 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards for Top New Female Vocalist and Top New Artist. Hitting the road for the first time as a recording artist, Julianne opened for superstar Brad Paisley and later toured with George Strait, playing over 100 shows in 2009.
Her second album, The Julianne Hough Holiday Collection, became an instant holiday classic for her legions of fans, distributed exclusively at Target. Her much-anticipated follow-up album will be released by Mercury Nashville later this year. Julianne has written multiple tracks for the new album, working with Dann Huff, one the hottest producers in country music today (Martina McBride, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, among others).
Produced once again by Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie and recorded in the same studio as the original 25 years earlier, the new video (directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis) debuted on February 12, 2010, during the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics featuring such music legends as Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Celine Dion and Gladys Knight and contemporary superstars including Will.I.Am, Jennifer Hudson, Pink, Fergie and Kanye West, amongst countless other artists from virtually every musical genre.