Esto es Eso is fresh, unique and altogether “Ecuafornian”, tastefully incorporating classic Ecuadorian guitar music into a mix of hip hop, rock, blues, and reggae. Max Epstein (from Los Angeles, California) had been living in Quito, Pichincha for 3 years when he met local Luis Villamarin. They clicked immediately, and began creating “pasillo-hop”: Spanish-language, nostalgic guitar music combined with urban beats, beatboxing, and English-language rap lyrics. The two recorded with musicians from Ecuador, Argentina, the U.S., Canada and Denmark, producing eleven fresh and inspiring tracks ranging in theme, tempo and emotion. Their catchy, uplifting first single, “Light It Up” (Luis sings in Spanish, Max beatboxes & raps in English) was a total success in Ecuadorian radio as well as video shows: it spent 6 months in rotation on MTV-Latin America and has sold thousands of ringtones on HTV. In Ecuador, “Light It Up” is also the theme song for the hit political satire show En Corto, where Luis and Max have made several appearances, including a live performance of Light It Up last New Year’s Eve. In February, the band was awarded Banda Promesa 2007 (best new group, 2007) at Mis Bandas Nacionales, a national award show presented by one of the most popular radio stations in the country, Hot 106 Radio Fuego, and was recognized at the Premios Principales, held by top 40 radio giant Los 40 Principales in March, 2007. “Reflexiones”, their second single from the debut album, was at the Top 5 on the most successful radio stations in Ecuador. After opening for Guatemalan pop sensation Ricardo Arjona in Ecuador’s largest stadiums, filling up to 30,000 people, Esto es Eso mastered their debut album, Ecuafornia at world-renowned Sterling Sound in NYC in July. October was a big month for the band, with an appearance in Rolling Stone magazine, a performance at the Ecuador/Venezuela World Cup qualifying match in Quito, a trip to the MTV Latin Video Music Awards in Mexico City and the launch of Ecuafornia
Christina Perri is an American singer and songwriter from Philadelphia. Her song "Jar of Hearts" charted in the United States after it was featured on the Fox television show So You Think You Can Dance in 2010. Rolling Stone named her the "Band of the Week" on October 26, 2010. On May 10, 2011, Perri's "Jar of Hearts" was featured on Glee (Season 2, Episode 20 "Prom Queen").
Perri's debut album is titled Lovestrong. and was released on May 10, 2011. It follows the release of "Arms", its lead single, released on March 15.
T.M.Revolution (TMR), which stands for "Takanori Makes Revolution" (貴教が革命を起こす) although the name stems from the famous 80s pop electronic band TM Network. Despite most of his songs being written by Akio Inoue and composed/arranged by Daisuke Asakura (also TMR’s former producer), T.M.Revolution is considered Nishikawa’s solo project.
Nishikawa debuted as TMR with the release of his first single "Dokusai (Monopolize)" (独裁 -monopolize-?) in May 1996. Later that year, his third single "Heart of Sword (Yoake Mae)" (HEART OF SWORD ～夜明け前～?) was used as the third ending song for the anime series Rurouni Kenshin, further expanding his fan base. He also contributed six songs to the Mobile Suit Gundam SEED franchise – three for Gundam SEED and three for Gundam SEED Destiny. Nishikawa has guest starred as a minor character in each of those anime series that featured his songs. In 2010, his new single "Save the One, Save the All" was used as the ending theme song for the movie Bleach: The Hell Verse.
T.M.Revolution is the first artist to be signed to Tofu Records, a record label (affiliated with Sony Music Japan) promoting j-pop artists in North America. Tofu released three of his most recent studio albums: coordinate (2003), Seventh Heaven (2004), and vertical infinity (2005). Nishikawa made his North American live debut at Otakon, a large anime convention in 2003. He has also performed at Pacific Media Expo in 2004 and at the New York Comic Con in 2008.
Cee Lo Green is an American singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer. He originally came to prominence as a member of the southern hip hop group Goodie Mob, later launching a critically acclaimed solo career and forming Gnarls Barkley with DJ/producer Danger Mouse.
Internationally, Cee Lo is best known for his hip hop work and Gnarls Barkley 2006 worldwide hit "Crazy", which reached number one in various singles charts worldwide, including the UK. In the United States, "Crazy" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Parent album St. Elsewhere was also a hit, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200 album charts. Gnarls Barkley's second album, internationally less successful, The Odd Couple (2008) missed the top ten in both the UK and US, where it charted at number twelve in the US, and eighteen in the UK.
Cee Lo, taking a break from recording with Gnarls Barkley, released the single "Forget You/Fuck You!" on August 19, 2010 as a solo recording artist. The song was an instant hit, reaching the top spot in the UK and the Netherlands and charted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100. The parent album, The Lady Killer (2010) saw similar success, peaking within the top five of the UK Album Charts and debuting within the top ten on the Billboard 200 album charts, and received a Gold certification from the BPI in the UK shortly after its release. His second single "It's OK" was a hit in Europe and the third single, "Bright Lights Bigger City" has also seen similar charting success. Cee Lo is currently a vocal coach on the NBC reality talent show The Voice with Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton.
Bruno Mars is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Mars is from a family of musicians and began making music at a young age. After performing in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood, he decided to pursue a musical career and moved to Los Angeles after graduating from high school. Mars began producing songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons.
After an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, Mars signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B, and "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan, and "Fuck You!" by Cee Lo Green. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade", the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. He was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are".
Mars' music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many different musical genres. He has worked with an assortment of artists from different genres; Mars acknowledges the influences that his collaborations have had on his own music. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Mars also incorporates reggae and Motown inspired sounds into his work. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to Mars as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."
