title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson released the self-help book "" in February 2011, co-written with David Ritz. It chronicled her struggle with weight and confidence, also publishing letters from fans. It topped "The New York Times" Best Seller list the following month. Additionally, she signed a film production contract with Lions Gate Entertainment to "select, develop and produce a feature film for the independent studio."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson became the first female pop singer to perform at the I. M. Pei glass pyramid at the Louvre Museum, raising contributions for the restoration of iconic artwork. Jackson was selected to endorse fashion line "Blackglama" for a second year, being the first celebrity in the line's history chosen to do so. She partnered with the label to release a fifteen-piece collection of luxury products.


title: Janet Jackson

text: In 2012, Jackson endorsed Nutrisystem, sponsoring their weight-loss program after struggling with weight fluctuations in the past. With the program, she donated ten million dollars in meals to the hungry. She was honored by amfAR for her contributions to AIDS research when chairing the Cinema Against AIDS gala during the Cannes Film Festival. She also participated in a public service announcement for UNICEF to help starving children.


title: Janet Jackson

text: On May 16, 2015, Jackson announced plans to release a new album and to embark on a world concert tour. She outlined her intention to release her new album in the fall of 2015 under her own record label, Rhythm Nation, distributed by BMG Rights Management. The launch of Rhythm Nation established Jackson as one of the few African-American female musicians to own a record label.


title: Janet Jackson

text: On June 15, 2015, Jackson announced the first set of dates for the North American leg of her Unbreakable World Tour. On June 22, the lead single "No Sleeep" was released from the album. Jackson's solo version of the single debuted on the Hot 100 at number 67, marking her 40th entry on the chart. The song went to number 1 on the Billboard + Twitter Trending 140 immediately following the release. The album version featuring J. Cole enabled it to re-enter the Hot 100 with a new peak position at number 63, while also topping the Adult R&B Songs chart.


title: Janet Jackson

text: BET presented Jackson with their inaugural Ultimate Icon: Music Dance Visual award at the BET Awards 2015, which also featured a dance tribute to her performed by Ciara, Jason Derulo and Tinashe. It was announced she would launch a luxury jewelry line called the "Janet Jackson Unbreakable Diamonds collection," a joint venture between herself and Paul Raps New York. On August 20, she released a preview of a new song "The Great Forever", while also confirming the title of her eleventh studio album as "Unbreakable".


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis stated that Jackson's concept for the album was developed simultaneously with the accompanying tour's production and that its composition will differ from the majority of her catalog. They also stated that the album's theme reflects "being able to be vulnerable and to be able to withstand what comes to you," drawing on Jackson's experiences over the past several years. The album's title track "Unbreakable" was released on September 3, 2015, debuting on Apple Music's Beats 1 radio station, hosted by Ebro Darden. The album was also made available for pre-order on iTunes the same day. "Burnitup!" featuring Missy Elliott debuted on BBC Radio 1 on September 24, 2015. "Unbreakable" was released on October 2, 2015. It received largely positive reviews, including those by "The Wall Street Journal", "The New York Times", "USA Today", "Los Angeles Times", and "The Guardian". The following week, Jackson received her first nomination to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her album debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200, becoming her seventh album to top the chart in the United States.


title: Janet Jackson

text: On April 6, 2016, Jackson announced that she was "planning her family" with husband Wissam Al Mana, resulting in her postponing her tour. On May 1, 2017, Jackson announced she would resume her Unbreakable World Tour, now known as the State of the World Tour. The revamped tour launched on September 7, 2017. Refocusing the tour's theme to reflect socially conscious messages from Jackson's entire music catalog, many songs selected for the concert set list along with corresponding imagery depicted on stage address racism, white supremacy, fascism, xenophobia and police brutality. The tour opened to positive critical reception, with several commentators praising Jackson's post-pregnancy physical fitness, showmanship and socially conscious messages.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Her emotional rendition of "What About", a song about domestic violence originally recorded for "The Velvet Rope", drew media attention highlighting her recent separation from her husband; Jackson's brother Randy alleges she suffered verbal abuse by Al Mana which contributed to the breakdown of their marriage. Proceeds from the concert of September 9, 2017 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas were donated to relief efforts supporting evacuees of Hurricane Harvey. Jackson met with Houston mayor Sylvester Turner and evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center prior to the performance. In May 2018, it was announced that Jackson would receive the Billboard Icon Award at the 2018 "Billboard" Music Awards. In an interview for "Billboard" magazine, Jackson revealed that she was then working on new music. On August 16, 2018, it was announced that Jackson and Rhythm Nation had entered into a partnership with Cinq Music Group. The next day, Jackson released the single "Made for Now", a collaboration with Daddy Yankee.


title: Janet Jackson

text: In October 2018, she received her third nomination for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On December 13, 2018, Jackson was announced as one of the seven inductees of the 2019 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


title: Janet Jackson

text: On February 26, 2019, Jackson announced a four-month Las Vegas residency entitled "". The initial schedule comprised fourteen shows at the Park Theater at Park MGM resort; three additional shows were announced in May. In September and November 2019 Jackson performed a series of concerts in support of the 30th anniversary of the "Rhythm Nation" album in Welch Treasure Island Resort & Casino, San Francisco and Hawaii. In 2019, Jackson played a variety of festivals in the US and abroad, including The Glastonbury Festival.


title: Janet Jackson

text: A two-part documentary titled "Janet Jackson" for A&E and Lifetime premiered on January 28 and 29, 2022, respectively. Jackson was set to embark on the Black Diamond World Tour in 2020. Later that year, the tour was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also announced her upcoming twelfth studio album "Black Diamond", which was scheduled for a 2020 release. On January 29, 2022, Jackson previewed a clip of a new song, "Luv I Luv", during the end credits of the last episode of her documentary, "Janet Jackson".


title: Janet Jackson

text: On March 3, 2022, Jackson was announced as a headliner of the 2022 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.


title: Janet Jackson

text: On December 12, 2022, Jackson announced she was going on tour again starting April 14, 2023, with her and teased new music.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Over the course of her career, she has received frequent criticism for the limitations of her vocal capabilities, especially in comparison to contemporary artists such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. In comparing her vocal technique to Houston and Aretha Franklin, vocal coach Roger Love states that "[w]hen Janet sings, she allows a tremendous amount of air to come through. She's obviously aiming for a sexy, sultry effect, and on one level that works nicely. But actually, it's fairly limited." He adds that while her voice is suitable for studio recording, it doesn't translate well to the stage because despite having "great songs, incredible dancing, and her star-like presence, the live show is still magnificent. But the voice is not the star."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Biographer David Ritz commented, "on Janet's albums—and in her videos and live performances, which revealed a crisp, athletic dance technique [...] singing wasn't the point," saying emphasis was placed on "her slamming beats, infectious hooks, and impeccable production values." Eric Henderson of "Slant magazine" claimed critics opposing her small voice "somehow missed the explosive 'gimme a beat' vocal pyrotechnics she unleashes all over 'Nasty' ... Or that they completely dismissed how perfect her tremulous hesitance fits into the abstinence anthem 'Let's Wait Awhile'." Classical composer Louis Andriessen has praised Jackson for her "rubato, sense of rhythm, sensitivity, and the childlike quality of her strangely erotic voice."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Several critics also consider her voice to often be enveloped within her music's production. Wendy Robinson of "PopMatters" said "the power of Janet Jackson's voice does not lie in her pipes. She doesn't blow, she whispers ... Jackson's confectionary vocals are masterfully complemented by gentle harmonies and balanced out by pulsing rhythms, so she's never unpleasant to listen to."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Matthew Perpetua of "Fluxblog" suggested Jackson's vocal techniques as a study for indie rock music, considering it to possess "a somewhat subliminal effect on the listener, guiding and emphasizing dynamic shifts without distracting attention from its primal hooks." Perpetua added: "Her voice effortlessly transitions from a rhythmic toughness to soulful emoting to a flirty softness without overselling any aspect of her performance ... a continuum of emotions and attitudes that add up to the impression that we're listening to the expression of a formed human being with contradictions and complexities."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson's music has encompassed a broad range of genres. Her records from the 1980s have been described as being influenced by Prince, as her producers are ex-members of the Time. Sal Cinquemani wrote that in addition to defining Top 40 radio, she "gave Prince's Minneapolis sound a distinctly feminine—and, with songs like 'What Have You Done for Me Lately?,' 'Nasty,' 'Control,' and 'Let's Wait Awhile,' a distinctly feminist—spin."


title: Janet Jackson

text: On "Control", Richard J. Ripani documented that she, Jam, and Lewis had "crafted a new sound that fuses the rhythmic elements of funk and disco, along with heavy doses of synthesizers, percussion, sound effects, and a rap music sensibility." Author Rickey Vincent stated that she has often been credited for redefining the standard of popular music with the industrial music beats of the album. She is considered a trendsetter in pop balladry, with Richard Rischar stating "the black pop ballad of the mid-1980s had been dominated by the vocal and production style that was smooth and polished, led by singers Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, and James Ingram."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson continued her musical development by blending pop and urban music with elements of hip-hop in the nineties. This included a softer representation, articulated by lush, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance beats. She is described by music critic Greg Kot as "an artist who has reshaped the sound and image of rhythm and blues" within the first decade of her career. Critic Karla Peterson remarked that "she is a sharp dancer, an appealing performer, and as 'That's the Way Love Goes' proves—an ace pop-song writer." Selected material from the following decade has been viewed less favorably, as Sal Cinquemani comments "except for maybe R.E.M., no other former superstar act has been as prolific with such diminishing commercial and creative returns."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson has changed her lyrical focus over the years, becoming the subject of analysis in musicology, African American studies, and gender studies. David Ritz compared Jackson's musical style to Marvin Gaye's, stating, "like Marvin, autobiography seemed the sole source of her music. Her art, also like Marvin's, floated over a reservoir of secret pain." Much of her success has been attributed to "a series of powerful, metallic grooves; her chirpy, multi-tracked vocals; and a lyrical philosophy built on pride and self-knowledge." Ritz also stated, "The mystery is the low flame that burns around the perimeters of Janet Jackson's soul. The flame feeds off the most highly combustible elements: survival and ambition, caution and creativity, supreme confidence and dark fear."


title: Janet Jackson

text: During the 1980s, her lyrics embodied self-actualization, feminist principles, and politically driven ideology. Gillian G. Gaar described "Control" as "an autobiographical tale about her life with her parents, her first marriage, and breaking free." Jessie Carney Smith wrote "with that album, she asserted her independence, individuality, and personal power. She challenged audiences to see her as a transformed person, from an ingénue to a grow-up, multi-talented celebrity." Referring to "Rhythm Nation 1814" as an embodiment of hope, Timothy E. Scheurer wrote "It may remind some of Sly Stone prior to There's a Riot Going On and other African-American artists of the 1970s in its tacit assumption that the world imagined by Dr. King is still possible, that the American Dream is a dream for all people."


title: Janet Jackson

text: On "Janet", Jackson began focusing on sexual themes. Shayne Lee wrote that her music over the following decade "brand[ed] her as one of the most sexually stimulating vocalists of the 1990s." Lilly J. Goren observed, "Jackson's evolution from politically aware musician to sexy diva marked the direction that society and the music industry were encouraging the dance-rock divas to pursue." "The Washington Post" declared Jackson's public image over the course of her career had shifted "from innocence to experience, inspiring such carnal albums as 1993's 'Janet' and 1997's 'The Velvet Rope', the latter of which explored the bonds—figuratively and literally—of love and lust."


title: Janet Jackson

text: The song "Free Xone" from "The Velvet Rope", which portrays same-sex relationships in a positive light, is described by sociologist Shayne Lee as "a rare incident in which a popular black vocalist explores romantic or sensual energy outside the contours of heteronormativity, making it a significant song in black sexual politics." During the promotion for "Janet", she stated "I love feeling deeply sexual—and don't mind letting the world know. For me, sex has become a celebration, a joyful part of the creative process."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Upon the release of "Damita Jo", Jackson stated "Beginning with the earlier albums, exploring—and liberating—my sexuality has been an ongoing discovery and theme," adding "As an artist, that's not only my passion, it's my obligation." Stephen Thomas Erlewine has found Jackson's consistent inclusion of sex in her music lacking ingenuity, especially in comparisons to other artists such as Prince, stating "while sex indisputably fuels much great pop music, it isn't an inherently fascinating topic for pop music—as with anything, it all depends on the artist."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson drew inspiration for her music videos and performances from musicals she watched in her youth, and was heavily influenced by the choreography of Fred Astaire and Michael Kidd, among others. Throughout her career, she has worked with and brought numerous professional choreographers to prominence, such as Tina Landon, Paula Abdul, and Michael Kidd. Veronica Chambers declared, "Her impact on pop music is undeniable and far-reaching," adding, "A quick glance at the "Billboard" chart reveals any number of artists cast in the Janet Jackson mold." Chambers observed numerous videos which "features not only Ms. Jackson's dancers, but choreography and sets remarkably like those she has used."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Janine Coveney of "Billboard" observed that "Jackson's musical declaration of independence ["Control"] launched a string of hits, an indelible production sound, and an enduring image cemented by groundbreaking video choreography and imagery that pop vocalists still emulate." Ben Hogwood of "MusicOMH" applauded the "huge influence she has become on younger pretenders to her throne," most notably Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera. Qadree EI-Amin remarked that many pop artists "pattern their performances after Janet's proven dance-diva persona." Beretta E. Smith-Shomade wrote that "Jackson's impact on the music video sphere came largely through music sales successes, which afforded her more visual liberties and control. This assuming of control directly impacted the look and content of her music videos, giving Jackson an agency not assumed by many other artists—male or female, Black or White."


title: Janet Jackson

text: "Parallel Lines: Media Representations of Dance" (1993) documents that her videos have often been reminiscent of live concerts or elaborate musical theater. However, in her 30-minute "Rhythm Nation 1814" film, Jackson utilizes street dancing techniques in contrast to traditional choreography. The group dynamic visually embodies gender-neutral equality, with Jackson "performing asexually and anonymously in front of, but as one of the members of the group." Her music videos have also contributed to a higher degree of sexual freedom among young women, with Jackson "heavily implying male-on-female oral sex in music videos by pushing down on a man's head until he's in exactly the right position." However, accusations of cosmetic surgery, skin lightening, and increasingly hypersexual imagery have led to her being viewed as conforming to a white, male-dominated view of sexuality, rather than liberating herself or others.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson received the MTV Video Vanguard Award for her contributions to the art form, and she became the first recipient of the MTV Icon tribute, celebrating her impact on the music industry as a whole. In 2003, "Slant Magazine" named "Rhythm Nation" and "Got 'til It's Gone" among the 100 Greatest Music Videos of all time, ranked at number 87 and number 10, respectively. In 2011, "Rhythm Nation" was voted the tenth best music video of the 1980s by "Billboard".


title: Janet Jackson

text: Independent Journalist Nicholas Barber stated "Janet's concerts are the pop equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie, with all the explosions, special effects, ersatz sentimentality, gratuitous cleavage, and emphasis on spectacle over coherence that the term implies."


title: Janet Jackson

text: "Jet" magazine reported "Janet's innovative stage performances during her world tours have won her a reputation as a world-class performer." Chris Willman of the "Los Angeles Times" stated the "enthralling" choreography of Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 Tour "represents the pinnacle of what can be done in the popping 'n' locking style—a rapid-fire mixture of rigidly jerky and gracefully fluid movements." When Jackson was asked "do you understand it when people talk about [The Velvet Rope Tour] in terms of Broadway?", she responded, "I'm crazy about Broadway ... That's what I grew up on."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Her "Number Ones: Up Close and Personal" tour deviated from the full-scale theatrics found in her previous concert arena settings in favor of smaller venues. Critics noted being scaled down did not affect the impact of her showmanship, and in some cases, enhanced it. Greg Kot of the "Chicago Tribune" wrote, "In past tours, Jackson's thin voice was often swallowed up by the sheer size of her production ... In the more scaled-down setting, Jackson brought a warmth and a passion that wasn't always evident in stadiums ... the best Janet Jackson performance I've covered in 20-plus years."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Thor Christensen of "The Dallas Morning News" reported Jackson often lip syncs in concert; he wrote: "Janet Jackson—one of pop's most notorious onstage lip-syncers—conceded ... she uses 'some' taped vocals to augment her live vocals. But she refused to say what percentage of her concert 'voice' is taped and how much is live." Michael MacCambridge of the "Austin American-Statesman", who reviewed Jackson's Rhythm Nation World Tour, described lip-syncing as a "moot point", stating "Jackson was frequently singing along with her own pre-recorded vocals, to achieve a sound closer to radio versions of singles." MacCambridge also observed "it seemed unlikely that anyone—even a prized member of the First Family of Soul Music—could dance like she did for 90 minutes and still provide the sort of powerful vocals that the '90s super concerts are expected to achieve."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Similarly, Chris Willman commented, "even a classically trained vocalist would be hard-pressed to maintain any sort of level of volume—or, more appropriately, 'Control'—while bounding up and down stairs and whipping limbs in unnatural directions at impeccable, breakneck speed." Critics observed that in the smaller scale of her "Number Ones: Up Close and Personal" tour, she forwent lip-syncing. Chris Richards of "The Washington Post" stated "even at its breathiest, that delicate voice hasn't lost the laserlike precision."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson describes Lena Horne as a profound inspiration, for entertainers of several generations as well as herself. Upon Horne's death, she stated "[Horne] brought much joy into everyone's lives—even the younger generations, younger than myself. She was such a great talent. She opened up such doors for artists like myself." Similarly, she considers Dorothy Dandridge to be one of her idols.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson has declared herself "a very big Joni Mitchell fan", explaining: "As a kid I was drawn to Joni Mitchell records [...] Joni's songs spoke to me in an intimate, personal way." She holds reverence for Tina Turner, stating "Tina has become a heroic figure for many people, especially women, because of her tremendous strength. Personally, Tina doesn't seem to have a beginning or an end in my life. I felt her music was always there, and I feel like it always will be." She has also named other socially conscious acts, such as Tracy Chapman, Sly and the Family Stone, U2, and Bob Dylan as sources of inspiration.


title: Janet Jackson

text: In her early career, Jackson credited her brothers Michael and Jermaine Jackson as musical influences. According to "Rolling Stone" and MTV, other artists attributed as influences include the Ronettes, Dionne Warwick, Tammi Terrell, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, Teena Marie, Prince, Parliament-Funkadelic, Zapp, and Tina Turner.


title: Janet Jackson

text: The youngest sister of the "precious Jackson clan", Janet Jackson has striven to distance her professional career from that of her older brother Michael and the rest of the Jackson family. Steve Dollar of "Newsday" wrote that "[s]he projects that home girl-next-door quality that belies her place as the youngest sibling in a family whose inner and outer lives have been as poked at, gossiped about, docudramatized and hard-copied as the Kennedys." Phillip McCarthy of "The Sydney Morning Herald" noted that throughout her recording career, one of her common conditions for interviewers has been that there would be no mention of Michael. Joshua Klein wrote, "[f]or the first half of her recording career, Janet Jackson sounded like an artist with something to prove. Emerging in 1982 just as big brother Michael was casting his longest shadow, Jackson filled her albums not so much with songs as with declarations, from 'The Pleasure Principle' to the radical-sounding 'Rhythm Nation' to the telling statement of purpose, 'Control'."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Steve Huey of Allmusic asserted that despite being born into a family of entertainers, Janet Jackson has managed to emerge a "superstar" in her own right, rivaling not only several female recording artists including Madonna and Whitney Houston, but also her brother, while "successfully [shifting] her image from a strong, independent young woman to a sexy, mature adult". By forging her own unique identity through her artistry and her business ventures, she has been esteemed as the "Queen of Pop". Klein argued that "stardom was not too hard to predict, but few could have foreseen that Janet—Miss Jackson, if you're nasty—would one day replace Michael as true heir to the Jackson family legacy.".


title: Janet Jackson

text: Jackson has also been recognized for playing a pivotal role in crossing racial boundaries in the recording industry, where black artists were once considered to be substandard. Author Maureen Mahon states: "In the 1980s, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Prince were among the African American artists who crossed over ... When black artists cross over into pop success they cease to be black in the industry sense of the word. They get promoted from racialized black music to universal pop music in an economically driven process of racial transcendence." The "Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge" documented that Jackson, along with other prominent African-American women, had achieved financial breakthroughs in mainstream popular music, receiving "superstar status" in the process.


title: Janet Jackson

text: She, alongside her contemporaries "offered viable creative, intellectual, and business paths for establishing and maintaining agency, lyrical potency, marketing and ownership". Her business savvy has been compared to that of Madonna, gaining a level of autonomy which enables "creative latitude and access to financial resources and mass-market distribution". A model of reinvention, author Jessie Carney Smith wrote that "Janet has continued to test the limits of her transformative power", receiving accolades in music, film and concert tours throughout the course of her career.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Musicologist Richard J. Ripani identified Jackson as a leader in the development of contemporary R&B, as her music created a unique blend of genre and sound effects which ushered in the use of rap vocals into mainstream R&B. He also argues her signature song "Nasty" influenced the new jack swing genre developed by Teddy Riley. Leon McDermott of the "Sunday Herald" wrote: "Her million-selling albums in the 1980s helped invent contemporary R&B through Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's muscular, lean production; the sinuous grooves threaded through 1986's Control and 1989's Rhythm Nation 1814 are the foundation upon which today's hotshot producers and singers rely." On March 24, 2021, the Library of Congress announced that "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" had been added to the National Recording Registry's class of 2020, stating that the album still "resonates today".


title: Janet Jackson

text: Simon Reynolds described Jackson's collaborations with her record producers as a reinvention of the dance-pop genre, introducing a new sonic palate. Den Berry, Virgin Records CEO and Chairman stated: "Janet is the very embodiment of a global superstar. Her artistic brilliance and personal appeal transcend geographic, cultural and generational boundaries." In July 1999, she placed at number 77 on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll". She also placed at number 134 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time", number seven on the "100 Greatest Women In Music", and at number two on the "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era", behind Madonna.


title: Janet Jackson

text: In March 2008, Business Wire reported "Janet Jackson is one of the top ten selling artists in the history of contemporary music; ranked by "Billboard" magazine as the ninth most successful act in rock and roll history, and the second most successful female artist in pop music history." She is the only female artist in the history of the Hot 100 to have 18 consecutive top ten hit singles, from "Miss You Much" (1989) to "I Get Lonely" (1998). The magazine ranked her at number seven on their Hot 100 50th Anniversary "All-Time Top Artists", making her the third most successful female artist in the history of the chart, following Madonna and Mariah Carey.


title: Janet Jackson

text: In November 2010, "Billboard" released its "Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked her at number five. She ranks as the top artist on the chart with 15 number ones in the past twenty-five years, garnering 27 top ten hits between 1985 and 2001, and 33 consecutive top 40 hits from 1985 through 2004. Recipient of eleven "Billboard" Music Awards, she is one an elite group of musical acts, such as Madonna, Aerosmith, Garth Brooks and Eric Clapton, whom "Billboard" credits for "redefining the landscape of popular music".


title: Janet Jackson

text: In November 2014, Jackson was voted 'Queen of Pop' by a poll conducted online by VH1.com. In October 2015, she received her first nomination for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and four years later was inducted to the Hall. Jackson's music and choreography have inspired numerous performers.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Virgin Records executive Lee Trink expressed: "Janet is an icon and historic figure in our culture. She's one of those gifted artists that people look up to, that people emulate, that people want to believe in ... there's not that many superstars that stand the test of time."


title: Janet Jackson

text: Sarah Rodman of the "Boston Herald" remarked: "For every hand-fluttering, overwrought, melisma addict out there aping Mariah's dog calls, there's an equal number trying to match Jackson's bubbling grooves and fancy footwork, including Britney Spears, Aaliyah and Destiny's Child." Music critic Gene Stout commented she "has so broadly influenced a younger generation of performers, from Jennifer Lopez ... to Britney Spears, who has copied so many of Jackson's dance moves." 'N Sync and Usher have credited her for teaching them how to develop stage show into theatrical performance. Jennifer Lopez, Kesha, Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Crystal Kay, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna, Brazilian singer Kelly Key, and Christine and the Queens have all named her an inspiration, while others such as Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of TLC, Cassie, Nicki Minaj, Keri Hilson, and DJ/singer Havana Brown, have all expressed desire to emulate her.


title: Janet Jackson

text: Elysa Gardner of "USA Today" wrote: "Jackson claims not to be bothered by the brigade of barely post-adolescent baby divas who have been inspired by—and, in some cases, have flagrantly aped—the sharp, animated choreography and girlish but decidedly post-feminist feistiness that have long been hallmarks of her performance style." Adrienne Trier-Bieniek stated, "scholars trace the origins of pleasure as a Black feminist commitment within popular culture to Janet Jackson" who inspired the feminist perspective found in many pop stars' careers. Those who are considered to have followed in her footsteps have been referred to as "Janet-come-lately's".


title: Janet Jackson

text: Other artists who have drawn comparison to her include Mýa, Brandy, Tatyana Ali, Christina Milian, Lady Gaga, Namie Amuro, and BoA. Sociologist Shayne Lee commented that "[a]s Janet enters the twilight of her reign as erotic Queen of Pop, Beyoncé emerges as her likely successor." Joan Morgan of "Essence" magazine remarked: "Jackson's "Control", "Rhythm Nation 1814" and "janet." established the singer-dancer imprimatur standard in pop culture we now take for granted. So when you're thinking of asking Miss Jackson, 'What have you done for me lately?' remember that Britney, Ciara and Beyoncé live in the house that Janet built."


title: Janet Jackson

text: On season 30 of "Dancing with the Stars" in 2021, the 8th week's theme, "Janet Jackson Night", was dedicated as a tribute to Jackson.


title: Janet Jackson

text: At age 18, Janet Jackson eloped with singer James DeBarge in September 1984. The marriage was annulled in November 1985. In 1986, Jackson began dating dancer/songwriter/director René Elizondo Jr. On March 31, 1991, Jackson married Elizondo Jr. and the marriage was kept a secret until the divorce was announced. In January 1999, the couple separated and were divorced in 2003. Elizondo filed a lawsuit against her, estimated to have been between $10–25 million, which did not reach a settlement until that year. From 2002 to 2009, Jackson dated music producer/rapper/songwriter Jermaine Dupri.


title: Janet Jackson

text: In 2006, Jackson met Qatari businessman Wissam Al Mana and began dating him in 2010 shortly after her split. The couple became engaged and married privately in 2012. In 2016, Jackson announced that they were expecting their first child together. On January 3, 2017, Jackson gave birth to a son, Eissa Al Mana. In April 2017, it was announced that the couple had separated and were pursuing a divorce.


title: Ian McKellen

text: Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural icon, he has received various accolades, including seven Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award. The BBC states that his "performances have guaranteed him a place in the canon of English stage and film actors".


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen began his professional career in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of their highly regarded repertory company. In 1965, McKellen made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's "Richard II" and Marlowe's "Edward II", and he firmly established himself as one of the country's foremost classical actors. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. In 1981 he received his first Tony Award nomination and win for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Antonio Salieri in "Amadeus". He achieved worldwide fame for his film roles, including the titular King in "Richard III" (1995), James Whale in "Gods and Monsters" (1998), Magneto in the "X-Men" films, and Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen was knighted in the 1980 New Year Honours for services to the performing arts, and made a Companion of Honour for services to drama and to equality in the 2008 New Year Honours. He came out as gay in 1988, and has since championed LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in October 2014.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen was born on 25 May 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, the son of Margery Lois (née Sutcliffe) and Denis Murray McKellen. He was their second child, with a sister, Jean, five years his senior. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, his family moved to Wigan. They lived there until Ian was twelve years old, before relocating to Bolton in 1951 after his father had been promoted. The experience of living through the war as a young child had a lasting impact on him, and he later said that "only after peace resumed ... did I realise that war wasn't normal". When an interviewer remarked that he seemed quite calm in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, McKellen said: "Well, darling, you forget—I slept under a steel plate until I was four years old".


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen's father was a civil engineer and lay preacher, and was of Protestant Irish and Scottish descent. Both of McKellen's grandfathers were preachers, and his great-great-grandfather, James McKellen, was a "strict, evangelical Protestant minister" in Ballymena, County Antrim. His home environment was strongly Christian, but non-orthodox. "My upbringing was of low nonconformist Christians who felt that you led the Christian life in part by behaving in a Christian manner to everybody you met". When he was 12, his mother died of breast cancer; his father died when he was 25. After his coming out as gay to his stepmother, Gladys McKellen, who was a Quaker, he said, "Not only was she not fazed, but as a member of a society which declared its indifference to people's sexuality years back, I think she was just glad for my sake that I wasn't lying anymore". His great-great-grandfather Robert J. Lowes was an activist and campaigner in the ultimately successful campaign for a Saturday half-holiday in Manchester, the forerunner to the modern five-day work week, thus making Lowes a "grandfather of the modern weekend".


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen attended Bolton School (Boys' Division), of which he is still a supporter, attending regularly to talk to pupils. McKellen's acting career started at Bolton Little Theatre, of which he is now the patron. An early fascination with the theatre was encouraged by his parents, who took him on a family outing to "Peter Pan" at the Opera House in Manchester when he was three. When he was nine, his main Christmas present was a fold-away wood and bakelite Victorian theatre from Pollocks Toy Theatres, with cardboard scenery and wires to push on the cut-outs of Cinderella and of Laurence Olivier's reenactment of Shakespeare's "Hamlet".


title: Ian McKellen

text: His sister took him to his first Shakespeare play, "Twelfth Night", by the amateurs of Wigan's Little Theatre, shortly followed by their "Macbeth" and Wigan High School for Girls' production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", with music by Mendelssohn, with the role of Bottom played by Jean McKellen, who continued to act, direct, and produce amateur theatre until her death.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1958, McKellen, at the age of 18, won a scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he read English literature. He has since been made an Honorary Fellow of the college. While at Cambridge, McKellen was a member of the Marlowe Society, where he appeared in 23 plays over the course of 3 years. At that young age he was already giving performances that have since become legendary such as his Justice Shallow in "Henry IV" alongside Trevor Nunn and Derek Jacobi (March 1959), "Cymbeline" (as Posthumus, opposite Margaret Drabble as Imogen) and "Doctor Faustus". During this period McKellen had already been directed by Peter Hall, John Barton and Dadie Rylands, all of whom would have a significant impact on McKellen's future career.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen made his first professional appearance in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, as Roper in "A Man for All Seasons", although an audio recording of the Marlowe Society's "Cymbeline" had gone on commercial sale as part of the Argo Shakespeare series.


title: Ian McKellen

text: After four years in regional repertory theatres, McKellen made his first West End appearance, in "A Scent of Flowers", regarded as a "notable success". In 1965 he was a member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic, which led to roles at the Chichester Festival. With the Prospect Theatre Company, McKellen made his breakthrough performances of Shakespeare's "Richard II" (directed by Richard Cottrell) and Christopher Marlowe's "Edward II" (directed by Toby Robertson) at the Edinburgh Festival in 1969, the latter causing a storm of protest over the enactment of the homosexual Edward's lurid death.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In the 1970s, McKellen became a well-known figure in British theatre, performing frequently at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, where he played several leading Shakespearean roles. From 1973 to 1974, McKellen toured the United Kingdom and Brooklyn Academy of Music portraying Lady Wishfort's Footman, Kruschov, and Edgar in the William Congreve comedy "The Way of the World", Anton Chekov's comedic three-act play "The Wood Demon" and William Shakespeare tragedy "King Lear". The following year, he starred in Shakespeare's "King John", George Colman's "The Clandestine Marriage", and George Bernard Shaw's "Too True to Be Good". From 1976 to 1977 he portrayed Romeo in the Shakespeare romance "Romeo & Juliet" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The following year he played King Leontes in "The Winter's Tale".


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1976, McKellen played the title role in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (which he had first played for Trevor Nunn in a "gripping ... out of the ordinary" production, with Judi Dench, at Stratford in 1976 and Iago in "Othello", in award-winning productions directed by Nunn. Both of these productions were adapted into television films, also directed by Nunn. From 1978 to 1979 he toured in a double feature production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", and Anton Chekov's "Three Sisters" portraying Sir Toby Belch and Andrei, respectively.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1979, McKellen gained acclaim for his role as Antonio Salieri in the Broadway transfer production of Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus". It was an immensely popular play produced by the National Theatre originally starring Paul Scofield. The transfer starred McKellen, Tim Curry as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Jane Seymour as Constanze Mozart. "The New York Times" theatre critic Frank Rich wrote of McKellen's performance "In Mr. McKellen's superb performance, Salieri's descent into madness was portrayed in dark notes of almost bone-rattling terror". For his performance, McKellen received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1986, he returned to Broadway in the revival of Anton Chekhov's first play "Wild Honey" alongside Kim Cattrall and Kate Burton. The play concerned a local Russian schoolteacher who struggles to remain faithful to his wife, despite the attention of three other women. McKellen received mixed reviews from critics in particular Frank Rich of "The New York Times" who praised him for his "bravura and athletically graceful technique that provides everything except, perhaps, the thing that matters most—sustained laughter". He later wrote, "Mr. McKellen finds himself in the peculiar predicament of the star who strains to carry a frail supporting cast". In 1989 he played Iago in production of "Othello" by the Royal Shakespeare Company.


title: Ian McKellen

text: From 1990 to 1992, he acted in a world tour of a lauded revival of "Richard III", playing the title character. The production played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for two weeks before continuing its tour where Frank Rich of "New York Times" was able to review it. In his piece, he praised McKellen's performance writing, "Mr McKellen's highly sophisticated sense of theatre and fun drives him to reveal the secrets of how he pulls his victims' strings whether he is addressing the audience in a soliloquy of not". For his performance he received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1992, he acted in Pam Gems's revival of Chekov's "Uncle Vanya" at the Royal National Theatre alongside Antony Sher, and Janet McTeer. From 1993 to 1997 McKellen toured in a one-man show entitled, "A Knights Out", about coming out as a gay man. Laurie Winer from "The Los Angeles Times" wrote, "Even if he is preaching to the converted, McKellen makes us aware of the vast and powerful intolerance outside the comfortable walls of the theatre. Endowed with a rare technique, he is a natural storyteller, an admirable human being and a hands-on activist". From 1997 to 1998, he starred as Dr. Tomas Stockmann in a revival of Henrik Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People". Later that year he played Garry Essendine in the Noël Coward comedy "Present Laughter" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen returned to the Broadway stage in 2001 in a August Strindberg play "The Dance of Death" alongside Helen Mirren, and David Strathairn at the Broadhurst Theatre. "The New York Times" Theatre critic Ben Brantley praised McKellen's performance writing, "[McKellen] returns to Broadway to serve up an Elysian concoction we get to sample too little these days: a mixture of heroic stage presence, actorly intelligence, and rarefied theatrical technique". McKellen toured with the production at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End and to the Sydney Art's Festival in Australia.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2007, he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company, in productions of "King Lear" and "The Seagull", both directed by Trevor Nunn. In 2009, he appeared in a very popular revival of "Waiting for Godot" at London's Haymarket Theatre, directed by Sean Mathias, and playing opposite Patrick Stewart. From 2013 to 2014, McKellen and Stewart starred in a double production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" and Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land" on Broadway at the Cort Theatre. "Variety" theatre critic Marilyn Stasio praised the dual production writing, "McKellen and Stewart find plenty of consoling comedy in two masterpieces of existential despair". In both productions of Stasio claims, "the two thespians play the parts they were meant to play".


title: Ian McKellen

text: He is Patron of English Touring Theatre and also President and Patron of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, an association of amateur theatre organisations throughout the UK. In late August 2012, he took part in the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics, portraying Prospero from "The Tempest".


title: Ian McKellen

text: In October 2017, McKellen played King Lear at the Chichester Festival Theatre, a role which he said was likely to be his "last big Shakespearean part". He performed the play at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End during the summer of 2018. To celebrate his 80th birthday, in 2019 McKellen performed in a one-man stage show titled "" celebrating the various performances throughout his career. The show toured across the UK and Ireland (raising money for each venue and organisation's charity) before a West End run at the Harold Pinter Theatre and was performed for one night only on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2021, he played the title role in an age-blind production of "Hamlet" (having previously played the part in a UK and European tour in 1971), followed by the role of Firs in Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1969, McKellen starred in three films, Michael Hayes's "The Promise", Clive Donner's epic film "Alfred the Great", and Waris Hussein's "A Touch of Love". In 1981, McKellen portrayed writer and poet D. H. Lawrence in the Christopher Miles directed biographical film, "Priest of Love". He followed up with Michael Mann's horror film "The Keep" (1983).


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1985, he starred in "Plenty", the film adaptation of the David Hare play of the same name. The film was directed by Fred Schepisi and starred Meryl Streep, Charles Dance, John Gielgud, and Sting. The film spans nearly 20 years from the early 1940s to the 1960s, around an Englishwoman's experiences as a fighter for the French Resistance during World War II when she has a one-night stand with a British intelligence agent. The film received mixed reviews with Roger Ebert of "The Chicago Sun-Times" praising the film's ensemble cast writing, "The performances in the movie supply one brilliant solo after another; most of the big moments come as characters dominate the scenes they are in".


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen starred in the British drama "Scandal" a fictionalised account of the Profumo affair that rocked the government of British prime minister Harold Macmillan. McKellen portrayed John Profumo. The film starred Joanne Whalley, and John Hurt. The film premiered at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and competed for the Palme d'Or.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1993, he starred in the film "Six Degrees of Separation" based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award nominated play of the same name. McKellen starred alongside Will Smith, Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing. The film was a critical success. That same year, he also appeared in the western "The Ballad of Little Jo" opposite Bob Hoskins and the action comedy "Last Action Hero" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The following year, he appeared in the superhero film "The Shadow" with Alec Baldwin and the James L. Brooks directed comedy "I'll Do Anything" starring Nick Nolte.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1995, McKellen made his screenwriting debut with "Richard III", an ambitious adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, directed by Richard Loncraine. The film reimagines the play's story and characters to a setting based on 1930s Britain, with Richard depicted as a fascist plotting to usurp the throne. McKellen stars in the title role alongside an ensemble cast including Annette Bening, Robert Downey Jr., Jim Broadbent, Kristen Scott Thomas, Nigel Hawthorne and Dame Maggie Smith. As executive producer he returned his £50,000 fee to complete the filming of the final battle. In his review of the film, "The Washington Post" film critic Hal Hinson called McKellen's performance a "lethally flamboyant incarnation" and said his "florid mastery ... dominates everything". Film critic Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised McKellen's adaptation and his performance in his four star review writing, "McKellen has a deep sympathy for the playwright ... Here he brings to Shakespeare's most tortured villain a malevolence we are moved to pity. No man should be so evil, and know it. Hitler and others were more evil, but denied out to themselves. There is no escape for Richard. He is one of the first self-aware characters in the theatre, and for that distinction he must pay the price". His performance in the title role garnered BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and won the European Film Award for Best Actor. His screenplay was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. That same year, he appeared in the historical drama "Restoration" (1995) also starring Downey Jr., as well as Meg Ryan, Hugh Grant, and David Thewlis. He also appeared in the British romantic comedy "Jack and Sarah" (1995) starring Richard E. Grant, Samantha Mathis, and Dame Judi Dench.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1998, he appeared in the modestly acclaimed psychological thriller "Apt Pupil", which was directed by Bryan Singer and based on a story by Stephen King. McKellen portrayed a fugitive Nazi officer living under a false name in the US who is befriended by a curious teenager (Brad Renfro) who threatens to expose him unless he tells his story in detail. That same year, he played James Whale, the director of "Frankenstein" in the Bill Condon directed period drama "Gods and Monsters", a role for which he was subsequently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, losing it to Roberto Benigni in "Life is Beautiful" (1998).


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1999, McKellen was cast, again under the direction of Bryan Singer, to play the comic book supervillain Magneto in the 2000 film "X-Men" and its sequels "X2: X-Men United" (2003) and "" (2006). He later reprised his role of Magneto in 2014's "", sharing the role with Michael Fassbender, who played a younger version of the character in 2011's "".


title: Ian McKellen

text: While filming the first "X-Men" film in 1999, McKellen was cast as the wizard Gandalf in Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings" (consisting of "", "", and ""), released between 2001 and 2003. He received honours from the Screen Actors Guild for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work in "The Fellowship of the Ring" and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the same role. He provided the voice of Gandalf for several video game adaptations of the "Lord of the Rings" films.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen has appeared in limited release films, such as "Emile" (which was shot in three weeks following the "X2" shoot), "Neverwas" and "Asylum". In 2006, He appeared as Sir Leigh Teabing in "The Da Vinci Code" opposite Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. During a 17 May 2006 interview on "The Today Show" with the "Da Vinci Code" cast and director Ron Howard, Matt Lauer posed a question to the group about how they would have felt if the film had borne a prominent disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, as some religious groups wanted. McKellen responded, "I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction'. I mean, walking on water? It takes ... an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie—not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story". He continued, "And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing when they've seen it".


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2007, McKellen narrated the romantic fantasy adventure film "Stardust" starring Charlie Cox and Claire Danes, which was a critical and financial success. That same year, he lent his voice to the armored bear Iorek Byrnison in the Chris Weitz-directed fantasy film "The Golden Compass" based on the acclaimed Philip Pullman novel "Northern Lights" and starred Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The film received mixed reviews but was a financial success.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen reprised the role of Gandalf on screen in Peter Jackson's three-part film adaptation of "The Hobbit" starting with "" (2012), followed by "" (2013), and finally "" (2014). Despite the series receiving mixed reviews, it emerged as a financial success. McKellen also reprised his dual role as Erik Lehnsherr and Magneto in James Mangold's "The Wolverine" (2013), and Singer's "" (2014).


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2015, McKellen reunited with director Bill Condon playing an elderly Sherlock Holmes in the mystery film "Mr. Holmes" alongside Laura Linney. In the film based on the novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind" (2005), Holmes now 93, struggles to recall the details of his final case because his mind is slowly deteriorating. The film premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival with McKellen receiving acclaim for his performance. "Rolling Stone" film critic Peter Travers praised his performance writing, "Don't think you can take another Hollywood version of Sherlock Holmes? Snap out of it. Apologies to Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch, but what Ian McKellen does with Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective in Mr Holmes is nothing short of magnificent ... Director Bill Condon, who teamed superbly with McKellen on the Oscar-winning Gods and Monsters, brings us a riveting character study of a lion not going gentle into winter".


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2017, McKellen portrayed in a supporting role as Cogsworth (originally voiced by David Ogden Stiers in the 1991 animated film) in the live-action adaptation of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", directed by Bill Condon (which marked the third collaboration between Condon and McKellen, after "Gods and Monsters" and "Mr. Holmes") and co-starred alongside Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. The film was released to positive reviews and grossed $1.2billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing live-action musical film, the second highest-grossing film of 2017, and the 17th highest-grossing film of all time. The following year, he appeared in Kenneth Branagh's historical drama "All is True" (2018) portraying Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, opposite Branagh and Judi Dench.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2019, he reunited with Condon for a fourth time in the mystery thriller "The Good Liar" opposite Helen Mirren, who received praise for their onscreen chemistry. That same year, he appeared as in the movie musical adaptation of "Cats" directed by Tom Hooper. The film featured performances from Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Idris Elba, and Judi Dench. The film was widely panned for its poor visual effects, editing, performances, screenplay, and was a box office disaster.


title: Ian McKellen

text: One of McKellen's first major roles on television was as the title character in the BBC's 1966 adaptation of "David Copperfield", which achieved 12 million viewers on its initial airings. After some rebroadcasting in the late 60s, the master videotapes for the serial were wiped, and only four scattered episodes (3, 8, 9 and 11) survive as telerecordings, three of which feature McKellen as adult David. McKellen had taken film roles throughout his career—beginning in 1969 with his role of George Matthews in "A Touch of Love", and his first leading role was in 1980 as D. H. Lawrence in "Priest of Love", but it was not until the 1990s that he became more widely recognised in this medium after several roles in blockbuster Hollywood films.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1993, he appeared in minor roles in the television miniseries "Tales of the City", based on the novel by his friend Armistead Maupin. Later that year, McKellen appeared in the HBO television film "And the Band Played On" based on the acclaimed novel of the same name about the discovery of HIV. For his performance as gay rights activist Bill Kraus, McKellen received the CableACE Award for Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1995, he appeared in the BBC television comedy film "Cold Comfort Farm" starring Kate Beckinsale, Rufus Sewell, and Stephen Fry. The following year he starred as Tsar Nicholas II in the HBO made-for-television movie "" (1996) starring Alan Rickman as Rasputin. For his performance, McKellen earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film win.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen appeared as Mr Creakle in the BBC series "David Copperfield" based on the Charles Dickens classic novel. The miniseries starred a pre-"Harry Potter" Daniel Radcliffe, Bob Hoskins, and Dame Maggie Smith.


title: Ian McKellen

text: On 16 March 2002, he hosted "Saturday Night Live". In 2003, McKellen made a guest appearance as himself on the American cartoon show "The Simpsons" in a special British-themed episode entitled "The Regina Monologues", along with the then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and author J. K. Rowling. In April and May 2005, he played the role of Mel Hutchwright in Granada Television's long-running British soap opera, "Coronation Street", fulfilling a lifelong ambition. He narrated Richard Bell's film "Eighteen" as a grandfather who leaves his World War II memoirs on audio-cassette for his teenage grandson.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen appeared in the 2006 BBC series of Ricky Gervais's comedy series "Extras", where he played himself directing Gervais's character Andy Millman in a play about gay lovers. McKellen received a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor – Comedy Series nomination for his performance. In 2009 he portrayed Number Two in "The Prisoner", a remake of the 1967 cult series "The Prisoner". In November 2013, McKellen appeared in the "Doctor Who" 50th anniversary comedy homage "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot".


title: Ian McKellen

text: From 2013 to 2016, McKellen co-starred in the ITV sitcom "Vicious" as Freddie Thornhill, alongside Derek Jacobi. The series revolves around an elderly gay couple who have been together for 50 years. The show's original title was "Vicious Old Queens". There are ongoing jokes about McKellen's career as a relatively unsuccessful character actor who owns a tux because he stole it after doing a guest spot on "Downton Abbey" and that he holds the title of "10th Most Popular ‘Doctor Who’ Villain". Liz Shannon Miller of "IndieWire" noted while the concept seemed, "weird as hell", that "Once you come to accept McKellen and Jacobi in a multi-camera format, there is a lot to respect about their performances; specifically, the way that those decades of classical training adapt themselves to the sitcom world. Much has been written before about how the tradition of the multi-cam, filmed in front of a studio audience, relates to theatre, and McKellen and Jacobi know how to play to a live crowd".


title: Ian McKellen

text: In October 2015, McKellen appeared as Norman to Anthony Hopkins's Sir in a BBC Two production of Ronald Harwood's "The Dresser", alongside Edward Fox, Vanessa Kirby, and Emily Watson. Television critic Tim Goodman of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised the film and the central performances writing, "there’s no escaping that Hopkins and McKellen are the central figures here, giving wonderfully nuanced performances, onscreen together for their first time in their acclaimed careers". For his performance McKellen received a British Academy Television Award nomination for his performance.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2017, McKellen appeared in the documentary "McKellen: Playing the Part", directed by director Joe Stephenson. The documentary explores McKellen's life and career as an actor.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen and his first partner, Brian Taylor, a history teacher from Bolton, began their relationship in 1964. Their relationship lasted for eight years, ending in 1972. They lived in London, where McKellen continued to pursue his career as an actor. In 1978 he met his second partner, Sean Mathias, at the Edinburgh Festival. This relationship lasted until 1988, and according to Mathias, it was tempestuous, with conflicts over McKellen's success in acting versus Mathias's somewhat less-successful career. The two remained friends, with Mathias later directing McKellen in "Waiting for Godot" at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2009. The pair entered into a business partnership with Evgeny Lebedev, purchasing the lease of The Grapes public house in Narrow Street. As of 2005, McKellen had been living in Narrow Street, Limehouse, for more than 25 years, more than a decade of which had been spent in a five-story Victorian conversion.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen is an atheist. In the late 1980s, he lost his appetite for every kind of meat but fish, and has since followed a mainly pescetarian diet. In 2001, Ian McKellen received the Artist Citizen of the World Award (France).


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen has a tattoo of the Elvish number nine, written using J. R. R. Tolkien's constructed script of Tengwar, on his shoulder in reference to his involvement in the "Lord of the Rings" and the fact that his character was one of the original nine companions of the Fellowship of the Ring. All but one of the other actors of "The Fellowship" (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Sean Bean, Dominic Monaghan and Viggo Mortensen) have the same tattoo (John Rhys-Davies did not get the tattoo, but his stunt double Brett Beattie did).


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006. In 2012, he stated on his blog that "There is no cause for alarm. I am examined regularly and the cancer is contained. I've not needed any treatment".


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen became an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church in early 2013 in order to preside over the marriage of his friend and "X-Men" co-star Sir Patrick Stewart to the singer Sunny Ozell.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by Cambridge University on 18 June 2014. He was made a Freeman of the City of London on Thursday 30 October 2014. The ceremony took place at Guildhall in London. He was nominated by London's Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf, who said he was an "exceptional actor" and "tireless campaigner for equality". He is also an Emeritus Fellow of St Catherine's College, Oxford.


title: Ian McKellen

text: While McKellen had made his sexual orientation known to fellow actors early on in his stage career, it was not until 1988 that he came out to the general public, in a programme on BBC Radio. The context that prompted McKellen's decision, overriding any concerns about a possible negative effect on his career, was that the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Bill, known simply as Section 28, was then under consideration in the British Parliament. Section 28 proposed prohibiting local authorities from promoting homosexuality "... as a kind of pretended family relationship". McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law, and, during a BBC Radio 3 programme where he debated Section 28 with the conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne, came out as gay. McKellen has stated that he was influenced in his decision by the advice and support of his friends, among them noted gay author Armistead Maupin. In a 1998 interview that discusses the 29th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, McKellen commented, I have many regrets about not having come out earlier, but one of them might be that I didn't engage myself in the politicking. He has said of this period: My own participating in that campaign was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay and straight. Section 28 was, however, enacted and remained on the statute books until 2000 in Scotland and 2003 in England and Wales. Section 28 never applied in Northern Ireland.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2003, during an appearance on "Have I Got News For You", McKellen claimed when he visited Michael Howard, then Environment Secretary (responsible for local government), in 1988 to lobby against Section 28, Howard refused to change his position but did ask him to leave an autograph for his children. McKellen agreed, but wrote, "Fuck off, I'm gay". McKellen described Howard's junior ministers, Conservatives David Wilshire and Jill Knight, who were the architects of Section 28, as the 'ugly sisters' of a political pantomime.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen has continued to be very active in LGBT rights efforts. In a statement on his website regarding his activism, the actor commented:


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen is a co-founder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. McKellen is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GAY-GLOS, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG where he appears in their video "Parents Talking".


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 1994, at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games, he briefly took the stage to address the crowd, saying, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena": This nickname, given to him by Stephen Fry, had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred. In 2002, he was the Celebrity Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Pride Parade and he attended the Academy Awards with his then-boyfriend, New Zealander Nick Cuthell. In 2006, McKellen spoke at the pre-launch of the 2007 LGBT History Month in the UK, lending his support to the organisation and its founder, Sue Sanders. In 2007, he became a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust, an organisation that provides support to young, homeless and troubled LGBT people.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2006, he became a patron of Oxford Pride, stating:I send my love to all members of Oxford Pride, their sponsors and supporters, of which I am proud to be one ... Onlookers can be impressed by our confidence and determination to be ourselves and gay people, of whatever age, can be comforted by the occasion to take the first steps towards coming out and leaving the closet forever behind.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen has taken his activism internationally, and caused a major stir in Singapore, where he was invited to do an interview on a morning show and shocked the interviewer by asking if they could recommend him a gay bar; the programme immediately ended. In December 2008, he was named in "Out" annual Out 100 list.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In 2010, McKellen extended his support for Liverpool's Homotopia festival in which a group of gay and lesbian Merseyside teenagers helped to produce an anti-homophobia campaign pack for schools and youth centres across the city. In May 2011, he called Sergey Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, a "coward" for refusing to allow gay parades in the city.


title: Ian McKellen

text: In April 2010, along with actors Brian Cox and Eleanor Bron, McKellen appeared in a series of TV advertisements to support Age UK, the charity recently formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. All three actors gave their time free of charge.


title: Ian McKellen

text: A cricket fan since childhood, McKellen umpired in March 2011 for a charity cricket match in New Zealand to support earthquake victims of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen is an honorary board member for the New York- and Washington, D.C.-based organization Only Make Believe. Only Make Believe creates and performs interactive plays in children's hospitals and care facilities. He was honoured by the organisation in 2012 and hosted their annual Make Believe on Broadway Gala in November 2013. He garnered publicity for the organisation by stripping down to his Lord of the Rings underwear on stage.


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen also has a history of supporting individual theatres. While in New Zealand filming "The Hobbit" in 2012, he announced a special New Zealand tour "Shakespeare, Tolkien and You!", with proceeds going to help save the Isaac Theatre Royal, which suffered extensive damage during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. McKellen said he opted to help save the building as it was the last theatre he played in New Zealand ("Waiting for Godot" in 2010) and the locals' love for it made it a place worth supporting. In July 2017, he performed a new one-man show for a week at Park Theatre (London), donating the proceeds to the theatre.


title: Ian McKellen

text: Together with a number of his "Lord of the Rings" co-stars (plus writer Philippa Boyens and director Peter Jackson), on 1 June 2020 McKellen joined Josh Gad's YouTube series "Reunited Apart" which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities.


title: Ian McKellen

text: A friend of Ian Charleson and an admirer of his work, McKellen contributed an entire chapter to "For Ian Charleson: A Tribute". A recording of McKellen's voice is heard before performances at the Royal Festival Hall, reminding patrons to ensure their mobile phones and watch alarms are switched off and to keep coughing to a minimum. He also took part in the 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in London as Prospero from Shakespeare's "The Tempest".


title: Ian McKellen

text: McKellen has received two Academy Award nominations for his performances in "Gods and Monsters" (1999), and "" (2001). He has also received 5 Primetime Emmy Award nominations. McKellen has received two Tony Award nominations winning for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in "Amadeus" in 1981. He has also received 12 Laurence Olivier Awards (Olivier Awards) nominations winning 6 awards for his performances in "Pillars of the Community" (1977), "The Alchemist" (1978), "Bent" (1979), "Wild Honey" (1984), "Richard III" (1991), and "" (2020).


title: Ian McKellen

text: He has also received various honorary awards including Pride International Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement & Distinction Award in 2004 and the Olivier Awards's Society Special Award in 2006. He also received Evening Standard Awards The Lebedev Special Award in 2009. The following year he received an Empire Award's Empire Icon Award In 2017 he received the Honorary Award from the Istanbul International Film Festival.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single "Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popularity in early 2019 before climbing music charts internationally and becoming diamond certified by November of that same year, moving over ten million certified units in streaming and sales combined.


title: Lil Nas X

text: "Old Town Road" spent 19 weeks atop the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, becoming the longest-running number-one song since the chart debuted in 1958. Several remixes of the song were released, the most popular of which featured country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. As "Old Town Road" was atop the Hot 100, Lil Nas X came out as gay, becoming the only artist to do so while having a number-one record.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Following the success of "Old Town Road", Lil Nas X released his debut extended play, titled "7", which spawned two further singles, with "Panini" peaking at number five and "Rodeo" (featuring Cardi B or Nas) peaking at number 22 on the Hot 100. His debut studio album, "Montero" (2021), was supported by the chart-topping singles "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and "Industry Baby" (with Jack Harlow) and the top-ten single "Thats What I Want", and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Lil Nas X was the most-nominated male artist at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, where he ultimately won awards for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. "Old Town Road" earned him two MTV Video Music Awards including Song of the Year, and the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song; Lil Nas X is also the first openly LGBT Black artist to win a Country Music Association award. "Time" named him as one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet in 2019, and he was named on the "Forbes" 30 Under 30 list in 2020.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Montero Lamar Hill was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia, a small city outside Atlanta, on April 9, 1999. He was named after the Mitsubishi Montero. His parents divorced when he was six, and he settled in the Bankhead Courts housing project with his mother and grandmother. Three years later, he moved in with his father, a gospel singer, north of the city in Austell, Georgia. Although initially reluctant to leave, he later regarded it as an important decision, "There's so much shit going on in Atlanta—if I would have stayed there, I would have fallen in with the wrong crowd." He started "using the Internet heavily right around the time when memes started to become their own form of entertainment"; about when he was 13.


title: Lil Nas X

text: He spent much of his teenage years alone, and turned to the Internet, "particularly Twitter, creating memes that showed his disarming wit and pop-culture savvy." His teenage years also saw him struggling with his coming out to himself as being gay; he prayed that it was just a phase, but around 16 or 17 he came to accept it. He began playing trumpet in the fourth grade and was first chair by his junior high years, but quit out of fear of looking uncool.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Hill attended Lithia Springs High School, from which he graduated in 2017. He then enrolled at the University of West Georgia, where he majored in computer science, but later dropped out after one year to pursue a musical career. During this time, he stayed with his sister and supported himself with jobs at Zaxby's restaurants and the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park. In September 2019 he revisited his high school to perform a surprise concert.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Hill said he began to isolate himself from "outside-of-class activities" during his teenage years. He spent large amounts of time online in hopes of building a following as an internet personality to promote his work, but was unsure what to focus on creatively. In a "Rolling Stone" interview he stated, "I was doing Facebook comedy videos, then I moved over to Instagram, and then I hopped on Twitter ... where I really was a master. That was the first place where I could go viral." He also posted short-format comedy videos on Facebook and Vine.


title: Lil Nas X

text: During this period, he reportedly created and ran Nicki Minaj fan accounts on Twitter, including one called "@NasMaraj", according to a "New York" Magazine investigation. In 2017, this account gained attention for its flash fiction-style interactive "scenario threads" popularized on Twitter using dashboard app TweetDeck. The investigation linked @NasMaraj to the practice of "Tweetdecking", or using multiple accounts in collaboration to artificially make certain tweets go viral. The @NasMaraj account was suspended by Twitter due to "violating spam policies". After the suspension of @NasMaraj, "New York" Magazine's investigation concluded that he subsequently opened a new account with handle "@NasMarai", and that his current Twitter account at the time was a repurposed version of that "@NasMarai" account with a changed handle. After media reports linked Lil Nas X to the Minaj fan accounts, he called the reports a "misunderstanding", effectively denying having run the accounts. However, in May 2020, Lil Nas X admitted, in a tweet, to being a fan of Minaj. He explained why he initially denied it, stating that if people knew he was a fan of hers, they would think he was gay: "People will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to nicki u are gay. and the rap/music industry ain't exactly built or accepting of gay men yet". On June 17, 2020, Minaj responded to Nas, tweeting "It was a bit of a sting when you denied being a barb, but I understand. Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth". Lil Nas apologized to Minaj, saying he "felt so bad, hoping u wouldn't see my denial". The @NasMarai account was later mentioned in a New York Times Magazine article, which described Hill as having spent "every waking hour online, tweeting as @nasmaraj". It is also referenced in the music video for "Sun Goes Down", which shows Lil Nas X's many struggles growing up as a closeted teen and embracing his sexuality; he is seen tweeting while in high school from an account named "nasmiraj" as the lyrics "I'd be by the phone, stanning Nicki morning into dawn" play.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Sometime in the year 2018, Hill landed on music as a path to success, and started writing and recording songs in his closet. He adopted the name Lil Nas X, which is a tribute to the rapper Nas. On July 24, 2018, Lil Nas released his first mixtape "Nasarati" on SoundCloud, though it was not received with immediate fame; "Nasarati" would be removed from streaming services soon after the release of "Old Town Road" due to a copyright conflict and therefore would never gain significant traction. In late October 2018, he happened to hear the beat that would become "Old Town Road".


title: Lil Nas X

text: On December 3, 2018, Lil Nas X released the country rap song "Old Town Road". He bought the beat for the song anonymously on beat-selling platform Beatstars from Dutch producer YoungKio for $30; it samples Nine Inch Nails' track "34 Ghosts IV" from their sixth studio album "Ghosts I–IV" (2008). He recorded at a "humble" Atlanta studio, CinCoYo, on their "$20 Tuesdays" taking less than an hour. Lil Nas X began creating memes to promote "Old Town Road" before it was picked up by short-form video social media TikTok users. TikTok encourages its 500 million global users to "endless imitation", with videos generating copies usually using the same music; the "app's frantic churn of content ...acts as a potent incubator for viral music hits." Lil Nas X estimated he made about 100 memes to promote it; the song went viral in early 2019 due to the #Yeehaw Challenge meme on TikTok. Millions of users posted videos of themselves dressed as a wrangler or cowgirl, with most #yeehaw videos using the song for their soundtrack; as of July 2019, they have been seen more than 67 million times. Another core audience tied to social media is children who are hidden in the statistics of adult listeners. Quartz.com says the song certainly owes part of its success to the demographic, and notes they are attracted to the song being repetitive, easy to sing along to, and using lyrics about riding horses and tractors, which children can relate to. It debuted at number 83 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, later climbing to number one. The track also debuted on the Hot Country Songs chart at number 19 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 36. After an "intense bidding war", Lil Nas X signed with Columbia Records in March 2019. "Billboard" controversially removed the song from the Hot Country songs chart in March 2019 telling "Rolling Stone":


title: Lil Nas X

text: In Robert Christgau's opinion, "Taking 'Old Town Road' off the country chart strikes me as racist pure and simple, because country radio remains racist regardless of the Darius Ruckers and Kane Browns it makes room for." Another "Billboard" spokesperson told Genius, ""Billboard"s decision to take the song off of the country chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist." Despite being removed from the main Country Songs chart, the song charted on "Billboard"'s Country Airplay chart, debuting at 53, and peaking at 50. In response, Sony Music Nashville CEO Randy Goodman told "Billboard" that his team started testing the song in some country radio markets, adding "it would be negligent not to look at it". In May 2019, the issues of racism in country music culture came up again when Wrangler announced its Lil Nas X collection, and some consumers threatened a boycott. Media outlets also noted that the song brings attention to the historic cultural erasure of African-Americans from both country music and the American frontier era.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Country music star Billy Ray Cyrus supported "Old Town Road", and became the featured vocalist in an April 2019 remix, the first of several. That same month, Lil Nas X broke Drake's record for the most U.S. streams from one song in one week with 143 million streams for the week ending April 11, surpassing Drake's "In My Feelings", which had 116.2 million streams in a week in July 2018; as of August 2019 it has streamed over a billion plays on Spotify alone. In May 2019, the video was released and as of August 2019, has over 370 million views. NBC News's Michael Arceneaux wrote, "In the social media age, Lil Nas X is arguably the first micro-platform crossover star."


title: Lil Nas X

text: "Panini" was released as Lil Nas X's second single through Columbia Records on June 20, 2019. It is named after the fictional cabbit of the same name in the animated television series "Chowder", and does not refer to the sandwich of the same name. In mid-September 2019 "Panini" had its first remix released with rapper DaBaby. Lil Nas X released his debut extended play, titled "7", on June 21, 2019. The EP debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 chart. On June 23, 2019, Lil Nas X performed with Cyrus at the 2019 BET Awards. On June 30, Lil Nas X made his international debut at the largest greenfield festival in the world, the U.K.'s annual Glastonbury Festival, when he and Billy Ray Cyrus made a surprise appearance and joined Miley Cyrus for the song, before performing "Panini" solo in a set seen nationally on BBC. On the same day, Lil Nas X became one of the most visible Black queer male singers when he came out as gay. This was especially significant for an artist in the country and hip hop genres, both of which emphasize machismo and "historically snubbed queer artists". Black queer male artists in hip hop having mainstream acceptance arguably started in 2012 with Frank Ocean's coming out just before "Channel Orange" was released. "Rolling Stone" premiered the "Rolling Stone" Top 100 in early July with three Lil Nas X songs: "Rodeo" with Cardi B at number nine; "Panini" at four; and "Old Town Road" as the first-ever number-one song on the chart.


title: Lil Nas X

text: On August 19, 2019, Lil Nas X opened for Katy Perry at a concert Amazon held for its employees to celebrate its Prime Day sale.


title: Lil Nas X

text: On July 7, 2020, Lil Nas X revealed that his debut album was "almost finished". He also stated that he was working on a mixtape, and invited producers to submit their beats for his new music. On July 10, he teased the release of a new song titled "Call Me by Your Name", posting a snippet of it online. On November 8, 2020, he announced a new single, "Holiday", which was released on November 13. On Roblox, a virtual concert was held to promote Lil Nas X's single, with Lil Nas X-related items in the game's avatar shop. The single debuted at 37 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, while the song's music video accumulated tens of millions of views within the first several weeks of release.


title: Lil Nas X

text: In January 2021, he released a children's book, "C Is for Country". The following month, he again previewed the song, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" in a Super Bowl LV commercial. The song was officially released on March 26, 2021, along with an accompanying music video. On the same day, Lil Nas X revealed that his debut album would be named "Montero", and that it would be released in mid-2021. The video prompted strong reactions. The song was seen by many as a valuable expression of queerness, though prominent conservative and Christian figures accused Lil Nas X of sacrilege and devil worship. Despite the controversy, "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)", debuted at number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming Lil Nas X's second chart-topping single and third top-ten single.


title: Lil Nas X

text: On March 29, 2021, Lil Nas X partnered with New York-based art collective MSCHF to release a modified pair of Nike Air Max 97s called Satan Shoes, which may be seen on Satan's feet in the music video used to promote the release of "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)". The shoes are black and red with a bronze pentagram, filled with "60cc and 1 drop of human blood". Only 666 pairs were made at a price of $1,018. Nike said they were uninvolved in the creation and promotion of the shoes and did not endorse the messages of Lil Nas X or MSCHF. The company filed a trademark lawsuit against MSCHF in New York federal court. On April 1, the judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the sale and distribution of the shoes pending a preliminary injunction. Lil Nas X responded to the lawsuit with a meme on Twitter showing himself as the character Squidward, homeless and asking for money. Later, he released a prelude video for the song "Industry Baby", which stages a fake "Nike vs. Lil Nas X" trial in the Supreme Court, during which people discuss the Satan Shoes before condemning the singer for being gay.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Following the controversies surrounding his previous song and its promotion, Lil Nas X released the more introspective single "Sun Goes Down" on May 21, 2021, wherein he reflects on his struggles with bullying and coming to terms with his homosexuality in his upbringing. He performed the song alongside "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" at "Saturday Night Live" a day later, where he suffered a wardrobe malfunction during a pole dance routine when the seam of his trousers split, leaving him unable to finish it properly. On June 29, Lil Nas posted a promotional video of his debut album, ending it with "Montero, the Album". He also posted a snippet of a previously teased track called "Industry Baby".


title: Lil Nas X

text: On July 16, Lil Nas X posted a video on TikTok claiming that he had an upcoming court hearing regarding the Satan Shoes three days later. However, on July 19, 2021, he posted a spoof of the legal debacle on YouTube, marketing his new single "Industry Baby". The song was released on July 23, featuring rapper Jack Harlow with production by Kanye West and Take a Daytrip. The song debuted at number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and reached number one on the chart for the ending week of October 23, 2021, becoming Lil Nas X's fourth top-ten single and third number one.


title: Lil Nas X

text: On September 17, 2021, "Montero" was released, along with its fourth single, "Thats What I Want". On October 23, 2021, Lil Nas X made a surprise appearance at Diplo's set at Electronic Daisy Carnival Las Vegas. During the appearance he performed "Industry Baby", "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)", and "Old Town Road".


title: Lil Nas X

text: On April 26, 2022, he announced his first concert tour, the Long Live Montero Tour. The tour will be in support of "Montero", and will begin in September 2022 and run through November 2022.


title: Lil Nas X

text: On March 16, 2022, Lil Nas X returned from his hiatus, and teased two songs from his "almost finished" new album, "Late to da Party" featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and "Down Souf Hoes" featuring Saucy Santana. He also posted a preview of the track "Lean on My Body". On June 24, 2022, Lil Nas X released "Late to da Party", and later clarified via Twitter that it was "not a lead single". Lil Nas X said that the album would be "something fun, something for the summertime, something for the girls to get ready and party to".


title: Lil Nas X

text: On September 15, 2022, Riot Games, the developers of the video game League of Legends, announced a collaboration with Lil Nas X for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship through a press release, where they also declared him to be "President of League of Legends", in what Kotaku journalist Isaiah Colbert called a publicity stunt. The anthem for the tournament, "Star Walkin'", was released on September 22 with an accompanying animated music video. He is scheduled to perform the song at the opening ceremony of the tournament on November 5. Additionally, a custom outfit for a playable character in the game co-designed by Lil Nas X will be made available temporarily in November.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Lil Nas X's musical style has been described as pop rap, hip hop, country rap, trap, pop rock, pop, and rock.


title: Lil Nas X

text: He credits LGBTQ artists Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator as inspirations and for "making it easier for me to be where I am, comfortably." Lil Nas X also cites Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Drake, Miley Cyrus and Doja Cat as some of his biggest influences. In 2019 he said, "I grew up off the Internet, so my influences come from all over musically." He grew up listening to hip hop artists such as Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi and Lil Uzi Vert.


title: Lil Nas X

text: In July 2019, "Time" named him one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet for his "global impact on social media", and "overall ability to drive news". In late July 2019, the MTV Video Music Award (VMA) nominations were announced, with Lil Nas X receiving eight. He performed "Panini", an "ode to the cartoon rabbit of the same name from Cartoon Network's "Chowder"", with a troupe of ""Tron"-inflected dancers" at the 2019 MTV VMAs, where he also won two awards: Song of the Year, for which he is the first openly LGBTQ person to do so; and the video's Calmatic for Best Direction. He was nominated for five fan-chosen 2019 Teen Choice Awards, winning "Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song" for the Cyrus remix of "Old Town Road". "Old Town Road" is also the YouTube top song of the summer in the U.S. and over fifty other countries and territories; it is also their second top global song of the summer. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus' remix also won the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards collaboration category, CMA Music Event of the Year; Lil Nas X is the first out gay man to ever be nominated for a CMA award, and the only openly LGBTQ person to win. "Vox" noted the Event Award is not a part of the CMA televised celebration, and they snubbed Lil Nas X from bigger appropriate categories. The "Old Town Road" remix with Cyrus has been nominated for a People's Choice Award for "Song of 2019", Lil Nas X was also nominated for "Male Artist of 2019" at the 45th People's Choice Awards. In October, at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards Lil Nas X, with Cyrus, won for Best Collab/Duo or Group, and Single of the Year. In November 2019, Lil Nas X won the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song, he was nominated for four others including three for "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. In November 2019, Lil Nas X was nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist, and eventually won Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Lil Nas X's success caused him to become the first person of color and the first openly gay performer to be listed by "Forbes" in its annual Highest-Paid Country Acts List.


title: Lil Nas X

text: In early July 2019, "Old Town Road" achieved its 13th week at the top spot on the "Billboard" 100, becoming the first hip hop song to do so. It is also the first song to sell 10 million copies while in the top spot. On its 15th week at the top, Lil Nas X became the first openly gay artist to have a song last as long, overtaking Elton John's 1997 Double A-Side—where both sides of the record are promoted as hits, "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight". At 19 weeks at number one, Lil Nas X holds the record for the most weeks since the chart was first introduced in 1958. , the song has also charted 19 weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; beating a three-way tie record. At 19 weeks at the top of the Hot Rap Songs chart the song has also beaten a three-way tie. By November 2019, the song was Diamond Certified, moving a combined sales and streaming 10 million units.


title: Lil Nas X

text: Lil Nas X has been noted for his public fashions; in July 2019, "Vogue" noted Lil Nas X as a "master" at giving the cowboy aesthetic a glam look in his appearances and on Instagram. His stylist, Hodo Musa, says he aims for items that are "electric, playful, colorful, and futuristic." For his onstage look at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards he wore a cowboy motif cherry-red Nudie suit. Wrangler, which is mentioned in the "Old Town Road" lyrics, has consistently sold out of Lil Nas X co-branded fashions.


title: Lil Nas X

text: For the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards Lil Nas X wore several outfits including a head-to-toe couture fuchsia Versace suit with a pink harness that took 700 hours to construct.


title: Lil Nas X

text: In July 2020, Lil Nas X modelled in a trailer video for a new skincare line by Rihanna's Fenty Beauty.


title: Lil Nas X

text: In August 2021, Lil Nas X commented "Nah he tweakin" on an Instagram post about Tony Hawk selling skateboards painted with paint that contained his blood. It became a viral phenomenon for the next few days. In 2021, he appeared on the "Time" 100, "Time"s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.


title: Lil Nas X

text: In early June 2019, Lil Nas X came out to his sister and father and he felt "the universe was signalling him to do so", despite his uncertainty whether his fans would stick by him or not. On June 30, 2019, the last day of Pride Month, Lil Nas X came out publicly as gay, tweeting: "some of y'all already know, some of y'all don't care, some of y'all not gone [fuck with me] no more. but before this month ends i want y'all to listen closely to c7osure. 🌈🤩✨" The tweet confirmed earlier suspicions when he first indicated this in his track "c7osure". "Rolling Stone" noted the song "touches on themes such as coming clean, growing up and embracing one's self". The next day he tweeted again, this time highlighting the rainbow-colored building on the cover art of his EP "7", with the caption reading "deadass thought i made it obvious". He was unambiguous in an interview several days later on "BBC Breakfast", where he stated that he was gay and understands that his sexuality is not readily accepted in the country or rap music communities.


title: Lil Nas X

text: The response to the news was mostly positive, but also garnered a large amount of homophobic backlash on social media, to which Lil Nas X also reacted. The backlash also came from the hip hop community, drawing attention to homophobia in hip hop culture. In January 2020, rapper Pastor Troy made homophobic comments on the outfit Lil Nas X wore during the Grammy Awards, to which Lil Nas X responded: "Damn I look good in that pic on god."


title: Lil Nas X

text: Lil Nas X stated in September 2021 that he was an atheist "at one point," but is now "a very spiritual person in terms of the Universe, how everything works."


title: Lil Nas X

text: On September 1, 2021, The Trevor Project announced that Lil Nas X is the recipient of its inaugural Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year award.


title: Sigourney Weaver

text: Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2003 she was voted Number 20 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time.


title: Sigourney Weaver

text: Weaver rose to fame when she was cast as Ellen Ripley in the Ridley Scott directed science fiction film "Alien" (1979), which earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She reprised the role with a critically acclaimed performance in James Cameron's "Aliens" (1986), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. She returned to the role in two more sequels: "Alien 3" (1992) and "Alien Resurrection" (1997). The character is regarded as a significant female protagonist in cinema history. Her other franchise roles include Dana Barrett in "Ghostbusters" (1984), "Ghostbusters II" (1989) and "" (2021). She reunited with Cameron portraying Dr. Grace Augustine in "Avatar" (2009)—which remains the highest-grossing film of all time, and returned in "" (2022).


title: Sigourney Weaver

text: Known for her work on the Broadway stage she received a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play "Hurlyburly" (1984). Further acclaim came with playing primatologist Dian Fossey in "Gorillas in the Mist" (1988), for which she won a Golden Globe Award, and in the same year, winning another Golden Globe Award for her performance in "Working Girl". Weaver was the first actor to have two acting wins at the Golden Globes in the same year; she also received an Academy Award nomination for both films. She received the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "The Ice Storm" (1997). She has since starred in film such as "" (1992), "Death and the Maiden" (1994), "Galaxy Quest" (1999), "Holes" (2003), "the Village" (2004), "Infamous" (2006), "You Again" (2010), and "Master Gardener" (2022).