Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe (born December 1, 1985 in Kansas City as Janelle Monáe Robinson) is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, dancer, and performer. She is currently signed to the Wondaland Arts Society and Bad Boy/Atlantic Records.

Biography

Monáe moved from Kansas City, Kansas to New York to study theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Her original plan was to pursue a career on Broadway, but she soon changed her mind and returned to music, an art form which, according to her, has the potential to change the world.

After moving to Atlanta, GA, where she met OutKast's Big Boi, Monáe founded the Wondaland Arts Society with like-minded young artists and made appearances on Idlewild, where she is featured on the songs "Call The Law" and "In Your Dreams".

In 2007, Monáe released her first solo work, titled Metropolis. It was originally conceived as a concept album in four parts, or "suites", which were to be released through her website and mp3 download sites. After the release of the first part of the series, Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in mid-2007, these plans were altered following her signing with Sean "Diddy" Combs' label, Bad Boy Records, later in the year. The label gave an official and physical release to the first "suite" in August 2008, which was retitled Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Special Edition) and included two new tracks. The EP was generally well-received by critics, garnering Monáe a 2009 Grammy nomination in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her single "Many Moons", festival appearances and opening slots for the indie pop band Of Montreal.

Monáe also toured as the opening act for band No Doubt on their summer 2009 tour. Her single "Open Happiness" was featured in the 2009 season finale of American Idol.

In a November 2009 interview, Monáe revealed the title and concept behind her album, The ArchAndroid. The album was released on 18 May 2010. The second and third suites of Metropolis are combined into this full-length release, in which Monáe's alter-ego, Cindi Mayweather—also the protagonist of Metropolis: The Chase Suite— becomes a messiah-esque figure to the android community of Metropolis. Monáe noted that she plans to shoot a video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create both a movie and graphic novel based on the album.

The Metropolis concept series draws inspiration from a wide range of musical, cinematic and other sources, ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Debussy to Philip K. Dick. However, the series puts Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis, which Monáe referred to as "the godfather of science-fiction movies," in special regard. Aside from sharing a name, they also share visual styles (the cover for The ArchAndroid is inspired by the iconic poster for Metropolis), conceptual themes and political goals, using expressionistic future scenarios to examine and explode contemporary ideas of prejudice and class.

Both also include a performing female android, though to very different effect. Where Metropolis android Maria is the evil, havoc-sowing double of the messianic figure to the city's strictly segregated working class, Monáe's messianic android muse Cindi Mayweather represents an interpretation of androids as that segregated minority, which Monáe describes as "... the Other. And I feel like all of us, whether in the majority or the minority, felt like the Other at some point."

Monae will receive the Vanguard Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers at the Rhythm & Soul Music Awards in 2010.

Monae covered Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" on Billboard.com in June 2010. The song has been covered by countless artists and was reportedly a Michael Jackson favorite.

Discography

Demos

• 2003 The Audition

Albums

• 2010 The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

EPs

• 2007 Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)

Singles

• 2005 "Peachtree Blues"
• 2006 "Lettin' Go"
• 2007 "Violet Stars Happy Hunting!"
• 2008 "Sincerely, Jane"
• 2008 "Many Moons"
• 2009 "Come Alive (The War of the Roses)"
• 2010 "Tightrope" (featuring Big Boi)
• 2010 "Cold War"
• 2010 "Tightrope (Wondamix) [Feat. B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco]"

Appearances

• 2005 In "House" Sessions
• 2005 Broadcasting the Definition
• 2005 Purple Ribbon All-Stars - Got Purp? Vol 2 ("Time Will Reveal," "Lettin' Go")
• 2006 Outkast - Idlewild ("Call the Law," "In Your Dreams")
• 2009 Open Happiness
• 2009 Stargate Universe
• 2010 "Rip The Runway"
• 2010 B.o.B. - B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray ("The Kids")
• 2010 BET 2010 Music Awards
• 2010 Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty ("Be Still")
• 2010 of Montreal - False Priest

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result
2009	Grammy Awards	Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Many Moons")	Vorlage:Award-nom
2010	ASCAP Awards	Vanguard Award	Vorlage:Award-won

External links

Commons: Janelle Monáe – Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

• Official website
• Vorlage:MySpace
• Vorlage:Twitter
• Vorlage:Amg
• Janelle Monáe at MSN music
• Vorlage:Musicbrainz artist
• Janelle Monae interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2010
• Janelle Monáe Interview
• Janelle Monáe interview at URB
• Janelle Monáe interview with SPIN
• Review of Tightrope (feat. Big Boi)
• Q & A with Janelle Monae
• "Tightrope" Video on Youtube
• "Janelle Monáe on BackPocketMag.com